Background

UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 was adopted by the Executive Board on 2 September 2021. UNDP works with countries to expand people’s choices for a fairer, sustainable future.

Anchored in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in line with the priorities outlined in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025, the Regional Hub in Amman for Arab States (RBAS) supports the Arab States region to achieve sustainable development by eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerating structural transformations for sustainable development, and building resilience to crises and shocks. Within this work, the Regional Bureau for Arab States responds to needs across different development settings including Least Developed Countries, Middle Income Countries, Net Contributor Countries and countries affected by crisis, with a view to support the building of resilience, fight climate change, leverage the promise of innovation, and prioritize the advance of women, youth and vulnerable groups as part of its commitment to the principles of universality, equality and leaving no one behind in an increasing challenging regional context which has been severely impacted by the recent COVID-19 crisis.

In addition to its presence in New York, and as part of its support to its Country Offices (COs), RBAS provides technical assistance to Country Offices in the region through the regional advisers in the Regional Hub for Arab States in Amman. The Regional Hub in Amman offers a wide range of support to COs including strategic policy advice, programme development and implementation, capacity development, policy research and analysis, knowledge services, and operations.

UNDP strategic plan has signature solution 2 as inclusive, effective, and accountable governance, and The Reimagined Governance – UNDP’s “governance” offer- developed a global program logic/structure around two outcomes: Governance for delivery of public goods and services and Governance for 

participation, representation, and agency. The first outcome is reflected through accountable, effective, and responsive governance, while the second is reflected through inclusive and democratic governance.

Furthermore, the UNDP Global Policy Network (GPN) has developed a new local governance offer and it was based on wide consultation with regions, expert groups, and practitioners. The new offer is based on an integrated system approach, which is based on a local governance portfolio that requires the engagement of all programmes, portfolios, and an inclusive participation of all local actors, like CSOs, Private sector and Local authorities.

The Governance and Peacebuilding Team seeks to implement the agenda of peace and inclusive governance in the Arab region through the provision of policy advice and technical assistance, developing inclusive regional programmes and partnerships.  The support will focus on strengthening regional capacities for conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and governance by providing practical guidance, tools, and technical support. Additionally, the team will generate support to advance the realization of SDG 16 in the Arab States region.

The three focus areas are: (1) governance; (2) conflict prevention; and (3) rule of law. Additionally, the team encompasses regional program areas such as the prevention of violent extremism (PVE), gender justice, and elections. The team is also initiating two major projects on conflict prevention and migration and displacement.

Working in close coordination with the Governance and Peacebuilding Team, the Governance Advisor needs to have a junior research consultant to review the governance portfolios in the Arab region, and also local governance and SDG 16 projects and initiatives, in order to evaluate their alignment with both the UNDP strategic plan and the Governance offer “Reimagined Governance.” The review will be based on a comprehensive mapping of projects and initiatives, including pipeline projects, and an analytical presentation of information compared to the Strategic Plan, Governance Offer as well as local governance offer. The outcome should be a set of recommendations and projects’ proposals. The analysis will also be employing gender sensitivity perspective

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Regional Governance Advisor in the UNDP Regional Hub for the Arab States, with strong coordination with relevant teams, Gender, Environment and Energy and Economic livelihood, as well as the Governance and Peacebuilding team, the Junior consultant is expected to perform the following tasks:

1. Carry out a mapping exercise of Governance programmes (existing portfolios and pipeline projects) in the 17 UNDP Country Offices in the Arab States region during 2020-2022. The mapping will establish a database of all projects and initiatives and present the findings in table format classified according to the five governance areas: accountable, effective, responsive, inclusive, and democratic governance.
2. Based on the above-mentioned mapping present a comparative analysis of the findings with other regions and with UNDP's new 2022-2025 Strategic Plan and the ‘Reimaging Governance’ global exercise.
3. Carry out a mapping exercise of the current and pipeline, local governance initiatives and projects in the 17 UNDP Country Offices in the Arab States region, during the same period of 2020-2022. Engage relevant teams in the analysis and presentation of findings as local governance projects are interlinked with other portfolios, and as the exercise aims at applying an integrated system approach. This will include, in addition to the Governance and Peacebuilding Team, Gender, Livelihood and Environment and energy teams.
4. Based on the above-mentioned mapping present a comparative analysis of the findings with other regions, the UNDP's new 2022-2025 Strategic Plan and UNDP’s global offer on local governance.
5. Carry out a mapping exercise of the current SDG 16 initiatives, like research and reports, including Voluntary National Reports, relevant projects, and pipeline proposals, in the 17 UNDP country Offices in the Arab State Region during 2016-2022. This mapping should cover the three components of peace, rule of law and strong institutions under SDG 16.
6. In coordination with the governance advisor, and the Governance and Peacebuilding Team, Proofread, and edit the three analytical review documents, with their set of recommendations and proposals for change, on Governance Program Alignment, Local Governance Initiatives, and SDG 16 initiatives in the Arab Region.

