Background

 UNDP Global Mission Statement

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

Organizational context

UNDP is committed to augmenting the capacity of the GIROA to administer Rule of Law and improve security and justice service-delivery for all Afghan citizens. As the lead Rule of Law institution in the country, improving the ability of the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOIA) to fulfill its mandate remains critical to the overall stability of Afghanistan and its people. As the UN’s primary development agency, and a longstanding development partner to GIROA’s Rule of Law and Security sector, UNDP Afghanistan plays a leading role in facilitating institutional reform and development of MOIA;

UNDP has operated the LOTFA since 2002. LOTFA was created to support the establishment, payment, equipment and training of the police force in Afghanistan. The central goal is to support the GIROA in achieving a paid, professional Afghan National Police (ANP) and staff of the General Directorate for Prison and Detention Centres (GDPDC) that deliver essential services to the Afghan people for improved public trust, safety and security and to support improved rule of law enforcement;

Based on consultations conducted between UNDP, the GIROA and donors during 2017, a growing view emerged that the scope of LOTFA should be expanded to include the entire justice chain (police, courts and prisons) and cover all institutions across the entire Rule of Law sector, with an increased focus on anti-corruption. Simultaneously, the LOTFA structure has been revised to bring it more in line with international standards and best practices on Trust Fund management and administration;

The new Trust Fund Terms of Reference (TOR) and Strategic Framework have been approved by the LOTFA Steering Committee in November 2018. The Multi-Partner Trust Fund’s (MPTF) Strategic Framework defines the strategic objectives that are organized according to the four established ‘Thematic Windows’, i.e. 1) Security, 2) Justice, 3) Anti-Corruption and 4) MOIA Payroll.

Organizational context of the position

Under the overall guidance of the Head of Rule of Law and Human Security Unit (ROLHSU) and direct supervision of Programme Management Specialist (Payroll Window), the Programme Management Expert will be responsible for supporting the ROLHSU in effective management and oversight of the LOTFA MPTF portfolio. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the Assignment:

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide technical and coordination support to the Rule of Law and Human Security Unit (ROLHSU), on planning and monitoring of the civil service reform process in the MOIA; planning, oversight, and quality assurance of Rule of Law projects, and coordination and liaison support with Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIROA) counterparts.

The specific tasks shall be the following:

• Support the management of MOIA civil service reform process on behalf of UNDP, ensuring the highest level of integrity, transparency, accountability in the process;
• Provide legal and technical support advise on developing monitoring and quality assurance guidelines for recruitment of civil servants in the MOIA;
• Provide technical support on “Offline” CBR transition and phase-out strategy;
• Advise vise ROLHSU management on legal aspects of activities related to civil service reform process in MOIA and ensure compliance of ROLHSU interaction with relevant legislations;
• Support organization of Steering Committee, LOTFA Donors meeting, and other high-level and working-level forums, in close consultation with partners and stakeholders;
• Provide timely technical and coordination support to UNDP ROLHS Unit and country management on the Focus Areas and areas requested by the ROLHS Unit;  
• Develop and maintain mutually constructive working relationships with all project stakeholders – high-level and working level - at national and sub-national levels to establish a shared vision of the project and achieve project/programme objectives;
• Ensure that stakeholder coordination among the national partners and projects as well as within the project areas is established and functioning and feeds back relevant information to programme and project decision-making levels;
• Monitor trends in national legislations and policy practices and identify their implications for ROLHSU activities;
• Review legal risks and deviations in contracts and agreements and provide recommendations/advisories in line with, applicable business regulations, statutes and ordinances;
• Provide sound advice on development of justice and anti-corruption windows of LOTFA upcoming projects, ensure new projects are coherent to national legislation and strategic goals of GIRoA in justice area;
• Actively engage and provide technical advice to government partners, donors and other stakeholders, including participating in technical working groups and coordination meetings;
• Identify, monitor and report on potential challenges and risks, including timely implementation of mitigation measures.
• Monitor the national policy-agenda and GIROA reform processes pertaining to the Focus Areas, thereby identifying opportunities for collaboration with the government and within the ROLHSU for improved collaboration and ensuring that UNDP´s policy support remains relevant and timely;
• Support the review of quarterly and annual progress reports, thematic papers, and ToRs; 
• Coordinate with LOTFA M&E team to streamline M&E processes in LOTFA projects and initiatives.
• Contribute to enhancement of UNDP´s performance in the Focus Areas by proposing alternatives and/or new approaches towards the achievement of results;
• Provide technical and liaison support to UNDP on new approaches and initiatives;
• Finalize other assignments relevant to this scope of work, in consultation and agreement with the Chief of the ROLHS Unit or his designate.

Expected Outputs and Deliverable; Estimated duration to complete and Payment percentage:

• Submission of monthly progress report and any other documentation as required by the Chief, ROLHS Unit at the end of each month.             

Payment Modality:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below;-

• Daily Fee – The Consultant shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his professional fee, local communication and transportation costs. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 176 days;
• The Consultant will be paid on daily basis based on the signed timesheet and achievements of the deliverables indicate above;
• Payments under the contract shall be delivery-based and be made on receipt of the specific milestone reports indicated above including a timesheet per UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. These shall be as indicated above and shall be deemed delivered upon the approval of the Rule of Law Programme Management Specialist (Payroll Window).         

 Institutional Arrangements:

• The national consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Chief of Rule of Law and Human Security (ROLHS) unit and under direct supervision of the Programme Management Specialist (Payroll Window) in ROLHS. The consultant shall work in close collaboration with Programme, Project, and LOTFA Monitoring Evaluation units;
• UNDP will provide office space and internet facility. The consultant however is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communications costs. Costs to arrange meetings, workshops, travel costs to and DSA during field visits (if any), etc. shall be covered by UNDP ROLHS.

Duration of the Work:

• The performance under the contract shall take place over total contract duration of 8 months (176 working days), excluding joining and repatriation travel days.

Duty Station:

• The duty station for the Consultant is Kabul, Afghanistan for the entire duration of the contract. Some field visits outside Kabul such as Herat, Mazar are envisaged under the contract The Consultant will be required to report regularly and be present at UNDP office during the working hours, security conditions permitting. The Consultant will follow the working hours and weekends as applicable to UNDP staff. consultant movement for meetings and consultations shall be coordinated by UNDP office. The Consultant is at all times required to observe UNDP security rules and regulations.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge Management and Learning;
• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP.

Management and Leadership:

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure;
• Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master's Degree or equivalent in Law, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field.

Years of experience:

• 5 years relevant experience of legal or technical advice on programme and project management, security sector reform as well as in project design and administration;
• Experience with Government, UN and donor agencies in Afghanistan is an advantage;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages;
• Experience of working in the area of rule of law, policy analysis and advise, public administration/ civil service reform, and democratic governance is an advantage.

Language:

• Excellent written and oral English skills a necessary requirement.

 EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as

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 a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight 70%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

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

Technical Criteria 70 points

Technical Proposal (30 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – This explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach;
• Work Plan (10 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan;

Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CV]

• Relevant education (10 marks);
• Experience relevant to the assignment (20 marks);
• Experience of working for projects/programmes funded by UNDP (10 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Duly accomplished confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (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.

Technical Proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• A technical approach and methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above;
• Workplan.