Vetted Experts Roster, Travel to Sudan and home-based, Sudan

VETTED EXPERTS ROSTER

Location : Travel to Sudan and home-based, SUDAN Application Deadline : 16-Jul-12 Additional Category Management Type of Contract : Individual Contract Post Level : International Consultant Languages Required :

Arabic   English   Starting Date :

(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 01-Aug-2012

Duration of Initial Contract : Various short-term consultancy assignments Expected Duration of Assignment : Various short-term consultancy assignments  

Background

1. Thematic Areas:

• Governance and Rule of Law 
• Crisis Prevention
• Poverty Reduction
• Energy and Environment
• Capacity Development
• HIV/AIDS and Gender Practices
• Regional and Local Development
• Monitoring and Evaluation

2. Other Activities:

• Public Finance
• Translators
• Civil Engineers
• Audit Services

Background:

The United Nations Development Programme (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. In the Sudan Country Office focus is on the areas of Poverty Reduction , Governance, Environment and Energy, Capacity Development, Gender, HIV/AIDS and Crisis Prevention and Recovery. 

The Sudan Country Office is aiming to connect the Country  to a global network of development experts, to build knowledge and capacity, and to forge partnerships to meet the development challenges of a large and diverse region. UNDP  also aims to capture and spread development successes and best practices in the region and to improve the impact of UNDP's work through effective communications and advocacy.

In order to achieve these aims, UNDP contracts a team of in-house policy advisers and specialists, backed by an extensive roster of outside experts. Policy advisers and specialists provide demand-driven advisory services, access to knowledge, and technical backstopping to UNDP country office. Their specific services include diagnostic missions, on-site support to programme identification and preparation, evaluations, capacity development, training and applied research.

UNDP Sudan is soliciting the submission of CVs (individuals, not firms) from highly-qualified experts and experienced consultants to be considered for registration in the UNDP expert roster. Only the applicants who pass all screening procedures will be included into the roster and recommended to the country office in Sudan.

The roster will include consultants/ experts in the following areas:

1. Human rights
2. Rule of law, access to justice and legal empowerment
3. Governance assessments
4. Political economy analysis
5. Public administration reform
6. Anti-corruption
7. Decentralization, local governance and local development
8. Gender equality and women’s empowerment
9. Gender mainstreaming
10. HIV, health and development
11. Capacity development
12. M&E
13. Translations
14. Audits
15. Public Finance
16. Civil Engineers

Some  short description of topics including the particular focus areas within each of them can be found under ‘Description of Responsibilities’ in the chapter on Specific Focus Areas. Based on descriptions, the consultant should identify the primary area and, if any, secondary area(s) of expertise that fit his/her range of experience. These areas must be clearly marked in the applicant’s cover letter.

Interested consultants are advised to carefully study all the chapters of this ToR and ensure that they meet the requirements and qualifications as described below (it is expected that each expert responds only to the area(s) where they can provide expertise (i.e. no need to meet requirements in all topical areas to respond to this ToR).

Evaluation of Applicants:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies specified above. Those selected for the next stage of the selection process will participate in an assessment.

UNDP applies the ‘Best value for money’ approach - the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

Contracting Arrangements:

The successful candidates will be included in UNDP’s technical expert roster for the period of 3 years. Entry into the expert roster system does not necessarily mean that contract with UNDP is guaranteed. This will depend on forthcoming needs.

Where a request for services arises, the UNDP unit/office in need of the service shall directly contract the consultant from the roster without the need for further selection process. A specific Term of Reference (ToR) outlining the outputs for each assignment shall be provided and an Individual Contract (IC) will be issued to the consultant, detailing the time frame directly by the contracting unit/office. Conditions of a particular assignment may be negotiable. 

Payments:

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

Application procedures:

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

• A brief cover letter, including a clear identification of the main (ONE) and secondary (if any) area(s) of interest and expertise (Number and title of the specific focus area above) for which the applicant applies and stating your interest in and qualifications for the advertised position. Please send the letter to Mariam.kirollous@undp.org
• The short-listed CVs will be asked to submit Financial Proposal.
• The Roster will be updated every 2 years.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have filled all  required fields in the CV Form.

