Background

The UNDP Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development Team in the Bangkok Regional Hub works with developing countries in Asia Pacific to improve how inclusive development policies and programmes are designed and implemented. It provides policy advice and tools to fight exclusion and marginalization in areas such as social protection strategies, job creation and livelihoods, and sustainable urbanization. The team helps develop the capacity of governments to formulate strategies and public policies that promote human development, reduce poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The team responds to requests from countries to adapt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a set of SDGs at its core to national, sub-national and local conditions and realities, incorporating regional and global perspectives. It offers support to both UNDP Country Offices and to local governments in localizing, mainstreaming and accelerating the SDGs implementation as well as works to influence national policy-making with a view to creating an enabling environment for action at local and regional levels.

As part of its core work, the team uses UNDP’s comparative advantage and experience to support countries and cities to address pressing and complex urban issues, its interrelated development choices and consequences for sustainable development. The UNDP Sustainable Urbanization Strategy outlines our unique offers of approaches, mechanisms and tools that have been successful in defining and addressing gaps for the promotion of more inclusive cities, focusing on factors such as migration and informal and vulnerable livelihoods.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective

Under the overall supervision of the Asia Pacific Regional Team Leader, Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, the consultant will work with other team members to develop new and support existing urban development initiatives, both at the regional as well as the country level. The consultant will also support the regional research and analytical work on cities and urban development.

 

Scope of Work

·         Provide backstopping support as well as technical assistance to the Regional Urban Team work including desk research, drafting and editing briefs and project documents.

·         Support the coordination of the different streams of work on inclusive and sustainable urbanization that bring together the governance, environmental, resilience, climate change and poverty and inequality dimensions of urbanization.

·         Track data and trends on urbanization.

·         Conduct research, especially as it relates to environment and its impact on cities

·         Support the development of urban initiatives at the regional as well as the country level—provide both backstopping support as well as technical assistance.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The expected outputs from this assignment are:

  • Research: conduct desk research on the key themes taken up by the Urban team
  • Research: Write briefs, blogs and summaries based on urban data and trends analysis.
  • Proposals and project development: develop proposals, regional and country, based on research, assessments, consultations, donor mapping, and scoping missions.
  • Country Office Support: provide policy notes and briefs on urban-related issues covering Asia and the Pacific that directly support the development of taking up urban development in UNDP’s COs.
  • Support to thought leadership: Support the research for and compilation and preparation of speeches, talking points, presentation materials, background notes. etc. on urbanization and the localization of the SDGs in cities;
  • Support due diligence around developing BRH’s offer on ‘smart cities’, especially as it relates to the resilience/climate change track.

Institutional Arrangement

The international consultant with report to the Regional Team Leader - Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development Team, and in close collaboration with Urban Task Team colleagues. 

Duration of the Work: 16 October 2018 to 15 January 2019 (up to 65 days)

Duty Station: Bangkok- based with possible travels.

 

Competencies

  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
  • Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
  • Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
  • Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
  • Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research;
  • Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
  • Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
  • Positive, constructive attitude to work;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications

  • Advanced degree in urban planning, urban development, development studies or related fields

Experience

  • At least 1 year of work experience; research and working urban development related issues an asset;
  • Experience working in and/or covering Asia Pacific countries on urban issues will be an advantage;
  • Research experience on urban issues;
  • Experience in conducting research a plus

Language requirements

  • Fluency of English language is required;
  • Knowledge of an Asian language would be an asset.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The contract will be based on Daily Fee

Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal. If applicable, travel or daily allowance cost (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) should be identified separately. Payments shall be done on a monthly basis based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the IC’s supervisor of a Time Sheet indicating the days worked in the period.

In general, UNDP shall 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 event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Travel costs shall be reimbursed at actual but not exceeding the quotation from UNDP approved travel agent.  The provided living allowance will not be exceeding UNDP DSA rates. Repatriation travel cost from home to duty station in Bangkok and return shall not be covered by UNDP.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology;

Cumulative analysis

 

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%) and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced qualified proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

  • Criteria 1: relevant education- Max 20 points;
  • Criteria 2: Work experience on urban development issues- Max 25 points;
  • Criteria 3: Work experience in and/or covering Asia Pacific- Max 10 points;
  • Criteria 4: Experience in developing presentations and infographics on urban issues - Max 15 points;

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for interview and Financial Evaluation respectively.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

  • Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
  • Personal CV 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.
  • Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: National consultant must quote price in U.S. Dollar that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an 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 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.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered. The shortlisted candidates may be contacted and the successful candidate will be notified.

To download TOR and other forms, please click the link below:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=49902