Background

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP's development programmes.  BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.”

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development, as described in the HIV, Health and Development Strategy 2016-2021: Connecting the Dots, leverages UNDP’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Sustainable Development Goals.  For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of the law and legal environments in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics. UNDP also works to empower and include marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to municipal action on SDGs, sustainable responses for Health and HIV such as improving sustainability of AIDS financing, sustainable health procurement, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for key populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on SDG 3 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding.  UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as temporary Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

Objective of the assignment

The consultant will provide high quality copyediting of UNDP’s expert policy and research outputs on rights, key populations and treatment access.

The Consultant will report to the HHD Manager: Rights, Key Populations and Treatment Access (Supervisor), and will work in close collaboration with the team focal points on human rights, law and gender; key populations, LGBTI and rights; and health technology, innovation and access.

Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of work will vary depending on the individual assignments but would include one or various of the below tasks:

  • Copyediting,
  • writing
  • proofreading of knowledge products including reports, technical papers, guidance material, contributing papers, briefs, think pieces, dataset;
  • Any other related

Institutional arrangements:

  • The overall objective of setting up these Framework Agreements is to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNDP will hire the services of copyeditor/writer/proof-reader once there are specific assignments over the next 3 years;
  • Estimated volume of services: maximum of US$90,000 over the 3-year duration of the Framework Agreement; 
  • 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;
  • The initial Framework Agreement would be for one year with an option for renewal in subsequent years dependent on demand for services and satisfactory performance evaluation;
  • The Framework Agreements to be signed with 3 consultants will be for a fixed all-inclusive daily fee;
  • Once the Framework Agreement is signed, if there is a specific assignment, the focal person at UNDP HIV, Health and Development Team would contact the Consultant by email informing them of the assignment specific deliverables, and timeline;
  • Assignments will be assigned based on technical scores ,availability and specific expertise for the assignment
  • The consultant must advise within 48 hours whether they are available to deliver the requested service;
  • Thereafter a Purchase Order 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;
  • 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 Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
  • The Consultant will be responsible for providing their own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
  • Payments will be made upon submission of certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor of outputs delivered

Competencies

Corporate

  • Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s vision, mission and values;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
  • Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional

Development and Operational Effectiveness

  • Results-driven and initiative-taking;
  • Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines;
  • Ability to plan and organize work and establish priorities;
  • Remains calm and in control even under pressure, and consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Thoroughly and methodically collects, verifies and records data, demonstrating attention to detail and identifying and correcting errors on own initiative.

Client Orientation and Communication

  • Effective written and oral communication skills;
  • Good interpersonal and networking skills;
  • Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations;
  • Ability to work under minimum supervision;
  • Ability to work with multiple stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines and fields, from both developed and developing countries, and having diverse and competing worldviews and interests.

Required Skills and Experience

Education (maximum 15 points)

  • Bachelor’s Degree in social sciences, journalism, public policy or another relevant field.
  • A certificate/degree in copyediting, policy writing and/or another relevant field would be an advantage.

 Experience

  • At least seven years of relevant experience including in the fields of health, human rights and development (maximum 15 points);
  •  Relevant experience as copyeditor, writer and/or proof-reader of knowledge products. Include link of five (5) copy edited works as proof. (maximum points 25);
  • Previous relevant experience with UNDP or other UN Agencies would be an asset (5 points)

 Languages (maximum 10 points)

  • Fluency in English;
  • Spanish and/or French fluency would be an advantage.

Scope  of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Daily Fee. Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal

 Payments shall be made based on approved invoices indicating number of working days spent for each specific assignment, upon verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the IC’s supervisor

Evaluation method

  • Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated;
  • Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer (based on a quoted all-inclusive daily fee) will be weighted at 30%;
  • The technical criteria (education, experience, language) will be based on maximum 70 points. Only the candidates that have achieved a minimum of 49 points of the technical criteria will be deemed technically qualified and be requested to submit a financial proposal;
  • Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP;
  • The top 3 Applicants receiving the Highest Combined Scores and that have accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the Framework Agreements.

 

Recommended Presentation of Offer

  • Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP. Please refer to job ID 65327 on the UNDP procurment notices site to download this document: https://procurement-notices.undp.org/ or https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=65327
  • Personal CV or P11, 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;
  • Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an 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 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.
  •  Kindly note that the system will only accept one attachment , please merge all documents and submit as one file