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.

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultants will provide advisory support to specific clients (UNDP Country Offices and national stakeholders including governments, civil society organizations and other in the region), and the specific reporting and working relationships will always be specified at the time of contracting for an actual assignment.

The range of tasks that would typically be expected from a consultant includes:

Based on an in-depth technical understanding of policymaking, as well as institutional, political, economic, social, cultural analysis, provide strategic and operational advice to governments, private sector and/or civil society organizations on the formulation and execution of policies and interventions for sustained human development and growth.

Help country offices in

• Designing, implementing or evaluating projects in the assigned areas (considering the impact on communities, on poor and vulnerable people, and on climate change);
• Developing country office or government counterparts' capacities through high-quality training or coaching;
• Liaising with other development partners (e.g., other UN agencies, EC, USAID, OSI, IFIs, but also NGOs), assisting in donor coordination and preparations for donor meetings.

Contribute to partnership building and resource mobilization efforts for regional and country level initiatives.

Provide well-written, concise reports according to the requirements.

Some advisors might be asked to directly support high-level government officials in preparing and operationalizing institutional development strategies, and in locally applying best practice principles of administration.

Specific Focus Areas:

1. Human rights:

Over the years, UNDP has supported the institutions of national human rights protection system by helping them build their capacities and share their good practices and experiences with each other. The UNDP  will enhance the specific operational and thematic capacities of human rights and justice institutions and organizations (i.e., NHRIs, CSOs) and UNDP Country Office to pursue a robust regime of human rights and justice programming in support of country level engagements with national and international human rights and justice mechanisms. To pursue these goals, UNDP  will be looking for the experts on:

• National Human Rights Institutions;
• National mechanisms i.e., national preventive mechanism, gender equality mechanism etc.;
• CSOs in the framework of the national Human Rights protection system;
• National engagement with the international Human Rights machinery (UPR, special procedures etc.);
• Rights of the Persons with Disabilities;
• Minority rights/ Protection of minorities;
• Human Rights-based approach (HRBA).

2. Rule of Law, Access to justice and Legal Empowerment

UNDP wishing to develop strategies for making legal and justice services more available and accessible to poor, marginalized and otherwise vulnerable segments of society. In practical terms, UNDP assists developing the capacity of relevant national stakeholders to improve the state of justice delivery mechanisms including legal aid, ADR, legal services and to promote broader judicial and legal reform agenda where necessary. The legal empowerment agenda will be a part of such integrated approach. Particularly, UNDP will be looking for the experts on:

• Access to justice and Rule of law programming;
• Legal aid;
• Alternative Dispute Resolution ;
• Judicial reform and judicial integrity;
• Legal empowerment including legal innovation to support the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups;
• Justice mechanisms in conflict (including frozen conflict) and post-conflict settings.

3. Governance assessments:

UNDP provides advisory and financial support to catalyze country-led governance assessment processes in more than 20 countries globally. For UNDP, governance assessments are an important tool in the effort to improve democratic governance as a contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The process of conducting an assessment should serve to strengthen accountability between governments and citizens. In this area, UNDP is looking for the experts on:

• Capacity development of relevant national stakeholders with regards to assessing governance performance;
• Indicator development including indicators for measuring corruption, local governance, civil society, public administration , parliament, political parties, forest management , climate change, extractive industries, democracy, conflict, electoral systems, gender, human rights, justice or media;
• Assessment facilitation through dialogue, inclusive participation, consensus building and multi-stakeholder approaches.

4. Political economy analysis (PEA):

In its political economy analysis UNDP focuses on political economy issues that impact the enabling environment and affect the success or failure of development interventions. Individuals with expertise in carrying out PEA, including social and political scientists, investigative journalists, consultants with experience in carrying out similar analyses for bilateral and multilateral donors and/or with experience in planning processes (e.g. UNDAF, PCNA, PRSP, etc) and UNDP analytical frameworks, are welcome to apply.

