Background

UNDP positions itself as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) integrator who connects all relevant knowledge and partners to support countries to achieve the SDGs in an inclusive and integrated manner.  UNDP Bangkok Reginal Hub (BRH), along with the Pacific Office in Suva, supports the 24 UNDP Country Offices in Asia and the Pacific in various development agendas to achieve the SDGs by providing easy access to knowledge through high quality integrated advisory services and technical support based on applied research and UNDP lessons learnt globally.  BRH also provides regional thought leadership, build partnerships and promote regional capacity building, which allow UNDP, governments and other development partners to identify, create and share knowledge relevant to solving urgent development challenges.

UNDP Strategic Plan (2018-2021) states prominently among its 6 Signature Solutions that gender equality and empowerment of women are at the core of UNDP’s development mandates and strategy.  The SDGs, including SDG5 on gender equality, also provides the concrete framework for the work of UNDP as a global development organization.  For UNDP, gender equality is primarily a matter of human rights.  It also recognizes the role of gender equality and women’s empowerment as an integral and indispensable driver for sustainable development.  UNDP believes that unless women and men can fully realize their rights in all spheres of life, and that their contributions are equally valued in the process and outcome, human development will not be achieved.  Accordingly, gender equality and women’s empowerment are integrated into every aspect of UNDP’s work in supporting countries through a range of programmes and projects.

Gender inequalities remain a development challenge throughout the Asia-Pacific region.  This persistence is particularly troubling when considering the enormous economic progress the region has made.  This continuing discrimination and neglect threaten the security and well-being of women as well as their families and communities throughout Asia and the Pacific.  In accordance with the principle of the SDGs, i.e., ‘Leave No One Behind’, UNDP places an emphasis on eliminating gender-based inequalities faced by women, girls, men and boys in the region.

To advance UNDP’s role as the SDGs integrator, UNDP BRH has been strengthening its engagement with new partners in the Private Sectors, innovative organisations, think-tanks and academia to localize the global development agenda.  Leveraging this partnership to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment is one critical and integrated aspect of such engagement, within a broader work around partnership building.  More concretely, UNDP’s global Private Sector Strategy seeks to make markets work for the SDGs with an emphasis on inclusion of poor and marginalized communities.  The Strategy aims to assist countries to align private sector activities and investments with the 2030 Agenda by: influencing investors and business of all sizes; embedding the SDGs into their decision-making and practices; and supporting governments to establish enabling policy and regulatory environments while facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the Assignment

UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) implements the Regional Programme 2018-2021 through its three Outcomes which are aimed to generate concrete results to support Asia-Pacific countries to achieve the SDGs.  To this end, strategic engagement with existing and new partners is crucial.  The Regional Programme addresses gender equality and women’s human rights through multiple regional development initiatives.  It has also been sustaining robust communication and knowledge management activities to contribute to UNDP’s delivery of strengthened gender equality results in the region.

BRH currently has various initiatives engaging the Private Sector partners on gender equality including the Responsive Business Forum (RBF) jointly organized with the Global Initiative (GI); a flagship project “Promoting a fair business environment in ASEAN” that aims to promote an enabling environment for the private sector by promoting good governance, anti-corruption and the rule of law, as well as by encouraging companies to adopt sustainable and gender-responsive business practices.

BRH also aims to build on Private Sector engagement opportunities with companies based or headquartered in Singapore, leveraging on the platform established and expanded through its engagement in the Responsive Business Forum (RBF) held in Singapore that provided advocacy and branding opportunities to UNDP.  Building on these investments and lessons, BRH plans to identify and strengthen its SDGs advocacy in cooperation with Private Sector partners that can significantly advance the SDGs agenda in the region.

The main objective of this consultancy is to support BRH in fulfilling its role as SDGs Integrator that provides inclusive and integrated services to countries in Asia and the Pacific with particular emphasis on gender equality and the private sector.  The consultancy is expected to contribute to BRH’s Partnership and Engagement Strategy to help unlock private finance for the SDGs, and resources to support UNDP’s role in enabling more capital flow for the SDGs through programming and beyond.

Scope of Work

• Under the overall guidance of Asia-Pacific Regional Gender Team Leader and Asia-Pacific Partnership Advisor, and in close collaboration with different programming teams including but not limited to the Transparency Team, as well as in close consultation with Country Offices in Asia and the Pacific, the consultant will undertake the following:

• Provide technical support for gender equality integration in support of the achievement of the SDGs across different work areas to strengthen BRH’s integrated services provided to UNDP Country Offices in the region;

• Provide technical support to designing a strategic approach for BRH to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through UNDP’s programming in Asia and the Pacific;

• Draft a white paper on women’s rights in due diligence;

• Undertake the development of the baseline study on gender diversity in the workplace, and in particular on women’s inclusion in corporate boards of directors as well as in strategic senior positions in companies in the ASEAN countries, with particular focus on the 6 target countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.  This includes engaging with strategically relevant companies in the region for participation in the UNDP BRH LAB on Business Integrity and Responsible Business Conduct which is aimed at strengthening engagement with the business sector at regional and country level on responsible business practices and the SDGs, namely:
  • Mapping out strategic companies (MNEs, SMEs, SOEs) in the region ready to engage with UNDP on the business integrity/responsible business conduct agenda.
  • Mobilizing business sector actors to join the UNDP-BRH LAB on Responsible Business Conduct planned in February/March 2019.
  • Participating and supporting the organization of the UNDP-BRH LAB on Responsible Business Conduct, planned in February/March 2019.

