UNDP Jobs - 81611- UNDP Crisis Preparedness and Response systems and

UNDP Crisis Preparedness and Response systems and tools Consultant

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

20-Nov-2018

Application Deadline :

30-Oct-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 :

06 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 Program (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. UNDP is present in over 170 countries, employing participatory approaches to developing local solutions to national and global development challenges. UNDPs core vision is to help countries and communities achieve simultaneous eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We do this through three main areas of work are: (1) sustainable development (2) inclusive and effective democratic governance and peacebuilding, and (3) resilience.

Under its current Strategic Plan 2018-2021, UNDP outlines a strong organizational commitment to work with communities to recover from crisis and build resilience. As one of the few partners with a permanent presence and a cross-cutting mandate on the ground before, during and after a crisis, UNDP aims to take immediate action at the onset of crises in addressing communities’ and governments’ needs for rapid recovery and effective transition to sustainable development. To implement this vision, UNDP reasserted its commitment to be faster, more effective, and more predictable in its response to crisis. Furthermore, the recent creation of the Global Policy Network (GPN), UNDP has committed to address inter-sectoral, complex and ad-hoc issues in a timely and integrated manner. The GPN is expected to strengthen the integration UNDP policy and programme support to respond to the increasingly complex issues that countries face in achieving the SDGs and responding to crisis.

As part of its crisis response strategy, UNDP developed a set of ‘Crisis Response Packages’ (CRPs) allowing the organization to deliver quick, effective and predictable support. The packages enable UNDP country offices to design sound early recovery/recovery projects and implement them in a timely manner. While often operating in a humanitarian context, the crisis response packages will provide as early as possible, a clear entry point to recovery and rapid return to sustainable development pathways. The packages provide relevant guidance, tools and mechanisms on programming, operations, human resources and communication/partnerships, in a coordinated toolboxes and cover key thematic areas, such as: (i) resilient livelihoods (including debris management, community infrastructure rehabilitation, municipal solid waste management, emergency employment, enterprise recovery and cash-based interventions), (ii) restoration of core government functions, and (iii) disaster recovery planning and coordination.

In addition, UNDP has developed an intranet-based Crisis Response Portal to bring together the various tools, services and guidance to support UNDP’s immediate crisis response. The Crisis Response Portal is meant to function as a one-stop platform for UNDP personnel to access tools and services such as the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Immediate Crisis Response, information on deployable capacities, the UNDP crisis response packages and more. In occasion of the rollout of two crisis response packages in 2018, practitioners have engaged on action plans to make use of the packages in their respective country offices and are now connected to update and upgrade relevant content on the portal.

Complementing the existing CRPs UNDP developed tools for building the capacity of its personnel to respond to crises. The tools include in person training material, e-learning modules, Yammer spaces supporting knowledge exchanges within and among UNDP personnel that are members of practice networks.

In this relation the Crisis Bureau is seeking a consultant to support the roll out of the crisis response packages and interact with UNDP practitioners to incorporate relevant tools in the existing packages. The consultant will also support the development and roll out of Crisis Bureau capacity building tools. She or he will also integrate existing and new corporate Knowledge Management systems and tools in the portal, CRPs and capacity building tools and exercises.

Duties and Responsibilities

Following the launch of the UNDP Crisis Response Portal, it is essential that UNDP personnel at country level are engaged to use existing tools and guidance provided through the portal. At the same time, the Crisis Bureau intends to draw on the knowledge, inputs and feedback of UNDP users to continuously update the portal with new relevant resources, tools and guidance. In occasion of the roll out of the CRPs on Resilient Livelihoods and Disaster Recovery Planning and Coordination, several country offices have prepared action plans to further disseminate the tools within their respective teams and produce and exchange knowledge to enrich the CRPs.

As a member of the Crisis Bureau’s Rapid Response and Preparedness Team and in close collaboration with other Crisis Bureau teams, the consultant will work with the Development Policy Bureau, Bureau for Management Services, and the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy, Regional Bureaux and relevant country offices to develop and collect material for the CRPs and integrate it on the UNDP Crisis Response Portal. The consultant will integrate relevant UNDP crisis preparedness and response systems and tools produced at global, regional or country level with the capacity building tools and will support the preparation of training exercises and other forms of capacity building for UNDP personnel working in crisis contexts. More specifically, the consultant will focus on three main Crisis Bureau initiatives: the CRPs, the Crisis Portal, and Capacity Building for crisis preparedness and response.

