UNDP Jobs - 98110- International Technical Advisor (ITA)

International Technical Advisor (ITA)

Location :

home-based (online), with travel to Sukhumi and Tbilisi, Georgia (epidemiological situation permitting), GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

19-Apr-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 98 days during 1 June 2021 – 31 May 2022, with one mission of up to 9 days

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Confidence Building Early Response Mechanism (COBERM) has been soliciting innovative project ideas since its launch in 2010 from representatives of civil society, including registered local and international non-governmental organizations, foundations and academia. Since its launch in 2010, COBERM continues to provide a neutral ground for addressing the prevailing needs of the local communities, including post-conflict isolation and low capacities, as well as for the development of new approaches to peace and confidence building. Implemented in three phases during 2010-2018, COBERM entered its fourth phase in May 2019.

Through its grant programme, COBERM supports initiatives of local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in a wide range of areas aiming to pursue sustainable peace.

The UK Fund for Sustainable Peace (the Fund) is a complementary initiative to COBERM, which aims to improve the enabling environment for lasting peace within and across the divided communities through the scale-up and enhancement of the funding flexibility of grassroots and civil society driven initiatives. The Fund helps expand the contribution that COBERM makes to promote inclusive peace, stability and human security within and across divided communities.

The Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP) is a joint EU-UNDP initiative, aiming to strengthen the civil society in Abkhazia and, to an extent possible, in South Ossetia and to increase its resilience and responsiveness to effectively address the priorities of local communities. Since its launch in 2017, CSSP pursued multidimensional, integrated, dynamic and progressive efforts for creating an environment conducive to the development of the vibrant and robust local civil society sector. The second phase of the Programme commenced in July 2020 for the duration of 36 months.

One of the major components of CSSP is support to capacity building of local CSOs via grant management opportunities that aim to address social, economic and cultural aspects identified by local stakeholders.

While successful cases in the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation are increasing continuously worldwide, learning from international best practices and lessons learned would be of significant value. International Technical Advisor will provide the expert knowledge to UNDP, contributing to consolidation and complementarities among the outcomes and outputs of all three projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of the current assignment will be diverse and will encompass the advisory/expert support to COBERM, CSSP and UK Fund projects.

The consultant will work under overall guidance of CPR Portfolio Team Leader, direct supervision of National Project Coordinators in Tbilisi and in Sukhumi and in close cooperation with COBERM, CSSP and UK Fund teams, and will be responsible for:

Providing expert advice on issues related to the projects’ strategic directions ensuring a proportional approach, cohesion and coordination between three actions and their components.
Supporting effective planning, implementation and donor reporting;
Contributing to timely delivery of project outputs, results and targets, as listed in the project document;
Providing on-demand support on any issue of relevance to the projects in line with her/his experience and expertise.

Deliverables and payment modality

First Installment (47% of deliverables due by 1 September 2021):

Content management and conflict-sensitive communication strategy for COBERM online platform (COBERM)
Consultations to COBERM partners conducting the research on public perceptions related to peace and confidence building processes and analytical inputs in the research report (COBERM)
Advanced capacity building plan for COBERM partner CSOs (COBERM)
Baseline research with the support from local experts to explore public perceptions towards civil society (develop questionnaires for the survey, define target groups and sampling strategies, conduct training for focus group facilitators, supervise analysis of social media, analyze collected data and produce final research report) (CSSP)
Content management and conflict-sensitive communication strategies for CSSP/CRC online platforms (website, FB page, Instagram, You-Tube) (CSSP)
Revised and updated inception documents (UK fund)
Quarterly analysis of local socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics and trends in terms of their possible impact on the smooth implementation of the actions (COBERM/UK Fund/CSSP)

Second Installment (27% of deliverables due by 1 December 2021):

Outline 3-5 most suitable alternatives for joint Study Tours prepared in an evidence-based manner so that it meets the prodoc requirements as well as needs of CSOs, etc. (COBERM)
Research report on most successful civil society support initiatives with recommendations on 3 most suitable partners for Study Tours (CSSP)
Concept note with practical recommendations for the Project Team and new entry points based on the best practices and lessons learned (UK Fund)
Quarterly analysis of local socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics and trends in terms of their possible impact on the smooth implementation of the actions (COBERM/UK Fund/CSSP)

