UNDP Jobs - 86888- International Consultant on Conflict Sensitive Pro

International Consultant on Conflict Sensitive Project Design and Project Cycle Management (PCM)

Location :

Tbilisi and Sukhumi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Up to 2 missions (up to 28 working days per mission) within 3 years of project duration

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

COBERM is an apolitical, impartial and flexible joint EU-UNDP programme funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP.

Since its launch in 2010, COBERM continues to provide a neutral ground for addressing the prevailing needs of the local communities, including post-conflict isolation and low capacities, as well as for the development of new approaches to peace and confidence building.

Implemented in three phases during 2010-2018, COBERM entered its fourth phase in May 2019.

The main goals of the fourth phase of COBERM project are to:

Foster interactions and trust among the people affected by conflict and further support grass-roots and civil society-driven confidence building initiatives with a high anticipated impact and potential for conflict prevention and peace;
Provide a flexible tool to address emerging needs and build the required trust by supporting ad hoc opportunities identified through various dialogue platforms;
Support an enabling environment for ongoing dialogue and engagement in addressing various issues of joint interest.

Through its grant programme, COBERM IV will support initiatives of local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in a wide range of areas aiming to pursue sustainable peace, targeting the local communities affected and/or at risk of conflict, with special focus on youth and women.

One of the lessons learned from the previous phases of COBERM is the need of systematic capacity development of the civil society organizations. A capacity development component was consistently implemented during COBERM II and III, when a series of Project Cycle Management (PCM) trainings were provided to over 100 CSOs. Building on this knowledge base, COBERM intends to continue offering Conflict Sensitive Project Design and Project Cycle Management (PCM) trainings to potential partner organizations preselected to submit full project proposals and other organizations working in the field.

These trainings will aim to provide tools and skills to CSOs necessary for designing sound project proposals and ensuring efficient project management process with due consideration to local sensitivities.

The goal of the trainings will be to enable the applicants to:

Better understand the concepts and tools for conflict sensitive project planning and implementation, including the logical framework approach;
Improve their ability for budget formulation in line with proposed activities;
Enhance the quality of project proposals to reflect the its innovative and results-based contributions to confidence and peace building in a concise and explicit manner;
Assist to design M&E framework enabling the CSOs to track and document the progress of project implementation as well as the results and lessons learned;
Enhance analytical skills for assessing the project impact and sustainability.

Upon request from CSOs, the consultant might be asked to cover other specific PCM related issues.

The current call seeks to hire international consultant that would be available as needed for short term assignments to conduct trainings, workshops and consultations on conflict-sensitive project design and PCM related issues during the next three years.

The trainings and consultations will take place periodically and will be conducted in Tbilisi and in Sukhumi (in case of difficulties encountered in obtaining entry permit, trainings in Sukhumi may be substituted by online trainings/consultations via Skype from Tbilisi). Logistical support throughout the whole assignment will be provided by the COBERM team.

The participants of trainings will comprise of the representatives of local CSOs with particular focus on women-led and youth organizations, not exceeding 25 persons per training.

Duties and Responsibilities

Given that a critical number of CSOs have already attended Project planning and PCM trainings under previous phases of COBERM, the scope of the assignments will be diverse and will aim to provide a) conflict sensitive project design and PCM trainings, as well as b) individual face-to-face or online consultations to improve the quality of project proposals or, upon request, other PCM related practical issues.

Keeping in mind conflict sensitive context, the international consultant will provide participants with knowledge and skills needed to:

Demonstrate and spell out long-term observable confidence-building impact; therefore, the relevance of the initiative to COBERM priorities;
Develop a situational analysis of the project proposal, including the baseline data;
Formulate a clear theory of change;
Develop a sound logframe for the project proposal;
Develop a M&E plan as part of their project proposal;
Develop a risk plan and sound mitigation measures, ensuring “Do no Harm” approach;
Demonstrate feasibility and sustainability of the initiative;
Develop cost efficient budget of the project;
Develop feasible project timeframe;
Report to donor about the undertaken activities, achievements and challenges;
Assess impact and formulate results and lessons learned in an analytical manner;
Understand and manage any PCM related issues.

