Background

The overarching goal of UNDP is to strengthen national capacities and expand the options and opportunities to national institutions. With this end in view, UNDP supported projects are generally implemented by government institutions as an integral part of their development programmes, whilst ensuring that UNDP and government agreed policies and procedures for project implementation are adhered to.

UNDP Bangladesh engages with FAPAD Senior Management and review the quality of the FAPAD audit process.

UNDP Bangladesh engages with the implementing partner and facilitate the training for project finance peoples in accordance with the UNDP rules and regulations.

A sound financial management system must exist to ensure transparency and accountability in every step of project implementation. In pursuance to the continuous quest for strengthening capacities, UNDP policies require to carry out the capacity assessment of each implementing partners especially on financial management. UNDP extends capacity strengthening support to the implementing partners/ projects during the course of project implementation. In pursuance to the continuous quest for strengthening capacities, UNDP helps IPs to improve their capacity deficiency especially on financial management capacity (i.e. accounting, procurement, reporting, internal controls, etc.).

Objectives:

The objective of the assignment is to assist UNDP Partnerships unit on capacity issues in national implementation in the broad context of HACT (Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfer) to various target groups including national implementing partners/project teams, UNDP staff and government officials with the following specific tasks:

• Facilitate the training for new CO and relevant project staff of the IPs on sound financial management in terms of the effective project implementation focusing on both UNDP and government procedures.
• Provide the training and orientation to target groups especially the government officials in adherence to UNDP standards and up-to-date policies
• Train FAPAD auditors on the UNDP HACT audit reporting requirement
• Advice to UNDP on HACT audit 2018-19

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

In fulfilling the above objectives, the consultant must cover, to the following scope of work:

• Assist UNDP CO and Project Staff of the National IPs on UNDP’s policies, procedures and, regulations in the context of the national implementation
• Assist UNDP Partnerships unit in conducting training to target groups
• Train FAPAD auditors on UNDP HACT audit procedures and reporting requirement
• Provide advisory, technical assistance and quality assurance service to UNDP in related matters as and when required
• Review the financial statements of potential govt financing fund disbursement through LD programme of ERD.
• Review the quality of the FAPAD and NGO audit process.
• Closely work and provide training for SAI and Third-party audit firm for quality reporting.
• Arrange entry and exit meeting with SAI.
• Prepare draft and final report for UNDP RPs/IPs.
• Ensure timely submission of final report as per UNDP corporate deadline.
• Followup with Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) e.g. FAPAD on audit observation.

Reporting of Duties:

• The consultant will report to the Assistant Resident Representative, Business Development and Partnerships Cluster, UNDP Bangladesh.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Institutional Arrangement

• Approximately 40 days for each year, spread in various intermittent assignments. Maximum working days over the 3-year period would be 120. However, UNDP does not warrant that any quantity of services will be purchased during the term of the Framework Agreement as this will depend on forthcoming needs;
• IC as a Framework agreement is non-exclusive (i.e. it does not prohibit UNDP from entering into another such framework agreement with another individuals or entities.
• The initial contract would be from 10 March 2020 – 9 September 2020 with an option for renewal, for up to three years, in the subsequent years’ dependent on demand for services, availability of funding, and satisfactory performance evaluation;
• The Framework Agreement will be for a fixed all-inclusive daily fee;
• Once the Framework Agreement is signed, if there is a specific assignment, the focal person(s) at UNDP would contact, by email, the Consultant informing of specific deliverables and timeline;
• Thereafter a Purchase Order (PO) will be raised. Financial commitments will only be established each time the services are requested within the scope of the Framework Agreement through the transmitted email and purchase order;
• The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for the execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment (COP) form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked and outputs delivered.

Duration of the Work

• The total duration of work will be 40 days for each year with total no. of days is 120 days over the 3 years.

Duty Station

• Duty station will be Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• The IC will be required to report on a requirement base from the contract administrator or be present at a certain schedule agreed earlier, including frequency of reporting.

Competencies

• Good understanding of UNDP’s policies and procedures for project implementation in the context of the national implementation
• Experience in engaging with government institutions serving as implementing partners for development projects on financial advisory, management and reporting
• Knowledge of UNDP supported project’s financial accounting, reporting and audit system would be highly desirable
• Knowledge of government accountability and audit system for development projects would be an added advantage.
• Excellent communication, reporting and writing skills
• Plans, prioritizes, and delivers tasks on time and produces quality results to meet established goals
• Creative and innovative in producing the desired outputs
• Ability to work with a multicultural environment and a multidisciplinary team
• Willingness to travel to project sites

Language requirements

• Fluency of English & Bangla language is required;

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:

• Masters degree in finance/Accounting background;

Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in international, regional or local consultancy; and the areas of Financial management.

Cumulative analysis-

The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant up on Cumulative Analysis/evaluation 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;

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% mark in technical evaluation will be considered eligible for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks):

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)

All technical qualified proposals will be scored out 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals received points according to the following formula:

p = y (µ/z)

where:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Financial Milestone:

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

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

Proposal

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
• 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, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) a methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
• Financial Proposal: Financial Proposal has to be submitted through a standard interest and availability template which can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.bd.undp.org/content/dam/bangladesh/docs/Jobs/Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal-Template%20for%20Confirmation.docx

Travel:

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should 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 case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed