Background

UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub is implementing sub-regional project “Regional Roma Survey” in six Western Balkan countries and territory (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo (1)) and Turkey.

The overall project objective is to narrow the gap in multi-dimensional poverty and access to socio-economic rights between marginalized Roma and non-Roma Populations in Western Balkans and Turkey by 2020, by contributing to fact-based decision making and to more informed and focused policy debate on Roma inclusion.

This will be achieved through collecting and making available comprehensive quantitative and qualitative data as the basis for evidence based policy making, and to guide related budgetary allocations for interventions aimed at narrowing the gap between marginalized and non-visible (those with no personal documentation) Roma and non-Roma in various aspects of wellbeing, including but not limited to income, education, employment, health, housing, and access to civil registration/ personal documentation.  

The quantitative data will be supplemented by qualitative studies on key aspects of Roma exclusion, such as the obstacles to integration of returning Roma migrants from EU member states; barriers to accessing personal documents; barriers to the employment of Roma and experience of labour market discrimination; gender roles and the experience of gender-based violence and early marriages; and the extent to which Roma communities experience environmental deprivation, i.e. live and work in hazardous and/or unhealthy environments.

The project will make the quantitative and qualitative data available to stakeholders influencing Roma Inclusion policies and programmes (international organizations active in supporting and promoting Roma inclusion policies and programmes; national government bodies responsible for Roma inclusion strategies and national statistical offices in the Western Balkans and Turkey; national and regional research institutions; civil society organisations), resulting in greater ability of a range of stakeholders to assess the different possibilities of Roma and non-Roma populations to access their socio-economic rights. This will contribute to a more informed and focused policy debate regionally and in the individual countries covered by the project. The final beneficiaries will be the more marginalized sections of the Roma populations and returnees in the Western Balkans and Turkey, who will ultimately benefit from the use of reliable data to design better focused and targeted inclusion policies.

The consultancy will be based within the Sustainable Development Team of the Istanbul Regional Hub  assisting the core team with background analysis; data and documentation preparation; liaising with and providing other consultants with documentation and contacts needed to perform their tasks; preparing (in cooperation with communication team) dissemination plan and focused project results information; and filing project results and documentation.

Notes:
(1) -   All further references to Kosovo in this document should be understood in the context of UNSCR 1244/1997.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager for Roma Inclusion Project and overall supervision of the Sustainable Development Team Leader:

• Facilitate implementation of a study on the position of Roma women:support for fieldwork missions: act as a liaison between international consultant and UNDP CountryOffices where the study will take place;   by supplying international consultant with quantitative data from the survey; supporting preparation of consultancy products: sending report and infographics to language editor and linking with a designer working on report layout 
• Summarize experiences on implementation of a quantitative survey on socio-economic position of Roma in Western Balkans, based on the technical report which will be provided by the company implementing the survey. Summary should be 3-4 pages long written in a language understandable to a wider audience who do not have detailed knowledge about quantitative surveys. Write up a blog article on the same topic.
• Support preparation of a study on Roma access to employment by: providing international consultant with background information: micronarratives findings and quantitative data which will be available from the survey; sending report and infographics to language editor and linking with a designer working on report layout
• Support Programme specialist green economy and employment with micro-narrative data on Roma exposure to environmental and health risks and additional meta-analysis needed for preparation of the report  
• Facilitate organisation of virtual meetings with Technical Working Group (WB, FRA, UNDP); take and circulate minutes
• Prepare three news articles for UNDP website
• Prepare 3 pager information (infographic style) presenting main findings from micro-narratives on Roma access to labour markets and experience with discrimination for each Western Balkans country and Kosovo* that participated in the narratives collection
• Prepare 3 pager information (infographic style) presenting main findings from micro-narratives on Roma exposure to environmental and health risks for each Western Balkans country and Kosovo* that participated in the narrative collection
• Prepare draft infographics (3-4 pages) presenting main findings about education, health, employment, housing, poverty including from gender perspective where relevant from quantitative survey for each Western Balkans country and Kosovo*
• Prepare (in cooperation with communications team) dissemination plan for various project products
• Prepare a note presenting project deliverables 

Deliverables:
Deliverable 1: 

• Timeline and meeting agenda (ie. dates, time and interlocutors) for focus group discussions and structured interviews in three countries selected for qualitative fieldwork prepared and agreed with international gender/Roma issues consultant and relevant UNDP Country offices 
• Relevant quantitative data shared with international gender/Roma issues consultant 
• Draft 1.5 pages long note on micronarrative research as a contribution to project’s knowledge products (which will also serve as a final project report for the donor). The Note should focus on explanation of method, purpose, period in which they were carried out, number of stories collected, collectors engaged and potential use of micronarrative findings on local level 
• Document in detail survey fieldwork based on the information provided by the company conducting the survey
• One virtual meeting with TWG organized, minutes taken and circulated

