UNDP Jobs - 20485- Consultant: Project Development Consultant (Strate

Consultant: Project Development Consultant (Strategic Support for Afghan Parliament)

Location :

UNDP/CO, Kabul, AFGHANISTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

26-Dec-2010

Application Deadline :

15-Dec-10 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Three months

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 is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.
Currently, there is more than 725 UN international staff, with over 565 in Kabul. UNDP Office and projects alone have some 1000 staff (107 internationals). They are spread through numerous guesthouses and over 30 offices all over Afghanistan. The existing human capacity is not sufficient for covering the existing security needs. UNDP is expanding and will deploy more staff, both national and international, into regional offices and, in addition, the security situation in the country has deteriorated significantly during the last two years creating an unstable environment in which the professional expertise and advice provided by an FSS with regional responsibilities; will further enable UNDP Program delivery throughout Afghanistan.

Parliamentary development is one of the key areas of support under the Democratic Governance practice area. UNDP has been engaged in providing support for parliamentary development programme around the world. The Afghan parliament was inaugurated in December 2005 with enormous support provided by UNDP through the first phase of SEAL project. The parliament is now established and functioning.

The successor project (2008-2010) has been implemented as a necessary follow-up to the original UNDP Support to the Establishment of the Afghan Legislature (SEAL), implemented during 2005-2008, and funded by multiple donors. UNDP Afghanistan was requested by the National Assembly, the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community to renew its assistance to the Afghan Parliament in the formulation of a long-term, multilateral program of parliamentary support. The SEAL II program has been consistent with the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and the UNDAF strategy and UNDP Country Programme 2006 – 2009.

The objective of SEAL II was to support the development of a more effective Afghan Parliament. SEAL II builds on the original SEAL project, started in February 2005, which played a central role in helping to establish the Afghan Parliament, thus helping to lay the stable democratic foundations for Afghanistan.

In consideration of the second round parliamentary election, UNDP has been officially requested by the Afghan Parliament to extend their support in parliament development and capacity building. To this effect, the need for creating Strategic Plans for both houses was identified and jointly agreed. The SPs have been drafted and is under process for finalization. The Plans represent the aspirations of parliament to serve the people of Afghanistan with increasing effectiveness. To that end, the Plans explain briefly the constitutional context in which the Legislature operates, before setting out its Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles on which the Strategic Goals and roadmap for constant, ambitious improvement in all areas of its operations is based. In this context, UNDP is determined to continue its assistance to parliament in the priorities areas identified through the SPs.

Based on the above mentioned SPs, UNDP has formulated a first draft of a successor project for supporting the Afghan Parliament. Both the SPs and the UNDP project document need to be finalized in consultation with parliament, donors and other stakeholders. The consultant will be required to take a lead role in liaison with the MPs, donors, the admin board of both houses and finalize these documents. To that end, the consultant will deliver the following main results:

In consultation with the relevant stakeholders, (donors, Parliament, government, CSOs and others) finalize the following two outputs:

Strategic Plans (AWPs, Implementation Road Maps)
UNDP's Project Document;
Support UNDP and Parliament in taking forward the dialogue with donors to mobilize support for operationalization of above mechanisms;
Provide relevant policy advice on Parliament developmnet to UNDP, Parliament and donors.

Duties and Responsibilities

The contractor shall:

Liaison with the newly elected MPs, members of the Administration of both houses and broader stakeholders to collect their inputs for finalization and approval of the draft SPs;
Take a lead role in discussion with donors and advise UNDP and Parliament for developing effective partnership with relevant donors;
Take lead role in discussion with the Parliament and provide relevant policy advice to UNDP for launching of the new project for support to Afghan Parliament;
In consultation with relevant partners and in light of the SPs, finalize UNDP project document including development of supplementary documents such as multi-year annual work plan, risk management plan and Capacity Development Plan;
Assist UNDP with start-up activities, creation of project structure, and establishing support mechanism;
Assist in preparation of Annual work plans for both house of Parliament in consideration of 5 years roadmap and establish monitoring mechanism for effective achievement of the mentioned plan;
Support the Parliament with preparation/facilitation of selected sessions of the induction programme for the new members.

Output of the Assignment :

Finalized and approved SPs and UNDP Project Document.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards (human rights, peace, understanding between peoples and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation (UNDP core ethics) impartiality;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Management and Leadership

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualification and Experience:

Masters Degree in International Development, Public Administration, Political Science, Law or related field;
A minimum of five years experience working in parliamentary development with focus on capacity building and project development;
Experience supporting policy development is an asset;
Outstanding oral and written communication skills in English language;
Proven ability to network and build strong working relations with development partners in government, donors and international organizations;

Interested and qualified International candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site http://www.undp.org.af/Jobs/index.htm.

Please ensure that you upload your UN Personal History Form-P11 (available at http://www.undp.org.af/Jobs/index.htm ) in the relevant field of the on-line applications.

Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date 15 December 2010 will not be given consideration. Please note that only applications who are short-listed will be contacted.

For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at www.undp.org.af

Candidates, who are currently holding UNDP or UN Agencies contracts, are asked to declare the type contract and duration, in their application”.

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.