UNDP Jobs - 77200- International consultant for assessment of the exi

International consultant for assessment of the existing modalities for social enterprises in the country and recommendations for sustainable models to support employment of vulnerable groups

Location :

Home based and mission to Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-Mar-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Estimated up to 15 working days 01 March to 10 April

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

UNDP is the development arm of the United Nations system, with offices in 180 countries. Globally, the organization employs 17,000 people and manages a budget of USD 5 billion each year.

The UNDP office in Skopje employs a team of 65 and currently manages a portfolio of projects in environmental protection, good governance and social inclusion worth USD 15 million per year.

UNDP is seeking an international consultant specialized in social enterprises to conduct an assessment of existing modalities for social enterprises in the country and recommend sustainable models to use social enterprises to expand the employment of vulnerable and hard-to-employ groups.

UNDP has supported the Government in designing and implementing a range of active labour market measures since 2007, with a focus on mitigating one of the key contributors to poverty and social exclusion: high joblessness among vulnerable groups.

Continuing this work, UNDP is now working with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to develop new measures to address unemployment among groups that are underrepresented in the labour market (including Roma and people with disabilities).

This new initiative focuses on the employment opportunities for Roma, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalized groups that can be generated through social entrepreneurship.

There is no legislation defining social entrepreneurship but a draft Law is in an advanced phase and provides a sound basis for analysis of the envisaged legal provisions that will cover social enterprises. Despite the lack of a legal framework, some social enterprises already function in the country and offer empirical evidence on possible business modalities, including both private entities and NGOs, types of possible business activities and business models, and the characteristics of the employed members of the vulnerable groups.

Objective

The objective of this assignment is a) to assess the existing modalities for social enterprises in the country; and b) given the specific country context, to make recommendations on how social entrepreneurship can be used to expand the employment of Roma and persons with disabilities. The recommended model should include practical solutions to enhance the capacity of social enterprises to create and sustain decent jobs for the members of the target groups. In parallel, it should outline paths for professional development for Roma and PwDs taking into consideration the specific barriers they may face in working in social enterprises.

Duties and Responsibilities

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the international consultant will undertake the following duties:

Review and assess the capacities of 10 NGOs that have potential to expand the employment and/or skills of Roma and persons with disabilities;
Identify the types of business activities and business models of the analyzed social enterprises and NGOs and, to the extent possible, define the key factors of their business success or failure;
Identify the characteristics of the employed members of the vulnerable groups in the analyzed social enterprises and, based on the findings, indicate features of the candidates with highest employment prospects and propose key support measures to facilitate access to jobs for those with lower employability potential.
Examine the knowledge of the social enterprises about the current employment policies, available active labour market measures and subsidies from the special fund for supporting the private sector in achieving their financial and economic growth projections while employing vulnerable groups and creating better working environment and long-term employment prospects for people with disability;
Conduct an assessment of the capacities of social enterprises as potential project partners to support employment of Roma and persons with disabilities;
Identify the key hindering factors, the existing incentives and the needed support for the social enterprises to employ members of these groups. For this purpose, a small-scale survey of their representatives and/or focus group(s) can be organized to elicit a broader variety of perspectives and deeper insights;
Analyze the draft national Law on social entrepreneurship and (1) identify the possible limiting factors for the development of initiatives in this area and suggest ways in which the social enterprises can mitigate the adverse effects; and (2) detect the opportunities for growth and propose actions in which they can be optimally utilized;
Identify other areas and instruments of state support needed to create an eco-system conducive to the creation and development of social entrepreneurship by considering among others the needs and barriers pointed out by the analyzed social enterprises;
Analyze the possibilities and the requirements for establishing training / rehabilitation centers within the business practices of the most successful social enterprises and their replication in other regions. In this regard, identify as well idle state-owned resources that can be deployed for training and business purposes within these training / rehabilitation centers;
Identify and review experiences and good practices in the country and globally with focus on EU member states, and recommend applicable solutions.
Recommend sustainable models that can effectively support (1) the business growth of social enterprises and their capacity to generate sustainable jobs for Roma and PwDs; and (2) the professional development of these persons taking into consideration the specific barriers they may face in the work environment. The recommendations should address (1) measures that can be independently undertaken at social enterprise level; (2) measures designed on national level with an emphasis on the national employment policies; and (3) support services for facilitating access to employment for target groups.

All deliverables/outputs are subject to review and approval by the UNDP Country Office.

Deliverables

Under the guidance of the Head of UNDP’s Social Inclusion Unit, the consultant will provide:

Deliverable 1: An analytical report containing key information and findings from the analysis of social enterprises related to (1) labour market inclusion of Roma and persons with disabilities; and (2) the business features and growth patterns of these enterprises.
Deliverable 2: Recommendations for sustainable models to support social enterprises in (1) employing Roma and persons with disabilities; and (2) assisting their business growth. The Recommendations paper shall include concise Action Plans, including an overview of the main proposed actions, their time frames, responsible actors, and an estimate of the associated costs.

Duration of assignment and travel

The assignment shall commence on 01 March 2018 and should be completed latest by 10 April 2018. The duration of the assignment is estimated at up to 15 days including one mission of up to 7 days to Skopje.

Payment schedule

The payment will be executed in one installment upon submission and approval of Deliverable 1 and Deliverable 2.

Competencies

Strong research, analytical, reporting and writing abilities.
Ability to work under pressure and to use time efficiently.
Ability to identify priority activities and adjusts them as required.
Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Sensitive to issues of concern to vulnerable groups.
Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications/education: A Bachelor’s Degree in economics, social policy, sociology or other relevant development field. A Master’s Degree in economics, social policy, sociology or other relevant development field is considered as a strong asset.

Experience:
• At least 5 years of professional experience in working with social enterprises and delivering advisory for support services for their business development and employment generation.
• At least 2 years of experience working on labour market integration of hard to employ groups.
• Experience in promoting Roma employment and/or employment of people with disabilities is not mandatory but it is considered as an asset.

Application Procedure

Step 1
• Click on the "Apply now" button
• Input your information in the appropriate sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume, and motivation (cover letter). You can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box.
• Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload other required documents listed in the step 2.

Step 2
Interested individual consultants must submit the documents/information listed below to demonstrate their qualifications. The system will allow only one attachment. Therefore, please upload the following documents as one file:
• Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable candidate for the assignment;
• Brief (1-2 pages) description of the methodology for carrying out the assignment;
• CV and/or P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees
• Evidence of experience as per Annex A_Evidence of professional experience(to be completed by the consultant).
• Financial Proposal* - specifying: Financial Proposal All-inclusive* - specifying
a) total lump sum in US$ per deliverable
b) mission related costs including : travel costs (most direct and economical route) and per diem for the mission in Skopje (Note that max UNDP Living allowance for Skopje is 167 USD for overnight stay. Under no circumstance UNDP would accept higher per diem rate than this.),
c) number of working days.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Evaluation of Offers
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring methodology. When using this method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/ compliant, and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria.

Out of the maximum score of 100 points, the score for technical criteria equals 70% - maximum 70 points, and for financial criteria 30% - maximum 30 points.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria (70% of total evaluation – maximum 70 points)

• A Bachelor’s Degree in economics, social policy, sociology or other relevant development field. A Master degree in economy, social policy, sociology or other relevant development field is considered as a strong asset. Max. 10 points:
Bachelor’s Degree: 7 points
Master’s Degree: 10 points

• At least 5 years of professional experience in working with social enterprises and delivering support services for their business development and employment generation. Max. 20 points:
From 5 to 7 years: 15 points
From 7 to 10 years: 17 points
More than 10 years: 20 points

• At least 2 years of experience working on labour market integration of hard to employ groups. Max. 20 points:
From 2 to 4 years: 15 points
From 4 to 6 years: 17 points
More than 6 years: 20 points

• Proposed methodology
The methodological approach is relevant and applicable: 12 points
The methodological approach is relevant, applicable, concise and it provides well thought out solutions for realistic and timely implementation of the planned activities: 15 points

• Experience in promoting Roma employment and/or employment of people with disabilities is not mandatory but it is considered as an asset. Max 5 points.

Only candidates who will obtain at least 49 points and will score at least 70% of the maximum points obtainable for the four mandatory technical criteria will be considered for financial evaluation.

Financial Criteria (30% of total evaluation – maximum 30 points):

The offer with the lowest price will receive the maximum of 30 points. Other offers with higher prices will receive their respective scores according the following formula:

   Lowest Bid
               ------------------- x 30
                Proposed Bid

The contract will be awarded to the candidate that will obtain the highest aggregate score based on the technical and financial evaluation.

Individual Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.