Antecedentes

UNDP Global Mission Statement

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. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement

UNDP helps countries to achieve sustainable development by eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerating structural transformations for sustainable development and building resilience to crises and shock. In Afghanistan, a country in conflict, UNDP works for development and recovery choices that reduce vulnerability and contribute a development perspective to strengthen humanitarian and peace-building responses.

Organizational Context

The UN Electoral Support Project (UNESP) is the international community’s programming vehicle to support elections in Afghanistan, including the presidential, parliamentary and district council elections. The project has two overall objectives – 1) to build the capacity of the Afghan electoral institutions—the Independent Elections Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission—to implement elections in line with the national electoral legal framework and Afghanistan’s international commitments; 2) to allow a programming mechanism for the international community to partially finance the elections as per the request of the Government of Afghanistan. The project follows previous UN projects in support of the Afghan electoral process, most notably the Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) projects, from 2006-2011 (ELECT I) and 2012-2015 (ELECT II), and the UNDP Project Initiation Plan (July 2015 – October 2017). In line the UN Security Council Resolution 2489 (SCR2489), UNESP places the UN’s electoral support to Afghanistan directly under the political and supervisory oversight of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reflects the growing sustainability of the Afghan electoral process, as evidenced by the Government of Afghanistan’s financial commitment to both electoral institutions, and the provision of significant in-kind support to the implementation of elections. Project implementation support will be provided by the UNDP Country Office, reporting, on fiduciary and operational matters, to the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political through the UNDP Resident Representative;

In response to the Independent Election Commission (IEC)’s request for continued electoral assistance, a desk review, led by the Electoral Assistance Division (EAD), was conducted—in July 2020—in collaboration with UNAMA, UNDP, DPPA-DPO Asia Pacific Division/Afghanistan Team and UN Women. The desk review assessed the current electoral context and parameters of support in light of a) the delayed parliamentary elections in Ghazni, b) the likelihood of holding provincial council, district council and municipal elections, c) uncertainty of electoral reforms, and d) coronavirus (COVID-19) implications. In light of uncertainties resulting from COVID-19 and other uncertainties, the desk review recommends for more focused support in the areas of further Capacity Building for the EMBs; technical support in Electoral Legal Framework; Support to Voter registration (VR); and Building confidence in elections;

Along the lines of the above-mentioned desk review recommendations, UNESP will revise/update its Project Document and Annual Work Plan (AWP) and seek donors’ approval for a No-Cost Extension to 31 December 2021. Additional funding may be requested when necessary. Project staffing is being adjusted to reflect the realities of the situation. 

Deberes y responsabilidades

SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

Objective of the assignment:

UNDP/UNESP is currently implementing a comprehensive training programme for the capacity building of Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Election Complaint Commission (ECC) officers in Afghanistan. Part of this training program consists of seven (7) BRIDGE training modules for IEC, the BRIDGE modules will, among others, consist of Training of Facilitators Workshop, Election Administration, Election Dispute Resolution, and Gender and Elections. Therefore, UNDP plans to engage one Expert BRIDGE facilitator to conduct back-to-back BRIDGE training workshops with a view to developing the technical capacities of staff of the IEC and ECC of Afghanistan. The Accredited BRIDGE Facilitator will also accredit eligible trainees in the institution.

Objectives of consultancy:

1. Prepare training material and other related documents based on BRIDGE modules;
2. Conduct BRIDGE training workshops for the officers of Independent Election Commission and Election Complaint Commission of Afghanistan;
3. Provide mentoring, advice and support to BRIDGE facilitators to build their capacity before, during, and after accreditation;
4. Conduct monitoring and evaluation of workshops;
5. Maintain and update each officer’s progress file and provide feedback to her/him;
6. Accredit facilitators as per BRIDGE partnership rules;
7. Consolidate evaluations and prepare post-workshop feedback for UNDP and BRIDGE Office. Reports must be submitted in English.

Detailed list of the BRIDGE Modules is provided in the able below:

Table 1: The BRIDGE Trainings for the IEC

Expected Outputs; deliverables and estimated duration to complete and payment percentage:

• There are three deliverables under the assignment, see table below for details. Each deliverable will dependent on the activities;
•  Submission of work plan of each training module and Customization of training curriculum, development of training material and related documentation are completed;
•  Delivery of Workshops, compilation of data including data analysis and Preparation of Training workshop reports.

Activity 1: Prior to training

• Submission of work plan of each training module;
• Customization of training curriculum, development of training material and related documentation.

Activity 2: Training and Reporting

• Delivery of Workshops;
• Compilation of data including data analysis;
• Preparation of Training workshop reports.