• Support the development and organization of the 2019 Responsible Business Forum (RBF).

• Support strategic private and public partners engagement

• Undertake the assessment and mapping of Private Sector companies that align with UNDP BRH priorities and have a strong interest to support the SDGs, including gender equality, and identify 5-10 most strategic companies that are willing to engage in new collaborations;

• Undertake a mapping exercise to assess the alignment between company mandates and sectors/themes/SDGs.  Also develop a set of collaterals that might be required to meet these companies;

• Facilitate initial engagement with the above identified companies’ sustainability and corporate teams, and prepare for further engagement with BRH as appropriate;

• Assist and coordinate signing of strategic partnerships with at least two of the identified private sector partners.

• Performance of the consultant is monitored closely, and regular feedback will be provided by Asia-Pacific Regional Gender Team Leader, Asia-Pacific Partnership Advisor and/or the Transparency Team of BRH

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The selected consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

Institutional Arrangement:

Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Regional Programme and Policy Support, BRH, and Regional Gender Team Leader, BRH, consultation calls will be organized on weekly basis with relevant BRH staff members for progress monitoring and quality assurance, as well as for ensuring the timely delivery of the specified deliverables.

Duration of the Assignment:

Up to a maximum of 84 working days over a period of maximum 12 months. The expected starting date is 28 February 2019, and the expected ending date is 27 December 2019.

Duty Station:

This is a home-based assignment with travels to the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, Bangkok, Thailand.

The frequency of travels to visit Singapore-based companies as described above should not exceed 6 times during the assignment period.  Dates and the duration of the travels to Singapore will be determined at the time of finalizing the workplan (1st Deliverable).

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

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

Technical Competencies:

• Analytic capacity and demonstrated ability to process, analyse and synthesise complex, technical information;
• Proven ability to support the development of high quality knowledge and training materials, and to train technical teams;
• Proven experience in the developing country context and working in different cultural settings.

Communication:

• Communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner.

Professionalism:

• Capable of working in a high pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.

Teamwork:

• Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
• Focuses on results for the client;
• Welcomes constructive feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

The following minimum qualifications are required:

Essential

• Master’s degree or equivalent in relevant areas such as Gender Studies, Development Studies, Public Policy, Labour and Employment, or Management;
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in supporting UNDP/UN in advancing the gender equality agenda through programming and policy advocacy in Asia;
• Professional experience in engaging with Private Sector companies in Asia for the purpose of gender equality advocacy in the past 5 years;
• Professional regional experience with UNDP/UN in mobilizing Private Sector partners to work towards a sustainable development agenda in the past 5 years;
• Working knowledge of the scope and modality of UNDP’s partnership with the Private Sector in Asia;
• Working knowledge of gender inequality challenges in Asia;
• Working knowledge on the policies and actions of Private Sector companies in Asia to promote gender-equal business practices;
• Proven analytical writing skills in English on the subject of gender-equal business practices in Asia.

Desirable

• Knowledge related to countries in the Pacific on the above-mentioned issues;
• Professional engagement with the Responsible Business Forum in Asia.

Competencies

• Strong command of English;
• Ability to perform tasks in timely manner and under pressure, to tight deadlines;
• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with a wide range of partners persuasively and collaboratively;
• Able to work independently and as part of a team seamlessly using a range of modern means of communication as required;
• Excellent command of English, both spoken and written

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payment :

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, anticipated travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

• 1st payment upon the submission and approval of Deliverable 1:  Inception Report including Workplan; 10% of total contract amount

• 2nd payment upon the submission and approval of Deliverables 2, 3, 4 & 5; 30% of total contract amount

• 3rd payment upon the submission and approval of Deliverables 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; 40% of total contract amount

• 4th and final payment upon the submission and approval of Deliverables 11,12,13,14, 15; 20% of total contract amount.

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.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

The criteria which shall serve as the basis for evaluating offers are as follows:

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 to the required qualifications; 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 proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical criteria for evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Relevant academic background (25%)
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in supporting UNDP/UN in advancing the gender equality agenda through programming and policy advocacy in Asia (20%)
• Proven analytical writing skills in English on the subject of gender-equal business practices in Asia (15%)
• Professional experience in engaging with Private Sector companies in Asia for the purpose of gender equality advocacy in the past 5 years (10%)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total technical points will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested candidates must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualification. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document/ or one ZIP File as follows:

a) Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;

b) Personal CV, indicating all relevant and similar previous experiences, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Applicant and at least three (3) professional references;

c) Brief description of why the applicant considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, relating how he/she proposes to conduct the assignment to their previous experience.

d) Financial Proposal 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.

e) A copy of analytical document written in English developed within the last 5 years by the applicant relating to promoting gender-equal business practices in Asia.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered. Proposals that fail to meet the required information as described above will not be considered. The short-listed candidates may be contacted, and the successful candidate will be notified.

ANNEXES

Annex I - TOR_ Integrated Support Consultant for Gender Equality and Private Sector Partnership

Annex II- General Condition of Contract

Annex III - Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal

All documents can be downloaded at : http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=52997