Background

In May 2018 the Members adopted a resolution to reposition the United Nations Development system. As part of this reform the “UNDAF” now renamed as the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) was elevated to the most important planning and implementation instrument of the UN Development system in support of 2030 Agenda in countries, to be prepared and finalized with Government. In June 2019 the UN development system issued internal Guidelines for the new Cooperation Framework.

The UN Country Team (UNCT) in North Macedonia is in the pre-final year of the current UN Partnership for Sustainable Development (UNPSD 2016-2020) and has already started preparing the new Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) in line with the recent reforms. The next Cooperation Framework will cover the period 2021-2025 and will be prepared in close partnership with the country’s authorities, international partners, private sector, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders. Accordingly, the process of preparation of the next Cooperation Framework is preceded by the conduct of the Final Evaluation of the current PSD for North Macedonia and the Common Country Assessment (CCA), currently under development, whose overall objective is to inform the next Cooperation Framework’s formulation process and provide an analytical baseline.

UN system in North Macedonia seek for a support of an international expert in development of the UN Cooperation Framework in North Macedonia.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of Common Country Analysis and the Cooperation Framework

The CCA is forward looking analysis, providing an impartial and collective assessment (description of the current situation) and analysis of the situation (an explanation for the situation). The CCA will provide the essential baseline for development of the theory of change for the Cooperation Framework. It will drive the identification of what type of transformational change is needed and achievable in the country, the strategies for achieving this change, and the evidence base (e.g., sources of data, evidence, and baselines for the new Cooperation Framework. The analysis will be linked to the country’s national economic, social, environmental and development priorities, which will include the EU accession process and take into consideration the requirements and obligations that the country will need to fulfill as soon as the negotiations process is opened.  The CCA will also use existing analysis on the SDG linkage to the EU accession chapter to determine where there may be gaps that the United Nations and other partners should focus on.

The Cooperation Framework shall be reflective of the country context and its specific needs and priorities within implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. By adopting the integrated programming approach, it will address core programming principles in a holistic manner and integrate the key UN programming principles throughout all stages. By adopting an integrated and multidimensional programming approach—in line with the “five P’s” of the 2030 Agenda (people, prosperity, planet, peace and partnerships) —the Cooperation Framework will identify how working on and advancing one SDG can maximize synergies and positive impacts and manages potential trade-offs. As the central transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda, leaving no one behind will be used as the rights-based framework that represents the unequivocal commitment of all United Nations Member States.

PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

Objective of the consultancy

The overall objective of the assignment is to define the next cooperation framework scope between the UN and the Government of North Macedonia for the period 2021-2025 against the national priorities and the Agenda 2030. In line with the adopted Roadmap for preparation of the next Cooperation Framework in North Macedonia, the process is expected to build upon the analysis undertaken by the team of experts engaged to provide inputs to the common country analysis and validate the recommended contribution of the UN and the expert, in the form of the next Cooperation Framework, through a series of consultations with the national counterparts.

To that end, the consultant is expected to firstly, analyze the overall country context against the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs using the existing UN and non-UN analytical contribution. Primarily, the consultant is expected to base its work on the information and analysis provided in the Final Evaluation of the current Cooperation Framework (PSD 2016-2020), Common Country Analysis inputs, Draft 2020 SDGs Voluntary National Report, and several other key UN and non-UN documents.

Secondly, under the overarching principle of Leave No One Behind and in consideration of the concrete programming principles and requirements as stipulated in the new Cooperation Framework’s guidelines, the consultant is expected to: 1) consolidate and finalize the Common Country Analysis Initial Report, 2) facilitate the overall consultation and prioritization process and 3) under the UNCT guidance and leadership, develop the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework for North Macedonia, including the narrative part as well as the supporting matrices. In parallel and following the strategic prioritization process, at least 3 agencies – UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA will draft the agency specific country programme documents (per the above-mentioned guidelines). While the CPDs will derive from the Cooperation Framework, synergies and coordination in the processes will be ensured throughout. 

The expert will work under the overall guidance from the UN Resident Coordinator and Heads of Agencies in close collaboration with the CCA/CF Task Team, coordinated by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office.

Scope of Work

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

General:

• In consultations with the RCO Office and CCA/CF Task Team refine and finalize the detailed scope of work, methodology and timeline;
• Development of a detailed timeline and action plan of activities, deliverable and key milestones.

