International Consultant (Security Coordination Advisor - Election)

Background

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 has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. 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:

The UN Electoral Support Project (UNESP) is the international community’s programming vehicle to support the next elections in Afghanistan, including the parliamentary and district council elections announced by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) for 7 July 2018. The project has two overall objectives – 1) to build the capacity of the Afghan electoral institutions (the Independent Elections Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission) to implement elections in line with the national electoral legal framework and Afghanistan’s international commitments; 2) to allow a programming mechanism for the international community to partially finance the elections as per the request of the Government of Afghanistan. The project follows previous UN projects in support of the Afghan electoral process, most notably the Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) projects, from 2006-2011 (ELECT I) and 2012-2015 (ELECT II), and the UNDP Project Initiation Plan that is in place since July 2015 – October 2017. The UNESP places the UN’s electoral support to Afghanistan directly under the political and supervisory oversight of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and reflects the growing sustainability of the Afghan electoral process, as evidenced by the Government of Afghanistan’s financial commitment to both electoral institutions, and the provision of significant in-kind support to the implementation of elections. The Project Board, under the overall political guidance of the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political, will be co-chaired by UNAMA DSRSG for Political and the Chairpersons of the IEC and ECC or their delegates. It will be comprised of all key stakeholders to oversee and approve UNESP’s budget, annual work plans and policy in support of the Afghan electoral institutions. Project implementation support will be provided by the UNDP Country Office, reporting, on fiduciary and operational matters, to the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Development/ UN Resident Coordinator/ UNDP Resident Representative through the UNDP Country Director.

Along with support to both electoral institutions, UNESP will also support Afghan civil society’s civic and voter education and observation efforts to enhance the quality and quantity of participation in the electoral process. Overall, the project will have three outputs: (i) administration of credible elections is facilitated by the meeting of key IEC structural and planning milestones; (ii) credible electoral dispute resolution is provided by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) (iii) public outreach (along with support to civil society) to encourage citizen engagement in the electoral process. Mainstreaming of gender throughout the project is evident in key output indicators related to women’s participation in all three project outputs, reflecting the importance that UNESP places on increasing the position of women in Afghan electoral and political life. The project also aims at supporting the EMBs in strengthening integrity of the electoral process by enhancing accountability of responsible actors and supporting the implementation of electoral fraud mitigation mechanisms. Assisting the EMBs to implement measures to increase public confidence in election and democracy will be mainstreamed through the electoral assistance provided.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables:

Under the overall guidance of the of the Chief Electoral Advisor/UNEST Director and the supervision of Senior Electoral Operations Policy Advisor to IEC the Security Coordination Advisor, in close coordination with the IEC, will work closely with the IEC DCEO Operations and the IEC Security Coordinator in his daily tasks to coordinate security aspects of the IEC Electoral Field Operations. Additionally, s/he will be required to liaise and coordinate with MoI, MoD, NDS and other international partners in the provision of security and logistic support services.

With technical support from the UNDP Country Office, Senior Security Specialist, who will serve as the secondary supervisor, on the ground, the Security Coordination Advisor will be responsible for all aspects of the day to day operations of the UNESP project related to security policies and procedures of the United Nations Security Management System, In terms of functional matters related to UNDP security, the Security Coordination Advisor will report to the UNDP Security Office through the UNDP Senior Security Specialist. At project level, UNDP Security Coordination Advisor will, through Senior Electoral Operations Policy Advisor provide policy and technical advice to UNESP regarding the safety and security of UNDP staff, property and operations within the context of UNDP’s development role, while dovetailing with and respecting UNDSS’s mandate and role, and working within the UN and UNDP security policy and framework.

• In coordination and collaboration with CO Security unit, conduct QSRA in facilities (IEC, ECC etc.) where UNESP staff operates;

• Prepare Mission Clearance Requests as required and monitor the progress of those clearances by UNDSS for all travels (incoming and outgoing travels) and ensure the availability of the necessary security logistic requirements such as communication equipment, vehicles compliance, road mission reporting system, security briefings and UN ID cards;

• Maintain security plan, including updating staff lists, communication tree, and the full functioning of the security related equipment; Maintain the International and National Warden System and Act as a building warden for fire, evacuation or other emergency; Maintain radio communication system for all UNESP staff including international and national staff in close coordination with the radio room. Report to the management on the defaulters.

The Security Coordination Advisor works in close collaboration with the UN Electoral Support Team (UNEST), UNDP Afghanistan CO Operations security unit, and IEC relevant Units staff to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery and performs the following functions:                                                                        

Mentor and develop the IEC Security Coordination unit (Field Operation)

Assist the IEC Field Operation and Security Coordinator and his team to prepare documentation and reports pertaining to this function, including but not limited to:

• IEC Security Concept of Operations;

• IEC Security Plan and its implementation;

• Weekly Security Reports;

• Topic specific Security Reports as needed

• Provide reports and information to ensure IEC Security Coordinator’s preparation for meetings and workshops;

• Provide advice and assistance during meetings chaired by the IEC Security Coordinator;

• Ensure Security Incident Reports are provided by the Provincial Security Officers as incidents occur;

• Provide immediate advice on serious security incidents to IEC and UNESP management.