5. Public administration reform (PAR):

Public administration reform has historically been a core area for UNDP support, closely linked to organization’s mandate to reduce poverty and foster respect for human rights. An efficient, responsive, transparent and accountable public administration is a central part of democratic governance; it is also the basic means through which government strategies to achieve Millennium Development Goals can be implemented. UNDP  currently supports more than 110 ongoing projects in different  countries, knowledge exchange and assistance in programme and project formulation. In this area we are looking for consultants with the expertise in the following areas:

• Policy making and coordination, including strategic planning, policy coordination, coordination in European integration, coordination in the area of PAR and other specific policy areas;
• Public finance management, including budget preparation and execution, internal control and audit, external audit, and public procurement;
• Public sector organization and staffing focusing on structures and functions of public institutions , civil service systems, human resource management and development, and integrity frameworks for civil service;
• Public service delivery including administrative decision making, administrative simplifications, quality management , e-government, decentralization and public-private partnerships.

6. Anti-corruption:

Corruption is undoubtedly one of the key governance problems of the region. Many countries of the region suffer from high levels of public corruption that frequently undermines efforts at administrative reform and impede the development of governmental capacity to fulfill state responsibilities. For the past five year, UNDP  has been implemented the anti-corruption programme providing a platform for joint anti-corruption activities for countries’ practitioners, UNDP/UNODC staff and  international experts committed to the fight against public corruption in the region. With this in mind, we are looking for the expertise in:

• Capacity development for prevention of corruption, with particular focus on specialized institutional arrangements for: corruption prevention; enforcement of conflict of interest law and regulations and codes of ethics; management of asset declarations; enhancing transparency and accountability of the public administration at the central and local level; audit; procurement and contracting;
• Awareness raising and civil society engagement in the fight against corruption;
• Legal and institutional frameworks for implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption, with particular focus on Chapter 2. Review mechanism of the Convention;
• Prevention of corruption in basic public services (Health – Education – Water – Energy).

7. Decentralization, local governance and local development:

In most countries of the region, the establishment of market economies is accompanied by efforts to modernize public institutions and improve democratic governance. In this area, the overarching goal of the UNDP  is to contribute to democratic and effective local government . This goal promotes inclusive local economic development, improved living standards and better public services, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable groups. To achieve this goal UNDP supports the establishment of an enabling policy, legislative and institutional environment for decentralization, and facilitates capacity development of all relevant local actors in key areas of local competence. Increasing climate change concerns in the region has been reflected in the rising importance of UNDP support to the promotion of the local sustainable development . Thus, UNDP is seeking individuals with the expertise in the following areas:

• Sustainable local development (energy efficiency , regional energy agencies, sustainable energy action plans (SEAPs), small-scale renewable energy; waste-to-energy technologies; green public procurement; public environmental information; sustainable forms of a) land use management and planning, b) economic development (tourism, agriculture development);
• Fiscal and administrative decentralization (expenditure responsibilities and revenue sources for different tiers of government; equalization grants, local taxes and fees, tax policy and administration, municipal borrowing, administrative-territorial reform, performance budgeting);
• Regional development, area-based development, integrated local development (regional development policies and structures, absorption of IPA funds);
• Local public service delivery (housing and communal services, heating, water and sanitation , solid waste management , health services, administrative services, social inclusion with respect to access to services, capital investment programming);
• Municipal management (performance management, municipal finance management, public-private partnerships, municipal asset management , internal administrative management and human resource management, ISO certification);
• Inter-municipal cooperation and cross-border cooperation;
• Municipal training systems (establishment/institutional development of respective training institutions);
• Local and regional government associations (establishment/institutional development);
• Community and council mobilization (civic engagement, citizen monitoring, local council strengthening, mechanisms to strengthen oversight, transparency and accountability at the local level).

8. Gender equality and women’s empowerment:

Gender equality and women’s empowerment lie at the heart of development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This is why UNDP integrates gender equality and women’s empowerment in its four main areas of work: poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development . In practical terms, this is done both through gender mainstreaming as well as through targeted initiatives that aim to foster gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Gender team at the UNDP Global supports activities of UNDP Country Office. Its core activities focus on: developing capacities of its national partners by mainstreaming gender into all UNDP programming areas, capturing and making available to a broad audience best practices in working towards gender equality and women’s empowerment and by providing policy and advisory services regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Specific requirements for consultants working in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment will focus on:

• Gender responsive law making;
• Institutional mechanisms and capacity development for gender equality , gender sensitive statistics, gender audit, gender training;
• Gender responsive budgeting;
• Violence against women;
• Women’s human rights;
• Women’s political participation ;
• Involvement of men and boys in achievement of gender equality .