1. Common Country Analysis:

• Review, synthetization and consolidation of the UN and External Experts’ inputs into the CCA against the standardized CCA outline and guiding instructions;
• Analysis of UN work with key national and sub-national institutions, towards enhancing common strategies and promoting synergies (UN Comparative Advantage)
• Analysis of the Drivers of change;
• Visualization of the analysis, as/if seems suitable;
• Liaison and coordination with the team of experts working on the CCA analysis if any additional analysis is required;
• Identification and compilation of the CCA findings and recommendations;
• Drafting of the Executive Summary of the Report;
• Final polishing and production of the final version of the CCA initial report;
• Undertaken stakeholders mapping and analysis
• Preparation and facilitation of the CCA Validation workshop

       2.Visioning and Strategic Prioritization:

• Development of methodological approach and facilitation of the consultation process
  • theory of change formulation;
  • visioning;
  • strategic prioritization.
• Conduct of one 10-days in-country mission to facilitate the workshops/events described in the previous point
• Production of 2030 vision of the UN Cooperation Framework

       3.Cooperation Framework:

• Overall facilitation and guidance for the preparation of the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework in line with the newly released corporate guidelines for preparation of the Cooperation Frameworks;
• Desk-review of the relevant and available UN and non-UN documentation as the baseline for preparation of the Cooperation Framework;
• Formulation of the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework in line with the standardized outline and based on the strategic inputs and contributions by UNCT and all engaged stakeholders;
• Regular communication and coordination with the UN RCO, UNCT, and CCA/CF Task Team, including conduct of Skype discussions and facilitations on the as-needed basis;
• Provision of quality assurance of the process and inputs provided by the UNCT, including identification of gaps and areas for improvement against the corporate guidelines;
• Conduct of minimum of one (5 days or in length as proposed with the methodology) in-country mission;
• Final editing and formatting of the Cooperation Framework.
• Development of a presentation of the Cooperation Framework or other visualization products.

The UN RC Office and all agencies, using available support and resources from Regional Offices and HQ as relevant, will make available all necessary documents for review in the context of this exercise.

Methodology

The approach of the assignment shall be participatory and inclusive ensuring full participation and ownership from the UNCT and national stakeholders. The assignment will be initiated through a desk-review of the existing and relevant UN guidelines, timelines and outlines for the Cooperation Framework process and required products. The initial phase will include remote consultations with the RC/UNCT on the process and the proposed methodology itself but also on the initial inputs and analysis produced by the team of experts by the time of the start of the assignment. The expert will then produce the first draft of the CCA initial report by first week of February, that will serve as the basis for the Validation and Theory of Change consultations and send for review of the Peer Support Group. The second and final draft will include the feedback from these review mechanisms and completed by end of February. 

The process will be advanced with the first in-country mission in support of the UNCT CCA validation, theory of change, visioning and prioritization exercises scheduled for the second half of February with precise dates and dynamics to be agreed with the selected expert based on the agreed methodological approach. Through application of the theory of change and in full consultation with the UNCT, the series of consultations should result in the identification of the priority areas and initial draft of the Results Framework for the next UN Cooperation Framework in North Macedonia. Methodology for the consultations process is required from the offeror.

Following the visioning and prioritization exercise, the consultant will continue working remotely on the first draft of the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework, primarily on the Results Framework and the summary of the Cooperation Framework, in coordination and consultation with the UNCT, which will then, following the internal UNCT agreement on the first draft, be validated through a series of consultation sessions with the national counterparts during the second half of June or early July (these will very much depend on elections outcomes scheduled for April 2020. The detailed timeline for this stage will be revisited closer to the dates of the elections and confirmed. In support of the validation exercise, the second in-country mission will be conducted with the consultant facilitating discussions and feedback among the national counterparts.

The engagement of the consultant will continue during the summer months with finalization of the entire Cooperation Framework document based on the comments and feedback stemming from the validation sessions as well as the Peer Support Group (PSG)[1] review process. The final draft 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework is expected to be submitted to the Government of North Macedonia in September 2020 for the formal review and endorsement process by October 2020 before the official signing planned for the end of October 2020.

In terms of the structure, the Initial CCA Report and the 2021-2025 Cooperation Framework document will follow the standardized outlines as provided in the newly approved guidelines for preparation of the Cooperation Frameworks (attached)

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

The deliverables-based assignment is expected to consume up to 50 consultancy days within the period of 10 months (15 January 2019 – 31 October 2020) with up-to 20 working days onsite depending on the proposed methodological approach for the consultations processes.

The Consultant’s payment shall be made upon submission and acceptance of the following deliverable in III instalments:

[1] UN coordination body responsible for providing quality assurance and guidance on the Cooperation Framework and related documents and composed of the representatives of the regional UN bureaus.

* Schedule is indicative and subject to change and adjustment within the indicated 9-month timeline

Final instalment 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.

