Background

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. We are 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 supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels.

UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context

Enhancing Gender Equality and Mainstreaming in Afghanistan

Based on experiences and lessons learned from the GEP-II, the new phase of the Gender Equality Project was developed as Enhancing Gender Equality and Mainstreaming in Afghanistan (EGEMA) with four pillars:

• Institutional Strengthening of the Ministry of Women Affairs(MOWA);

• Creating a national pool of Gender Experts;

• Women’s livelihoods strengthening and;

• Gender Transformative approaches.

Overall objective of the consultancy:

Main aim of this consultancy is to Implement findings/suggestions of the needs assessment (soft and hard) of the Dairy Processing Centre in Mazar-e-Sharif managed by women and ensure that the center is fully functional and connected to the local market.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables:

The consultancy includes followings specific objectives: 

• Establishment of necessary Milk Collection Centers and registration of these centers as group/association/cooperative with the respective ministry/directorate;

• In coordination with relevant government department, develop capacity building plan, prepare training resource materials and deliver trainings (dairy management, hygiene and healthcare, varieties of diary production and processing, operating existing machines, business management, marketing and etc );

• Installation/setup of the machines/equipment and imparting relevant staff/members of the Dairy Processing Centre on how to operate this machines /equipment;

• Provide technical support (technical specifications of machineries/equipment, evaluation and etc) to the procurement process;

• Establish market linkages or signoff contract/MOU between the Dairy Processing Centre and vendors;

• Prepare and submit weekly progress report that include; progress made so far, implementation approaches, challenges/issues and ways forward.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables, Timeframe and Percentage:

• Deliverable 1: Locations of milk collection identified and milk collection centers established, Contract/MOU for milk collection is signed, necessary groups/association organized and registered with relevant government department at provincial level. 30% payment of the whole contract value is linked to this deliverable.

• Deliverable 2: inception report submitted, capacity building plan developed, training materials prepared and trainings (soft) delivered. 15% payment of the whole contract value is linked to this deliverable.   

• Deliverable 3. Specifications of necessary machines/equipment/materials prepared, installations and training/orientation about machines/equipment completed 15% payment of the whole contract value is linked to this deliverable.  

• Deliverable 4 (final). Diary production started, offered to market and functionality of the dairy production centre accepted by the UNDP/EGEMA. 40% payment of the whole contract value is linked to this deliverable.  

Methodology

• Consultant will require to meet with EGEMA specialists to go over the details of assignment; travel and get acquainted with the workers of Diary Center;

• review needs assessment report, discuss findings/suggestions and agree on the wayforward with the Component Lead/project manager;

• planning and implementation of activities in coordination with UNDP/EGEMA, DAIL, DOWA and other relevant entities. mobilize community elders (men and women) and coordinate with the government line departments while establishing milk producers group and milk collection centers;

• Report to EGEMA specialists on regular basis and provide updates on progress and any arising issues.

Payment Modality

Payments under the contract shall be delivery based and be made on receipt of the specific milestone reports indicated above, and including a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. These shall be as indicated in the table above, and shall be made upon approval by EGEMA Project Manager/Governance Unit. Upon receipt of final comments, the consultant shall finalize the report for formal acceptance by UNDP at which point the final payment shall be released. The consultant will be paid according to the above payment schedule for each deliverable.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity;

• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;

• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative;

• Team Work: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;

• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

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;

• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.  

Functional competencies:

• Familiarity with the gender issues, gender mainstreaming, gender equality and women’s empowerment;

• Knowledge of government institutions particularly ministry of Women Affairs;

• Demonstrates good writing skills and the ability to synthesize large amounts of information into succinct written notes/reports, summaries;

• Strong proven capacity in training, coaching;

• Ability to develop creative solutions;

• Ability to liaise with stakeholders and partners, including government, civil society, international organizations;

• Ability to work in culturally diverse environments and display diplomacy and tact;

• Knowledge of socio-economic performance in Afghanistan or post-conflict countries.

Management and Leadership:

• Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines;

• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;

• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;

• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;

• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;

• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Bachelor degree in Animal Husbandry and Livestock management or in business administration, economics or related field plus technical education in Animal Husbandry and Livestock Management.

Experience:

• At least 4 years of experience in dairy processing, diary management and production chains;

• Proven experience in working with both women and men;

• Specific experience of establishment or management of dairy processing center (s) will be considered as an advantage.

Language:

• Excellent written and spoken Pashtu or Dari and English is required.

Institutional Arrangement

• The Consultant will work under the supervision of the EGEMA Project Manager through Livelihoods Specialist.

Duration of the Work

• The duration of the assignment is 3 months (with maximum 66 working days).

Duty Station

• Kabul, Afghanistan with regular travel to Mazar-i-Sharif. Travel arrangement will be made by UNDP/EGEMA Project.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

Professional Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication and transportation costs. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 66 working days.

The total professional fee, shall be converted into a lump sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the abovementioned schedule of payment.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

The offer will be evaluated by using the Best Value for money approach (combined scoring method).  The Technical Proposal will be evaluated on 70%.  Whereas the Financial Proposal will be evaluated on 30%.

• Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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 weight 70%;

Financial Criteria weight 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria 70 points

Technical Proposal (40 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – Explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.

• Work Plan (20 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Qualification and Experience (30 marks) [evaluation of CV for shortlisting]:

• Relevant qualification (5 marks);

• Relevant experience (20 marks);

• Excellent written English, knowledge in Dari or Pashtu languages (5 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Duly accomplished Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);

• Personal CV indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;

• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above.