UNDP Jobs - 86430- External International Consultancy

External International Consultancy – 2019 Common Country Assessment

Location :

Baku, AZERBAIJAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

19-Aug-2019

Application Deadline :

11-Aug-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

2 months

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

2 months

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

Background information

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Azerbaijan) has launched the process of preparation and formulation of the next United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for (formally known as United Nations Development Assistance Framework or United Nations and Azerbaijan Partnership Framework) as the next partnership strategy between Azerbaijani authorities and the UNCT in towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The next UNSDCF will cover the period 2021-2025 and will be prepared in close partnership with Azerbaijani authorities, international development partners, private sector, civil society organizations, academia, media and other relevant stakeholders. In line with the standard UN planning procedures, the process requires preparation of a Common Country Assessment (CCA), which will follow the evaluation of the current partnership framework to be finalized in August 2019.

Duties and Responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The UN CCA is the UN system’s independent, impartial, and collective assessment and analysis of a country. It examines progress, gaps, opportunities and bottlenecks vis-à-vis a country’s commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda, UN norms and standards, and the principles of the UN Charter, including the Cooperation Framework Guiding Principles. The CCA will draw from and add to existing data, statistics, analyses, reviews, research, capacities and resources from within and outside the UN system. These include national and sector-specific development visions and strategies, national budget allocations, and development financing from domestic and international, private and public sources. The analysis will identify multidimensional risks that could impact the development trajectory of the country and will foster a common UN system understanding of groups left behind, and underlying drivers of risks, vulnerabilities and needs. The CCA is expected to:

Provide an overview of the country situation with regards to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its progress towards achieving Agenda 2030.
Summarize the national vision for sustainable development, the key national priorities and main challenges in achieving the SDGs, and country efforts to nationalize and localize the SDGs.
Provide an overview of the groups left behind or at risk of being left behind, as well as the root causes for these groups and the legal barriers that exclude them as well as the key issues related to human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Highlight the regional, sub-regional and cross-boundary factors affecting the country’s progress on Agenda 2030, as well as the synergies and complementarities with regional and continental strategies and frameworks, sustainable development at the country level, highlighting the existing and potential opportunities for leveraging financing for sustainable development.
Provide an overview of the financing landscape for sustainable development at the country level, highlighting the existing and potential opportunities for leveraging financing for sustainable development.
Outline the country’s trajectory for achieving Agenda 2030 stemming from the country analysis, reflecting on the main gaps and bottlenecks that need to be addressed to accelerate SDG implementation.
Provide an analysis of the potential risks that may set back the country’s progress on Agenda 2030 and prevent resilience, stability, long-term inclusive development, human rights and peace. Where relevant, provide a brief overview of the humanitarian situation.

United Nations Country Team

In line with the adopted Roadmap for preparation of the 2021-2025 UNSDCF, the UNCT, under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, provides the overall strategic oversight and guidance for entire process, including the conduct of the CCA. The UNCT will guide the consultant with the conceptualization of the CCA and review/endorse the CCA produced by the consultant. UNCT members will oversee the quality of thematic analysis through in-house expertise and other support.

Programme Management Team

The PMT, in line with its mandate stipulated in the above-mentioned Roadmap, will provide technical and analytical support to the consultant, including data, thematic analysis and documents collection. The PMT will also provide quality assurance in terms of reviews and recommendation on the draft reports.

Office of the UN Resident Coordinator

RCO will be responsible for the overall coordination and daily management of the assignment. It will also provide guidance, data and analytical support as well as quality assurance in consultation and coordination with the UNCT and PMT. The responsibility of the RCO includes but is not limited to:

Securing that the UNCT provides relevant background documentation required for comprehensive desk reviews;
Provision of lists of contacts in advance and additional upon request;
Organization of group consultative meetings, briefing and debriefing sessions with the UNCT, the RC and the Government counterparts, if needed;
Provision of office/working space during the assignment, if required. The consultants will however have to use their own computer/laptop;
Coordinate the inclusive and comprehensive review of the draft research results and draft reports;
Facilitate provision of UNCT and PSG necessary inputs (reference document and written inputs, as required) to the process

Consultant

Under the overall supervision of the Head of the RCO, the consultant select will be responsible for preparation, implementation and administration of the assignment, which includes but is not limited to:

Regular communication and coordination with the UN RCO, UNCT, and PMT;
Desk review, conceptual and analytical secondary research on relevant areas published in existing studies, research and survey reports as well as UN and Azerbaijan’s official documents;
Close review of current UNDG guidance on the CCA process and adherence to agreed UNDG principles and recommendations, in particular for the assessment of the quality of the country analysis and the identification of key priorities for UN assistance in the country;
Facilitate discussions among UNCT and PMT about the concept and findings of the research;
Meet with relevant Azerbaijan officials and other partners including civil society and development partners to gather information to draft the various sections of the document, as required;
Meet with representatives of select external partners to give them a brief overview of the CCA and to gather their views and expectations from the UN in Azerbaijan, as required;
Draft an annotated outline and prepare the methodology for the analysis of the report, indicating which key issues will be raised in each section of the report, and present to UNCT;
Prepare draft the report;
Facilitate discussion within the UNCT and larger stakeholders’ community, as required, on the draft CCA to validate the draft findings (CCA validation session);
Revise the report in line with the findings from the validation session and PSG comments/feedback;
Submit a final report.

Competencies

Shares knowledge and experience and provides helpful feedback and advice;
Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate;
Ability to identify beneficiaries’ needs, and to match them with appropriate solutions;
Excellent communication and interview skills;
Excellent report writing skills;
Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;
Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University degree in international development, economics, evaluation, social sciences or related field;

Experience:

A minimum of 10 years of professional experience specifically in the area of international development initiatives and development organizations;

Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative analytical methods and in a wide range of analytical approaches;

Language:

Fluency in spoken and written English; knowledge of Azerbaijani, Turkish, and/or Russian language is considered to be an asset.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative evaluation that takes into account both financial offer and the technical expertise of the potential candidates

A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical component being completed prior to any price component being reviewed and compared. The Price Component will be reviewed only for those individuals whose Technical Component meets the requirements for the assignment. The total number of points which individual may obtain for both components is 100.

A total possible value of the technical component is 70 points.

If the substantive presentation of a technical proposal achieves the minimum of 49 points, the competitiveness of the offered consultancy expenses will be taken into account in the following manner:

The total amount of points for the fees component is 30. The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest fees proposed that is compared among those invited individuals which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical proposal. All other proposals shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fees; e.g;

[30 Points] x [US$ lowest]/[US$ other] = points for other proposer’s fees

The technical component, which has a total possible value of 70 points, will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Advanced University degree in international development, economics, evaluation, social sciences or related field; 10 points
A minimum of 10 years of professional experience specifically in the area of international development initiatives and development organizations; 10 points
Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying, qualitative and quantitative analytical methods and in a wide range of analytical approaches; 10 points
Technical competence in undertaking complex analysis which involve use of mixed methods; 10 points
Knowledge of UN role, UN reform process and UN programming at the country level, particularly UNDAF; 10 points
Excellent writing and analytical formulation skills with demonstrated experience in preparing CCAs or similar analytical documents; 15 points
Strong understanding of the development and political context and working experience in Azerbaijan; 5 points
Fluency in spoken and written English; knowledge of Azerbaijani, Turkish, and/or Russian language is considered to be an asset.

The assignment will be for 30 working days for a period of two months (19 August-20 October 2019) – one international consultant; 10 working days onsite (2 in country missions, first to be held during the first week of September and second/validation session during the second week of October) and 20 working days home-based. The Assignment should commence no later than 19 August 2019 and end on 20 October 2019. The first draft CCA should be submitted to RCO by 27 September 2019. The Final CCA document, after validation by internal and external stakeholders and including UNCT/PSG final feedback, should be submitted to RCO by 20 October 2019.

The Consultants’ payment shall be made in three instalments of:

25% upon signing of the contract;
25% upon submission of draft CCA, and;
50% upon submission of the Final CCA.

(second and third installments will be processed subject to UNCT’s assessment of the basic requirements of completeness and quality of content in line with the Terms of Reference)

Budget: all costs directly related to this contract will be covered through the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator. Short-listed consultants are required to submit financial proposals for the conduct of assignment which will include all the costs associated with the assignment, including travel, accommodation and fees.

The assignment will be a combination of field and home-based work. The Expert should undertake 2 missions to Baku within assignment.

The system accepts only one attachment, so please send both technical and financial proposals as one attachment.