Background

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. UNDP is on the ground in 177 countries and territories, offering global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

UNDP’s Bureau for Management Services (BMS), Office of Human Resources (OHR) is committed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its online programs and operations policies, guidelines and documents. OHR supports UNDP in achieving its vision and objectives through enabling the organization to attract, manage, and retain staff with relevant technical expertise, competencies, and skills, by providing strategic HR advice and creating an inclusive working environment where staff are engaged, continuously develop professionally, and perform at their best.

The Central Recruitment Unit (CRU) is responsible for the delivery of a full spectrum of strategic HR services to UNDP clients aimed to ensure that Bureaus and Offices can attract and effectively manage required talent in the culture of high performance, innovation, and informed risk-taking.

CRU offers several service lines, including business partnering for managers and staff, as well as a range of operational HR services from staff recruitment to separation and off-boarding. A distinct service line refers to the development of HR processes and systems with a particular focus on the use of technology to support and enable effective HR management, workforce analytics, HR performance monitoring, and business process reengineering.

The purpose of this procurement exercise is to contract up to ten (10) consultants who will support the CRU?with the recruitment of various staff positions (50+). 

UNDP’s Office of Human Resources (OHR) has undertaken a reorganization design process to ensure that OHR is well-equipped to lead UNDP’s People for 2030 Strategy and aligning resources behind strategic investments in repositioning OHR’s functions and global operations.

In doing so, a stronger focus will be put on provision of strategic business partnering, integrated policy support, new investments in organizational effectiveness and business analytics, as well as consolidating transactional functions outside of HQ, within a growing HR Center of Excellence / Global Hub.  

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

The Consultant will have the following responsibilities.

• The Consultants will support the Central Recruitment Unit (CRU) with the recruitment of various staff positions;
• Organization of recruitment processes including posting vacancy announcement;
• Initial screening (longlisting) of applicants against eligibility criteria. Finalized longlisting and shortlisting reports;
• Organize and evaluate candidate applications; archive interview notes; administer written assessments and input information in the UNDP platform;
• Manage all recruitment activity relevant technology platforms;
• Organize technical assessment and interviews, including liaising with candidates. Management of verification of academic credentials, employment history and references as applicable;
• Retrieval of references and prepare submission of all necessary documentation for CRB/CRP Review;
• Manage communication with candidates as it relates to the outcome of their applications (regret letters);
• Additional tasks may be assigned on as needed basis;
• The consultants will work closely with Human Resources Specialist in the Central Recruitment Unit (CRU) and have an opportunity to learn more about UN human resources rules, regulations, procedures and practices and participate in a variety of projects, special events, task forces or committees.

Key deliverables

• Recruitment process completion and reporting. Estimated duration within the set KPIs (e.g. longlisting within 5 days).  Recruitment completion on case to case basis

Management and organizational arrangements

• The consultants will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the deliverables under this assignment;
• The consultants will work from home;
• The consultants will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultants are expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;

Travel arrangements

• Any necessary travel must be approved in advance by the Chief of CRU
• The consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas and security clearances needed to travel, with the necessary support from the Centre;
• All related travel expenses will be supported by the CRU budget and will be arranged as per UNDP rules and regulations for consultants.

Duration of the Work

The total duration of the LTA will be a maximum 3-year period.

The maximum amount of work  each contractor is likely to be engaged during the LTA duration (3 years) is 540 days (180 days/per year). Please note that this is an estimate for financial proposal preparation only. It does not constitute a binding quantity/entitlement. The actual number of working days will be indicated in the TOR for specific assignments each time there is a call for assignment

Duty Station

Home based (remote assignment), no travel to join duty station is envisaged.

If unforeseen travel outside the Duty Station not required by the Terms of Reference is requested by UNDP, and upon prior written agreement, such travel shall be at UNDP’s expense and the Individual Contractor shall receive a per diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate in such other location(s).

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Leadership
• Communication
• People Management
• Innovation
• Delivery

Functional Competencies:

• Organizational Development
  1. Knowledge of organizational development concepts, issues and principles and the ability to apply them to strategic and/or practical situations
• Collaboration and Partnerships
  1. Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside (Programmes/projects) or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support. 
  2. Sets overall direction for the formation and management of strategic relationships contributing to the overall positioning of UNDP
• Human Resources Management (General)

iv)Knowledge of HR management issues and principles and the ability to apply them to strategic and/or practical situations

• Knowledge Management

Ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

• Master's degree or Bachelor’s degree in HR Management, Business Administration, Public Administration or a related Social Sciences fields, required.