Up to 8 trainings and 4 series of consultations are envisaged throughout the duration of the project.

Tentative activity timeframe of each mission:

Preparation and submission of training methodology, agenda, modules and handouts - 2 days (International Trainer – Home based);
Preparation of trainings in Tbilisi - 1 day (International Trainer and COBERM Team);
Trainings in Tbilisi (2 trainings) - 4-5 days (International Trainer+ COBERM Team);
Individual consultations/revision of proposals in Tbilisi - 5-8 days (International Trainer+ COBERM Team);
Trip to Sukhumi - 1 day (International Trainer);
Trainings in Sukhumi (2 trainings) - 4-5 days (International Trainer and COBERM Team);
Individual consultations/revision of proposals in Sukhumi - 4-5 days (International Trainer +COBERM Team);
Trip back to Tbilisi - 1 day (International Trainer);
Preparation and submission of mission report - 2 days (International Trainer – Home based).

Training tasks:

Produce and submit the training methodology, agenda, modules, handouts, and templates;
Conduct up to 4 trainings on Conflict Sensitive Project Design and Project Cycle Management per mission (2 in Tbilisi and 2 in Sukhumi);
Conduct up to 2 series of individual consultations per mission in order to improve the quality of project proposals (1 series in Tbilisi and 1 – in Sukhumi);
Prepare and submit a summary of trainings for public outreach and a mission report with observations and recommendations, including needs assessment for future trainings (to be submitted by email one week after completion of trainings).

Competencies

Communication skills:

Strong communication skills and proven ability to collaborate with different civic actors;
Flexibility, discretion and tact;
Experience in managing trainings in multi-cultural/ethic audience.

Professional skills:

Good analysis and judgment;
Teamwork, proven management and results-orientation;
Strong ability in managing politically sensitive issues, in a responsible way.

Technical aptitude:

Strong oral presentation skills for discussion and running training on project cycle management with tangible results taking into account the local context.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in social sciences, political science, development studies, or other related domain.

Experience:

Substantive experience (at least 7 years) with PCM trainings on results-oriented development preferably in the areas of conflict prevention, peace building, including tools etc.;
At least 2 years of international experience in the field of conflict prevention, peace-building and conflict-sensitive development would be an asset;
Proven track of excellent training skills;
Ability to work in sensitive political environments;
Substantive knowledge of civil society development, especially in post-Soviet transitional context.

Language:

Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of Russian will be an asset.

Evaluation:

The applicants for International Trainer will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis, against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review and interview of applicants. Trainers not meeting any of the minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of candidates for further technical evaluation. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 points (70%) which includes 50 % of desk review and 20 % of interview/review of training methodology/training modules and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Candidates who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the desk review (i.e. 50 x 70% = 35 points) as a result of a desk review of applications will be invited for the interview and requested to provide training methodology. Those candidates who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the technical criteria (i.e. 70 x 70% = 49 points) will be recommended for financial evaluation.

Financial Proposal:

Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount. The payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables should be accompanied by the proposed number of installments. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to the duty station/repatriation travel.

Main deliverables:

Prior to delivering the training, the international trainer is expected to submit the training methodology, agenda, modules and handouts to COBERM for review and translation in local languages, as needed (2 weeks in advance or as agreed with the COBERM team);
Conduct up to 4 conflict sensitive Project design and PCM trainings and 2 series of consultations per mission (e.g. up to two trainings for two groups of up to 25 participants in Tbilisi and Sukhumi each;
Provide individual consultations to CSOs selected to submit full project proposals in order to improve the quality of their project documents;
Prepare summary of trainings for public outreach and a mission report with observations and recommendations, including needs assessment for future trainings (to be submitted by email one week after completion of trainings).