Dissemination and enrichment of UNDP CRPs and other relevant corporate crisis response tools:

Rollout and dissemination of CRPs, collection and update of programming tools, preparation of required operational tools and processes, identification and development of capacities and preparation of communication and advocacy products;
Support the development, finalization and roll out (including dissemination) of corporate crisis response tools (i.e. tools on crisis preparedness, immediate crisis response, etc.) as well as UNDP visibility items (UNDP t-shirts, banners, caps, etc.) and contribute to monitor use and replenishments;
Monitor and update content of UNDP crisis preparedness and response tools and processes (e.g. crisis response Standard Operating Procedure, crisis preparedness planning tools) on UNDP Crisis Response Portal and relevant Yammer spaces;
Support the Crisis Bureau in the implementation of critical recommendations from After Action Reviews;
Engage with UNDP Communities of Practice on Yammer and other applicable spaces to collect and share knowledge products relevant to the CRPs and other crisis preparedness and response systems and tools;
Identify innovative systems and tools for crisis response and recovery;
Support the development of partnerships with UN and non-UN actors (e.g. Standby partners, NGOs, Private Sector, Foundations, etc.) to deliver critical interventions associated with the crisis response packages and other UNDP crisis response tools.

Support the expansion of the Crisis Response Portal:

Finalization of the Step-by-Step Action sections of the Crisis Response Portal in close cooperation with OIMT and DPB; this involves 6 different online Step-by-Step Actions sections: 1) Crisis Response, 2) Debris management, 3) Municipal Solid Waste Management, 4) Community Infrastructure Rehabilitation, 5) Emergency Employment and Enterprise Recovery and 5) Cash Based Interventions.
Support the further development and finalization of the Cross-Cutting-Components sections to be added to the Crisis Response Portal (i.e. Gender, Innovation, Private Sector Engagement, Inclusiveness of Persons with Disability and Environmental and Social Standards).
Maintenance and update of various sections of the Crisis Response Portal, as new tools and guidance or country office experiences become available, such as e-learnings, video tutorials, CRP tools and guidance, training data visualization and more.
Support the further development of the Community of Practice Outreach Plan and the implementation of outreach activities. This will include engaging Community of Practice members in sharing experiences across country offices and supporting the roll-out of existing and new crisis response tools and guidance

Support CRU’s capacity building exercises on Crisis Response for Country Offices, Regional Hubs and Central Bureaus:

Support the design and development of workshops or trainings concept note, agenda, logistics note, evaluation questionnaire, report format, and any other required documentation;
Coordinate with key resource people at all country, regional and global levels to ensure strong representation, active participation, and preparation of relevant materials and documentation;
Act as a resource person for capacity development initiatives and collaborate with administrative and procurement focal persons at country and regional/headquarters level;
Coordinate workshop follow up and integrate key lessons learnt and resources into crisis response systems and the crisis response portal.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES:

Based on the detailed list of tasks outlined in the scope of the work section, the IC is expected to deliver the following outputs:

Crisis Response Packages (CRPs) 1, 2, and 3 are rolled out, all relevant elements (e.g. step-by-step sections, cross-cutting components, operations component, communication component, etc.), are featured on the UNDP crisis response portal;
Prepare inputs and relevant examples on how UNDP is integrating disability in the CRPs for a section in the UNDP corporate Guidance on Disability Inclusion;
Trainings and workshops for all CRPs, crisis response and preparedness tools and systems are planned, organized, delivered, and follow up actions are implemented
UNDP communities of practice are engaged on crisis preparedness and response issues and relevant knowledge products are collected and/or disseminated within and between communities of practice. Crisis Bureau Yammer page is managed with frequent interactions with its members and communities for practice;
Communication and other knowledge material (e.g. brochures, infographics, video tutorials, e-learning) is prepared and updated for UNDP internal audience and external audiences on all CRPs, crisis response and preparedness tools and systems;
UNDP Crisis Response Portal and other relevant web-based spaces where UNDP crisis tools are maintained and updated based on users’ feedback and knowledge products produced at headquarters, regional and country level;
UNDP visibility items for crisis response are available in each UNDP regional hub and headquarters and are replenished based on efficient usage record keeping;
Corporate crisis response tools (i.e. tools on crisis preparedness, immediate crisis response, etc.) are developed or updated, finalized and rolled out (including dissemination).
Partnerships with UN and non-UN actors (e.g. Standby partners, NGOs, Private Sector, Foundations, etc.) are delivered or strengthened to deliver critical interventions associated with UNDP crisis response packages and other UNDP crisis preparedness and response tools.

Self-Management & Emotional Intelligence:

Proven ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines, and to deliver in a timely manner within cost and quality standards;

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Ethics & Values:

Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity;
Demonstrates and promotes the highest standard of integrity, impartiality, fairness and incorruptibility in all matters affecting his/her work and status.

Functional Competencies:

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment understands the structure and hierarchy of UN/UNDP, process flows throughout the organization, products and services, their measures of effectiveness, and perceptions of clients;
Excellent knowledge of development issues and internationally-agreed development goals;

Working in Teams:

Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
Works collaboratively with colleagues inside UN/UNDP as well as its partners and other stakeholders to pursue common goals.
Ability to work at ease in a multicultural setting.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
Delivers verbal/written information in a timely, clear, organized and easily understood manner;
Excellent oral and written skills to develop knowledge products in relevant areas;
Strong communication skills and the ability to listen and take direction and leadership from others.

Self-Management & Emotional Intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control tolerates conditions of stress, uncertainty or ambiguity and continues to maintain a positive outlook and to work productively.

Knowledge Sharing & Continuous Learning:

Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.

Functional competencies:

Knowledge of the United Nations (UN) emergency preparedness, response and recovery systems and tools. Knowledge of UNDP crisis response and recovery systems and tools is an asset.
Excellent writing skills in English.
Proven experience in developing knowledge products for the UN or other international organizations required;
Proficiency and proven experience in the use of Microsoft Office suite (e.g. Word, Excel, Power Point) is required. Proven experience in the development infographics, online surveys, presentations, organization of webinars would be an asset;
Excellent project management skills required. Project management experience for UNDP or other international organizations is an asset; Proven work experience and knowledge of Yammer or other relevant social media-based platforms/tools is required. Proven experience in managing Microsoft SharePoint web-based platforms is an asset

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

University degree (Bachelor’s Degree) in International Relations and/or development, Humanitarian studies or equivalent is required.

Years of experience:

At least 3 years of professional experience in emergency/crisis preparedness, response and recovery is required.

Language:

Proficiency in written and spoken English required;
Proficiency of other official UN languages 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, 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-hour 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: Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite (e.g. Word, Excel, Power Point) is required with experience in the development infographics, online surveys, presentations, organization of webinars would be an asset: Weight 10 %; Maximum Points: 10;
Criteria 2: Solid project management skills required, and UNDP Project management experience an asset: Weight 10 %; Maximum Points: 10;
Criteria 3: Proven experience in developing knowledge products for the UN or other international organizations required: Weight 20%; Maximum Points: 20;
Criteria 4: Proven experience in the professional use of social media-based platforms/tools is required. Experience in managing Microsoft SharePoint web-based platforms is an asset. Weight 10 %; Maximum Points: 10; and
Criteria 5: Interview: Weight 20%; Maximum Points: 20 points.

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 Arrangement:

The IC will work under the supervision of the Programme Specialist Rapid Response and Preparedness, Crisis Bureau. The consultant will also work closely with other members of the Crisis Bureau, as well as Development Policy Bureau (DPB), Office of Information Management and Technology (OIMT), and other relevant Regional and Central Bureau.

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

Payment Modality:

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

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - IC Contract Template

Annex 4 - RLA Template

Annex 2 - IC General Terms and Conditions

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.