UNDP Jobs - 95202- Individual Consultant – Health and Nutrition Exper

Individual Consultant – Health and Nutrition Expert - Aspirational Districts Programme

Location :

NITI Aayog, New Delhi, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Nov-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

45 days (till January 2021)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 strives to have a workforce which reflects diversity and gender balance and applies an equal opportunities approach. All selection is on merit.

Project Background:

In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This global “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity” is anchored on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the agenda’s results framework that captures universal aspirations across three dimensions of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection. The 2030 Agenda is an integrated, indivisible agenda, which balances the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability, the success of which will depend on the extent to which coherent, evidence-based plans and policies are formulated and implemented at country, regional and global levels. Today, India is the epicenter of global progress on the SDGs – the country is a leading force for climate action, home to the world’s biggest and most ambitious developmental programmes and social legislations – Housing for All, universal health coverage, digital and financial inclusion, and the empowerment of women, and it is one of the fastest growing major economies.

In India, NITI Aayog has launched the “ Aspirational Districts Programme” aiming at expediting improvement in the socio-economic status of 112 districts from across 27 states. The four core principles of the programme are - Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (among citizens and functionaries of Central & State Governments including district teams), Competition among districts and Mass Movement. Driven primarily by the States, this initiative focuses on the strengths of each district, and prioritizes the attainable outcomes for immediate improvement. The programme focusses on 5 main themes - Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure, which have direct bearing on the quality of life and economic productivity of citizens. 81 data-points are tracked regularly through a dashboard.

The Aspirational District Programme is an initiative as a part of the Cooperative and Competitive federalism approach of Government of India in which the programme is anchored by NITI Aayog and the States are the main drivers. Individual Central Ministries also have been assigned with responsibilities. For each district a Central Prabhari officer also has been nominated. States also have nominated State level nodal and Prabhari Officers. The core strategy of the programme is that; State is the main driver which focus on the strength of each district and initiates a mass movement in the district whereby it identifies the low hanging fruits and strengths of the district and act as a catalyst for development. In order to ensure a healthy competition, NITI Aayog is measuring the progress of in districts and ranks them so that they will aspire for a better performance. 81 data points related to 49 Key development indicators are being tracked through a dashboard.

NITI Aayog also has been entrusted with the role to co-ordinate the work related to the SDGs. The task at hand for NITI Aayog is not merely to periodically collect data on SDGs but to act proactively fructify the goals and targets not only quantitatively but also maintaining high standards of quality. Synergizing and localising the SDGs in the Aspirational Districts will assist in creating strong systems which prioritizes subnational contexts, needs to measure long-term progress towards sustainable Development. Localisation in the aspirational districts would require a multi-stakeholder people-centric approach which focuses on mapping the pockets of needs and deprivations, captures voices from the grassroots and transforms these voices into projects and programmes. In this regard the State Governments are working to prepare programmes and policies to fast-track the achievement on the Human Development Indicators.

NITI Aayog has set up a Project Management Unit (PMU) under the overall leadership of Senior Adviser (Aspirational Districts) for providing support to the States in reviewing the progress made by Districts on a real-time basis. NITI Aayog and United Nations Development Programme has longstanding partnership starting from the preparation of Human Development Index (HDI) reports to current development priority of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme is in fact a targeted intervention of NITI Aayog to bring Sustainable Development in the districts which are identified as Aspirational. In this context, NITI Aayog and UNDP has entered into an understanding that to fast-track the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in the Aspirational Districts, technical support in the form of sectoral Experts is provided to the PMU set up.

The position of the Health and Nutrition Expert – Transformation of Aspirational Districts will be to support the Project Management Unit at NITI Aayog in its functions, promoting the mainstreaming and implementation of the Aspirational Districts Programme in India. The Expert will report directly to Senior Adviser at NITI Aayog and on a day to day basis with monthly reporting to Senior Development Economist, UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordinate with districts for submission of project proposals related to Health and Nutrition to be taken up for implementation by District Magistrates.
Coordination with Empowered Committee of secretaries set up in NITI Aayog for approval of proposals under Aspirational Districts Programme.
A document on emerging good practices and sharing of the information to all districts.
Support regular update on progress in districts using the Dashboard maintained at NITI Aayog.
Any other tasks assigned by the supervisor

Competencies

Knowledge of government programmes on maternal health and child care
Experience in managing multi-stakeholder engagement
Excellent Analytical & Problem-solving skills
Prior experience with Government, UN agencies and other international organizations is desirable

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications :

Bachelor’s degree in Public health, Nutrition Economics, Development, Political Science or related fields.
Masters degree is desirable

Experience:

Minimum 8 years’ experience in project management, project appraisal, monitoring & evaluation, policy advocacy in the areas of Public Health Nutrition, development related projects out of which 3 yrs should have been in working with any of the National/Sub-National programme implementation.

Language Requirements:

Excellent verbal and written Hindi and English skills and demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a multi-cultural environment

Duration of the Contract:

45 working days till 31st January 2021.

Deliverables:

Review of proposals submitted by districts on Health and nutrition sector
Approval of final proposals by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries
Document on Good Practices in Health & Nutrition

Payment Schedule:

Deliverable 1 – On completion of Deliverable, Supervisor will agree upon the number of working days.
Deliverable 2 – On completion of Deliverable, Supervisor will agree upon the number of working days.
Deliverable 3 - On completion of Deliverable, Supervisor will agree upon the number of working days.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Technically qualified consultants will be requested to submit their daily fee rate i.e. consultants who score more than 70% i.e. 49 marks with respect to the above-mentioned evaluation criteria. Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.

Technical Criteria weight - 70%.
Financial Criteria weight – 30 %

Technical Criteria (70% of total evaluation)

Education – 10%
Job Knowledge & Expertise – 20 %
Interview - understanding of Health & Nutrition in ADP - 40%

Financial Proposal: Technically qualified consultants will be requested to submit their daily fee rate i.e. consultants who score more than 70% i.e. 49 marks with respect to the above-mentioned evaluation criteria. Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.

Financial Criteria: (30% of the total evaluation) based on the total all-inclusive lump sum amount for professional fee for tasks specified in this announcement.

General Conditions for Individual Contract-
http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/procurement/UNDP%20General%20Conditions%20for%20Individual%20Contracts.pdf

For any clarifications, please write to: ic.india@undp.org

Please apply online by visiting www.in.undp.org (Careers)