Antecedentes

The UN General Assembly resolution 72/279 elevated the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (now renamed the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework) as “the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda)”. The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) is a strategic, medium-term results framework that describes the collective vision and response of the UN system to national development priorities and results and the UN normative programming principles.

The Cooperation Framework is nationally owned and anchored on national development priorities, the 2030 Agenda, and the principles of the UN Charter. It outlines the UN development system’s contributions sought by national stakeholders to reach the SDGs in an integrated manner, with a commitment to leave no one behind, human rights and other international standards and obligations.

Grounded on the UN development system’s policy expertise and its comparative advantages, its normative agenda, and its ability to leverage, influence and unlock a broad range of resources for development, the Cooperation Framework reflects:

(a) the expectations national stakeholders have of the UN development system’s contribution to national development;

(b) a shared vision and strategic priorities of the United Nations, framed within the broader landscape of partners;

(c) the strategic partners with whom the UN system will work in pursuit of development solutions;

(d) how the UN system and its partners will contribute to accelerating progress towards the 2030 Agenda; and

(e) the financial and non-financial commitments of the UN system and partners in the wider context of the financing required to reach the SDGs in the country.

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Azerbaijan has launched the process of preparation and formulation of the “2021 – 2025 Cooperation Framework”, as the next partnership strategy between the Government of Azerbaijan and the UNCT towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The process has started with the Final Evaluation of the previous partnership document “UN-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework 2016-2020” and with the development of the Common Country Analysis (CCA) which is the UN system’s independent, impartial and collective assessment and analysis of a country situation for its internal use in developing the Cooperation Framework.

The formulation of the Cooperation Framework should be as inclusive as possible, involving the partners and beneficiaries of the Cooperation Framework such as the youth, children, women, persons with a disability, civil society, private sector, academia and beyond.  The Cooperation Framework should also clarify, based on available analyses, how the UN could play some catalytic roles to increase the flow of much broader public and private sector funding towards supporting Sustainable Development (SDG Financing), while also determining how the work of Cooperation Framework itself could be funded and supported.

The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, on behalf of the UNCT Azerbaijan, is recruiting an international consultant to facilitate the process of developing the Cooperation Framework, that will describe the collective response of the UN Country Team to the needs and priorities of the country in support of the 2030 Agenda and realization of SDGs.

Deberes y responsabilidades

SCOPE OF WORK

As indicated in the UN Cooperation Framework Guidance, the development of the Cooperation Framework will entail, but not limited to, the following:

1. Desk review and development of a brief Inception Report outlining the consultant’s approach to work, including the action plan and timeline;

2. Facilitating the UN internal visioning exercise; UN comparative advantage analysis; SWOT analysis; and developing the theory of change;

3. Facilitating the UN prioritization process – supporting the UN, in consultation with national partners, to choose strategic priorities and related development results (outcomes and outputs) in which to invest its collective efforts, capacities, and resources;

4. Drafting the Cooperation Framework narrative, first and final drafts;

5. Developing a results matrix, including indicator definitions;

6. Facilitating the development of the Cooperation Framework governance structure.

Accountable to the UNCT, through the UN RC Office, the consultant will facilitate the development of the UNSDCF (2021-2025) document. The work will build on the Final Evaluation of the current UNAPF and the Common Country Analysis, and as well as UN normative frameworks. A thorough review and analysis of these documents will be a starting point for the UNSDCF formulation.  With active and meaningful participation of national and sub-national stakeholders, including UN Agencies, the government, civil society (including those that represent the ‘furthest left behind’), National Human Rights institutions, private sector and academia, the consultant will help the UNCT to identify an adequate number of strategic priority areas linked to the 2030 Agenda.  The identified strategic areas will shape the theory of change and identify the UNSDCF outcomes and outputs that make a substantive and measurable contribution to the achievement of the selected priorities of the national development framework and the 2030 Agenda. The drafting of the UNSDCF document, including the development of the Results Matrix and M&E tables, should also be carried out in consultation with the UNCT, NRAs, the Government, development partners, civil society, private sector, and other stakeholders.

Under the overall supervision of the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO), the consultant will be responsible for preparation, implementation, and administration of the assignment, which includes but is not limited to:

MAIN DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following:

DURATION AND COST OF THE CONTRACT

The consultant is expected to complete the facilitation of the formulation of the Cooperation Framework within 40 working days from the date of signing the contract, spread between October 2019 and April 2020.

