UNDP Jobs - 78495- Individual Consultant for Technical Guidance & Adv

Individual Consultant for Technical Guidance & Advisory Services for Country-level Support for the Arab States and Promotion of Regional South-South & Triangular Cooperation Roadmap mechanisms for Arab States

Location :

Home-based with possible missions

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-May-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

estimated May 2018 – April 2021

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

up to 249 full working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Considering the realistically ambitious development agendas of Arab States region and the Eastern Europe and CIS region as well as a highly competitive development assistance environment, South-South Cooperation is considered as a complementary means in broadening opportunities for creating partnerships and coalitions among various development stakeholders in the two regions. It is in this context that triangular cooperation is gaining additional importance. Serving as a potential bridge between the North-South, South-South Cooperation systems, and building on the principles of South-South Cooperation, such as non-conditionality, national ownership, and equality, triangular cooperation provides all the actors involved with a unique opportunity for a transformational change in the ways that challenges are addressed in the regional development context.

In the Nairobi outcome document, Member States encourage Southern “centers of excellence, as well as regional and sub-regional economic groupings, to establish closer links among themselves, with the support of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (currently referred to as the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation – UNOSSC).

On the basis of the above, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation aims to systematically provide the Member States in the Arab region, and in the Eastern Europe and CIS, including the governments, civil society, academia and the private sector, as well as the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes active in the two regions with the support in advancing their respective South-South Cooperation agendas by providing access to a number practical service lines. UNOSSC support is based on the complex of advisory modules, as well as in piloting specific project initiatives on South-South Cooperation that can be used as a basis for testing such modules in specific areas of development.

Type of Contract: IC (Individual Consultant) - The offered assignment will be implemented through individual contract designed as the framework long-term agreement (LTA) as the indicated services are needed on an intermittent and repetitive basis. The individual contract designed as the framework agreement does not form a financial obligation or commitment from the UNDP/UNOSSC at the time the Individual Contract is signed. Financial commitments will be established each time the services are requested within the scope of the Individual Contract, through the call-off in the standard one-page service request form accompanied by the issuance of a purchase order.

Duration: estimated May 2018 – April 2021, up to 249 full working days, given that 8 working hours - whether within one or several days - constitute a full working day.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Chief, Division for Arab States, Europe and the CIS of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, the incumbent is responsible for provision of technical guidance and advisory services for country-level support for the Arab States and the promotion of regional South-South & Triangular cooperation roadmap mechanisms for Arab States. More specifically, the incumbent will:

As an overall guiding framework for the provision of technical guidance and advisory services under the TOR and as a group of deliverables in itself:

With a view of ensuring relevance and responsiveness of services provided, regularly acquaint herself/himself with the standards, norms and principles of South-South Cooperation described in relevant guiding policy documents, including: Nairobi Outcome Document and other relevant documents, Strategic Framework of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation currently in force, Recent decisions of the UN General Assembly’s High-level committee on South-South Cooperation, Framework of operational guidelines on United Nations support to South-South&Triangular cooperation, Regional Strategic Approach on advancing South-South & Triangular Cooperation for development in the Arab States, Europe and CIS
In line with the range of overall priorities identified by the supervisor, as well as based on the requests from/consultations with relevant stakeholders vis-à-vis concrete tangible outputs expected as a result of provision of the incumbent’s services in line with the given TOR, proactively recommend proposed scope of works and concrete tangible deliverables on a monthly basis and seek comments/endorsement from the supervisor in the form of request for services under the LTA subject to the supervisor’s decision on the relevance/efficiency of the proposed activities and other considerations (this deliverable is only expected 30 calendar days after the date of first request for services under the LTA).

In the part of the TOR related to the Country-level Support in advancing the South-South Cooperation agendas of the countries in the Arab States region, provide needs-based response aimed at sensitization of respective government counterparts on concrete practical benefits of South-South Cooperation approach and Triangular cooperation approach as a complement (and not a substitute) to traditional North-South approach to development Cooperation, and aimed at raising the profile/positioning of respective countries as potential providers of certain technical expertise. To this end:

