Historique

The United Nations Liaison Office for Peace and Security (UNLOPS) was established in 2011 in Brussels to further enhance the United Nations’ (UN) partnership with the European Union (EU), NATO, and other organizations in Brussels on political affairs, peacekeeping, crisis management, conflict prevention and mediation. UNLOPS formally represents and liaises with the EU and other organizations in Brussels on behalf of the Department of Peace Operations (DPO), the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the Department of Operational Support (DOS) and the UN Office for Counter Terrorism (UNOCT).

The UN Transition Project – an innovative partnership between DPO, DPPA, DCO, and UNDP – has been established in 2014 to ensure UN transitions are planned and managed in a proactive, integrated and forward-looking to enhance the prospects of countries to sustain peace and achieve long-term development. The project is widely recognized as a key mechanism providing thought leadership and system-wide support on ways to address transition challenges resulting from the drawdown and withdrawal of UN missions.

Under the daily supervision of the Head of the UN Liaison Office for Peace and Security in Brussels and strategic direction from the UN Transition Project and the Policy, Evaluation and Training Division of the Department of Peace Operations, the consultant will work in close collaboration with UNDP to provide specialized support to enhance partnership on transitions between the UN and the EU as set out in the UN-EU joint strategic partnership document on peace operations and crisis management that spans the period 2019-21.

This specialized support will be required for a 6-month period in order to respond to new areas of work outlined below and building on phase 1 of this project.

Ensure sustainability of achievements

With the drawdown and withdrawal of several un UN missions in the pipeline, there is a need to ensure complementarity in planning and execution of transitions between the UN and its partners. In line with the UN-EU strategic partnership priorities for Peace Operations and Crisis management (2019-2021), UNLOPS seeks to conceptualize and operationalize UN-EU cooperation on transitions through the development of a set of targeted action points by the end of 2020. To this end the consultant will prepare a set of background papers on different areas of cooperation, from EU programming to CSDP support, followed by a dedicated workshop on transitions on the margins of the UN-EU Steering Committee on Crisis Management in late 2020. Given that the vast majority of UN missions are on the African continent, the background papers and workshop will also explore the potential for trilateral partnership with the African Union to support sustainable transition.

Devoirs et responsabilités

In close coordination and collaboration with UNLOPS and the UN Transitions Project, the Consultant will:

Functions/Key Results Expected:

• Pursue continued engagement with the EU Military Staff, the EEAS and European Commission services on mission transitions;
• Building on previous background notes (phase1) identify key challenges and potential solutions for transitions;
• Continue to support UNLOPS and the UN Transitions Project in establishing a network of relevant stakeholders to foster increased cooperation between the UN and EU on UN Transition issues;
• Ensure continued mapping and review of EU tools, financing instruments and programmes that could support UN transitions, with a focus on two transition setting based on previous case studies (possibly DRC, Sudan);
• Lead the organizational work on workshops and preparatory meetings;
• Seek input and support for the workshop on transitions from think tanks and NGOs;
• Draft and consolidate the workshop report, incorporating action points on transitions;
• Seek regular strategic direction from the UN transitions project.

Deliverables:

Duty Station:

The consultant will be located in UNLOPS Office in Brussels and home-based during COVID19 situation.

Duration of Work / Contractual Arrangements:

• The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for executive of the tasks under this assignment;
• The consultant will work under the supervision of  Policy Specialist, Jascha Scheele.

Terms Of Payment and Conditions:

Payments to individual contractor will be made based on the submission of satisfactory deliverables and upon certification of satisfactory delivery of services by the Supervisor. 

Compétences

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to organize, plan and implement project deliverables to achieve specific goals;
• Ability to manage competing demands;
• Ability to identify and prioritize risks, and organize action around mitigating them;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Excellent communication skills with ability to express ideas clearly, concisely and effectively, orally and in writing;
• Excellent networking and partnership building skills in a complex institutional setting;
• Strong pro-active leadership skills, including strong interpersonal skills with ability to multi-task and maintain effective work relationships in a multi-cultural environment; and
• Knowledge of and ability to apply UNDP rules, regulations and procedures.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural environment;
• Mature judgment and initiative; and
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, achieving results.
• Proven record of organizational skills.
• Good diplomatic skills and a sense of discretion.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Advanced University degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in Political Science, International Relations, European Studies or other related fields. A first level university degree with a combination of relevant academic qualifications and at least 5 years experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Required.

Experience:

• At least 2 years relevant experience in international affairs working with or for the United Nations, the European Union, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense or Development, international or regional organizations, NGOs or research institutions required.
• Thorough understanding of EU institutions and mechanisms that lend themselves to better EU-UN cooperationa on UN Transitions required. Please submit a 1-2 pager identifying the key EU actors and mechanisms that lend themselves to better EU-UN cooperation on UN transitions.
• Experience in a liaison capacity required.
• Track record of working on UN integration issues optional.
• Use of Microsoft Office (especially Word, PowerPoint and Publisher) other software required.

Language:

• Proficiency oral and writing in English and French is required.
• Fluency in other European languages, particularly German, Polish and Spanish, will be considered as an advantage.

Application Submission Process:

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications:

Step 1: Interested individual consultants must include the following documents when submitting the applications(Please note that only 1 (one) file can be uploaded therefore please include all docs in one file):

• Personal History Form (P11) or CV, 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
• A cover letter with brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
• Please draft a two-pager, outlining the main EU institutions and mechanisms that lend themselves to enhance EU-UN collaboration on UN Transitions.

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

After review of applications, technically qualified candidates will be contacted by UNDP separately and requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around the specific and measurable deliverables of the TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR, and deliverables accepted and certified by the technical manager. 
• 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.
• Payment will be made upon submission of a certificate of payment request, at a schedule agreed based on deliverables, indicating outputs achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.
• 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 the contractor prior to travel. 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.

Application Evaluation Process

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight: [70%]

Financial Criteria weight:  [30%]

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 70% on the Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation - max. 100 points:

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation

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.

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.