Third Installment (16% of deliverables due by 1 March 2022):

Concept note for the CSO Fair (CSSP)
Summary of key results and achievements, risk analysis, and lessons learned for donor reporting (UK Fund)
Summary of key results and achievements, risk analysis, and lessons learned for donor reporting (COBERM)
Summary of key results and achievements, risk analysis, and lessons learned for donor reporting (CSSP)
Quarterly analysis of local socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics and trends in terms of their possible impact on the smooth implementation of the actions (COBERM/UK Fund/CSSP)

Fourth Installment (10% of deliverables due by 31 May 2022):

Develop exit strategy document for COBERM (COBERM)
CRC sustainability strategy (CSSP)
Quarterly analysis of local socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics and trends in terms of their possible impact on the smooth implementation of the actions (COBERM/UK Fund/CSSP)

All deliverables/outputs need to be prepared in English. The produced documents shall be subject to proofreading, while the quality of the final versions is subject to UNDP approval. Payment for the services will be carried out in four installments, upon certification of successful completion of the assigned working packages/deliverables by UNDP through validation of Project Coordinators and approval of the CPR Team Leader. In case any of the deliverable is not accomplished in line with the payment schedule, installments can be reduced proportionally based on number of working days per deliverable.

Travel requirements

The CTA is expected to have at least two missions to Sukhumi in the course of the assignment (up to 9 travel days for both missions). In case missions are impossible due to pandemic or any other technical reason, working days for missions can be used for remote consultancy. This shall be agreed with CPR Team Leader in advance.

Preliminary travel schedule is presented below:

Main mission activities during the period June – July 2021 (up to 9 days)

Conduct a baseline research under CSSP with the support from local experts (up to 7 days)
Explore possible scenarios for CRC sustainability (2 days)

In case of travel restrictions (e.g., due to COVID-19) or any other reasons preventing the consultant from carrying out the field missions, the consultancy might be delivered remotely through home-based work upon approval of CPR Team Leader. In such case, UNDP will not pay the estimated mission costs but only the authorized and realized number of expert-days.

Competencies

Interpersonal and communication skills:

Creative and open-minded approach within inflexible and tough conflict contexts;
Strong communication skills and proven ability to support different actors and parties to engage into the peacebuilding processes (UNCT, Government, civil society, etc.);
Flexibility, discretion, and tact;
Excellent diplomatic skills and ability to work in very sensitive political environments;
Experience in managing a multi-cultural team, proven conflict sensitivity.

Professional skills:

Out-of-box mindset;
Good analysis and judgment;
Teamwork, proven time management and results-orientation;
Proactive in problem-solving and recommendation for conflict transformation;
Strong ability in understanding and managing confidential and politically sensitive issues, in a responsible way.

Technical aptitudes:

Strong written and oral presentation skills of proposals, briefings, reports, strategies, etc.
Ability to prepare clear and comprehensive written analytical reports under tight deadlines;
Strong computer skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters' degree in Peace and Conflict studies, Political Science, International Relations or other relevant academic fields (minimum requirement: 10 points).

Experience:

At least 5 years of experience in the field of peacebuilding, civil society support, conflict transformation, conflict management, trust and confidence building (minimum requirement: 5 years - 10 points, more than 5 years - additional 5 points)
At least 5 years of working in post conflict situations and knowledge of the regional context (minimum requirement: 5 years - 8 points, more than 5 years - additional 7 points)
Knowledge of the United Nations system, practices, and procedures, including UNDP program modalities, particularly in conflict-affected areas will be an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required; knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis (technical and financial). Technical evaluation consists of desk review and interview. Maximum total obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria (desk review and interview) equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors not meeting any of the minimum qualification requirements will be disqualified. Those offerors who pass 70% threshold (25 points) as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Those offerors who pass 70% threshold (28 points) as a result of the interview will be invited to submit financial proposals.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum. Payments are based upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP does 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. In order, to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion): Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well. The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant with the highest scores based on desk review, interview and financial evaluation.