Consultancy – On-Call Consultant, Expert Dispute Resolution Practitioner, UNDP Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM)Development Impact Group (DIG), Bureau for Policy and Programme Support United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Background

In June 2014 UNDP adopted mandatory Social and Environmental Standards (SES) for all of UNDP’s projects and programmes effective 1 January 2015. The objectives of the Standards are to:

• Strengthen the social and environmental outcomes of UNDP projects;
• Avoid adverse impacts to people and the environment affected by projects;
• Minimize, mitigate, and manage adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible;
• Strengthen UNDP and partner capacities for managing social and environmental risks; and
• Ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement, including through a mechanism to respond to complaints from project-affected people.

The Standards will be underpinned by an Accountability Mechanism with two key components:

• A Compliance Review to respond to claims that UNDP is not in compliance with applicable environmental and social policies; and
• A Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) that ensures individuals, peoples, and communities affected by projects have access to appropriate grievance resolution procedures for hearing and addressing project-related complaints and disputes.

The Stakeholder Response Mechanism helps project-affected stakeholders, governments, and other partners jointly resolve concerns and disputes. It is available when Implementing Partner and UNDP project-level stakeholder engagement processes have not successfully resolved issues of concern. UNDP Country Office management normally leads in Stakeholder Response; a headquarters function also supports the SRM.

The Stakeholder Response Mechanism can help affected people, government agencies, and other project and program stakeholders, start or restart dialogue, facilitate discussions, mediate disputes, enhance understanding of the facts, and undertake other activities that might help resolve concerns and disputes.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK?

The on-call consultant will support the following areas of work and activities:

1. Quality Assurance

• Provide backstopping and technical advice to country-level and regionally-supported response to project related grievances

2. Guidance and tools

• Development of a package of technical guidance related to SRM set up and grievance response
• Development of case study materials based on new case examples that are identified

3. Capacity building, training, and webinars?

• Contribution to the development of training and webinar content
• Support the delivery of training sessions and webinars

4. Awareness raising, communications, and outreach (internal and external)

• Conduct public outreach to inform global stakeholders about the SRM and support COs in performing parallel outreach at country level
• Collect lessons learned and report on SRM cases and uptake in COs

Expected outputs and deliverables:

• Capacities of SRM focal points to set up and run SRM in COs is enhanced
• Capacities of SRM focal points to respond to grievances is enhanced
• Reporting and analysis of complaints received, challenges & lessons learned, recommendations for how to improve UNDP’s responses, etc.
• SRM communications products developed and widely disseminated to internal and external audiences?

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

• Technical: The consultant must demonstrate senior-level expertise in dispute resolution, mediation and grievance redress mechanisms within an international development context. Familiarity with the social and environmental safeguard policies of international institutions. Experience in negotiation and consensus building among multiple stakeholders in challenging contexts.?
• Communication: Demonstrated excellence in clear, concise and convincing writing and communication skills, including public speaking and presentations. Familiarity with digital and social media communications tools and strategies.?
• ?Professionalism: The consultant should be capable of working in a high-pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously; Able to handle a large volume of data and reports accurately and thoroughly, with great attention to detail; Exercise the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner. Highly organized with strong analytical and research skills.
• Teamwork: The consultant should work well in a team; Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks; Focuses on results for the client, and welcomes constructive feedback. Demonstrated the ability to work effectively as part of a collaborative team and process.
• Knowledge Management and Learning: The consultant should willingly share knowledge and experience and make contributions to UNDP practice areas (e.g., documented knowledge, a community of practice building initiatives); actively develop substantive understanding and experience in one or more knowledge areas, including process and/or technical knowledge

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by upholding the United Nations' values and ethical standards; treats all people fairly;
• Appreciates differences in values and learning from cultural diversity;?
• Promotes UNDP vision, mission and strategic goals;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age-based sensitivity and adaptability;• Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UNDP in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• At least a Masters Degree or equivalent in conflict/dispute resolution, international development, communications, law, public policy, and/or related field (Required)

Experience:

• At least 15 years of progressively responsible experience and demonstrated personal competence in conflict/dispute resolution applied in international development contexts.( (Required)
• Communications and outreach experience, in particular outreach, interviewing, writing, and editing in a development context
• Familiarity with the UN System, in particular, UNDP.

Language:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

• Online application with brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment; and
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hour working day - lunchtime is not included - an estimated 21.75 days per month).
• The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
• This consultancy is a home-based assignment, therefore, there is no envisaged travel cost to join duty station/repatriation travel.??
• In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging, and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel to a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
• If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Are applicants 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 weigh 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (700 points):

• Criteria 1.Expertise in developing and rolling out policies related to grievance redress mechanisms ( Maximum Points: 100);
• Criteria 2. Expertise in providing advice, support, and training related to grievance redress mechanisms (Maximum Points: 100);
• Criteria 3. Analytical and communication skills relevant to the position ( Maximum Points: 150);
• Criteria 4: Written Test (Maximum points: 150)
• Criteria 4: Interview (Maximum Points: 200)

Having reviewed the applications received, the top 3 shortlisted candidates will be asked to participate in a written test demonstrating the applicant’s qualifications and experience will enable him/her to successfully deliver against the requirements of this assignment.

The same 3 shortlisted candidates will also be invited for interview. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (490 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (700 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (300 points)

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

Framework Agreement

UNDP plans to enter into the Long-Term Agreement (LTA) with the TOP ranked successful Individual Contractors to assure resources availability at the required time frame and/or increased demand for services requested. The service of who will be used on an intermittent and repetitive basis when needed and based on the fixed unit price. Other prospective applicants that are not contracted, at the UNDP’s discretion, may be placed on the roster of consultants to be used based on an on-call basis for similar services.

Please note that the LTA does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the LTA contract is signed and that such an agreement is non-exclusive. When a specific need arises, the successful Individual Contractor/s will be approached and be provided with a specific TOR and deliverables (and time frame) but still within the scope of the responsibilities stated in the LTA. The successful Individual Contractor(s) is expected to provide Confirmation of Interest on the specific services required at the agreed LTA Daily Rate Consultancy Fee. Financial commitments will only be established each time a Purchase Order for the specific services/TOR for Individual Contractor is committed.

This LTA has a cumulative ceiling amount that may accrue to the individual contractor during the life of the LTA, but said amount shall remain as an upper limit, and must not and cannot be interpreted nor understood as neither a financial commitment nor guarantee of business volume.

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 Long Term Agreement with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Technical Specialist, Safeguards and Grievance Mechanisms and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

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

Payment modality

• Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
• The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

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 Long Term Agreement with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Technical Specialist, Safeguards and Grievance Mechanisms and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

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

Payment modality

• Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
• The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

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

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.