Antecedentes

The purpose of this procurement exercise is to contract an individual consultant who would support UNDP’s work on eradication of poverty and reduction of inequality, and sustainable development towards capturing results on UNDP’s programmes to reduce inequality using standard internal reporting mechanisms to inform the work of the GPN Inequality Task Team.

In 2019, UNDP drew attention to three global themes where sustainable development plays a crucial role: climate change, inequality, and migration and forced displacement. Fast forward to 2020, UNDP will continue to coalesce around key strategic objectives framed by a narrative on inequality backed by an external Engagement Strategy. 2020 will also be marked by key milestones that should help provide a platform for UNDP’s policy advocacy work: (1) the mid-term review of UNDP’s Strategic Plan; (2) the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations; and (3) the commencement of the Decade of Action on the SDGs.

In 2020, aligned with the key messages of the 2019 HDR, UNDP will define a compelling narrative and its next generation offer of services on inequality. The impact of pandemics such as COVID-19 on the future of development is also an important driver to be considered. Inequality will reduce the ability of poorest and most vulnerable groups to cope with the impact of COVID-19 now and the near future.

UNDP works in some 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

Inclusive growth, better services, environmental sustainability, good governance, and security are fundamental to development progress. We offer our expertise in development thinking and practice, and our decades of experience at country level, to support countries to meet their development aspirations and to bring the voices of the world’s peoples into deliberations.

UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provide technical advice to Country Offices; advocate for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more inclusive, innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP helps countries to simultaneously reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development that leads to transformational change, bringing about real improvements in people’s lives. We promote an integrated approach to achieve sustainable development that tackles the connected issues of multidimensional poverty, inequality and exclusion, and sustainability, while enhancing knowledge, skills and production technologies to reduce risks and sustain development gains.

UNDP has a large portfolio on its Signature Solution on Keeping People Out of Poverty, including a policy advisory and programmatic focus on eradicating poverty and reducing inequality through inclusive growth. UNDP helps countries localize and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and monitor progress towards the achievement of the SDGs. As such, UNDP provides support to develop and enhance capacities of countries related to the implementation and monitoring of 2030 Agenda, developing knowledge products and tools for better planning and policymaking. To this view, UNDP is seeking to recruit a consultant Inequality Specialist to support the Inclusive Growth Team’s analytical work on examining inequality, in particular the Global Policy Network Inequality Task Team.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Through this contract, the consultant will provide support to the UNDP BPPS Inclusive Growth Team with the work of the GPN Inequality Task Team in 2020. The Task Team is a time-bound mechanism primarily responsible for steering UNDP’s work on inequality in an integrated and coherent manner. The Task Team key objectives are to:

1. Define UNDP’s corporate inequality narrative that ‘rocks the world’ (as called for by UNDP’s Administrator Achim Steiner), aligned with the messages of the 2019 HDR. This narrative should provide an integrated storyline on why inequality matters to individuals, societies and countries; how it is manifested (e.g. historical structural inequalities versus a second generation of inequalities as it relates to climate impact, technological change (4IR, AI)).

2. Develop a framework for UNDP’s policy offer that cuts across main practice areas, including a bucket of solutions of what practically can be achieved. This bucket of solutions should be guided by a rights-based approach balancing the need to leave no one behind and safeguard the planetary boundaries.

3. Become the sounding board for the implementation of the inequality related 2020 External Engagement Plan with BERA, which includes the production of messaging, advocacy goals, a campaign plan and an updated calendar of significant moments.

Specific activities and deliverables over the consultancy period:

Competencias

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Functional Competencies

• Development and operational effectiveness;
• Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to results management, including managing and analyzing data and effective reporting;
• Ability to provide input to results-based management mechanisms and internal reporting methodologies;
• Strong understanding of development thematic areas related to inequality, including institutional approaches and current knowledge products
• Good knowledge of results-based management and performance indicators;
• Strong familiarity with UNDP standard internal reporting mechanisms, including the Results-Oriented Annual Reporting (ROAR)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English, with an excellent understanding of structure and form of official UN documentation;
• Excellent organizational skills and proven ability to deliver projects within assigned deadlines;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and objectivity;
• Experience working collaboratively in a team structure in a multicultural environment.

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Post-graduate University Degree in international development, economics, social sciences, or equivalent relevant experience combined with a first degree.

Experience:

• 7 years of previous research experience on international development issues, in particular on inequality, working with international organizations, required;
• Familiarity with UNDP’s research and approaches to reducing inequalities across all areas of development focus and in fragile and non-fragile settings, required
• Deep knowledge of the 2030 Agenda and inequality related issues.
• Experience creating methodologies to capture development results from field/country offices and internal reports, required;
• Experience with managing and facilitating large scale international consultations, surveys and data analysis;
• Broad knowledge of the UN system in general, desired.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, required;
• Knowledge of another UNDP official language, desired.

Application Procedure

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

• A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
• Please provide links to at least two knowledge platforms, e-learning products, and other knowledge management products that you produced/created/managed. Failure to meet this requirement will lead to automatic disqualification of application;

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

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

• The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7 hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
• 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; (excluding mission travel); 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.

• 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 emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience 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 the highest 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/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

• Criteria 1. Experience providing service to a wide range of stakeholders both within and outside the UN system is desired Weight = 20%; Maximum Points: 20;
• Criteria 2. Experience with strategic planning, program monitoring and evaluation required – in particular in organizations dealing with international development issues. Weight = 20%; Maximum Points: 20;
• Criteria 3. Experience creating methodologies to capture development results from country offices and internal reports. Experience with UNDP an asset; Weight = 20 %; Maximum Points: 20; and
• Criteria 4: Good knowledge of results-based management and performance indicators. Weight = 10 %; Maximum Points: 10.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

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

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.

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Head of BPPS Inclusive Growth, based in New York and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop.

Payment modality

• Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
• The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7 hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

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