Support implementation of national-level stock-taking on trends and opportunities for South-South Cooperation in respective countries; provide substantive inputs and ensure production of national-level stock-taking reports (Target deliverable: 8 national-level stocktaking reports)
Promote the idea of and provide advisory support in elaboration of dedicated national-level programme initiatives in support to South-South & Triangular Cooperation, possibly as joint UN programmes and used as platforms to mobilize partnerships around national priorities for advancing South-South & Triangular Cooperation model (Target deliverable: 8 national-level programme initiatives)
Provide catalytic support in creation/institutional development of government structures in charge of coordination on South-South Cooperation, if need be support in designing national-level coordination board on SS&TC; assist respective government agencies in drafting presidential decrees/declarations on respective countries’ stances towards South-South & Triangular Cooperation as well as assist in elaboration or review of respective national/institutional strategies and funding mechanisms (Target deliverable: 4 national agencies supported with concrete policy decisions/documents produced)
Support organization of semi-annual regional coordination and knowledge exchange workshops for government and institutional focal points on South-South Cooperation (Target deliverable: 5 regional workshops)
Support the organization of national-level information mechanisms for regular assessment of national capacities and needs and linked to regional online mapping portal (Target deliverable: 150 solutions documented)
Respond to urgent ad-hoc requests from client countries and UN RC offices in these countries including substantive reviews/inputs to strategic policy documents aimed at mainstream South-South and Triangular Cooperation where relevant.

In the part of the TOR related to the promotion of Regional South-South Cooperation Roadmap for Arab States:

Promote the idea of and provide advisory support in elaboration, production and series of launch events for the regional reports on the State of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Arab States, comprising analysis in trends and specific SS&TC opportunities, policy recommendations, compendiums of contacts, etc. (Target deliverable: 1 regional report launched)
Provide catalytic support in establishing Regional Roadmaps on South-South & Triangular Cooperation for Arab States with the participation of respective national governments, multilateral institutions and the UN (Target deliverable: 2 regional roadmap declarations launched)
Support partnership mobilization around the idea of regional funding facilities for expert exchanges for South-South & Triangular Cooperation (Target deliverable: 15 pilot expert exchanges funded through the facilities)

Provide any other work inputs as may be required in the framework of provision of Technical Guidance & Advisory Services for Country-level Support for the Arab States and Promotion of Regional South-South & Triangular Cooperation Roadmap mechanisms for Arab States.

Prepare (on months when services are requested under the LTA and delivered) concise one page service delivery reports outlining concrete tangible deliverables relevant to the overall priorities identified as well as key activities that have not yet led to concrete results but are essential for future success.

Competencies

Professionalism – Shows pride in work and achievements; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
Teamwork – Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity, including gender balance.
Communication - Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and respond appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience, demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
Client Orientation – considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from the clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identified clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
Technological awareness – keeps abreast if available technology; understands applicability and limitations of technology to the work of the office; activity seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; shows willingness to learn new technology.
Demonstrated ability to assess, plan, coordinate and monitor related activities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree (at least at the level of Master’s degree) in economics, development, law, international relations, environment, or another relevant field is essential.

Working experience:

Minimum of 5 years of highly responsible experience in the development field including policy development, programme planning and management.
Prior experience of at least 1 years in the field of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, preferably with one of the United Nations institutions or another international organization, national governments, or other relevant stakeholders is a considerable asset.
Knowledge and experience in the use of standard office software (e.g. word processing, spreadsheets).

Languages:

fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only top 4 candidates who will obtain min. 70% of points in desk review will be invited for interviews and written test. Only candidates who will obtain min. 70% of points in overall technical evaluation will be invited for financial proposal evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

Criteria A: (desk review) number of years and quality of working experience in the field of development including policy development, programme planning and management – max points: 5
Criteria B: (desk review & interviews) type and quality of working experience in the field of South-South & Triangular Cooperation – max points: 5
Criteria C: (desk review & interviews) experience with United Nations institutions or another international organization, national governments, or other relevant stakeholders – max points: 5
Criteria D: (desk review & interviews) type and quality of working experience in the field of South-South & Triangular Cooperation – max points: 5
Criteria E: (desk review & interviews) experience with United Nations institutions or another international organization, national governments, or other relevant stakeholders – max points: 5
Criteria F: (written tests) results of the written test where analytical skills of candidates relevant to the assignment will be assessed – max points: 10

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points.

Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc; please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
Financial Proposal* - The financial proposal shall indicate the hourly fee in the US Dollar equivalent.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...) except for the costs related to the mission travel. Mission-related costs shall be calculated as per UNDP rules and regulations and paid for separately.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP/UNOSSC on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.