The consultant should indicate the lump sum and breakdown in the financial proposal following the template attached.

The Consultant’s payment shall be made in three instalments:

1. 15% upon submission of an acceptable inception report;

2. 35% upon submission of the first draft UNSDCF, incorporating draft Results Matrix and the Legal Annex;

3. 50% upon submission of the Final Cooperation Framework document.

STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

1. The text of the final UNSDCF document should comply with the provided outline in the Cooperation Framework Guidelines (attached to this TOR);

2. Ensuring that relevant background documentation required for desk reviews are provided to the consultant;

3. Provision of lists of contacts in advance and additional support upon request;

4. Organization of group consultative meetings, briefing and debriefing sessions with the UNCT, the RC, and the Government counterparts, where needed;

5. Coordinate the inclusive and comprehensive review of the draft reports;

6. Facilitate the provision of necessary inputs (reference document and written inputs, as required) to the process;

   • Regular communication and coordination with the UN RCO, UNCT, Government entities, development partners, including relevant stakeholders such as NGOs, CSOs, and the Private Sectors among other partners;

   • Facilitate discussions among UNCT about the concept and findings of the CCA and progress on the development of the Cooperation Framework;

   • Meet with relevant Government officials and other partners including development partners, NGOs, civil society and the private sector, as required;

   • Prepare inception report;

   • Prepare the draft Cooperation Framework report;

   • Revise the reports in line with the comments/feedback;

   • Submit a final report.

Competencias

Functional competencies:

Professionalism

• Profound knowledge of the UN system and UN common country programming processes, in particular, the new CCA approach and new UNSDCF Guidance and its operationalization (CCA/UNDAF);

• Extensive experience in Results-Based Management principles, logic modeling/logical framework analysis, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, and participatory approaches;

• Strong experience in process facilitation and inclusive stakeholder engagement processes.

Communications

• Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to write reports, conduct studies, and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style in English.

Other attributes

• An understanding of and ability to abide by the values of the United Nations;

Awareness and sensitivity in working with people of various cultural and social backgrounds.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

• Advanced University Degree (Master's or equivalent) in Social Sciences or a related field. PhD holder in Social sciences or a related field will be granted extra points.

Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of the relevant professional experience; (experience between 11-15 years or over 15 years of experience will be granted extra points)

• Practical experience in Eastern Europe and CIS and knowledge of the development issues in Middle Income Countries is an asset.

Language Requirements

•            Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of Russian/Turkish will be granted extra points.

•            Excellent report writing and presentation skills.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:.

• Cumulative evaluation that takes into account both financial offer and the technical expertise of the potential candidates (including the interviews)

A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical component being completed (including interviews) prior to any price component being reviewed and compared.  The Price Component will be reviewed only for those individuals whose Technical Component meets the requirements for the assignment.  The total number of points which individual may obtain for both components is 100.

A total possible value of the technical component is 70 points (technical qualifications 50 pts/interviews 20 pts).

If the substantive presentation of a technical proposal achieves the minimum of 49 points, the competitiveness of the offered consultancy expenses will be taken into account in the following manner:               

The total amount of points for the fees component is 30. The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest fees proposed that is compared among those invited individuals which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical proposal. All other proposals shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fees; e.g;

                [30 Points] x [US$ lowest]/[US$ other] = points for other proposer’s fees

The technical component, which has a total possible value of 70 points (50 pts technical qualifications based on the documents submitted/20 pts interviews), will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Educational background

15 points max 

• 15 pts – Ph.D. in Social Sciences or a related field

• 10 pts - Advanced University Degree (Master's or equivalent) in Social Sciences or a related field

Relevant professional experience

 Profound knowledge of the UN system and UN common country programming processes (previous experience with CCA/UNDAF formulations, evaluations and/or reviews; familiarity with the new CCA approach and the new UNSDCF Guidance and its operationalization; Extensive experience in Results-Based Management principles, Theory of Change; logic modeling/logical framework analysis, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, report writing; and participatory approaches)

30 points max

• 30pts – Over 15 years

• 25 pts – between 11 and 15 years;

• 20 pts – at least 10 years of experience.

Language Skills

5 points max

• 3 pts –English – fluent.

• 1 pts- Russian – fluent.

• 1 pts – Turkish – fluent

RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF OFFER

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template;

• A Cover Letter, A Detailed CV, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate;

• Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. 

Considering that the system technically accepts only one attachment, the applicants are requested to make all the above documents as one attachment and upload to the system.