9. Gender mainstreaming

The UN defines Gender Mainstreaming as the process of assessing the implication for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies, programmes, in all areas and at all levels.

Specific requirements for consultants working in the area of gender mainstreaming focusing on following:

• Gender mainstreaming in social, environment and economic policies and strategies;
• Gender-sensitive service delivery, Microfinance and SME, Gender and employment, Gender-sensitive social safety nets;
• Gender in climate change and water management .

10. HIV, health and development:

The work of the regional HIV/AIDS programme focuses on increasing the capacity of countries in the region to implement evidence-based, multi-sectoral national responses to AIDS and to strengthen UNDP Country office AIDS practitioners’ capacity to support those efforts. Special emphasis will be placed on the needs of the populations at higher risk to HIV and ensuring the rights of people living with and affected by HIV. Specific requirements for consultants working in the area of HIV/AIDS will focus on the following:

• Addressing the needs and ensuring the rights of vulnerable populations including injecting drug users (IDUs), men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender (TG) people, sex workers (SWs), migrants and people living with HIV;
• Report writing on topics relevant to HIV, public health and development;
• Organizing various HIV-related events including workshops, trainings, conferences, seminars and other;
• Liaising with the HIV community especially with members of vulnerable populations;
• Supporting the effective implementation of Global Fund grants in the region;
• Conducting HIV Assessments at the national and sub-national levels.

11. Capacity development

Capacity development is at the heart of UNDP’s mandate and functions.   It is an integrating core principle in the UNDP Strategic Plan (2008-2013), and cuts across the results areas of UNDP practices, such as   Democratic Governance, Poverty Reduction , Crisis Prevention & Recovery, Energy and Environment, HIV/AIDS, and Gender. It also underpins the role of the UN development system at country level.  UNDP offers capacity development services for an array of partners in the areas of policy advice; implementation support; knowledge exchange; and norms and standards based on UNDP’s capacity development approach.  These services are offered against four major focus areas, i.e., aid and development effectiveness, national implementation capacities and country systems, national and sectoral capacity development strategies, and local service delivery.  In this context, UNDP is seeking to solicit applications from individuals with the following expertise:

• Assessing capacities of partners of the UNDP to implement their specific mandate, from an enabling environment, organizational and individual competence angle;
• Formulating a capacity development response in line with the assessments, and assessing financial consequences of specific capacity development responses;
• Developing measurement frameworks to track actual changes in capacities of the partners over the years (both in terms of self-assessment and external assessment) and carry out measurement exercises;
• Risk analysis that surrounds specific capacity development responses;
• Adapt generic approaches for UNDP capacity development scoping and assessment to the specific local circumstances and specific sectors;
• Organizing and facilitating capacity development learning events, including knowledge fairs, workshops, conferences, trainings, among others;
• Carrying out UNDP capacity development trainings and workshops to UNDP Country Offices, UNCT, and government counterparts;
• Conducting policy and analytical research on relevant capacity development issues and themes.

12. Monitoring and Evaluation

Activities:

• Advise on the design, establishment and implementation of an effective Monitoring and Evaluation System to monitor the activities, results and impact of activities funded by donors
• Suggest a clear demarcation line between the scope and limitation of the M&E responsibilities of the line ministries and MIC M&E mandate in relation to the ODA delivered to the country
• Advise on the purchase of a good M & E software with training and support
• Support aid partners, MIC officers in particular to ensure that all project activities integrate Monitoring and Evaluation components and indicators, and that all projects results are timely assessed
• Provide strategic advise on means and methods to mainstream participatory approaches into the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) Framework and the 5- year plan 2007-2011 monitoring and reporting processes
• Ensure that the developed M&E system has clear demarcation line as regards to M&E responsibilities of the line ministries and MIC M&E mandate in relation to the ODA delivered to the country
• Develop aid M&E procedures, guidelines and reporting template
• Assess MIC and aid counterparts M&E capacities (functional, structural and human resource) and provide capacity development plan and recommendation.
• Develop/adopt, test and finalize monitoring and evaluation manual for MIC
• Conduct training for MIC and its counterparts using the developed manual
• Conduct capacity development as requested by MIC or stakeholders for institutionalization of M&E
• Lead the process (in collaboration with other Monitoring and Evaluation Officers working with aid partners) of documenting results-based best M&E practices and avail experiences through the MIC website
• Suggest necessary modifications to the Sudan Aid Information Database (SAID) in order to reinforce its Results Management capabilities and ensure integration/communication between SAID and the new suggested software
• Define a comprehensive framework within which the M&E activities of the different national and international stakeholders operate to ensure effective and smooth coordination

13. Editing and Translating work:

UNDP is seeking a competent editor and translator to do the following tasks:

• Edit the chapters of the final Microfinance Polices implementation Guidelines Report. S/he must ensure that the English text, in which the report is sent to her/him, is presented in a manner that is correct, effective and easy to read without compromising the information that the author intended.
• Translate the final Microfinance Polices implementation Guidelines Report (whole report) from English to Arabic language.

14. Civil Engineer:

The mandate of the civil engineer will be undertaken under the direct supervision of the Regional Programme Manager, with coordination and quality assurance provided by the team leaders in each state of project location. The civil engineer will provide the following tasks:

Design Services: The engineer will design public buildings and associated infrastructure for prisons, police stations, courts and other utilities. The civil engineer shall abide by all the necessary standards and shall produce the following specific deliverables in relation to each package or part of the work as appropriate:

• Conduct Site Investigation and produce existing Buildings Condition report;
• Produce Concept site layout and budget cost estimate;
• Produce architectural, structural, civil works, landscaping, electrical, sanitary and specialist services such as working construction drawings for each building or structure including, but not limited to:

• Site Plans

• Floor Plans

• Elevations

• Sections

• Assembly Details

• Door and Window Schedules

• Schedule of Finishes

• Provide any other drawings required to enable the proper construction of the works;
• Schedule of Activities and detailed bill of quantities for inclusion in the project bid document;
• Support in the preparation of required tender documents to bidders;
• Provide assistance with tender evaluation through representation on the bid evaluation committee.

In addition, the civil engineer shall:

• Attend all meetings with the project teams as required and requested;
• Provide general and specific design and technical advice in relation to the civil works; and
• Undertake any other duties in connection with the works reasonably requested by the Regional Programme Manager

Competencies

 Competencies

• Strategic vision, strong technical and analytical capabilities;
• Strong reporting and writing abilities;
• Ability to work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations with government counterparts, donors, NGOs and other development partners;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, and negotiating skills, and the ability to cope with situations which may pose conflict;
• Integrity, modelled by the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Ability to manage heavy workload and solve complex problems with minimum supervision.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master, PhD) in social sciences, international affairs, international law , public administration , business administration, political science, development studies, economics or other related areas.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of proven work experience in the related field (corresponding to the area of the selected topic);
• Knowledge of Europe and CIS region; proven working experience in region in an asset;
• Experience in management of post-conflict interventions is an asset;
• Theoretical and practical experience in drafting, implementing, monitoring and evaluating public policies with specific focus in one of the outlined focus areas;
• Familiarity with UNDP’s capacity development approach and experience in its practical applications is a plus;
• Excellent drafting and formulation skills: track record in producing official reports or papers/ studies in specified areas;
• Very good presentation skills. Experience with facilitation of professional workshops/ conferences is an asset;
• Experience working as a public official in above-mentioned areas is a plus;

The consultant should demonstrate experiences in one or more of the following areas:

• Capacity development & training
• Policy analysis and development
• Institutional and organisational development
• Project formulation and implementation
• Comparative research and analysis
• Mobilisation of resources
• Partnership building
• Legal drafting & analysis

Languages:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is a must, Russian is an asset; knowledge of other languages used in ECIS region is preferred.

Computer skills:

• • IT literacy and ability to operate with on-line web-based applications.