Lead Writer and Rapporteur, Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Background

UNDP in Malaysia provides policy and technical advisory support to the Government of Malaysia in accordance to the approved Country Programme. The current Country Programme 2016 – 2020 is aligned to the development priorities of the 11th Malaysia Plan with sustainable human development agenda at the forefront, underpinned by two outcomes/priorities: (1) inclusive development and growth; and (2) sustainable and resilient development.

Under outcome 2 sustainable and resilient development, UNDP supports the implementation of projects concerning biodiversity and ecosystems in close partnership with the Government of Malaysia. In this regard, a series of international, regional and national conference/forum/seminar have been organised/planned to advance the agenda of managing and conserving biodiversity and ecosystems for sustainable development; in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 Life below Water and SDG 15 Life on Land. There are:

• National Seminar on Central Forest Spine on 27 – 28 July 2017, Putrajaya (completed);
• Regional Forum on Innovation, Inclusiveness and Impact: “Strengthening and Diversifying Financing for Protected Areas” on 10 – 12 October 2017, Kuching, Sarawak;
• International Exchange Forum on Access and Benefit-Sharing of Biological Resources in April/May 2018, Kuala Lumpur;
• International Forum on SDG 14 and 15 in July/August 2018;
• National Conference on Biodiversity Finance Initiative Malaysia in September/October 2018.

Duties and Responsibilities

The purpose of this assignment is to engage a Lead Writer cum Rapporteur to record, draft and finalise the proceedings of the conference/forum/seminar ready for electronic and printed publication.

The Lead Writer cum Rapporteur will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

• Lead a team of rapporteurs to record presentations, discussions and outcomes of the conference/forum/seminar;
• Develop a timeline and work distribution table for team members to complete deliverables;
• Develop a standard method and template to record inputs and to familiarize the team members with the method and template for documenting the conference/forum/seminar as preparation for the drafting of proceedings;
• Collate all presentations and supplementary materials provided by the presenters, record panel discussions and question & answer sessions;
• Record and collate any other information generated from forum sessions;
• Collate and analyze participant feedback forms gathered by UNDP;
• Utilize the information gathered and video footage of the conference/forum/seminar to prepare the proceedings in an agreed format/outline with UNDP;
• Consolidate all data and writings gathered from team members and produce a comprehensive proceedings of the conference/forum/seminar;
• Ensure the proceedings is written in a consistent manner and with the appropriate flow; ready for publication in electronic and printed format.

Expected Output:

Five (5) complete proceedings of

• National Seminar on Central Forest Spine on 27 – 28 July 2017, Putrajaya;
• Regional Forum on Innovation, Inclusiveness, and Impact: “Strengthening and Diversifying Financing for Protected Areas” on 10 – 12 October 2017, Kuching, Sarawak;
• International Exchange Forum on Access and Benefit-Sharing of Biological Resources in April/May 2018, Kuala Lumpur;
• International Forum on SDG 14 and 15 in June/July 2018, Kuala Lumpur;
• National Conference on Biodiversity Finance Initiative Malaysia in September/October 2018, Kota Kinabalu.

Deliverables and Timeline:

The consultant will be responsible for the delivery, content, technical quality and accuracy of the deliverables. All deliverables shall be submitted to the Project Management Unit and UNDP Malaysia in accordance with the following timeline.

Key Deliverable 1: Proceedings of Regional Forum on Innovation, Inclusiveness and Impact: “Strengthening and Diversifying Financing for Protected Areas”

• Deliverable 1.1: First draft of the conference proceedings by 31 October 2017.
• Deliverable 1.2: Final draft of the proceedings incorporating comments and corrections received during the review process by 24 November 2017.
• Deliverable 1.3: Final and clean version of proceedings ready for publication by 15 December 2017.

Key Deliverable 2: Proceedings of the National Seminar on Central Forest Spine (lead writer and rapporteur is to draft the proceedings based on the rapporteurs’ notes prepared by NRE and Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia)

• Deliverable 2.1: First draft of the proceedings by 30 November 2017.
• Deliverable 2.2: Final draft of the proceedings incorporating comments and corrections received during the review process by 15 December 2017.
• Deliverable 2.3: Final and clean version of proceedings by 15 January 2018.

Key Deliverable 3: Proceedings of the International Exchange Forum on Access and Benefit-Sharing of Biological Resources

• Deliverable 3.1: First draft of the proceedings by 31 May 2018.
• Deliverable 3.2: Final draft of the proceedings incorporating comments and corrections received during the review process by 15 June 2018.
• Deliverable 3.3: Final and clean version of proceedings by 15 July 2018.

Key Deliverable 4: Proceedings of the International Forum on SDG 14 and 15

• Deliverable 4.1: First draft of the proceedings by 31 July 2018.
• Deliverable 4.2: Final draft of the proceedings incorporating comments and corrections received during the review process by 15 August 2018.
• Deliverable 4.3: Final and clean version of proceedings by 30 September 2018.

Key Deliverable 5: Proceedings of the National Conference on Biodiversity Finance Initiative Malaysia

• Deliverable 5.1: First draft of the proceedings by 31 October 2018.
• Deliverable 5.2: Final draft of the proceedings incorporating comments and corrections received during the review process by 15 November 2018.
• Deliverable 5.3: Final and clean version of proceedings by 15 December 2018.

Handling of Data, Information, and Documents:

All data, information and documents obtained under this assignment is the property of the Government of Malaysia and United Nations Development Programme, and be treated as strictly confidential. No such information shall be used and cited by the expert for any other purpose other than for the preparation of the proceedings. All hard and soft copies of the data, information and documents must be returned to UNDP Malaysia upon completion of this assignment.

