Background

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. 

The Central Recruitment Unit is a newly established unit in OHR, which provides centralized delivery of recruitment and job classification services.

The CRU is seeking consultants to provide classification services for ongoing casework managed by the CRU. Under the direct supervision of the Chief of CRU, the consultants will provide auxiliary classification recommendations.

The review will include an evaluation of functional responsibilities, work interrelationships, and organizational congruence, utilizing the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) classification standards, and UN guidelines for generic job profiles, as follows:

  1. The new General Service standard (Master Standard and Grade Descriptors) for classification of General Service position
  2. Job classification system (Master Standard and Grade Descriptors) for classification of professional and higher categories positions
  3. Guidelines for classifying positions utilizing UN Generic Job Profiles (GJPs)

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will be have the following responsibilities:

  • Provide advisory services in job classification;
  • Provide HR practitioners and staff with the interpretation of job evaluation related policies and practices, as well as in the resolution of related issues;
  • Conduct Job Classification within UNDP for FTA/TA posts as required;
  • Provision of technical advice on position levels, with completed ICSC scoring/ GJP review, and issuance of classification recommendation with the CCOG code, functional title and any additional brief comments as needed.
  • Provide guidance and advise to CRU team in gaining efficiency in classification process and procedure.
  • Provide support and guidance in establishing repository of classified generic Job Descriptions
  • Regularly produce reports on the status of job classifications; 
  • Advise on other ad hoc tasks related to organizational design etc.

Key deliverables

  • Review on-demand post classification and make grading recommendations (for single job description as well as a category of job descriptions)
  • Estimated duration of Completion: Grading recommendation received within 24 hours

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 (January 2021 until December 2023).

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
  • Communications
  • People Management
  • Innovation
  • Delivery

Functional Competencies

  • Organizational Development
  • Knowledge of organizational development concepts, issues and principles and the ability to apply them to strategic and/or practical situations
  • Collaboration and Partnerships
  • Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside (Programmes/projects) or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support.  Sets overall direction for the formation and management of strategic relationships contributing to the overall positioning of UNDP
  • Human Resources Management (General)
  • 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 or Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a related field is required. 

Experience:

  • At least 10 years (for Master’s)  or 12 years (for Bachler’s) of progressively responsible experience at the national and international levels in providing HR advisory services and/or managing responsibilities in a multi-cultural setting is required. 
  • Experience to work effectively familiarity with change management processes is required. 
  • Excellent knowledge and proven experience in the application of the ICSC job evaluation standards for the Professional and higher categories and General Service Category is required.
  • Excellent knowledge of the Organizational Design theory and practice is required.
  • Familiarity with UN/UNDP human resources policies and procedures would be an advantage.

Language:

  • Proficiency in English both written and oral is a must;
  • Proficiency in a second UN working language (preferably French/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 . 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):

  • 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 at the national and international levels in providing HR advisory services and/or managing responsibilities in a multi-cultural setting. . Weight = 15 %; Maximum Points: 15;
  • Criteria 3. Relevance of knowledge/experience with ICSC job classification standards and knowledge of the Organizational Design theory and practice for and their application across the UN common system.Weight = 30 %; Maximum Points: 30;

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

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

Having reviewed applications received, UNDP will Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points out of total 70) between desk review and interview shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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 the 2 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 prospective applicants that are not contracted, at the UNDP’s discretion, may be placed in the roster of consultants to be used based on an 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 consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Chief of Central Recruitment Unit and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

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):

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.