Background

Objective:

The technical consultant will provide high quality technical advice and support to the Nauru Electoral Commission in the implementation of the Nauru Electoral Support Project activities, as outlined in the Multi-Year project workplan (2018-2020).

BACKGROUND

The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, as part of its Effective Governance programme delivered across the region, supports efforts to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of Electoral management bodies in the Pacific, in line with the goals of the UNDP Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 and the Sub-Regional Programme Document 2018 -2022.  In response to an official government request, and in consultation and partnership with the Nauru Electoral Commission, UNDP has begun implementation of the Nauru Electoral Support Project (NESP). The three-year project has a total budget of USD1,173,070.10, and has recently secured full project funding from the Governments of New Zealand and Australia.

The development challenge that the Nauru Electoral Support Project seeks to address is to improve effective governance in Nauru by strengthening the capacities of the Electoral Commission to achieve a better-informed electorate and a more transparent and inclusive electoral process, including facilitating greater participation of women in the electoral process.  This will be achieved through supporting civic and voter education; technical capacity development; legal advisory support; and assistance towards a gender strategy. UNDP will deliver the project through a Direct Implementation Arrangement under the guidance of the Project Board.

The project has four main outputs, namely:

Output 1: Civic education and voter awareness for the electorate strengthened (GEN 2)

Output 2: Enhancement of the capacities of the Electoral Commission (GEN 2)

Output 3: Electoral legal advisory support to the Electoral Commission (GEN 2)

Output 4: Women’s electoral participation enhanced (GEN 3)

 

The Electoral Technical Specialist will be responsible for provision of technical advice on elections and for the overall planning, management and implementation of the NESP project and the achievement of its results. The technical specialist will be working directly with national project partners, including the Office of the Electoral Commission that has primary responsibility for elections in Nauru. She/he will provide advice on the strategic direction for electoral assistance, provide expertise and technical assistance, support implementation of the project’s day-to-day activities and ensure proper documentation and recording of project activities. Some of the main responsibilities include providing expert technical advice on elections and capacity building, public consultations, and legal framework and liaising with the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Suva office on overall project management and implementation issues.

Following the 2019 elections in Nauru, the work of the Technical advisor will focus on implementing the lessons learned, launching a broad civic education program including curriculum and gender equity in political representation, supporting capacity building for staff at the Nauru Electoral Commission, assisting the election Commission with legislative reform advocacy and focusing on institutional strengthening. The Technical advisor will also work with UNDP management in developing the next phase of the electoral support project for Nauru.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work/Expected Output

Working under the direct supervision of the NESP Project Manager, the Electoral Technical Specialist will be responsible for the day to day management and timely implementation of the Nauru Electoral Support Project activities as listed in the Project Activity Running sheet agreed with the Nauru Electoral Commission, specifically in n the following key areas:

  • Design, development and roll-out of a civic education curriculum for schools through close collaboration between the Electoral Commission, Ministry of Education, Parliament and other relevant institutions;
  • Support the implementation of the NEC civic and voter awareness strategy, and implementation plan, for the Electoral Commission for the whole electoral cycle;
  • Development of civic education materials for the Nauru Electoral Commission;
  • Support the development of web content and updating of the website for the NEC
  • Oversight and technical inputs in the implementation of the Gender strategy for the Nauru Electoral Commission;
  • Oversight and technical inputs on the work of the legal advisor to the Nauru Electoral Commission on proposed electoral law reforms;
  • Supporting the NEC with electoral related judicial processes as they arise;
  • Design and delivery of the capacity building programme on electoral administration for the Nauru Electoral Commission;
  • Support the NEC to institutionalize its Electoral Operations Plan, through ongoing development/revision of operational manuals, templates etc. to support institutional knowledge within NEC
  • Ensure that the mid-term evaluation for the project is undertaken in a timely manner, as well as quarterly reporting on progress against the results and resource framework outlined in the Project document, and including oversight and management of the final project evaluation;
  • Provide timely advice on updating of the project risk log.;
  • Development of materials for training of poll workers
  • Facilitate lessons learned process and reporting post elections for Nauru;
  • Supporting NEC with its budgeting process through development of relevant templates;
  • NESP activity prioritization with available funds, and initiating work on the new focus areas:
  • Research project on Borda count and initiating discussion on electoral systems
  • extending the civic education curriculum activity including support on drafting and creating an outreach process around the curriculum to ensure it is properly taken up in the education department
  • Drafting options papers on structural electoral legal revisions as a way of initiating public discourse in Nauru on proposed legal revisions
  • Examine areas to work beyond the voter education to start a national conversation on women in political leadership
  • Initiate work on the replacement systems for proxy voting;
  • Results and report – Creating a professional 2019 Results brochure and assisting the NEC in the completion of the final election report

Support the NEC with creation of a complete organizational chart and recruitment system that factors in permanent and temporary staff and a timeline for when extra staff are needed in advance of an electoral process.

 

Institutional Arrangement (Supervision/Reporting)

  • Project Manager for the Nauru Electoral Support Project, as well as the Team leader for the Effective Governance programme, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji.
  • The consultant is expected to provide a monthly summary report to the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, and to the Nauru Electoral Commission on progress in achieving ToR deliverables, highlighting any relevant project implementation challenges, and relevant key recommendations in addressing these issues;
  • All reports and documents relating to the assignment will be submitted to the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji.

