COVID-19 is a global pandemic requiring varying degrees of countermeasures to prevent the further spread of the virus. According to the United Nations, the pandemic poses risks ‘by directly reversing the hard gains made by countries toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and impacting severely the existing infrastructure and services.[1]

The first positive case of COVID-19 emerged in Timor-Leste on 21 March 2020. A week later, the National Parliament of Timor-Leste authorized the President to declare a State of Emergency (SoE) in response to the threat of COVID-19 in the country. The SoE has been extended to cover four 30-day periods, between 27 March and 4 September 2020 (with the period from 26 June to 6 August not included).

Accordingly, the Government of Timor-Leste (GoTL) imposed various measures such as domestic and international travel restrictions, closure of schools and physical distancing.[2]  The SoE started easing as shops and restaurants were allowed to open provided physical distancing and hygiene measures were enforced from 28 May, 2020 because Timor-Leste had recorded no new cases since April. These types of restrictions affected vulnerable households, communities and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) severely, especially in remote areas.

For this reason, the UN Timor-Leste with technical lead from UNDP, conducted a rapid Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) between April and August 2020. The aim of this SEIA 1.0 was to gather objective evidence about the impacts of COVID-19 measures on the citizens and MSMEs of Timor-Leste. The SEIA 1.0 measured changes in livelihood, employment, food security, health care, education and other basic services, including social protection and gender equality for individuals, as well as shifts in supply, demand, income and employment for MSMEs. The SEIA results were disseminated among policy makers, development partners and civil society and was informative for the economic recovery plan of the country.

Stakeholders expressed the desire and need to have a nationally representative data that can be disaggregated at the municipality level and by various socio-economic groups. Furthermore, given the effects of the COVID-19 crisis can be time-lagged, the UN decided to nationwide SEIA in 2021 in partnership with Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs (MCAE), General Directorate of Statistics (GDS) under the Ministry of Finance and other relevant government agencies.

1. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The objective of this assignment is to lead and conduct a follow-up and nationwide survey on the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on households (including vulnerable households and groups - poor, elderly, children and women) and MSMEs and develop recommendations for policy-makers.

This exercise will allow for a better understanding of social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among the population including poor and vulnerable households, with attention to intra-household inequalities; the current prevalent local market conditions and trends affecting individual vendors and MSMEs at the national and local level; the gender dimension of the pandemic, particularly the extent to which women are more affected than men and to identify service provision and access gaps, and targeted interventions required to support needs of those who are impacted the most by the various government measures.

The assessment will need to be closely coordinated with General Directorate of Statistics as well as other potential stakeholders that are currently involved in discussions around response and recovery. The assessment will need to be repeat in nature to allow for comparison with SEIA 1.0 and nationally representative to draw conclusions at the municipality level and by different socio-economic groups with focus on vulnerable groups and households.

[1] United Nations. June 2020. Brief #2: Putting the UN Framework for Socio-Economic Response to COVID-19 Into Action: Insights, p.3

[2] Government Decree No. 3/2020 of 28 March - Implementing Measures of the Declaration of the State of Emergency Made by the Decree of the President of the Republic no 29/2020, of March 27

The consultant will work closely with the UNDP CO Team under the overall supervision of the UNDP

Resident Representative and the direct supervision of UNDP Deputy Resident Representative. The consultant will also work in close collaboration with General Directorate of Statistics of Timor-Leste and other UN Agencies.

The scope of work for this assignment will be largely around the following key functions:

• Desk review of Government’s measures and the current responses to COVID-19 in Timor-Leste;
• Plan and carry out socio-economic impact assessment on households and population across all municipalities in Timor-Leste, including assessment of the effectiveness of Cesta Basica program and prepare the final reporting;
• Provide guidance and overview on the design and implementation of the MSME impact assessment;
• Provide overall coordination and technical supervision for the SEIA 2.0.  

Task 1: SEIA 2.0 preparation phase

• Update and review SEIA household and MSME survey tools based on stakeholders’ feedback and consultation with UNDP and other UN agencies
• Develop SEIA 2.0 detailed plan, budget and ToRs for team members
• Develop SEIA sampling plan and framework in partnership with sampling specialist
• Conduct desk review and prepare a methodology note with tentative plan and schedule to carry out the tasks, plan for secondary and primary data collection, and expected conclusions and recommendations of the report.

Task 2: Data collection phase

• Liaise with UNFPA, GDS and field coordinators in fieldwork preparation
• Provide training of trainers and observe training at each cluster
• Organize pre-test of survey tools and pilot fieldwork in cooperation with GDS
• Conduct field checks and monitoring at selected municipalities
• Conduct key-informant interviews with stakeholders
• Oversee the data collection process and provide regular update to UNDP.

Task 3: Data quality control and analysis

• Develop data quality check plan
• Guide field coordinators, supervisors and GDS staff in conducting rigorous data quality checks
• Develop data tabulation plan in partnership with UNFPA consultants
• Based on primary and secondary data, conduct data analysis for household survey and compare findings.

Task 4: Report development phase

• Prepare the draft report by writing parts of it and consolidating inputs from other experts.
• Prepare PowerPoint presentation and present the draft report with findings and recommendations to UNDP and other key stakeholders for validation
• Finalize assessment report based on feedback and inputs from UNDP and other stakeholders
• Coordinate copy-editing of the final report, translation of the documents into Tetum and editing.

Task 5: Dissemination and follow-up activities phase

• Support the development of policy briefs spearheaded by various agencies and consultants.
• Draft policy brief on the possible socio-economic impacts of the pandemic on the livelihood, employment of populations and on MSMEs.
• Support other SEIA 2.0 follow-up activities including dissemination workshops.

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working on development projects and programs focusing on gender sensitive sustainable livelihoods interventions, gender empowerment, results-based monitoring and evaluation in developing country context.
• A minimum of 5 years’ practical expertise in designing and field -testing surveys and other data collection instruments supported with experience in managing data collection, monitoring and evaluation.
• Knowledge of statistical and survey software such as SPSS, R, STATA, SAS;
• Experience in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) specifically in Asia and the Pacific and working with multilateral or bilateral donors funded projects. Experience in community development is an asset.
• Experience in conducting of COVID related social impact assessments is considered to be an additional advantage;
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, prepare high quality reports, make impactful presentations, design and deliver audience-focused trainings.

Education:

• Advanced University degree in economics, sociology, political science, public policy or other relevant social sciences. Areas of specialized expertise could include sustainable livelihood, results-based management (M&E), gender empowerment and/or related.

Language requirements:

• English language – excellent written and oral communication skills. In addition to excellent command of English, ability to communicate in Bahasa Indonesia, Portuguese or Tetum will be an advantage but not mandatory

The following are the links to apply online and to download required information’s:

1. Mandatory to apply online through : https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job_id=96388; Consultancy Proposal (CV & Financial proposal Template, P11 should be uploaded) These templates should be scanned as 1 PDF documents and send along with the application.  
2. To download the ToR, P11 form, Financial Proposal form , IC Terms of References, please click this link:  https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=74575   

 Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to procurement.staff.tp@undp.org