UNDP Jobs - 79588- Programme Support Consultant, BPPS/CC&DRR

Programme Support Consultant, BPPS/CC&DRR

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Aug-2018

Application Deadline :

05-Jul-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

06 Months (with possibility of extension)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 months (with possibility of extension)

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 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s Global Development Network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in over 170 countries, employing participatory approaches to developing local solutions to national and global development challenges. UNDP’s core vision is to help countries achieve simultaneous eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We do this through three main areas of work which are: (1) sustainable development, (2) inclusive and effective democratic governance, and (3) climate and disaster resilience. UNDP’s Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme has been supporting countries to define their low-emission development vision since 2011, including the preparation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to assist national government design and implement their climate change plans under the Paris Agreement.

Moving forward, UNDP launched a new global initiative, the NDC Support Programme, to provide direct financial and technical support to countries on NDC implementation in the context of national development priorities. The program seeks to enhance the capacities of public- and private-sector actors to deliver on NDC targets through strengthened climate governance; implementation of mitigation actions and mid-century, low-emission development strategies; engagement of the private sector; and improved investment environments. It currently supports 27 countries in a variety of NDC-related work areas that include the development of NDC implementation plans, strengthening of monitoring systems, and mainstreaming of gender-responsive approaches. The programme also facilitates south south exchange and collects and disseminates best practices and lessons learned to advance global progress on NDC implementation. This support will build on the results of the LECB Programme at the country and global levels.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP seeks to engage the services of a Programme Support consultant who will provide programmatic support to the NDC Support Programme Global Support Unit, with a focus on implementation of multi-donor programmes and projects and will include a transition from the previous flagship multi-donor global programme. He/she will provide operational and technical assistance to Global Support Unit staff and participating countries including financial analysis and reporting, donor liaising and adherence to project financial management guidelines and facilitation of south-south exchange among complementing peers. Reporting to the NDC Support Programme Manager, the consultant will undertake the following scope of activities:

1. Objective: Seamless transition from flagship Low Emission Capacity Building Programme to NDC Support Programme

Develop tangible guidance documents for participating country offices on the closure, archiving and reporting of the Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme - August 2018
Serve as the contact point for questions related to LECB Project closure, ensuring adherence to donor requests as they relate to archiving and legacy of impacts - September 2018 to December 2018
Ensure financial and operational closures are performed in 18 of the 25 countries in accordance with UNDP and EU standards for project management - September 2018 to December 2019
Prepare draft guidance document for participating country office on the transition and establishment of the NDC Support Programme to facilitate seamless transition and consistent reporting to donor entities as required - August 2018
Serve as the contact point for questions related to NDC Support Programme set-up and reporting to adhere to multi-donor programming, including contributions to the NDC Partnership – August 2018 and onward

2. Objective: Dedicated financial management support to the NDC Support Programme at the global, regional and national levels to develop systems that ensure adherence to multi-donor commitments

Report to Programme Manager on expenditure status - Quarterly
Prepare internal and donor driven (EU) budget revisions and reports reflecting the programme expenditures and disbursement - Monthly and Quarterly
Design a monitoring system to systematize collection of national financial expenditures and commitments to enable real-time financial reporting to Project Board and Global Steering Committee - October 2018
Pilot said monitoring system, altering as needed - November to January 2019
Prepare monitoring reports to ensure proper management and implementation at the national level - Monthly
Advise national focal points on the establishment of project work-plans, results-frameworks and budget allocations - ongoing

3. Objective: Empower UNDP Regional Hubs to provide consistent and timely support to countries to promote south-south exchange through development of a knowledge platform and systematic process for NDC knowledge sharing

Support the development of the UNDP NDC Knowledge Platform through collection and dissemination of knowledge products and resources - September 2018
Co-develop and pilot a system/processes to respond to host Government requests for NDC Support requests in collaboration with knowledge sharing colleagues - October 2018 thru December 2018
Explore and document potential synergies with other UN projects to strengthen NDC implementation, including the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, UNDP Innovation Facility, and National Communications Support Programme - October thru December 2018
Support the planning and organization of regional and global workshops to promote knowledge sharing and south-south exchange - Quarterly

Competencies

Functional:

Demonstrated practical experience in designing and supporting operational processes for global, multi-donor initiatives.
Demonstrated experience in financial analysis for large, global, multi-donor initiatives.
Demonstrated understanding of the links between climate change/environment and development.
Demonstrated experience working on climate change and related issues with national or local governments and/or civil society organizations.
Experience working with UNDP and/or other multilateral, bilateral and civil society development partners is an asset.
Excellent analytical, writing, and communications skills.
Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP's values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN/UNDP; and
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, HR, or related field is required or Bachelor’s degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

At least 3 years (with Master's) or 5 years (with Bacelor's) of progressively responsible operational and experience at the national or international level is required;
At least 1-year work experience with complementing global programmes, ideally those focused on knowledge exchange and/or south-south cooperation is required;
At least 2 years experience in the fields of Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Energy is required;
Demonstrated experience in development and operationalization of systems and processes among global teams, including developing countries in the operations field is required;
Demonstrated competency in using financial, procurement and travel modules of ATLAS and guiding individuals on their use is required;
Demonstrated experience in monitoring project budgets and expenditures both in accordance with UN and EU standards is required;
Knowledge of UNDP organizational structure (internal and vis a vis external partners, specifically for EU funded initiatives) to efficiently and effectively direct incoming queries and requests, and perform liaison functions is an asset;
Knowledge of UNDP/UN regulations, policies, procedures and practices is an asset;
Familiarity with donor requirements for EU, BMU and BMZ (German) funded projects will be considered an asset.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
Spanish proficiency is an asset.

Application Procedure:

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

Online application with brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment; and
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hours working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. 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.
If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation Process:

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below. Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical Evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

Criteria 1: Demonstrated work experience with similar global programmes, ideally those focused on climate mitigation, knowledge exchange and/or south-south cooperation: Maximum Points: 10;
Criteria 2: Demonstrated knowledge and experience specifically as it relates to NDC implementation and support of the Paris Agreement: Maximum Points: 10;
Criteria 3: Demonstrated experience in monitoring global, multi-donor project budgets and expenditures both in accordance with UN and EU standards. And familiarity with donor requirements for EU, BMU and BMZ (German): Maximum Points: 15;

Criteria 4: Demonstrated experience in development and operationalization of systems and processes among global teams, including developing countries in the operations field: Maximum Points: 10;

Criteria 5: Demonstrated competency in using financial, procurement and travel modules of ATLAS and guiding individuals on their use: Maximum Points: 5;

Criteria 6: Interview: Maximum Points: 20.

Having reviewed applications received, UNDP will invite the top three shortlisted candidates for interview. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award:

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional Arrangements:

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of NDC Support Programme Manager, BPPS/CC&DRR and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

• The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop;

• The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;

• Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the NDC Support Programme Manager;

• Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;

• The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;

• The selected candidate is responsible for ensuring that s/he has the necessary vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;

• The selected candidate is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;

• All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be arranged according to UNDP entitlements and travel policy.

Payment Modality:

Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked and deliverables accepted, and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
The workweek will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hours working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.