Background

Credible electoral processes are essential for conferring legitimacy to the national and local governments and, when successful, they offer the means of channelling social conflict into respectful and constructive debate. On the other hand, elections are often a critical stress test for the peaceful management of country’s political, economic and social divisions and, if this stress is not managed properly, it can lead to conflict and violence with long-lasting consequences.

Recognizing this important nexus between elections and conflict prevention, EU and UNDP launched a “Sustaining Peace through Elections” project in early 2018, with the aim of supporting joint projects on electoral conflict prevention and mitigation. The project – undertaken jointly by the European External Action Service/Prevention of conflicts, Rule of law/Security Sector Reform, Integrated approach, Stabilisation and Mediation (EEAS/PRISM), the European Parliament (EP), the European Commission (DG DEVCO) and the UNDP, coordinated by the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force on Electoral Assistance (JTF) – developed a toolbox of options for use in project design and implementation stages, containing practical examples and solutions on the ways to integrate conflict prevention/mitigation concepts into programmes and projects activities. 

As both organizations strive towards more responsive and fit-for-purpose democratic governance and peace-building mechanisms, the toolbox identified various options for strategic programming that can help to anticipate and prevent conflicts. Moreover, the toolbox is also intended as a source of knowledge for numerous stakeholders, including election practitioners, justice and security institutions, civil society, political parties, media and others to improve design, planning and implementation of electoral conflict prevention measures.

The research and development phase conducted through 2018 included desk reviews, country missions, development of a perception survey and culminated with the global conference held in Brussels on 8-10 October 2018. The conference gathered more than 200 electoral stakeholders, including electoral management bodies (EMBs), parliamentarians, civil society organisations (CSOs), media and international organizations from over 60 countries. Ultimately, the toolbox will be housed on a dedicated website, accompanied by a publication and an E-learning platform, to be launched in January 2019.

 

Organizational Context

EU and UNDP are now looking to build upon their 2018 achievements and maintain the momentum of this initiative. For the toolbox to remain a practical tool, it must be a living document which is periodically updated based on the feedback from the field and further analysis.  With this in mind, several pilot-projects are already planned for late 2018 and early 2019, where the toolbox will be used for the first time. Based on the feedback from the projects the tools will be further edited and expanded.

Against this backdrop and as the next step, the JTF will continue the project aiming at: 1) maintaining and expanding the toolbox, ensuring it remains a relevant and practical tool for the EU and UNDP in designing and implementing electoral conflict projects; 2) supporting development and implementation of joint EU-UNDP projects dealing with prevention of electoral conflict; and 3) providing limited, targeted funding for country-level projects.

Therefore, particular focus of the follow-up project will be on expanding and further developing this strategy, based on a premise that societies with strong democratic institutions are more resilient to electoral conflict. Consequently, prevention of electoral conflict cannot be limited to any single electoral period, be it pre-electoral, electoral or post-electoral; rather, it must be implemented throughout electoral cycle. A democratic strengthening approach attempts to view assistance through a wide-angle lens, to include all the stakeholders in a comprehensive, long-term vision to strengthen the resilience of the democratic system as a whole, including electoral authorities, judiciary, parliaments, civil society organizations, media and others.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UNDP Senior Electoral Advisor of the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance (JTF) in close cooperation with the other team members, the consultant will:

  • Provide remote and, if required, in-country support to the Sustaining Peace through Election projects/components of projects in the selected countries (Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Zambia and others).  
  • Support will consist of formulation, monitoring and implementation of electoral conflict prevention projects by (1) assisting in the drafting of project documents; (2) assisting in developing electoral early warning systems.
  • Support content development of the Sustaining Peace through Elections Activity Toolbox: (1) update existing content on the basis of reports, surveys and interviews on activities implementation, (2) identify new activities to be included the toolbox through consultations with practitioners and review of project documents, (3) pursue research work to identify, assess and include new resources to the toolbox.
  • Support the maintenance of the Sustaining Peace through Elections website and oversee the content display in close cooperation with the IT support company developing the website.
  • Assist in finalizing the Sustaining Peace through Elections e-learning module in close cooperation with the IT company providing technical solutions and ensure content update based on feedbacks.
  • Assist the JTF team in all communication and reporting activities, as required.
  • Provide assistance in planning and implementation of relevant meetings, conferences and other events organized by the JTF.
  • Assist the JTF in drafting and developing regular and ad-hoc reports, as well as other documentation as required.

 

Competencies

CORE COMPETENCIES:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN system;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

  • Experience with working in international institutions
  • Experience in designing, evaluating or implementing projects/activities in election/human rights/ conflict prevention/security
  • Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality, detailed research in the form of reports and publications;
  • Experience working with EU institutions;
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills;
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships;
  • Ability to set and meet deadlines; 
  • Ability and willingness to work as part of a dynamic, multi-tasking team.

Required Skills and Experience

Recruitment qualifications

 

 

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (MA) in the field of International relations, Law, Political Science or related subject. Significant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced university degree.

 

Experience:

  • At least two years of relevant experience, preferably in the field of elections/human rights/conflict prevention
  • Strong experience with research and/or report writing
  • Familiarity with EU and/or UN/UNDP electoral assistance projects and inter-agency coordination an asset.
  • Experience in designing, implementing or evaluating projects within international environment a strong asset;
  • Experience in developing baseline analysis an asset.

Requirements:

  • Candidates must have the legal right to live and work in EU countries.
  • Fluency in English, knowledge of French and Spanish strong asset.
  • Knowledge of other UN languages an asset.

 

 

Evaluation of applicants

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 70 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

 

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 100 points:

  • At least two years of relevant experience in the field of elections or election observation– 20 points
  • Experience with research and/or report writing a strong asset – 15 points
  • Familiarity with EU and/or UN/UNDP electoral assistance projects and inter-agency coordination– 25 points
  • Experience in designing, implementing or evaluation projects within international environment a strong asset- 20 points
  • Experience in developing baseline analysis an asset – 10 points
  • Knowledge of French and/or Spanish – 10 points

Financial Criteria – 30% of total evaluation – maximum 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

UNDP will apply a fair and transparent selection process that will 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. Please go the following link for the General Conditions of Individual Contracts: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf

 

Application Submission Process

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications:

Step 1: Interested individual consultants must include the following documents when submitting the applications in UNDP job shop (Please note that only 1 (one) file can be uploaded therefore please include all docs in one file):

  • Personal History Form (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 (the template can be downloaded from this link: http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

Applicants are instructed to submit their financial proposals in US Dollars for this consultancy to procurement.be@undp.org using the financial proposal template available here: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780. The proposals should be sent via email with the following subject heading: “ JTF- Junior Project Consultant (Electoral Conflict Prevention)” no later than 1 March 2019.

Proposals should be based on a monthly lump sum in US dollars. Proposals received after the deadline will be rejected. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal should be all-inclusive and include a breakdown. The term ‘all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, utilities, consumables, insurance, taxes, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the financial proposal.  Travel to duty stations might be involved, therefore expected expenses from and to duty stations is required in the financial proposal.

Please note that consultants are responsible for meeting their legal obligations in terms of taxes and/or any other legal requirements (insurance, social security, pension contributions, etc.….) in Belgium and/or their home countries. Any fees associated with those payments must be included in the monthly lump sum payment. No additional payments outside the monthly lump sum payment, will be made by the UNDP.

 

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials

 

UNDP retains the right to contact references directly.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation by UNDP that contract obligations have been delivered 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.

 

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.