Payment Modality: 

Payments under the contract shall be deliverable-based and made on receipt of the specific milestone reports indicated above, including a timesheet per UNDP procurement formats for individual consultants.

Institutional Arrangements:

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UNESP Deputy Chief Electoral Advisor / Project Manager, direct supervision of the UNESP Capacity Building Specialist. The consultant shall work in close collaboration with the UNESP and IEC / ECC staff as well as other units within the UNDP Country Office.

Duration of the Work:

The performance under the contract is (06) Months with Maximum 80 working days, expected from. There may be a requirement for the consultant to do preparation and documentation drafting from home base before arriving in Kabul for the said deliverables.

Duty Station:

Kabul, Afghanistan plus home based approved by UNESP DCEA / Project Manager.

Competencias

Core competencies:

• Promotes ethics and integrity and creates organizational precedents;
• Builds support and political acumen;
• Builds staff competence and creates an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Builds and promotes effective teams;
• Creates and promotes environment for open communications;
• Leverages conflict in the interest of UNDP and sets standards;
• Shares knowledge across the organization and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Functional Competencies:

Job knowledge/technical expertise:

• Possesses expert knowledge of advance concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines and in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures;
• Applies knowledge to support the Project´s objectives and to further the mandate of UNDP;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in the professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in work assignments.

Conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise:

• Conducts thematic area’s assessment to improve development of models and methodologies;
• Designs policy models to support comprehensive interventions linking UNDP´s policy objectives to programme delivery and capacity development objectives;
• Ensures that the design of policies is appropriate to country social and development context;
• Demonstrates the ability to engage development partners at all levels in conceptual and methodological innovation that is pertinent to the context.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced University Degree (Masters) in Political Science, Law, Public Administration, or related discipline;
• BRIDGE accreditation / certification at the level of Expert Facilitator as well as electoral experience;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.

Experience required:

• 7 Years of Experience in electoral administration.
• 7 Years of Experience working in international cooperation and assistance.
• Experience in Afghanistan (desirable).
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Builds solid client relationships with strong networking and advocacy skills.
• Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions.

Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others.

Language:

• Excellent written and oral English skills;
• Good drafting skills. Ability to compile and present complex information in an accurate, concise and clear way.

The consultant shall submit a price proposal as below:

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.  The consultant shall then submit a price proposal when requested by UNDP, in accordance with the below:

• Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a lumpsum fee, with breakdown of daily fees for 80 working days, inclusive of his professional fee, local communication cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 80 working days. The contractor shall propose a Living Allowance at the Kabul applicable rate of USD 162 per night for his/her stay at the duty station. The number of nights for which the Living allowance shall be payable under the contract is 53 nights minimum (DSA will only be paid while in country, which is linked to his / her accommodation request).
• The contractor is NOT allowed to stay in a place of his choice other than the UNDSS approved places. UNDP will provide MORSS compliant accommodation in UNOCA to the contractor. The payment of accommodation shall be made directly by the contractor.

• Travel & Visa – The contractor shall propose an estimated lump-sum for home-Kabul-home travel (economy most direct route) and Afghanistan visa expenses. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes travel of maximum three tickets, home – Kabul - home in relation to the 3 deliverables. UNDP will facilitate the issuance of a visit visa. The consultant will be responsible for visa and travel costs, and these should be included in the proposal. 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. Consultant may have to travel Afghanistan three- times during contract period. Actual travel dates and duration of each trip will be confirmed based on the training plan agreed with the UNESP DCEA / Project Manager, UNESP Capacity Building Specialist, and the Independent Election Commission and Election Complaint Commission of Afghanistan.

Payment schedule - Payments shall be done upon verification of completion of specific deliverables, upon approval by UNESP DCEA / Project Manager.

EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation:

* Technical Criteria weight; [70%]

* Financial Criteria weight; [30%]

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; 

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% technical score would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s) in Political Science, Law, Public Administration or related discipline (10 Marks)
• BRIDGE accreditation at the level of Expert Facilitator (25 Marks)
•  Proven ability and commitment to mentoring staff improve their capacity and methodology (10 Marks)
• Experience, minimum 7 years in Electoral Administration, (15 Marks)
•  Experience, minimum 7 years working in international cooperation and assistance. (10 Marks)

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals

 Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the consultancy (Relevant qualification, experience, skills and knowledge) maximum one page
• Provide relevant proof of different BRIDGE modules workshops conducted/facilitated.
• Provide training methodology. Maximum two pages
• Updated  P-11 form/CV (duly completed)
• Confirming interest and availability

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 - IC Contract Template (for information)
• Annex 2 - IC General Terms and Conditions (for information)
• Annex 3 - RLA Template (if consultant wishes to be recruited through an employer) - (for information)