Liaise with internal and external actors, including MoI, MoD, NDS, UNDSS, RS_NATO and other security entities

To ensure comparison and integrity of security reports and incidents to Advisor is to:

• Attend external electoral security coordination meetings as required;

• Assist with development of electoral security incident database;

• Ensure quality control of incident reports to confirm all information captured and recorded;

• Ensure appropriate distribution of security information to stakeholders.

In close consultation with Field Operations and Logistics Departments, and in conjunction with the IEC Security Coordinator, ensure that security requirements are met according to the needs of the National Movement Plan and the existing security situation.

• Assist the IEC Security Coordinator with the coordination of ANSF escorts for both road and / or air movements, including the tracking and recording of all road and air movements to ensure safe arrival;

• Report to stakeholders, through Field Operations Department, when deliveries and retrievals have arrived safely;

• Ensure quality control over all security reports and products.

The UNESP Security Coordination Advisor assists the IEC Security Unit to protect and minimize the risks to IEC staff, property and the electoral process including support to the security of movement and safekeeping of all electoral material.  In doing so, s/he must maintain contact with the Afghan National Security Forces and internal and external actors (including MoI, MoD, NDS, UNDSS, RS-NATO and other security entities) to ensure effective coordination is occurring so that the electoral timeline can be met with minimal loss of staff and material.  

Expected Outputs, Deliverables, Timelines:

The Security Coordination Advisor consultant will:

• The Consultant will provide technical advice to the IEC in close coordination with the UN Electoral Support Team (UNEST);

• The Consultant will submit monthly and ad-hoc reports during the consultancy period.

Schedule of Payments:

Payments shall be done monthly based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of specific reports and approval by the consultant’s supervisor and a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Building support and political acumen;

• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;

• Building and promoting effective teams;

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;

• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;

• Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;

• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;

• Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Building Partnerships

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build alliances;

• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;

• Displays initiative, sets challenging outputs for him/herself and willingly accepts new work assignments.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;

• Participates in the development of mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

• Understands advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines (financial resources management);

• Continues to seek new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;

• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;

• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;

• Continually looking for ways to enhance financial performance in the office.

Promoting Organizational Change and Development

• Performs appropriate work analysis and assists in redesign to establish clear standards for implementation.

Design and Implementation of Management Systems

• Makes recommendations regarding operation of systems within organizational units;

• Identifies and recommends remedial measures to address problems in systems design or implementation.

Client Orientation

• Anticipates client needs;

• Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective;

• Solicits feedback on service provision and quality.

Promoting Accountability and Results-Based Management

• Provides inputs to the development of organizational standards for accountability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:         

• Master’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree preferably with a focus on political science, international relations or analysis;

• With master’s degree 5 years and with bachelor’s degree 7 years of experience of international exposure in a security advisory function.

Experience:

• Previous experience of working in a conflict/post-conflict or crisis environment is preferable;

• In-depth knowledge of security risk analysis, mitigation measures and security assessments;

• Knowledge of Afghanistan security environment, operations and programme cycle;

• Knowledge of UN security processes is desirable;

• Excellent knowledge of election related issues;
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations;
• Previous experience in Afghanistan or other Islamic countries an asset.

Language Requirements

• Good oral and written English is required;

• Knowledge of Pashto, Arabic and/or Dari Languages would be an asset.

Working Arrangements

Institutional Arrangements:

• The UNDP project will provide office space, IT equipment (mobile phone, sim card & laptop) as well as security equipment (Handheld Radio, PPE) and office transportation;

• Accommodation will be arranged by UNESP, with payment being made directly by the consultant to the relevant accommodation management office;
• The Consultant will be based in Kabul, Afghanistan, however there may be instances where the consultant may work from home due to the specifics of the task at the time. During the contract period, the UNESP will directly discuss the requirements of in country / work from home arrangements with the consultant;
• All airfares and travels costs including visa on arrival charges will be borne by the project. Living Allowance (LA) will only be paid periods of time spent in Afghanistan.  LA will not be paid for work days outside of Afghanistan.

Duration of the Work:

• 6 months (with maximum of 132 working days) with possibility of extension.

Duty Station:

• Kabul, Afghanistan.  

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Daily Fee – The consultant shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of her/his professional fee, local communication costs and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The professional daily fee, all inclusive of the above elements, shall be paid upon submission of timesheet. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 132 days’ maximum;

• Living Allowance - The contractor shall propose a Living allowance at the Kabul applicable rate of USD 162 per night for his/her stay at the duty station. The maximum number of nights for which the Living allowance shall be payable under the contract is 184 nights. The contractor is NOT allowed to stay in a place of his choice other than the UNDSS approved places. UN will provide MORSS compliant accommodation in UNOCA to the contractor. The payment of UNOCA accommodation shall be made directly by the contractor;

• Travel & Visa – The contractor shall propose an estimated lump sum for home-Kabul-home travel and Afghanistan visa expenses.

• The contractor shall be entitled for R&R (3 only) - 7 calendar days (paid as per UNDP policy) for every six weeks during the assignment. After the last R&R, the contract should mandatorily stay in country for minimum of 30 calendar days as per UNDP rules and regulations;

• Payment: Payments shall be done monthly based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of specific reports and approval by the consultant’s supervisor and a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• 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;

• Interview the shortlisted candidates (20 marks).

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

• General Qualification (10 marks);

• Experience relevant to the assignment (20 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 or P11, 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.