Background

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for UNDP’s external relations, advocacy and communications functions. The Bureau leads and supports the organization in cultivating, building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances that are essential for advancing and successfully achieving the mission of UNDP.

Within BERA, the Partnerships Group oversees the relationships with UNDP’s resource partners as well as leads BERA’s efforts to identify resource mobilization opportunities, challenges, incentives, instruments and mechanisms.

The Japan Unit, under the Partnerships Group, manages the partnership with the Government of Japan - one of the biggest contributors to UNDP. The Unit works as an oversite mechanism to ensure that an integrated, networked, and coordinated approach is taken across the organization in maintaining and advancing the partnership with Japan.

The work of the Japan Unit is aligned to the Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and works to ensure higher quality programmes through better project planning, design, monitoring and evaluation with greater cost efficiency, and higher quality delivery.

 Objective:

The purpose of this procurement exercise is to contract an individual consultant who will provide Project management support to the Japan Unit. Japan have long been a top bilateral donor (2009-2016 (except for 2014) in combined Core/non-Core contribution. The proper project management for earmarked Japan fund projects is indispensable for maintaining the strong relationship with UNDP-Japan. The Japan Unit is responsible for its daily management of an information database for earmarked Japan funds. The individual project status in the database needs to be updated in consultation with the concerned Bureaus so that the Japan Unit can respond to inquiries in a timely manner.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

To meet with the Government of Japan’s expectations, the Japan Unit established an information database for earmarked Japan funds and is responsible for its daily management. The individual project status in the database needs to be updated in consultation with the concerned Bureaus so that the Japan Unit can respond to inquiries in a timely manner.

Closer monitoring is required for the fund transfer, submissions of final financial/narrative reports, timely request of project extensions from country offices, the refund of project remaining balance, and the overall partnership fund financial reporting to maintain trust in the relationship with Japan. Analytical work is also necessary and will be used for annual discussions with the Japanese government and senior level meetings to present UNDP’s uniqueness and advantages.

Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Head of Japan Unit and UNDP-JICA/Japan Collaboration Advisor, the Consultant will perform the following tasks during the assignment period:

1. Ensure the transfer of Japan funds including the process of newly approved projects and refund of remaining balance of each project in coordination with the Global Shared Services Unit (GSSU)/ Bureau of Management Services (BMS) and Regional Bureaus/Country Offices;

2. Monitor the progress of Japan-funded projects and update information in the information database designed for earmarked Japanese funds by coordinating with Regional Bureaus and other concerned Bureaus (focus on the projects funded after 2006);

3. Support fund management and financial monitoring of Japan-funded projects by coordinating with BMS and BERA related teams;

4. Coordinate and ensure Regional Bureaus/Country Offices’ submission of final narrative and financial reports and extension requests to the Government of Japan to confirm with the project management agreement between UNDP and the Government of Japan;

5. Analyze the trends of Japan-funded projects by regions, sectors, etc. utilizing the information database systems including Atlas and PowerBI and update the intranet Japan page (including funding action plan and partnership brochure).

6. Update and respond to inquiries on the fund management and visibility guidance as an institutional memory of the Japan Unit, especially to deal with different scenarios of Japan funded projects;

7. Provide technical and logistical support relating to the work of the Japan Unit including the drafting of briefing notes and supporting the missions (including but not limited to the annual strategic policy dialogue and high-level Japan missions).

8. Support the annual strategic policy dialogue and high-level Japan missions.

9. Coordinate with and support Partnership Group/BERA and other internal Japan Unit counterparts.

Expected outputs and deliverables:

Competencies

• Excellent project management and fund management skills
• Excellent research and analytical skills
• Excellent organizational, general administrative, and time management skills 
• Strong language proficiency of both English and Japanese (oral and written)
• Strong computer skills and ability to produce information visually
• Ability for problem-solving, multi-tasking, meet deadlines and work under pressure
• Ability to work as part of a team in a constantly evolving work environment

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

• A master’s degree in social sciences or similar fields is required.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of experience in development project management, database management, or related field is required.

• Experience within the UN System/UNDP will be an asset.

• Experience in Japan’s ODA related activities will be an asset.

• Knowledge of the Japanese administrative and fiscal system is a plus.

Language:

• Strong language proficiency of both English and Japanese (oral and written) is required;

• Working knowledge of another UN language would be an asset

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;

candidates are required to submit any of a certified English test result.

All Candidates are required to demonstrate strong proficiency in Japanese language on their CV. Candidates who are not native speakers but reflect their ability to speak Japanese will need to provide language certification.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.

In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

If the 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 a 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.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being 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 where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (700 points):

• Criteria A: Demonstrated project and fund management skills and knowledge for Japan’s ODA and the UN System/UNDP.  Maximum Points:  100 points
• Criteria B:  Demonstrable experience within the UN System/UNDP with Japan’s ODA related activities will be an asset. Maximum Points: 200 points  

                     - More than two years of relevant experience with either the UN System/UNDP or Japan’s ODA – 50 points.

                     - 1 to 2 years of relevant experience of both the UN System/UNDP and Japan’s ODA - 100 points.

                     - More than 2 years of relevant experience of both the UN System/UNDP and Japan’s ODA related activities – 200 points.

Criteria C: Strong Proficiency in Japanese and English:   Demonstrated knowledge of the Japanese language as a native Japanese speaker on their CV's. Candidates who are not native speakers, but reflect their ability to speak Japanese will need to provide language certification or a writing sample together with the CV. For English Language, candidates also should submit any of a certified English test result. Maximum Points:  100 points; and

 Part 2 of Technical Evaluation

•  Written Test:  100 points
• Interview: Maximum Points: 200 points

A written test will be administered to the top (6) six longlisted candidate to further assess Criteria A and C.

Having reviewed applications received, UNDP will invite the top (4)four shortlisted candidates for interview. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (490 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (700 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (300 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate 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

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement

The Consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Head of the Japan Unit/BERA and the UNDP-JICA/Japan Collaboration Advisor and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

The Consultant will report to the UNDP-Japan/JICA Collaboration Advisor and his/her performance will be assessed against deliverables.

The Consultant will also interact with the Japan Unit/PG/BERA and PG/BERA staff on a regular basis, and meet with senior managers and key line staff, as required.

The Head of the Japan Unit/BERA (or the UNDP-JICA/Japan Collaboration Advisor) to whom the Consultant is accountable will hold inception, mid-term and conclusion meetings to assess the quality of the deliverables and make necessary adjustments to ensure expected outputs and deliverables are met. 

The consultant will be required to report to work at UNDP HQ, daily, and will be provided with the necessary equipment.

Duration of the Work

The Consultant will work over an uninterrupted period of six months and be based in New York, USA. The assignment is expected to commence by 25 March 2019 and will be concluded by 26 September 2019 (for approximately 131 working days), at which time all deliverables will have been produced.

 Duty Station

 UNDP HQ (New York, USA)

Payment modality

•  Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
• The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org 

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.