Experience:

• At least Five years (for Master’s degree)  or  Seven years (for Bachelor degree) of HR experience in international development organization, required.
• Experience using e-recruitment or application tracking systems., required.
• Good knowledge of HR selection/assessment tools an asset.
• Strong communication skills an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
• Working knowledge of French and Spanish is an asset.

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

• A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

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

• The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7 hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
• 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; (excluding mission travel); 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.
• This consultancy is a home-based assignment, therefore, there is no envisaged travel cost to join duty station/repatriation travel. 
• 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.
• Only technically qualified candidates will be invited to submit a financial proposal via E-tendering. Instructions will be provided further in the process

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being 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 where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

Desk review

• Criteria 1. Relevance of educational qualification of the candidate with regards to this specific assignment Weight = 5%; Maximum Points: 5;
• Criteria 2. Relevance of experience in HR recruitment for international development organizations.  Weight = 13 %; Maximum Points: 13;  (Up to 5 years of relevant experience: Maximum of 10  points, from 5 to 7 years: up to 11 points, more than 7 years up to 13 points). 
• Criteria 3. Experience in finalizing longlisting and shortlisting reports, administration of written and technical assessments. Weight= 15%; Maximum Points: 15; and
• Criteria 4: Experience in recruitment analytics & reporting and management of all recruitment activities in an E-Recruitment tool. Weight= 15%; Maximum Points: 15; (Candidates without e-recruitment tool expertise will score a maximum of 9 points)
• Criteria 5. Knowledge of French and Spanish. Weight= 2%; Maximum Points: 2  (Speaks French or Spanish: Maximum of 1 point, Speaks both French and Spanish: Maximum of 2 points) 

Candidates scoring a minimum of 70% (35 points out of 50) on the desk review will be invited for interview.  

• Criteria 4. Interview.Weight =20 %; Maximum Points: 20

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Candidates who do not obtain at least 70% of the total of points obtainable during the interview will be directly disqualified.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (including desk review and interview). (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

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

Framework Agreement

UNDP plans to enter into the Long-Term Agreement (LTA) with up to ten (10) TOP ranked successful Individual Contractors to assure resources availability at the required time fame and/or increased demand for services requested. The service of who will be used on an intermittent and repetitive basis when needed and based on the fixed unit price.  Other technically qualified applicants that are not contracted, at the UNDP discretion, may be placed in the roster of consultants, for a period of three years, to be used based on call basis for similar services.

Please note that the LTA does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the LTA contract is signed, and that such an agreement is non-exclusive. When a specific need arises, the successful Individual Contractor/s will be approached and be provided with a specific TOR and deliverables (and time frame) but still within the scope of the responsibilities stated in the LTA. The successful Individual Contractor(s) is expected to provide Confirmation of Interest on the specific services required at the agreed LTA Daily Rate Consultancy Fee. Financial commitments will only be established each time a Purchase Order for the specific services/TOR for Individual Contractor is committed.

This LTA has a cumulative ceiling amount that may accrue to the individual contractor during the life of the LTA, but said amount shall remain as an upper limit, and must not and cannot be interpreted nor understood as neither a financial commitment nor guarantee of business volume.

Contract Award

The award of the LTA will be made to up to ten (10) individual consultants whose offers have been evaluated and determined (i) Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and (ii) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation including availability.

Consultants will be categorized based on their qualification and experience related to the assignment.

UNDP might carry out secondary competitive process with the resulting LTA Holders in order to award secondary Individual Contracts related to the scope of this LTA. The secondary competitive mechanism and the evaluation method that will be applied will be communicated to the LTA Holders prior to the LTA signature.

Institutional Arrangement

The Long-Term Agreement and the potential secondary engagements will be managed and supervised directly by the Chief of CRU. 

The consultants will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection.

Payment modality

• If the LTA results in an effective Individual Contract payments will be made monthly based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion of deliverables, clearance and approval by the Chief of CRU. Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the assigned consultant.

• The workday will be based on a 7 hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org 

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.