The first key deliverable is a strategic and high-quality Common Country Analysis initial report written in English language and presented in line with the 2019 Cooperation Framework Guidelines, the Companion Piece on CCA development and the guidelines on the CCA outline. The Initial Report will have:

• Summary
• Core analysis as per the outline in Annex 1 to this ToR
• Annexes with data, charts, tables
• Annex with proposed structure of the data and analysis repository
• Annexes with in depth analysis of key development challenges

The second key deliverable is successful completion of the consultations processes based on the methodology proposed by the offeror.

The third key deliverable is a strategic forward-looking high-quality UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025 Document produced in English language and presented in line with the same guidelines cite above in the structure given with the guidelines.

The CCA report and the Cooperation Framework Document will be reviewed by the Peer Support Group and assessed using UNDG Quality Checklists.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The selected expert will work under direct supervision of the UN Resident Coordination through the UNRC Office designated Coordination Officer. He/she will be in regular communication with the supervisor through e-mail and will provide brief regular progress reports on bi-weekly basis. All communication and reports will be prepared in English language.

The expert will undertake the work for the CCA in close collaboration with the thematic experts that have done the thematic analysis.

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;
• Excellent communication and interview skills;
• Excellent facilitation and participatory consultation 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

• Advanced University degree in international development, economics, social sciences or related field; MA required, PhD an asset;
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience specifically in the area of international development initiatives in working with development organizations;
• Extensive knowledge of and experience in systems thinking and applying, qualitative and quantitative analytical methods; Ability to identify beneficiaries’ needs, and to match them with appropriate solutions – demonstrated in at least 3 initiative;
• Technical competence in undertaking complex analysis which involve use of mixed methods;  
• Knowledge of UN role, UN reform process and UN programming at the country level, particularly strategic programming; Familiarity with the 2030 Agenda and SDG related processes.
• Excellent writing and analytical formulation skills with demonstrated experience in preparing strategic and programming documents or similar analytical documents – at least 2 engagements of similar nature;
• Strong understanding of the development and political context and working experience in the closer region;
• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Estimated duration of contract and Other Terms and Conditions

The service provider will be engaged under a short-term international individual consultancy contract. The deliverables-based assignment is expected to consume up to 50 consultancy days within the period of 10 months (20 January 2019 – 31 October 2020) with up-to 20 working days onsite depending on the proposed methodological approach for the consultations processes.

Amounts and terms of payment are subject to negotiations and will comply with the UN rules and regulations.

Application procedure and documents to be submitted

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED

Interested offerors are invited submit the following documents/information to be considered:

1. Offeror’s letter, as per the following form LINK
2. Most updated CV with focus on required qualification as well as the contact details of at least three (3) professional references;
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment,
4. Financial Proposal The financial proposal must be expressed in the form of a lumpsum all-inclusive cost, supported by breakdown of costs as per template provided in USD for this consultancy.

The financial proposal must take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required (the prevailing price for an economy class ticket on the most direct routes shall apply; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract such as the cost of mission travels, as applicable.

Failure to submit complete set of all four required documents will result in disqualification from the bidding process.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNRCO on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

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: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Step 1

1. Click on the "Apply now" button

2. Input your information in the appropriate sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume, and motivation (cover letter). You can type in or paste your short Resume into the last box.

3. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload other required documents listed in the step 2.

Step 2

Interested individual consultants must submit the documents/information listed in the “Documents to submit section” above.

The system will allow only one attachment. Therefore, please upload all required documents as one file.

Failing to submit any of these documents may result in disqualification of the application.

Please note that shortlisted candidates might be interviewed.

If the deliverables are not produced and delivered by the consultant to the satisfaction of UNDP as approved by the responsible Portfolio Manager, no payment will be made even if the consultant has invested man/days to produce and deliver such deliverables.

Evaluation method

Individual experts 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:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points:

Criteria A: Educational background (Advanced University degree in international development, economics, social sciences or related field), PhD an asset – 10 points;

Criteria B: Professional experience - minimum of 10 years of professional experience specifically in the area of international development initiatives in working with development organizations – 25 points;

Criteria C: Experience in systems thinking and applying, qualitative and quantitative analytical methods; Ability to identify beneficiaries’ needs, and to match them with appropriate solutions; Applied in at least 3 initiatives – 20 points;

Criteria D: Demonstrated knowledge of UN role, UN reform process and UN programming at the country level, particularly strategic programming; Familiarity with the 2030 Agenda and SDG related processes – 5 points;

Criteria E: Excellent writing and analytical formulation skills with demonstrated experience in preparing strategic and programming documents or similar analytical documents; at least 2 engagement of similar nature – 5 points;

Criteria F: Previous experience in working in the country or Balkan region - 5 points

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points

The contract will be awarded to the submission with the highest aggregate score.