UNCDF Jobs - 86880- Technical assistance to strengthen Assessment of H

Technical assistance to strengthen Assessment of HIV risk prevention and mitigation

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Kampala with travels, UGANDA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Sep-2019

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020

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

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) supports the Government of Uganda to create a functional planning and financial system for sustainable and inclusive local development. It operates within the larger UN Country Team, to support the government in the implementation of the Second National Development Plan and realize its vision of becoming a middle-income country by 2020, while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

UNCDF’s project portfolio for Uganda includes a road rehabilitation facility that offer conditional grants for rehabilitation of district and community access roads in selected districts. The road projects improve access to local and regional markets, and social services while at the same time create employment opportunities for the locals resulting in improvement of rural livelihoods.

In Uganda, it is a requirement for road projects to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment to identify the negative and positive impacts on the environment and the social sphere as a result of the road works. The environmental and social impact assessment results inform the development of a management plan to address and/or mitigate identified risks. Projects are required to include the assessment and management of HIV and AIDS in the environmental and social impact assessments and the management plans developed thereafter.

Problem statement:
Road projects and other infrastructure projects implemented in Uganda include HIV and AIDS in both the environmental and social impact assessments and the management plans. However, the scope and depth of assessment of HIV and AIDS are limited during the assessment phase. At worst, HIV is not included at all. This subsequently leads to services that do not adequately manage and mitigate the risks and existing burden of HIV. Most environmental and social impact assessments are conducted by environmental impact assessment professionals and sociologists, and in discussions with them, they have expressed the need to have better expertise so that the planned activities can better address social factors, including gender-based violence and HIV.
It is known that the road rehabilitation projects, like other infrastructure projects increase the risk of HIV for both the workers and the surrounding communities. The risk of HIV remains even after the completion of the said projects. The incomes earned by workers besides increasing their ability to purchase sex, attract commercial sex workers to the communities in which the works are taking place. In addition, good roads open up communities to increased economic activity and increases interaction with the outside world. The increased interaction with outsiders may bring health risks including HIV.
It is against this background that technical assistance is required to strengthen the assessment and management of HIV and AIDS in road rehabilitation projects supported by UNCDF.

Goal:
The goal of this work is to contribute to the reduction of risk of HIV in infrastructure projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives:

To document current practices in assessment and management of HIV risk in typical road rehabilitation projects including those implemented by UNCDF;
To Identify gaps in assessment and management of HIV risk in typical road rehabilitation projects including those implemented by UNCDF.

Activities of the consultant:

To achieve the above objectives, the consultant will carry out the following specific activities:

Develop an inception report clearly outlining the methods to be used and a workplan for the assignment;
Review the roads manual (section on HIV/AIDs management) and identify any gaps and suggest ways of addressing the gaps;
Develop tools to collect data on current practices on assessment of risk and management of HIV in road rehabilitation projects; and analyze the data collected;
Document the various sources/mechanisms of financing road infrastructure at the district and community level and ascertain the allocation to HIV and AIDS interventions;
Document the practices in form of a report based on findings; and disseminate the report;
Design tools for use in assessment of HIV risk during the preparatory/commencement phase of the rehabilitation works for roads.;
Conduct a situation analysis in the target geographical area to determine the population dynamics and potential risks to HIV as a result of the proposed road constructions;
Design a costed intervention package to address the risk of and manage HIV during implementation and after completion of the road rehabilitation projects – to be presented to the national Technical Working Group (TWG) on HIV financing through infrastructure projects for validation and approval;
Develop TOR for the service provider(s) to implement an intervention package to address the risk of and manage HIV during implementation and after completion of the road rehabilitation projects;
Monitor the service provider(s) during the implementation of an intervention package to address the risk of and manage HIV during implementation and after completion of the road rehabilitation projects;
Pretest the tools developed in 6 and interventions developed in 7;
Develop training materials for the contractors, the Consultant, districts teams, the Ministry of Works and Transport and UNCDF staff in the use of products from activities 6 and 7;
Produce a training report for activity 11.

Competencies

Strong analytical and report-writing skills;
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
Demonstrates commitment to the UN’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

At least a Master’s degree in Public Health or Social Science.

Experience:

Familiarity with Environmental and Social Impact Assessments;
Experience in development of risk management plans for health/social sector;
Familiarity with infrastructure programs and projects;
Experience in designing assessment tools for use by non-technical people;
Familiarity with the different packages for prevention and management of HIV and AIDS in Uganda;
Experience in capacity building of district teams;
At least 10 years’ experience in public health and HIV and AIDS;
At least 5 years’ experience working as a consultant in the public health sector of Uganda.

Language requirements:

Both written and spoken English is required.

Timelines:

September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020.

Location:

The consultant will be based in Kampala with frequent travels to the districts.

Evaluation Criteria: Cumulative analysis:

The award of the contract shall 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 weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Example 70%-30%.

* 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 – Maximum 70 points:

At least a Master’s degree in Public Health or Social Science – 5;
Familiarity with Environmental and Social Impact Assessments;
Experience in development of risk management plans for health/social sector;
A minimum of 10 years relevant work experience – 25;
Familiarity with infrastructure programs and projects;
Experience in designing assessment tools for use by non-technical people;
Familiarity with the different packages for prevention and management of HIV and AIDS in Uganda. At least 10 years’ experience in public health and HIV and AIDS;
At least 5 years’ experience working as a consultant in the public health sector of Uganda;
Description of approach/methodology to assignment- 25.

Remuneration:

The remuneration for the assignment will determined based on the consultant experience and the prevailing market and UN rates for similar assignments.

Management of the assignment:

The consultant will jointly be managed by UNCDF and UNAIDS. UNAIDS’ role will focus on the technical aspects of HIV and AIDS. The administrative and any other aspects of the consultancy will be managed by UNCDF.

UNAIDS will provide progress updates to the TWG on HIV financing by infrastructure projects.

Submission of Application:

The candidate is required to submit an electronic application directly uploaded on the UNDP jobs website with all the requirements as listed here below. Annexes and further information may be downloaded on http://procurement-notices.undp.org no.58240.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document to this website - http://jobs.undp.org no. 86880.

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability 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 methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II);
Annexes 1 and II - may be downloaded from the UNDP Procurement Notices Website -http://procurement-notices.undp.org/ For further clarifications, please contact; janet.anyango@undp.org; moses.lutwama@undp.org

Interested applicants should submit applications through uploading of all their required documentation in one single pdf document on this website only.