Objective:

The purpose of this procurement exercise is to contract an individual consultant who will enhance the communications, advocacy, marketing, outreach and multilingual efforts undertaken by UNDP to transform for a new era of sustainable development.  The agreement will be awarded for up to 3 years based on satisfactory performance and funds availability.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Simultaneous Interpretation:

• Provide simultaneous interpretation of Spanish to/from English for the Annual Tripartite Partnership (TPP) Review Meeting between UNDP, Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR), related Human Rights meetings, as well as for any other ROLSHR, CB or Governance Cluster/GPN meetings and events that may arise during the year. 

Written Translation Spanish to/from English of UNDP content:

• Internal documents: messages, statements and letters; UNDP rules, regulations and guidelines, presentations and any other texts as required;
• External documents: Annual reports; Regional Reports; etc. These texts could be for print publications, or broadcast or the web;

• Terminology research (i.e. on UNTERM and other relevant terminology portals) to find the closest equivalents for words use and consult UN style guides to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of all translations. The translator must master the use of reference materials;
• Localization: adapt the content, address cultural differences and convert elements to local needs, such as units of measure, currencies, local formats for phone numbers, addresses, dates, hours, etc;
• Revision & Proofreading: the translator must correct the translation against the source document, and provide a final check of text for typos, spelling, grammar, punctuation and spacing of the translation;
• Use appropriate software for presentation and delivery; use translation memory software to ensure consistency of translation within documents and help efficiency.

Expected translation outputs and deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible for producing the following deliverables:

• Translate all text, including text contained in figures, boxes, tables, photo captions, sources and covers requires translation and proofreading;
• The translated text has to be delivered in MS Word, PowerPoint, or Excel files, as required, following the formatting of the original document as needed;
• Translators are also responsible for ensuring quality and accuracy of the entire document before submitting it back to UNDP.

Translation (Spanish to/from English) Editing:

• Ensure consistency of tone, syntax and style, and that the content no longer reads like a translation but reads as if it was originally crafted in the target language;
• Revision & Proofreading: the translator may or may not correct the translation against the source document, and provide a final check of text for typos, spelling, grammar, punctuation and spacing of the translation;
• Use appropriate software for translation consistency, presentation and delivery.

Expected translation editing outputs and deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible for producing the following deliverables:

• Ensure consistency of localized/translated entries and country specific institutions;
• Review all text contained in figures, boxes, tables, photo captions, sources and covers;
• Review that content elements (units of measure, currencies, local formats for phone numbers, addresses, dates, hours, etc.) have been correctly converted to local needs;
• Proofreading of final page layouts, if needed;
• The edited translation has to be delivered in MS Word, PowerPoint, or Excel files, as required, with track changes and following the formatting of the original document as needed.

Corporate:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional:

• Excellent reading, writing, editing, research, and proofreading skills;
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task;
• Attention to detail is crucial;
• Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines;
• Ability to produce a high volume of quality content;
• Responsible, responsive, and enthusiastic;
• Must be able to work in a multi-cultural environment and be aware of political sensitivities.
• Interest in global issues and the United Nations;
• ability to work under minimum supervision.

Client Orientation and Communication:

• Good interpersonal and networking skills;
• Demonstrated willingness to work as part of a team
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations
• Supports and encourages open remote communication
• Facilitates teamwork.

Academic Qualifications:

• BA in translation, writing, communications, journalism, international relations or related fields or a minimum of 15 years of progressive translation/interpretation/editing experience is required;

• Master’s degree in translation & interpreting, International or Latin American studies, or related fields is considered an asset.
• Language Certification from the UN (Language Competitive Examination (LCE)) and/or member of the American Translators Association (ATA), or of other accredited professional language institutions is considered an asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in simultaneous interpretation in Spanish to/from English, is required;
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in translation, writing, précis-writing, editing, self-revision, proofreading and/or production editing is required. Out of the aforementioned five (5) years, three (3) years of experience working within a multilingual setting is desirable.
• Translation/editing/writing experience for the UN system or other international organization is preferred.
• Experience in interpretation on matters relating to expertise spanning human rights, rule of law, justice, security, constitutional support and disarmament, demobilization and/or reintegration (DDR), desirable;
• Knowledge of MS Office, Excel, Power Point, Adobe Reader and terminology portals required;
• Knowledge of standard computer-assisted-translation (CAT) tools is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in Spanish to/from English required.

Application procedure:

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

• Cover letter with brief description (no longer than 1 page) of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;

• A detailed P11 or CV with professional qualifications, indicating all experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the e-mail and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document. Applications that do not contain the above-mentioned documents may be disqualified.

