UNDP Jobs - 82848- Chief Technical Advisor (International Consultant)

Chief Technical Advisor (International Consultant)

Location :

Manila, PHILIPPINES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

31-Jan-2019

Application Deadline :

18-Jan-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

85 days spread over 6 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

January 2019 to July 2019

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

Project Title: Pipol Konek

Background?

The Philippines is recognized as a high user of online services: an estimated 67 million Filipinos use Facebook. Yet 59% of the population and 72% of all households lack access to the internet. The Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project, otherwise known as Pipol Konek, was implemented starting June 2016. Pipol Konek aims to provide free broadband Internet access to public places across the country. The target beneficiary sites of Pipol Konek is 13,024 by December 2018. As of August 2018, a total of 3,509 sites have already been installed, with 1,592 live sites and 1,689 sites with access points installed but awaiting telco links.

On August 2, 2017, Republic Act No. 10929 otherwise known as the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act of 2017 was enacted, which mandates the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) as the lead implementing agency that will oversee the effective and efficient implementation of said Act. Under said law, the Free Public Internet Access Program was created that shall provide free access to internet service in public places throughout the country such as the national and local government offices; public basic education institutions; state universities and colleges, and TESDA technology institutions; public hospitals, health centers and rural health units; public parks, plazas, libraries, and barangay reading centers; public airports and seaports; and public transport terminals.

The vision is to reach 200,000 sites by 2026. However, challenges in the bidding and implementation process, limited access to cost-effective and up-to-date technology options, as well as limited capacity of Philippine telecommunications companies at the local level have slowed progress toward this goal.

This proposed project will support DICT’s commitment to accelerate the roll-out of the?Pipol Konek project. Working in partnership with DICT, UNDP will use its National Acceleration Modality to draw international expertise and temporarily apply its procurement system for managed services contracts for designated areas that currently have no or limited access to internet in public places. This phase of the DICT-UNDP partnership aims to expand internet access in up to 6,000 additional sites.

The project will contribute to closing the digital divide in the Philippines by providing incentives to encourage new and existing local and international service providers to expand internet coverage in designated areas. The project will incorporate third-party monitoring mechanisms to ensure internet service providers meet service quality standards. The project will also include resources to develop the capacity of DICT staff to oversee the procurement, management and implementation of future large-scale Information Communication Technology (ICT) investments. Governance arrangements will be established for the project that ensure proactive management of project activities and performance.

Institutional Arrangements

?Under the overall guidance of the UNDP Philippines Resident Representative, the Consultant will work closely with the Senior Advisor. The UNDP Philippines Resident Representative will be the final approving authority for the outputs of the consultant.???
The IC will maintain pro-active communications with the responsible officer in UNDP and provide regular updates in the form of a short interim report at the end of the first week of the mission, highlighting main findings and any specific concerns or issues that need to be addressed during subsequent meetings and discussions.
UNDP will not provide any equipment but will arrange for office facilities, support personnel, and logistical support during the in-country mission dates.
In-country travel may be required as part of the assignment.? Payment of travel costs as per UNDP Travel policy, agreed upon between UNDP and the Consultant prior to travel.

Duration of Work?

To undertake the tasks, procedures, and expected outputs, the consultant shall be engaged for a period of up to 85 days over six (6) months. Effectivity of the engagement will be upon signing of the contract and will be valid until all outputs have been delivered and accepted. The target start-of-work date is January 31, 2019 and the expected completion date is July 31, 2019.

Duty Station

The position will be based in Manila to allow accessibility and availability for discussions and reporting on progress of activities as may be required by the UNDP. Though the consultant will not be required to report regularly, status reports and feedbacks on the outputs shall be expected from time to time.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments?

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be a fixed, output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

1st Tranche (10%) -?Signed contract; submission and approval of a proposed workplan?

2nd Tranche (20%) - Submission and acceptance of Report on the Philippine Free Wi-Fi infrastructure

3rd Tranche (20%) - Submission and acceptance of Pipol Konek project document; study design and methodology of relevant studies

4th Tranche (30%) - Submission and acceptance of?Final bid documents; technical inputs to the bid evaluation process

5th Tranche (20%) - Submission and acceptance of Final Report

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

A key member of the project management team, the Chief Technical Advisor is expected to perform the following duties:

Develop a comprehensive report on the technology options for implementing Free Wi-Fi infrastructure access, including a detailed mapping of (i) Access Points, Municipal Points of Presence, Provincial Points of Presence and DICT core infrastructure, and (ii) linkages and dependencies with various components of the National Broadband Plan.
Provide guidance on the development, conduct, and quality assurance in terms of content, technical quality and accuracy of the following studies:

National connectivity assessment which will explore in detail how the request for proposal for the initial phases of the Pipol Konek – Free Wi-Fi Internet Access in Public Places Project of DICT were carried out. These include history and challenges of going to the market to provide free internet and the lessons learned, history of independent ISPs and the experience there-in, etc.;
Review of other countries’ Free Wi-Fi programs and fit with local context;
Area-based research which will attempt to provide a comprehensive profile of target project sites of Pipol Konek which suffer from supply and demand disadvantages when dealing with internet access as well as map out procedures and processes for LGUs, civil society groups and citizens to test and monitor quality of service;
Capacity assessment of DICT’s ability to design, deploy and manage technical infrastructure projects;

Draft bidding documents to encourage wide market participation, promote use of cost-effective technologies to reach the last mile, and enable a sustainable business model for the long-term provision of internet in public places, including livelihood opportunities for local communities;
Work with UNDP procurement staff to determine the most appropriate process and packaging of the bidding documents to achieve intended outcomes;
Provide technical input and review assistance to bid evaluation process;
Assist in drafting the full ProDoc for?Pipol Konek-Free Wifi Internet Access in Public Spaces including Procurement Plan;
Communicate with DICT for project progress and any possible program opportunity; and
Provide overall project advisory services and technical assistance to the UNDP Pipol Konek Project Team and work in close cooperation with the Project Manager.

Competencies

Corporate

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN mission, vision, values and ethical standards
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Promotes UNDP’s agenda in meetings

Functional

Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Comprehensiveness knowledge of IT systems and internet service provision in remote contexts;
Outstanding communication, project management and organizational skills;
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

TECHNICAL

Education

Master's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Project Management, Information Technology/Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Electronics and Communications Engineering or related subjects (30 points)

Experience

Minimum of 10 (ten) years experience as a senior manager/consultant with responsibility for designing, delivering and managing the deployment of internet services (30 points)
Developing country experience in Africa and Asia (20 points)
Provision of technical guidamce on implementation and completion of key components/activities, inputs on key technical decisions at strategic moments in the project implementation (10 points)

Language

Can speak and write in English fluently (10 points) - Minimum passing score is 70 out of 100 points

Evaluation Method and Criteria

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%) and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Documentation Required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided.
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.
Technical proposal, including a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
Financial proposal, as per template provided.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Application requirements should be emailed to procurement.ph@undp.org on or before 18 January 2019, 5pm (Manila Time).

Attachments can be downloaded at the link below (Financial proposal and P11 Form):

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=52579

Please make sure that your email does not exceed 4mb.

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notifed.