Institutional Arrangement:

Reporting Structure:

The Lead Writer and Rapporteur will report to the Programme Manager of UNDP Malaysia, and work in close collaboration with respective UNDP project team.  

Duty Station:

The Lead Writer and Rapporteur will be based at his/her home office unless meetings are scheduled with UNDP Malaysia. Scheduling of meetings will be arranged and fixed based on discussion between the Lead Writer & Rapporteur and UNDP Malaysia. The Lead Writer and Rapporteur is responsible for his/her own travel arrangement.

Upon award of contract, the Lead Writer and Rapporteur will receive a detailed briefing by UNDP Malaysia on the required scope of work and work plan.

Duration:

The assignment will require 180 working days starting from 1 October 2017 to 31 December 2018.  It will be necessary to travel to attend the conference/forum/seminar as per locations indicated in the Deliverables and Timeline.

Terms of Payment:

The contract and payments will be performance-based and assessed by UNDP Malaysia. For payment in instalments, certification of satisfactory performance at each phase of key deliverable is required.

Key Deliverable 1: Proceedings of Regional Forum on Innovation, Inclusiveness and Impact: “Strengthening and Diversifying Financing for Protected Areas”

• 20% upon submission and acceptance of a standard rapporteuring template and proceedings outline by UNDP Malaysia
• 50% upon submission and acceptance of the first draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia
• 30% upon submission and acceptance of final draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia

Key Deliverable 2: Proceedings of the National Seminar on Central Forest Spine

• 20% upon submission and acceptance of a standard rapporteuring template and proceedings outline by UNDP Malaysia
• 50% upon submission and acceptance of the first draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia
• 30% upon submission and acceptance of final draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia

Key Deliverable 3: Proceedings of the International Exchange Forum on Access and Benefit-Sharing of Biological Resources

• 20% upon submission and acceptance of a standard rapporteuring template and proceedings outline by UNDP Malaysia
• 50% upon submission and acceptance of the first draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia
• 30% upon submission and acceptance of final draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia

Key Deliverable 4: Proceedings of the International Forum on SDG 14 and 15

• 20% upon submission and acceptance of a standard rapporteuring template and proceedings outline by UNDP Malaysia
• 50% upon submission and acceptance of the first draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia
• 30% upon submission and acceptance of final draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia

Key Deliverable 5: Proceedings of the National Conference on Biodiversity Finance Initiative Malaysia

• 20% upon submission and acceptance of a standard rapporteuring template and proceedings outline by UNDP Malaysia
• 50% upon submission and acceptance of the first draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia
• 30% upon submission and acceptance of final draft of the proceedings by UNDP Malaysia.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates high moral integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrated capacity of team-orientation work, excellent planning and organizational skills;
• Sensitivity and respect for human rights and gender equality.

Functional competencies:

• Excellent organizational skills;
• Strong analytical, writing and communication skills;
• Ability to prepare and deliver reports and presentations in a timely manner;
• Ability to manage and work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural team;
• Strong motivation and ability to work and deliver under short deadlines;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback;
• Able to work independently with little or no supervision;
• Familiarity with UNDP, government, academics and civil society strongly desired.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in mass communication, journalism, conservation biology, ecology, environmental studies or related discipline.

This assignment is open to Malaysian nationals and residents only.

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in drafting and publication of proceedings/reporting and rapporteuring services at international, regional and/or national conference/forum/seminar (please provide evidence/ references);
• Good working knowledge of conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystems in Malaysia;
• Proficiency in computer especially Microsoft Office suite applications;
• Experience in working with UNDP, international organizations and/or government is an advantage.

Language:

• English and Malay.

Documents to be included when submitting proposals:

Interested individual applicants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (Annex 1) provided by UNDP;
2. Technical Proposal on how your qualifications and experience can lead towards the successful deliverable of this assignment within the required timeframe, and provide a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the assignment;
3. Financial Proposal should specify a total lump sum amount including a breakdown of working days, travel and relevant costs using Annex II Financial Proposal Template for Lead Writer and Rapporteur, Biodiversity and Ecosystems;
4. Personal CV including areas of expertise and past experience in similar projects and at least three (3) references in the format of UN Personal History Form (P11 form). The UN Personal History Form (P11) can be downloaded from the link below. 

Scan all documents into 1 pdf folder and then upload.

For clarification question, please email to procurement.my@undp.org. The clarification question deadline is three (3) days before the closing. When emailing for clarification questions, please put "MyIC/2017/034" as the subject matter;

Forms and General terms & conditions to be downloaded:

• The UN Personal History Form (P11) is available at:http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/P11%20for%20SC%20&%20IC.doc?download
• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability at http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/Letter%20of%20Interest%20_Annex%201.docx?download
• The Financial Proposal Template at http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/MyIC_2017_034%20Financial%20Proposal%20Template.docx?download
• The General Terms & Conditions for Individual contract is available at:http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/General%20Conditions%20of%20Contract%20for%20IC.pdf?download
• The General Terms & Conditions for Reimbursement Loan Agreement is available at:http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/Reimbursable%20Loan%20Agreement%20_%20Terms%20&%20Conditions.pdf?download  

Criteria for selection of the best offer:

The award of the contract will be made to the Individual Consultant who has obtained the highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions.  Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The offers will be evaluated using the “Combined Scoring method” where:

1. The technical proposal including educational background and experience on similar assignments will be weighted a max. of 70%;
2. The financial proposal will weigh as 30% of the total scoring.