UNDP Jobs - 79337- Regional Cooperation Coordinator

Regional Cooperation Coordinator

Location :

Home based with several travels as per travel plan below

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2018

Application Deadline :

17-Jun-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

100 working days over a period of six months

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

The GPECS Arab regional component, supported through the financial contribution from Swedish International Development Agency, works towards building coherence in electoral support in the region through dialogue, partnership and initiatives that strengthen regional knowledge and capacity on elections, and reinforce the participation of youth and women in political and civic life. A key initiative under this support is to strengthen regional cooperation and towards this end, the Regional Electoral Support Project for Middle East and North Africa is supporting the new organization of Arab Electoral Management Bodies (ArabEMBs) which has come into fruition following a yearlong effort by a committee of EMB members of six Arab countries. The Organization of Arab EMBs was launched in June 2015. UNDP is supporting the new organization in its initial phase including through advisor services, partnering in its activities and towards the establishment and operations of the secretariat.

Against this background, the Regional Electoral Support Project for MENA is seeking a consultant to support the ArabEMBs in operating its secretariat during the interim period, through regular meetings, activities with member and non-member EMBs, engagement with national, regional and international organizations engaged on electoral matters, and initiating the production of electoral knowledge products for the region. The consultant is expected to support the organization during its transition from the outgoing interim secretary general to the appointment of a new secretary general.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Regional Electoral Advisor and the direct guidance of the Regional Electoral Policy specialist, the selected candidate will work closely with the ArabEMBs Executive Board and General Assembly.

Deliverables and results:

Provide advice and guidance to the General Assembly and Executive Board in achieving the organization’s goals and objectives, in line with its charter, by-laws and directives
Develop and present to the Executive Board for endorsement the annual work plan, budgets and timeline of activities; taking into consideration the ongoing activities of the organization.
Implement the work plan of activities which include the holding of the general assembly and executive board meetings, conferences and workshops, and outreach activities of the organization. Manage, follow-up, and evaluate the implementation of the work plan including developing and maintaining all event related documents: event concept notes, reports, agendas, invitation letters, meeting minutes and all email correspondence related to the organizations.
Oversee implementation of the organization’s communication strategy including its website development; facilitate outreach and coordination mechanisms among the organization and other member and non-member EMBs, as well as related regional and international organizations.
Facilitate mechanisms and platforms for exchanging knowledge and expertise on electoral process management, trainings, and any development for the organization’s members.
Receive and review membership, withdrawal, and candidacy applications; submit required reports to the executive board; and inform the partners with the decisions issued in this respect.
Oversee the administrative and financial responsibilities of the organization and staff of the Secretariat, follow-up on work progress; and evaluate the level of performance.
Search for available funding opportunities; communicate and negotiate with regional and international funding agencies; and enable the organization technically and administratively to seize such opportunities.
Advise, facilitate and update on the status of the legal registration of the organization.
Any other tasks as may be deemed necessary for the effective and professional running of the secretariat.

Institutional Arrangement

The selection process will be fair and transparent process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores.
Payments will be made only upon confirmation 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
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.

Duration of the work:

100 workings days for over period of 6 months (11th July 2018 – 31st December 2018).

Duty Station and travel plan:

The advisor is expected to work from home with travels with in the Region and Belgium as required. The travels will be identified during the implementation phases based on political situation and security conditions. The consultant is expected to travel to Nairobi, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunis and Belgium for 5 days approximately in each country.

Consultant shall provide the Maximum Reimbursable lump Sum of travel cost. UNDP will process the payment upon actual invoices provided for tickets (shouldn’t be more than unit price provided in the financial offer) and boarding pass for each travel.
Unit price for tickets should be provided on most direct economic class (business and first-class airfare are not allowed)

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging, living allowances and terminal expenses should be agreed between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed upon UNDP rules and regulation.

Competencies

Corporate competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the United Nations
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies

Expert knowledge related to electoral assistance, including out-of-country voting, peacebuilding, UN assistance and human rights/political rights of refugees;
Demonstrated international experience in large-scale electoral operations and/or UN Peace-keeping Missions;
Familiarity with the work of the UN system on electoral assistance, especially UNDP.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Law, Political Science and Elections or any related field. Master degree is preferable

Professional Experience:

At least 10 years relevant professional experience;
Minimum of 5 years electoral experience in the Arab region;
Experience working with regional or international organizations; preferably in the field of democracy, governance and human rights;
Prior experience working with the UN considered an asset;

Language Skills:

Excellent oral and written communication skills in Arabic and English.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Candidates that fail to submit the required information will not be considered.

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
Technical proposal and Methodology (not more than 2 pages)
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per the table given in section D. template provided.

All necessary information including: Complete Procurement Notice, The Selection Criteria, and Annexes are found on the following link under Procurement http://procurement-notices.undp.org/

Interested candidate shall apply the CV/P11 to Job advertisement website, hence consultant should submit to email: Proc.contract.rscjo@undp.org : not later than 17 June 2018 the following documents:

CV/P11
Confirm availability and financial proposal
Technical proposal Methodology
Brief description of why you consider yourself as the most suitable for the assignment

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Interested candidates should provide lump sum fees for requested services with detailed breakdown (consultancy fees, round travel tickets, travel cost, living allowances during the missions., etc.) as per travel plan above

Travel;

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.

In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

EVALUATION

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Step I: Screening and desk review:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology.

Applications will be first screened and only candidates meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

At least 10 years relevant professional experience with at least 5 years in the field of elections in Arab region;
Language proficiency in both English and Arabic
Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Law, Political Science, Elections or any related field.

Shortlisted Candidates will be then assessed and scored against the following evaluation criteria.

Evaluation of Candidates (max 100 points):

Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Law, Political Science, Elections or any related field; 20%
Minimum of 5 years electoral experience in the Arab region; 25%
Technical proposal and Methodology; 20%
Experience working with regional or international organizations; preferably in the field of democracy, governance and human rights: 35%

Step II: Final evaluation

The final evaluation will combine the scores of the desk review and the financial proposal with the following weights assigned to each:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will 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 technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight: [70%]

Financial Criteria weight: [30%]

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.