Background

Country:                   Pakistan

Description of the assignment: International-Reporting Consultant

Project name:  Merged Areas Governance Project.

Period of assignment/services (if applicable): 88 working days from the date of issuance of the contract

Duty Station:  The consultant will work from home, and travel to Islamabad/Peshawar quarterly for one field mission.

(Due to Corona outbreak the consultant may be required to work from home or restrict travel. Decision will made accordingly as the situation evolves)

Winning Consultant will be required to provide a statement of health/ fitness certificate before signing the contract. 

Please submit your Technical and Financial proposals via email to the following email address

bids.pk@undp.org no later than 15th April 2020 at 1230 hrs. (Pakistan Standard Time). Hand Delivery is not acceptable.

Important note for email submissions: Please put “UNDP-IC-2020-108 International-Reporting Consultant”in the subject line. Further, our system will not accept emails those are more than 3.5 MB size. If required, segregate your emails to accommodate email data restrictions. For segregated emails please use sequence of emails like Email 1, Email 2 …. in the subject line. For attachment purposes please only use MS Word, Excel, Power Point or PDF formats.

If you request additional information, please write to pakistan.procurement.info@undp.org. The team will provide necessary information within due date. However, any delay in providing such information will not be considered a reason for extending the submission date of your proposal. All/any query regarding the submission of the proposal may be sent prior to the deadline at the e-mail/address mentioned above.

Important Note: Financial Proposal (Annex IV and Annex) must be password protected file.

Background:

On 28 May 2018, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed, resulting in the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas into neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The merger, one of the most consequential reforms in Pakistan’s 70-year history, is an unprecedented extension of constitutional rights and governance structures to 5million of the poorest people in Pakistan.

The merger is a political process of incredible historical significance both for Pakistan and the region; it will yield unprecedented benefits for the stability of the country and its neighbours if it can be successfully carried out.

For more than 70 years prior to the merger, the five million residents of the former FATA have lived under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, a set of harsh colonial laws based on the principles of collective punishment. Until the passage of the 25th Amendment, they were without adequate representation in the social, cultural and political fabric of Pakistan as a whole. With the merger, the traditional institutions of the modern state, such as the judiciary and police, are only now being introduced through integration and mainstreaming. As a result of this historical separation, may of the Merged Areas’ key development indicators lag far behind even the least developed parts of the rest of Pakistan. As such, dedicated investments are required to fast-track change.

The challenge to redress historical underdevelopment has also been compounded by a recent decade-long insurgency that was based out of the former FATA region. This conflict has caused immense loss of life, mass forced internal migration and the destruction of infrastructure. The Pakistani state is now committed to an unprecedented programme of accelerated development to make sure that the Merged Areas are afforded the same opportunities as the rest of the country while simultaneously preventing any resurgence of militancy in the area. Implementing a successful merger is no easy feat.

The Merged Areas Governance Project is a unified project across the Merged Areas to build the capacity of government institutions and assist the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the integration and mainstreaming of these districts. The project will provide technical assistance to introduce and enhance inclusive and responsive governance structures, support the extension of rule of law institutions and services, implement evidence and information-based policy and planning, improve financial and economic management and build implementation capacities at all levels. The project is implemented using a Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) methodology to deliver needs-based and flexible support to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Candidates in search of an opportunity to work on a historically significant programme that presents unpredictable challenges are encouraged to submit their candidacy to the Merged Areas Governance Project.

Duties and Responsibilities

International Expert – Reporting Consultant

UNDP is looking for an enthusiastic reporting consultant to join our knowledge management team. If you have excellent writing skills, and ability to distil complexity into simple, elegant prose, then please consider applying for this post.

You will work closely with the project leadership and our donor partners, but you will also spend significant time in the field meeting our local teams and garnering insights for setting the project narrative. You will be well-grounded in epistemology and be well-equipped to separate assumptions from facts. Ultimately, you should be able to deliver international quality write-ups for our project on a weekly, monthly and quarterly production schedule.

The reporting consultant will work with the team to compile project reports and optimize knowledge sharing of the project. Your work will be done both internally for the project, as well as externally, as a service the project offers to critical national and international partners supporting governance and reforms.

