The World Humanitarian Summit was organized in May 2016 to address the scale of human suffering greater than at any time since the Second World War. The Summit generated more than 3,000 commitments to action and launched more than a dozen new partnerships and initiatives to turn the Agenda for Humanity into meaningful change for the world's most vulnerable people.

Leading up to the Summit, consultations with more than 900 companies called for more strategic private sector engagement across disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery. They also called for networks and a mechanism to be created to facilitate coordinated private sector engagement. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a number of partners launched the Connecting Business initiative (CBi) as a response to this demand. CBi is a multi-stakeholder initiative that provides a mechanism for the private sector to engage with the United Nations system, national governments and civil society in a coordinated manner across all stages of disaster management.

CBi is supported by OCHA’s Emergency Response Section in Geneva and UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD). These units collaborate with multiple other global units, as well as regional and country offices of OCHA and UNDP, as well as with many other private sector organizations, UN Agencies, NGOs and governments. 

The overall objective of the consultancy is to set up a strategy and required systems to manage CBi’s knowledge as a strategic asset. The consultant will support CBi to develop its knowledge management activities, including strengthening Communities of Practice, and ensuring supporting tools are in place. The consultant should build from knowledge management best practices at UNDP and OCHA, as well as external best practice organisations to support CBi strategy implementation.

The Connecting Business initiative Knowledge Management Consultant will be based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Consultant will report to the CBi Programme Coordinator in Geneva and UNDP Global Programme Advisor Private Sector in Istanbul. The activities will be carried out in collaboration with CBi Member Networks, Executive Committee Members, OCHA and UNDP colleagues and other partners.

Read more about CBi at www.connectingbusiness.org, follow CBi Twitter @Connecting_biz and learn more through CBi YouTube videos.

The Knowledge Management Consultant is responsible for: 

Strategy development for research and knowledge and content creation for CBi (time allocated for this estimated 50% of the consultancy time)

• In collaboration with the CBi team, assess the current methods of knowledge management and identify training and capacity building needs of the CBi Member Networks. This activity should inform a strategy for research and knowledge projects to position CBi as a thought leader on private sector engagement in emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. 
• Provide consultancy expert support for the development of the global and in-country research and knowledge strategy focused on supporting CBi Member Networks and other key stakeholders research needs and knowledge gaps. Work with the CBi Secretariat to ensure research and advisory work are in sync and able to distill and aggregate lessons. 
• Implement knowledge management strategy to ensure CBi has a fully operationalized contemporary knowledge management practices in which relevant data, information and knowledge on the issues are systematically acquired, stored, continuously updated and disseminated internally and externally to relevant stakeholders as appropriate;
• Train CBi staff and CBi Member Networks as required for effective strategy implementation.
• Prepare annual research and knowledge work plans with targets and budgets for management approval.
• Support the team to identify and build effective research partnerships with think tanks, academia and other stakeholders.
• Help to identify and gather lessons learned and best practices of the project and lead the development and dissemination of specific products to be produced together with the CBi Secretariat team (incl. lessons learned, after action reports, templates, check lists, case studies, training materials, standard operating procedures, tools).
• Collect and share (case studies, fact sheets etc.) good practices from Member Networks, companies, key stakeholders from OCHA and UNDP and other parts of the UN system;
• Contribute to the narrative and evidence base for the project reporting, monitoring and evaluation where required.

Community engagement and global online portal (time allocated for this estimated 40% of the consultancy time)

• Work with the CBi Secretariat to design and implement a knowledge-sharing and peer-learning strategy among CBi Member Networks and relevant partners through Communities of Practice. Propose and guide the Community of Practice (CoP) initiatives for the CBi Secretariat. In addition, work with the CBi Secretariat to build knowledge generation into all aspects of CBi relationships with CBi Member Networks.
• Support the integration of research and knowledge into regional and in-country work by developing an effective Community of Practice mechanism and systems in the CBi online portal to support inter-network learning.
• Support CoP facilitators with skills building and with conceptual planning and implementation to ensure successful management of their online community and online discussions;
• Identify and implement new functionalities and required improvements for the CBi global portal to ensure it is fit for knowledge sharing and learning, including easy user experience. Propose and promote creative solutions for knowledge management in the organization. Collaborate with the CBi Secretariat to ensure the research and knowledge products and information are relevant and easily accessible on the global portal. Develop the Terms of Reference for technical developers;
• Analyze the portal usage analytics, compile insights for the CBi Secretariat and implement further improvements;
• Advice and support CBi Networks with online tools usage.

