Background

Context

On September 6, 2017, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) suffered extensive damage and widespread devastation from the passage of Hurricane Irma (HI). The territory was further impacted by Hurricane Maria (HM) on September 20, 2017. These hurricanes followed the torrential rainfall event over the period August 7 and 8, 2017. All social and economic sectors suffered substantial impacts due to these events.  Essential services such as health, social services, telecommunications, electricity, water, sewerage and waste management systems were, and continue to be, severely compromised.

The Government of the Virgin Islands (GOVI) has obtained a loan of USD 65 million from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for financing for a project to assist in the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction of social and economic infrastructure to overcome the cumulative damaging effects of the floods, HI and HM.  The scope of the Project includes, among other things, the rehabilitation and reconstruction of critical social and economic infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewerage, docks, schools, education and other public buildings. Also included in the scope are: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment for various sectors and school supplies, provision of technical assistance (TA) for a climate risk and vulnerability assessment, design and contract supervision services, and psychosocial support to targeted groups.

As part of the Project’s implementation, the Government has requested UNDP to provide technical assistance for a year, including, as applicable, the procurement of supplies, equipment, works and consultancy servicesrequired for carrying out the Technical Assistance in accordance with the Agreement. Towards this, UNDP has established an Implementation Support Team (IST) in the British Virgin Islands for one year to support the implementation of post Hurricane Irma Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Loan.

Objective

The Procuremnet Consultant will support the efficient management of procurement processes in the implementation of the RRL and the IST in providing procurement related capacity development activities.

Reporting lines

The Consultant will report directly to the Head of Project Office (BVI) and the Procurement Specialist in the UNDP IST, BVI, to provide updates on the status of the work and seek inputs or clarifications.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensures elaboration and implementation of operational strategies focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Full compliance of procurement activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control, proper design and functioning of a client-oriented procurement management system.
  • Conceptualization, elaboration and implementation of contract strategy in the Project Office including tendering processes and evaluation, contractor appraisal, evaluation and negotiation of offers, management of the contract and contractor, legal considerations and payment conditions, risk assessment.
  • Conceptualization, elaboration and Implementation of strategic procurement in the Project Office including sourcing strategy, supplier selection and evaluation, quality management, customer relationship management, e-procurement introduction and promotion, performance measurement.

Ensures efficient management of procurement processes for Project Office, focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Timely and duly preparation of procurement plans for the office and projects, establishment of deadlines and monitoring of their implementation.
  • Establishment and implementation of proper monitoring system and control of procurement processes including organization of RFQ, ITB or RFP, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their evaluation, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UNDP rules and regulation.
  • Ensure smooth and efficient operations of daily procurement activities;
  • Prepare tender documents, ensure necessary approvals are obtained of documents, coordinate the tender process ensuring the highest level of quality control and transparency;
  • Identification of prospective Contractors and Suppliers for each procurement process, with emphasis on local eligibility requirements;
  • Guide the evaluation process and prepare evaluation reports;
  • Prepare contracr documents for the respective consulting services contracts;
  • Review and certification of submissions to the Contract, Asset and Procurement Committee (CAP) and Advisory Committee on Procurement (ACP).
  • Elaboration and implementation of the internal control system which ensures that Purchase orders (PO) are duly prepared and dispatched. Timely corrective actions on POs with budget check errors and other problems.
  • Management of the implementation of the procurement processes monitoring system and mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in procurement.
  • Supervision of preparation of cost-recovery bills in Atlas for procurement services provided by UNDP to other Agencies.

Ensures elaboration, introduction and implementation of sourcing strategy and e-procurement tools focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Development and management of the rosters of suppliers, elaboration of supplier selection and evaluation, quality and performance measurement mechanisms.

Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the Project Office focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Organization of training for the operations/ projects staff on Procurement.
  • Organization of training for Govt. staff on Procurement as required.

Deliverables

The Consultant will submit the following deliverables:

  1. Monthly report on delivered activities - 30 days
  2. Monthly report on delivered activities - 60 days
  3. Monthly report on delivered activities - 90 days
  4. Monthly report on delivered activities - 120 days

Competencies

  • Good interpersonal and teamwork skills and proven ability to work in a multi-cultural setting and teams with diversity of background and skills, while at the same time being capable of working independently to agreed work plans
  • Demonstrated organizational and planning skills, and ability to meet deadlines and to manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently
  • Excellent organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks and to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;

Required Skills and Experience

  • 'Minimum Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics or related field'
  • 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in procurement management.
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of web based management systems.
  • UNDP Procurement Certification programme desirable.
  • Knowledge of CDB procurement guidelines desirable.
  • Excellent fluency in English, both written and verbal communication.

Execution arrangements

  • The consultant will be required to carry on the duties of this consultancy in the BVI.
  • The consultant should be able to assume duties within one week of signing the contract.
  • The consultant will be responsible for all the the equipment, communication devices and tools that may be required for the implementation of the assignment. UNDP IST will be responsible for providing office space.

Application Submission process:

Interested individuals are invited to submit offers to undertake tasks.

Step 1:  Submission of Updated CV and Cover Letter.

  • Technical Proposal/CV: The offer should include: (1) a cover letter and an updated CV.; To note, a completed PH 11 Form will be required at the time a consultant signs an Individual Contract (IC) or his/her employer, if employed, signs a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) for work associated with this assignment.

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

Applicants that pass the technical evaluation will be contacted and asked to submit their financial proposals indicating an all-inclusive daily fee in US Dollars for this consultancy.

  • Financial Proposal: To consist of professional fees, broken down by the different tasks. Financial proposals must be all-inclusive and must be expressed based on a daily fee in US dollars.  The term ‘all inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel related expenses, communications, utilities, consumables, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the daily fee;

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 of desk review:

  • Number of years of relevant experience in strategic procurement, including proven  experience in International Public procurement – 30 points
  • Experience in conducting high volume complex procurement activities for goods, services and civil works– 30 points
  • Specific Knowledge/Familiarity/Certification of UNDP and/or CDB’s procurement guidelines and procedures – 20 points
  • Experience in the region, including the Caribbean and/or SIDS.– 20 points

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (70 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (100 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 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

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 be supervised by the Head of the Project Office in BVI.

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

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