UNDP Jobs - 99468- National Consultant on Strengthening the Delivery

National Consultant on Strengthening the Delivery of Social Services for PwDs

Location :

Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

20-Jun-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 55 working days within period of 21 June - 31 December 2021

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

The Joint Programme “Transforming Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Georgia” is a joint initiative of six UN agencies - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Office of High Commissionaire on Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and World Health Organization (WHO).

This project is funded by the Joint SDG Fund.

This Joint Programme (JP) aims to address one of the largest gaps in Georgia’s social protection system in order to transform the situation of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in the country. The overall strategy of the project is to address one of the key factors leading to social exclusion of people with disabilities in the society, i.e. the societal and institutional medical approach to people with disabilities, which considers disability as individual deficiency. Introduction of the social model of disability will be supported by addressing the data, legal and institutional framework and definition of disability and related social protection, while simultaneously increasing societal awareness and stimulating change of social norms, providing support for empowering organizations of people with disabilities as important change agents and expanding employment opportunities for PwD.

The JP will deliver the following results:

Legislative framework and evidence-based policy environment are strengthened and non-discriminatory social norms promoted to enable all PwDs to effectively enjoy their rights;
Existing pilot of disability status assessment system based on the social model of disability is expanded to at least one more region of Georgia;
Capacities for data collection, monitoring and advocacy improved for the implementation of Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action (ICPD PoA), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action (BFPA), Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Commission on the Status of Women (CSW);
Equal employment opportunities promoted and expanded for all PwDs regardless of age and sex.
Gender-sensitive disability assessment and status determination system transformed based on social model;
Systems strengthened to enable quality integrated services for PwDs, including revised social system entitlements, especially for children, women and young people.

To accomplish the above activities, the project will partner with the following institutions: Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories of Georgia, Labor, Health and Social Affairs, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Public Defender’s Office, National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, National Statistics Office of Georgia (GEOSTAT), Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, Human Rights Secretariat, Government’s Administration and local self-government.

Duties and Responsibilities

One of the objectives of the project is to support the Government of Georgia in strengthening social protection system to enable quality integrated services for persons with disabilities.

In July 2020 the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (LRPD) https://matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/4923984?publication=0, which stipulates the obligation of the Government to develop and implement programmes aimed at social protection and establish a number of mechanisms/systems that should ensure the full realization of the rights of persons with disabilities.

Under the LRPD the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia (MoIDPLHSA) is committed to develop social services adjusted to the needs of persons with disabilities and promote the provision of services on an equal basis with others.

For this purpose, it is important to establish a Coordinating Council at the MoIDPLHSA to Promote Services for Persons with Disabilities , that will ensure mainstreaming of the disability issues into social policy and major social services of the state, as well as improvement of access to and quality of services for PwDs. This unified national platform will be responsible for coordination on the matters related to the provision of social services for PwDs between the Government and local self-government bodies (including municipal administrations, NGOs and LEPLs); as well as with non-governmental (local, international), donor, international and private organizations working in the field,.

UNDP supported the elaboration of the LRPD through financial assessment of the enactment of law. The effectiveness of the Law and therefore, positive changes in lives of PwDs, could not be achieved without the proper implementation of its provisions. It is essentially important to support Governmental agencies to elaborate comprehensive policy documents and programmes enshrined in LRPD and ensure their proper implementation.

For the mentioned reasons, it was decided to hire a national consultant who will support the MoIDPLHSA to analyze the obligations provided by LRPD; to promote disability mainstreaming in social policy and programmes; to coordinate the implementation of obligations under the CRPD and LRPD at the level of the Ministry. The Consultant will also facilitate the operation of the Coordinating Council and support the cooperation with stakeholders.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Sensitivity and adaptability to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies

Excellent communication skills (spoken, written and presentational);
Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in and with teams;
Ability to set priorities and manage time effectively.

The payment schedule is given below and will be made upon competition, submission and approval of deliverables by the supervisor:

5.50 % of the consultancy fee:

Study the obligations provided by the LRPD at the central and local level in terms of provision of social services for PwDs;

3.63 % of the consultancy fee:

Assist the MoIDPLHSA to develop/modify the decree of the Coordination Council and establish the committees;

10.90 % of the consultancy fee:

Provide the situational analysis in the areas of the social model pilot of the disability status determination, deinstitutionalization of PwDs, decentralization of the social services and quality assurance/monitoring of the services.

10.90 % of the consultancy fee:

Develop the annual work plan of the Coordination Council, including the deliverables;

21.81 % of the consultancy fee:

Document and disseminate information about the activities carried out by the Coordination Council;

43.63 % of the consultancy fee:

Coordinate activities and organizing meetings of the Coordination Council;

3.63 % of the consultancy fee:

Develop final activity report.

Management arrangements

The National Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Project Manager. The Consultant will have close working relations with the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, LEPL Agency For State Care And Assistance For the (Statutory) Victims of Human trafficking, other relevant governmental institutions, local self-government bodies and organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) during the implementation of the assignment under this ToR.

The expert will be directly responsible for, reporting to, seeking approval from, and obtaining a certificate of acceptance of outputs from the Project Manager.

MoIDPLHSA and UNDP’s respective project team will assist the Consultant in acquiring relevant documentation, data and other necessary information.

MoIDPLHSA will be providing office and logistical arrangements.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, law, human rights and/or international law or other related fields (Minimum qualification requirement – 15 points).

Experience:

At least 3-years of professional experience in the rights of persons with disabilities (Minimum qualification requirement - 5 points, additional years of experience – 5 points);
At least 2-years of experience in working for governments and/or non-governmental organizations on consultancy assignments related to the accessibility of social services (Minimum qualification requirement - 5 points, additional years of experience – 5 points);
Experience in developing guidelines and/or action plans on the rights of persons with disabilities at least one guideline or action plan drafted (alone or in cooperation with other authors) should be presented upon request by the Project team (Minimum qualification requirement - 5 points);
At least 3-years of experience in research and analysis (Minimum qualification requirement – 5, additional years of experience – 5 points);

Language Requirements:

Excellent English and Georgian skills (both written and verbal);

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis: Individual consultants will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review and interview of applications. Experts not meeting any of minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of candidates for further technical evaluation. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 points (70%) (50 points and interview: 20 points) and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Technical criteria composed of desk review (40 points) and interview (30 points). Offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the desk review (i.e. 50 x 70% = 35 points) will be invited for the interview. Those offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores for interviews of (i.e. 20 x 70% = 14 points) will be considered as short-listed offerors and requested to provide financial proposals.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR. 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.