Deliverable 2: 

• Summary report on experiences on implementation of quantitative survey on socio-economic position of Roma in Western Balkans 3– 5 pages long written
• Timeline for language editing and layout of the report on tackling gender issues agreed with providers of these services. Agreements with language editor and publication designer prepared
• Micronarrative data and meta-analysis needed for preparation of the report on Roma exposure to environmental and health risks prepared 
• Prepare 3 pager information (infographic style) presenting main findings from micro-narratives on Roma access to labour markets and experience with discrimination for each Western Balkans country and Kosovo* that participated in the narratives collection
• Dissemination plan of video on Roma returnees and video on Roma employment prepared and communicated with UNDP CO focal points.
• Package with background information (micronarratives findings and quantitative data which will be available from the survey) provided to international consultant on employment/Roma

Deliverable 3: 

• Report on Roma exposure to environmental and health risks prepared for the web page: language edited (by external proofreader), designed as virtual publication (in house expertise used) 
• Timeline for publishing of the report on Roma access to employment and experience with discrimination language editing and layout prepared and agreed with service providers
• Article for UNDP IRH web page presenting quantitative survey drafted and submitted for approval
• Prepare 3 pager information (infographic style) presenting main findings from micro-narratives on Roma exposure to environmental and health risks for each Western Balkans country and Kosovo* that participated in the narrative collection
• One virtual meeting with TWG organized, minutes taken and circulated
• One virtual meeting with UNDP Roma focal points organized, minutes taken and circulated

Deliverable 4: 

• Meeting with UNDP CO Roma focal points organised focusing on approach to survey results dissemination. Notes prepared and circulated 
• Prepare draft infographics (3-4 pages) presenting main findings about education, health, employment, housing, poverty including from gender perspective where relevant from quantitative survey for each Western Balkans country and Kosovo

Deliverable 5:

• One virtual meeting with country focal points for Roma Inclusion project organized, minutes prepared and circulated 
• Roma survey dedicated web page prepared in cooperation with communications team, with all survey results uploaded
• Note on available project results prepared (i.e. list of reports with 1 paragraph summery and link to web page)
• Draft news article for the website 

Deliverable 6 

• Supporting documentation for narrative report prepared: note on micronarrative methodology; note presenting infographics and dissemination plan; note presenting dissemination plan realization; note presenting audio-visual products with dissemination plan
• All project documentation and products filed: hard copies and virtual files; library organised on UNDP shared drive

Payment Schedule:

• Installment 1 – 16,5% upon confirmation by the Certifying Officer of satisfactory delivery of Deliverable 1, deadline: 25th December 2017
• Installment 2 – 16,5% upon confirmation by the Certifying Officer of satisfactory delivery of Deliverable 2, deadline: 25 January 2018
• Installment 3 – 16,5% upon confirmation by the Certifying Officer of satisfactory delivery of Deliverable 3, deadline: 25 February 2018
• Installment 4 – 16,5% upon confirmation by the Certifying Officer of satisfactory delivery of Deliverable 4, deadline: 25th March 2018
• Installment 5 – 16,5% upon confirmation by the Certifying Officer of satisfactory delivery of Deliverable 5, deadline: 25th April 2018
• Installment 6 – 17,5% upon confirmation by the Certifying Officer of satisfactory delivery of Deliverable 6, deadline: 25th May 2018

Competencies

Corporate 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;

Functional competencies:

• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
• Strong organizational skills

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education: 

• Master’s degree in social studies or studies related to human development required

Experience: 

• At least two-years work experience required on social studies, employment or social protection issues
• Experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, processing and analysis
• Experience in the management and interpretation of data on poverty and social exclusion shall be considered a strong asset
• Experience in knowledge management and information dissemination planning shall be considered as a strong asset

Language skills: 

• Language proficiency in both written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of language(s) spoken in the Western Balkans  shall be considered an asset 

Evaluation of Applicants:
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should 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 weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

• Criteria A (Relevance of education) – max points: 5;
• Criteria B (Quantitative and qualitative data collection, processing and analysis) – max points: 10;
• Criteria C (Management and interpretation of data on poverty and social exclusion) – max points: 5;
• Criteria D (Knowledge management and information dissemination planning) – max points: 5;
• Criteria E (Language) – max points: 10;

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points.

Only candidates who will obtain at least 70% of points in desk review will be considered for financial evaluation. 

Application procedures:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position, and a writing sample (3-5 pages long) of an analytical document in English you have written yourself.  Please paste the samples into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
• Financial Proposal* in USD - consisting of a) total all-inclusive lump sum amount for professional fee for tasks specified in this announcement b) travel costs to/from duty station. Price offer must not include costs related to official missions. Missions will be paid separately as per UNDP rules and regulations;
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.