 

Resources Provided

The consultant will spend up to 75 working days in Nauru and will be expected to provide home-based technical support for up to 60 working days.

The consultant is expected to make 5 missions to Nauru lasting on average 15 working days per mission.

Whilst in Nauru, the consultant will be based out of the Nauru Electoral Commission. The consultant will be required to provide their own working space whilst home-based and provide for their own office equipment for the duration of this assignment.

Competencies

  • Demonstrate integrity and impartiality;
  • Demonstrate cultural awareness and sensitivity on gender issues;
  • Work to promote the vision, mission and achieving the goals of the United Nations as a whole;
  • Knowledge of UNDP in the field, knowledge of rules and procedures of the United Nations and UNDP.
  • Strong capacity analyzing situations and ability to find solutions;
  • Ability to work under pressure and result constraints and to show initiative, dynamism and pro-activity;
  • Ability and interest working in a team and in a multicultural environment;
  • Strong written and oral skills and demonstrable abilities to formulate ideas clearly and concisely;
  • Ability to communicate efficiently with the different partners;
  • Ability to show adaptability and flexibility in relations with collaborators;
  • Strong Teaching skills and ability to engage in a competency transfer.
  • Focus on impact and results for the client;
  • Take initiative and calculate risks;
  • Manage the project effectively;
  • Make a thorough analysis of issues leading to practical recommendations, based on available information;
  • Provide coaching and constructive feedback;
  • Establish an environment conducive to learning

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • A Master’s degree level in political sciences, international relations, law, social sciences, public administration, public management or in an equivalent area.

     

    Experience:

  • Good command of basic computer programmes (MS- Office under Windows: Word, Excel); 
  • A minimum of 7 years of professional experience including 5 years of experience in the area of electoral systems, legislation and management of electoral process;
  • A strong experience in the formulation of superior technical advice to stakeholders involved in electoral processes, especially to election management bodies and development partners;
  • A strong experience in the planning, implementation and supervision of governance and/or electoral support projects;
  • Experience in project management and in human resources management.
  • Experience in developing and managing public consultation initiatives would be an asset.

Language Requirements: 

Perfect command of written and oral English is required;

 

Duration

The consultancy is for a total of 135 days between 1 November 2019 and 30 June 2020.

 

Duty Station

The duty station for this assignment is Aiwo District, Republic of Nauru.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The consultant is expected to submit a monthly progress report against the achievement of the ToR deliverables to the Country Coordinator, Governance Unit management structure, highlighting achievements, key issues, and recommendations for UNDP, government, and other relevant stakeholders.

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on:

Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Cumulative analysis

The proposals will be evaluated using the cumulative analysis method with a split 70% technical and 30% financial scoring. The proposal with the highest cumulative scoring will be awarded the contract.

Applications will be evaluated technically, and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference using the guidelines detailed in the table below:

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract may 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 Evaluation Method and Criteria

The candidates meeting the minimum requirement will be assessed on the following basis:

Criteria 1 - A Master’s degree level in political sciences, international relations, law, social sciences, public administration, public management or in an equivalent area. 15%

Criteria 2 - Good command of basic computer programmes (MS- Office under Windows: Word, Excel); 5%

Criteria 3 - A minimum of 7 years of professional experience including 5 years of experience in the area of electoral systems, legislation and management of electoral process; 20%

Criteria 4 - A strong experience in the formulation of superior technical advice to stakeholders involved in electoral processes, especially to election management bodies and development partners; 10%

Criteria 5 - A strong experience in the planning, implementation and supervision of governance and/or electoral support projects; 10%

Criteria 6 - Experience in project management and in human resources management.5%

Criteria 7 - Experience in developing and managing public consultation initiatives would be an asset. 5%

Financial Offer - 30%

 

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

 

Proposal and Schedule of Payment:

Consultants must send a financial proposal based on daily professional fees. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and will be directly linked to the reports (see table below) being adequately proof-read, corrected and edited.

Consultancy Fee Schedule (Refer TOR)

 

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  1. Personal CV including names and contact details of at least 3 professional referees
  2. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II)
  3. Financial Proposal, which includes breakdown of professional fees, travel expenses to and from home and duty station (economy class) plus living expenses at the duty station and any other miscellaneous cost that may be incurred during the duration of the consultancy.

 

Individuals applying for this consultancy will be reviewed based on their own individual capacity. The successful individual may sign an Individual Contract with UNDP or request his/her employer to sign a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) on their behalf by indicating this in the Offerors letter to Confirming Interest and Availability using Annex II.

 

Annexes

 

Proposal Submission

  • All applications must be clearly marked with the title of the consultancy () with reference ( and submitted by 19 October 2019 (New York Time) via e-tendering under Event ID 0000004567.
  • For further information concerning this Terms of Reference, please contact UNDP Pacific Office by email: deepak.naicker@undp.org
  • Incomplete applications will not be considered, and only candidsates for whom there is further interest will be contacted.

 

Women applicants are encouraged to apply