Internal systems to record and manage information (time allocated for this estimated 10% of the consultancy time)

• Manage a CRM database to record and track information related to CBi Member Networks, donors, and other partners;
• Train CBi Secretariat in maintaining the CRM database;
• Create an efficient document management system for the team;
• Lead the development of Standard Operating Procedures where necessary. 

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Under the direct supervision of the CBi Programme Coordinator the consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables: 

Strategy development for research and knowledge and content creation for CBi (time allocated for this estimated 50% of the consultancy time)

• Produce the following: a) An assessment of current methods of knowledge management and identify training and capacity building needs of the CBi Member Networks to inform strategy development. b) A strategy for research and knowledge. c) Provide training to CBi staff and CBi Member Networks for effective strategy implementation. Estimated duration to complete: 25% of the consultancy time.
• Prepare a gap analysis of knowledge products and coordinate the development of five knowledge products corresponding to the needs. Estimated duration to complete: 20% of the consultancy time.
• Provide a mapping of good practice resources from CBi Member Networks, companies, key stakeholders from OCHA and UNDP and other relevant parts of the UN system. Estimated duration to complete: 5% of the consultancy time.

Community engagement and global online portal (time allocated for this estimated 40% of the consultancy time)

• Produce and implement a knowledge-sharing and peer-learning strategy through Communities of Practice. Estimated duration to complete: 10% of the consultancy time.
• Develop an effective Community of Practice mechanism and systems in the CBi online portal to support inter-network learning and Train and provide technical support to CoP facilitators (as demanded) to ensure successful management of their online community and online discussions and training to CBI networks to use the portal. Estimated duration to complete: 10% of the consultancy time.
• Produce a proposal of new functionalities and required improvements for the CBi global portal. Collaborate with the CBi Secretariat to ensure the research and knowledge products and information are relevant and easily accessible on the global portal. Develop the Terms of Reference for technical developers for the development of expected future online tools. Estimated duration to complete: 10% of the consultancy time.
• Write a brief analysis of the portal usage analytics and insights in the beginning of the assignment as well as at the end after improvements have been implemented. Estimated duration to complete: 10% of the consultancy time.

Internal systems to record and manage information (time allocated for this estimated 10% of the consultancy time)

• Build a CRM database, train CBi Secretariat in maintaining the database, produce a document management system.  Estimated duration to complete: 10% of the consultancy time.

Many of the activities in this consultancy are ongoing as part of CBi’s annual work plan. To this end, the consultant shall prepare a monthly progress report that will detail all milestones reached, including but not limited to the areas listed above. The CBi Programme Coordinator and UNDP Global Programme Advisor Private Sector shall review and accept these reports and certify them for payment.

Description of deliverables - Target delivery dates - Payment schedule

• Monthly Progress Report 1 - 1 month after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 2 - 2 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 3 - 3 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 4 - 4 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 5 - 5 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 6 - 6 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 7 - 7 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 8 - 8 months after contract signature - 10%
• Monthly Progress Report 9 - 8 months after contract signature - 10%
• Final Report - 10 months after contract signature - 10%

Reporting Requirements

• The Consultant shall report to the CBi Programme Coordinator in Geneva and the UNDP Global Programme Advisor Private Sector in Istanbul.
• The Consultant shall be ready to undertake international travel on behalf of the CBi Secretariat during the assignment period if required and the travel expenses will be covered following UNDP rules and procedures.  
• The assignment requires full presence in Geneva, Switzerland for the duration of the contract.

Corporate Competencies

• Commitment to UNDP and OCHA mission, vision and values; 
• Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age differences.

Functional Competencies

• Strong communication skills, including writing, speaking, non-verbal and visual communications;
• Leadership skills to catalyze knowledge capture and sharing within the broader team rather than producing alone;
• Good project management skills to lead on strategy development and implementation;
• Strategic sense for understanding multiple audiences;
• Sensitivity to different perspectives and variety of cultures;
• Ability to function in a diverse, multicultural team environment;
• Flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit to deliver outputs under sometimes tight deadlines.

Behavioural Competencies

• Productive and efficient worker, highly motivated; 
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks; 
• Ability to seize the moment and capture emerging opportunities;
• Strong initiative and confidence to pro-actively reach out to new and existing internal and external partners; 
• Performance-oriented and focused on results; 
• Persistence and willingness to follow through;
• Strong interpersonal skills and flexibility; 
• Ability to take instructions and to learn on the job; 
• Curiosity and desire to work a complex, international environment.

Academic Qualifications/Education: 

• Master’s Degree in International Relations, Economics/Management, Development Studies or related field. 

Experience: 

• Minimum 7 years of experience in knowledge management related to humanitarian or development work, out of which at least 5 years are related to private sector partnerships
• Strong analytical working experience, including experience with producing high quality reports and knowledge products with a focus on in disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery;
• Experience in designing and managing online portals is an advantage;
• Experience in managing and facilitating Communities or Practice (CoPs) is an advantage;
• Experience in private sector engagement for development and humanitarian fields is an added advantage;
• Experience in disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery is an added advantage;
• Experience in working with UN Agencies or international organizations is an asset.

Language skills: 

• Excellent skills in English. 
• Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is considered an asset. 

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should 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 (P11/CV desk review, evaluation of samples and methodology and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 

Only candidates who will get min. 70% of points in desk review (criteria A-E) will be invited for interviews. Only candidates who get min. 70% of points in technical evaluation (includes desk review and interview, criteria A-H) will be scored in financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation (includes P11/CV desk review, evaluation of samples and methodology and interview) – max. 70 points:

• Criteria A – Experience in knowledge management or related field for development (Max points 10) (P11/CV desk review)
• Criteria B – Experience in private sector engagement for development and humanitarian fields. (Max points 10) (P11/CV desk review)
• Criteria C – Experience in working with international organizations is an asset. (Max points 5) (P11/CV desk review)
• Criteria D – Strong analytical working experience, including experience with producing high quality reports and knowledge products with a focus on in disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery (Max points 10) (written samples evaluation)
• Criteria E – methodology (Max points 10)
• Criteria F – Creative thinking in knowledge management and community engagement. (Max points 10) (interview)
• Criteria G – Leading the development of online platform and internal systems to manage knowledge. (Max points  10) (interview)
• Criteria H – Language skills (max points 5). (interview)

Please ensure that your experience related to criteria A-E and above-mentioned competencies is very well documented in your P11/CV and cover letter.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation (max points 30).

Application procedures

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

Step 1: Interested candidates must include the following documents when submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document): 

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
• A brief methodology (maximum 500 words) on how you will approach and conduct the work, 
• Filled P11/CV form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded fromhttp://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); 
• Sample report authored/coauthored by the candidate (sample can be submitted as .pdf or provided as web links in the Publications section (section 22) or within additional questions of the applications).

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal - Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and requested to provide a financial offer.

It is highly recommended that potential candidates review the Swiss Tax and social service requirements and take them into consideration in your financial proposal.  Further information can be found at https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non%20fonctionnaires%20et%20stagiaires.html

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

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: https://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/UNDP%20General%20Conditions%20for%20Individual%20Contracts.pdf

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. 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. Existing literature and further information to get a better understanding of the work can be found from www.connectingbusiness.org .