Only those candidates that meet the minimum experience and qualification requirements will be invited to undertake a written examination (further detailed below).

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

• The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive hourly and daily fee. Candidates will be asked to submit two different all-inclusive professional daily fees: home-based and office-based;
• 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; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; 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;
• This consultancy is a home-based and office-based assignment, dependent on final specific assignment;
• The financial proposal shall list all major cost components associated with the services provided besides translation (i.e. translation editing, proofreading, transcription) and the detailed breakdown of such costs per working language combination (if applicable);
• 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 submitted as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent ONLY to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation Process:

Applicants are reviewed based on required qualifications, experience and competencies 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 a high 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 weighs 30%;

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

The technical evaluation will comprise of desk review (50 points), and a written examination (20 points). All applicants will be initially screened against the minimum qualification requirements as specified above. Responsive candidates will then be further evaluated against the following criteria and shortlisted applicants invited for the written test:

• Criteria 1: Master’s degree in translation & interpreting or related fields - Max. 5 points;
• Criteria 2: Language Certification from the UN (Language Competitive Examination (LCE)) and/or member of the American Translators Association (ATA), or of other accredited professional language institutions – Max. 2 points;
• Criteria 3: Relevance of years of experience in translation, writing, précis-writing, editing, self-revision, proofreading and/or production editing (Minimum 5 years) – Max 10 points;
• Criteria 4: Relevance of working experience within a multilingual setting (minimum 3 years) –Max 10 points;
• Criteria 5: Relevance of translation/editing/writing experience for the UN system or other international organization – Max. 10 points;
• Criteria 6: Experience in interpretation on matters relating to expertise spanning human rights, rule of law, justice, security, constitutional support and disarmament, demobilization and/or reintegration (DDR) – Max 10 points;
• Criteria 7: Knowledge of standard computer-assisted-translation (CAT) tools – Max. 3 points.

The top three candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (35 points) of the maximum obtainable points for Desk Review (50 points) shall be considered for the written examination.

Written Examination (20 obtainable points):

Written examinations will be administered remotely. Candidates will be required to edit one (1) translation in Spanish to English and English to Spanish, which may include a statement or speech by a senior UN official, press release, blog, internal message, excerpt from a UNDP technical report, etc.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (14 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the written test (20 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 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

Both home-based and office-based all-inclusive professional daily fees will be considered during the financial assessment and will have an equal impact on the evaluation’s result. The most competitive financial proposal for each of the categories (home-based and office-based) will be awarded a total of 15 points.

Framework Agreement:

• UNDP plans to enter into a Long-Term Agreement (LTA) with the top ranked successful Individual Contractor to assure resources availability at the required time frame and/or increased demand for services requested. The service of who will be used on an intermittent and repetitive basis when needed and based on the fixed unit price.
• Please note that the LTA does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the LTA contract is signed and that such an agreement is non-exclusive. When a specific need arises, the successful Individual Contractor will be approached and be provided with a specific TOR and deliverables (and time frame) but still within the scope of the responsibilities stated in the LTA. The successful Individual Contractor is expected to provide Confirmation of Interest on the specific services required at the agreed LTA financial proposal rates. Financial commitments will only be established each time a voucher/Purchase Order for the specific services/TOR for Individual Contractor is committed and countersigned by the Contractor.
• This LTA has a cumulative ceiling amount that may accrue to the individual contractor during the life of the LTA, but said amount shall remain as an upper limit, and must not and cannot be interpreted nor understood as neither a financial commitment nor guarantee of business volume.

Contract Award:

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

Contractual Arrangements:

• Successful respondent will be awarded an On-Call Individual Contract LTA for 3 years; UNDP will award the LTA for three years on "an initial one (1) year period with possibility of a two (2) year extension” basis;
• Selected consultant will be engaged on an ‘on call’ basis;
• For every on-call engagement, a Purchase Order (prepared by the requesting unit) shall be issued referring to the On-Call Individual Contract with clear TOR/Milestones (including timeline) for each engagement for specific deliverables attached;
• The consultant should be able to provide the necessary equipment for the simultaneous interpretation;
• The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Head of UNDP ROLSHR and the TPP/Human Rights Programme Specialist and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

Payment modality

• Payments will be made upon certification by UNDP that the services related to the Terms of Reference (ToR) have been satisfactorily performed and deliverables have been achieved (UNDP will not be responsible for the payment of work commissioned by other UN agencies).