Competencies

• Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative, and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality, and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client oriented.
• Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations.
• Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.
• Planning and organizing effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.
• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working
• relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender;
• Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;
• Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote, and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary;
• Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

Required Skills and Experience

I. Education:

- Master’s degree in Social Science, International Affairs, Development, or related fields is required.

II. Work experience:

- At least five (5) years of experience in compiling and organizing research information and findings.

- Experience in development initiatives on Governance and Local Governance

- Prior working knowledge of the Arab Regions is an asset.

- Excellent communication skills, drafting and interpersonal skills.

- Experience working with the United Nations and International Organizations

III. Language Requirements:

- Language proficiency in both written and oral English is required.

- Knowledge of Arabic, French and any other UN languages is desired.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

• The individual is required to exhibit his or her full-time commitment with UNDP Regional Hub in Amman; 
• S/He shall perform tasks under the overall guidance and direct supervision of Governance Advisor, UNDP Regional Hub in Amman
• The supervision will include approvals/acceptance of the outputs and deliverables as identified in the previous section; S/He shall perform tasks under the overall guidance and direct supervision of Governance Advisor, UNDP Regional Hub in Amman;
• The individual is expected to liaise and collaborate in the course of performing the work with other consultants, suppliers, and UN colleagues; 
• The individual is required to provide periodical weekly progress reports and when requested on any period of time throughout the assignment to monitor progress;  
• The individual is required to maintain close communication with UNDP-RHA on regular and needed basis at any period throughout the assignment in order to monitor progress. In the event of any delay, S/he will inform UNDP promptly so that decisions and remedial action may be taken accordingly; and 
• Should UNDP deem it necessary, it reserves the right to commission additional inputs, reviews, or revisions, as needed to ensure the quality and relevance of the work. 

DURATION OF THE WORK

The duration of the assignment is expected to be up to (135) working days for over period of 10 calendar months from contract signature date.

DUTY STATION

Home base assignment.

TRAVEL PLAN (OPTIONAL)

If any unforeseen travel outside the individual home-based city is requested by UNDP and not required by the Terms of References (ToR), such travel shall be covered by UNDP in line with applicable rules and regulations and upon prior written agreement. In such cases, the individual shall receive living allowances not exceeding the United Nations (UN) Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate for such other location(s).

SCOPE OF PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Interested candidates should provide lump sum fees for requested services with detailed breakdown.This amount must be “all-inclusive”. Please note that the terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. Also, please note that the contract price will be Deliverables/Outputs based - not fixed - subject to change in the cost components.

The contractor will be paid an all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based lump sum amounts over the assignment period, subject to the submission of Certification of Payment (CoP) duly certified or an invoice and confirmation of satisfactory performance of achieved work (deliverables/outputs) in line with the schedule of payments table hereunder:

RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF OFFER

Interested individual consultants must submit documents under point 1&2 to demonstrate their qualifications. Candidates that fail to submit these documents, the application will not be considered.

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
3. Financial Proposal: Please do not submit financial proposal in this stage. Financial proposal shall be requested from Candidates who are considered technically responsive

When the financial proposal is requested it should indicate the all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. The terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal. If an 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 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.

Interested candidates shall submit required documents to Job Advertisement Website (https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm ) as one document not later than 23th   October 2021.

Interested candidates can find Procurement Notice, Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and P11 templates on the following link: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFERS

This selection criteria will follow the Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%; using the following evaluation criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Step I: Screening and desk review:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Applications will be first screened and only candidates meeting the following minimum requirements will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• Master’s degree in Social Science, International Affairs, Development, or related fields is required.
• A minimum of five (05) year of experience in compiling and organizing research information and findings.
• Language proficiency in both written and oral English is required.

Step II: Technical Review

Shortlisted candidates will undergo a technical evaluation and a submission of a proposal to tackle the assignment.

Technical evaluation Criteria max 100 points (Weighted 70):

• Criteria A: Master’s degree in Social Science, International Affairs, Development, or related fields is required (20 points);
•  Criteria B: A minimum of five (05) years of experience in compiling and organizing research information and findings (30 points);

•  Criteria C: Demonstrated experience in working in in development initiatives on Governance and Local Governance (20 points);

• Criteria D: Previous experience with the United Nations (UN) and/or International Organizations in the Arab States (15 points);
• Criteria E: Fluency and working proficiency in written and spoken English and knowledge of other languages like Arabic and French. (15 points)

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation

For those offers considered in the financial evaluation, the lowest price offer will receive 30 points. The other offers will receive points in relation to the lowest offer, based on the following formula: (PI / Pn) * 30 where Pn is the financial offer being evaluated and Pl is the lowest financial offer received.

Step III: Final evaluation

The final evaluation will combine the scores of the desk review and the financial proposal with the following weights assigned to each:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight: [70%]

Financial Criteria weight: [30%]

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.