Below are the detailed duties and tasks of the Consultant:

1. Compile and edit all project reporting and knowledge products:

1. Compile and edit all project reporting to meet international quality standards;
2. Compile and edit the following key deliverables:
   1. quarterly project donor reports on all activities, results and evidence,
   2. monthly article/ thematic briefs;
   3. weekly brief on critical developments;
   4. periodic write-ups on experiments or other learning;
   5. occasional editing of technical assistance documents.
3. Mentor and train project staff on reporting;
4. Travel to Peshawar/engage with Peshawar-based teams on Skype for interviews;

1. Collect and write up project notes and lessons learned:

1. Contribute to improving project monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) by gathering the core lessons learned and best practices of the project through the reporting process and developing a narrative that can be tested against the project results, indicators and targets using existing internal and external project evaluations and assessments;

1. Deliverables, Scope and Schedule of Payments

The Project Manager shall develop quarterly objectives with the Reporting Consultant. The Consultant will compile a quarterly report documenting progress against these objectives. Annexed (by secure web-link) shall be the written documents which the consultant has contributed to or edited in the quarter.

This contract will be administered under a daily fee approach as per UNDP Individual Contract policy Section (56-58). Under the daily fee approach, the financial proposal specifies a single daily fee. UNDP makes payments based on the actual number of days worked. Payments must be supported by a duly completed time sheet.

Please go the following link for the UNDP General Conditions of Contract for Individual Consultants: ______________________________________________

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives as set forth by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security.

Copyright

The above assignment will have UNDP and governance department sole ownership and copyright.

1. Institutional Arrangement and Duty Station:

Supervisor: Chief Technical Specialist

Day to day management: Project Manager

Duty Station: The consultant will work from home, and travel to Islamabad/Peshawar quarterly for one field mission.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, with strong working relationships with technical leadership and project management team. Close coordination with Government communication counterparts, and UNDP MSU, Communication, and Democratic Governance Unit.

The consultant will be home-based and will undertake four field missions to the UNDP offices in Islamabad. The consultant will be expected to periodically travel to Peshawar where MAGP is implementing activities. Work related travel will be eligible for DSA and meeting costs reimbursement.   

1. DURATION OF WORK

The expected duration of work will be 88 working days. 

Competencies

Competencies

Building Strategic Partnerships

• Makes effective use of UNDP’s resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships
• Creates networks and promotes initiatives with partner organizations

Innovation and New Approaches

• Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking, especially for Fata reforms contexts
• Conceptualizes more effective approaches to program development and implementation

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• Participating in the development of policies and innovative approaches and promoting their application throughout the organization
• Promotes UNDP as a learning/knowledge sharing organization

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

• Possesses expert knowledge of advanced concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines, as well as an in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures, with expertise in reforms contexts
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself personally
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments

Client Orientation

• Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions
• Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for clients

Core Competencies

• Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents
• Staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation
• Promoting effective teams 
• Very good communication skills. Ability to express clearly and concisely in both written and oral forms
• Transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking
• Ability to be flexible and react to changing circumstances, e.g. security situation

Note: 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.

Required Skills and Experience

1. QUALIFICATIONS – EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND LANGUAGE:

• Masters degree in any social science, law or public policy from a well-recognized institute
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in international development work, with focus on report writing, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), generating project reports, stakeholder and team coordination in international development organizations;
• Experience in working at the country level including countries experiencing political transitions;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to get consensus and collaboration;
• Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail;
• Ability to write clearly and concisely;
• Work experience in Pakistan is strongly preferred;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc);

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;

1. APPLICATION PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA

The following documents must be submitted by interested persons to become an eligible candidate. Failing to comply with the requirements will result in disqualifying the applicant.  Due to the large number of applications we receive, only the successful candidate will be informed about the outcome or status of the selection process.

Interested individual consultants must include the following documents when submitting the applications:

• 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 - UNDP retains the right to contact references directly (the template can be downloaded from this
• A brief, 500 word statement providing a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work.
• A writing sample.
• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal, Applicants are instructed to submit their financial proposals in USD for this consultancy using the annex to the Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability template available here: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780.

1. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee.
• The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; 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.
• The consultant should budget for 4 trips to Islamabad of 10 calendar days. Any approved additional travel will be reimbursed as per UNDP travel policy. The current DSA rate for Islamabad (Marriott) is $248.
• In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. 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.
• If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780.

In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal should be all-inclusive and include a breakdown.

1. TRAVEL

All envisaged travel cost must be included in the financial proposal as detailed above. In case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel cost including tickets, lodging and terminal expense should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

1. EVALUATION PROCESS

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will 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 technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight: 70%

Financial Criteria weight:  30%

Only Consultants obtaining a minimum of 70% on the Technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.