UNDP Jobs - 61456- Report Writer to Support the UN High-level Panel o

Report Writer to Support the UN High-level Panel on Innovation and Access to Health Technologies

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Dec-2015

Application Deadline :

18-Nov-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Up to 50 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

From 1 December 2015 to 30 June 2016

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 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS supports UNDP’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 7 outcomes including strengthening institutions to progressively deliver universal access to basic services (outcome 3). The HIV Health and Sustainable development team, within BPPS, is helping to contribute towards this outcome.

HIV, Health and Development Approach

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals. For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment. UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

As the lead agency on human rights and law within UNAIDS, UNDP led an independent Global Commission on HIV and the Law in June 2010 to interrogate the relationship between legal responses, human rights and HIV. The Commission completed its work in July 2012, with the release of its final report ‘HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health.’ Amongst other legal issues affecting the HIV epidemic, the report includes analysis, findings and recommendations on laws and policies affecting access to treatment.

Duties and Responsibilities

As a founding co-sponsor of UNAIDS , guided by the health-related MDGs, particularly MDG 6; “to halt and reverse the spread and HIV, Malaria and other epidemics by 2015”, UNDP is mandated to provide support to governments in their implementation of policies and programs that protect the human rights of people affected by HIV. Under this assignment, contributing to UNAIDS Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) objectives, the consultant will attend, record and compile key discussions and decision points taken during activities undertaken by UNDP in its role as Secretariat to a UN High-Level Panel on health-related issues.

Specific Deliverables:

Under the overall supervision of the Team Leader, Rights, Law and Access to Medicines, HIV, Health and Development Team and the Director: HIV, Health and Development Group, the Consultant will be responsible for taking a detailed record of the discussions during the prescribed activities, later producing a comprehensive report that highlights key points and summarizes the main outcomes.

Expected Outputs:

Attended four (4) - six (6) events relating to the UN High-Level Panel on health-related issues. Expected deadline: 15 May 2016
Production of an annotated outline of the draft report of UN High-Level Panel on health-related issues. Expected deadline: 1 February 2016;
A comprehensive first draft report of key background, discussion items, points of contention, and recommendations reached during the course of the work of the UN High-Level Panel on health-related issues. Expected deadline: 15 April 2016
Incorporating comments received on the draft, final report of UN High-Level Panel on health-related issues. Expected deadline: 15 May 2016;
Production of a stand-alone Executive Summary for the final report of the UN High-Level Panel on health-related issues produced. Expected deadline: 30 May 2016.

Reporting:

The consultant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the set targets with the Team Leader, Rights, Law and Access to Medicines.

Travel

The consultant may be expected to undertake travels to London and South Africa. However, the dates and duration of the travels are still not decided. Once confirmed, UNDP will make all the necessary travel arrangements including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses.

Timeframe

The consultant’s assignment is home-based (UNDP HQ NY) and is expected to last up to 50 days, completed part-time, as required, over the period from 1 December 2015 – 30 June 2016.

Payment

Payment will be based on the number of days worked by the consultancy fee rate, and will be certified each month through the submission by the consultant of Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet, certified by the direct supervisor. The rate will be based on the all-inclusive daily rate or rate mentioned in the Offeror’s letter to UNDP.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies:

Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products,
Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the in public health, international affairs, communications or a related field.

Project and Resource Management

Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs;
Ability to focus on impact and results for the client, promoting and demonstrating an ethic of client service;
Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs;
Sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to manage competing priorities.

Partnership building and team work

Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment.

Communications and Advocacy

Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speak clearly; and convincingly;
Strong analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree in public health, international affairs, communications or a related field.

Experience:

Minimum of 15 years work experience of relevant policy and/or communications in international affairs or a related field.
Proven expertise and track-record of writing/reporting high-level events and/or projects relating to activities at the national or international level,
Excellent writing and editorial skills, as evidenced by a writing sample.

Language Requirement:

Excellent written and spoken English;
Working knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Evaluation:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review and/or an interview process. Those selected for the next stage of the selection process will be reviewed based on a cumulative analysis method that combines the results of technical and financial evaluation results. Specifically, 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 weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation; Technical Criteria weight: 70 points; Financial Criteria weight: 30 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) out of a maximum 70 points on the Technical Evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria for Technical Evaluation (70 points maximum)

Advanced degree in public health, international affairs, communications or a related field (20 points)
Minimum of 10 years work experience of relevant policy and/or communications in international affairs or a related field (20 points)
Proven expertise and track-record of writing/reporting high-level events and/or projects relating to activities at the national or international level (10 points)
Excellent writing and editorial skills, as evidenced by a writing sample (20 points)

Criteria for Financial Evaluation (30 points maximum)

The following formula will be used to evaluate the 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.