International Consultant on CSO Engagement in the 2030 Agenda

Background

Multi-stakeholder partnerships are key to the 2030 Agenda and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participation of civil society will be especially important since civil society organizations (CSOs) are the groups who represent the interests of those at risk of leaving behind and impacted by growing levels of inequality from non-inclusive growth models. Inequality in Asia-Pacific countries continues to grow and they will not be able to achieve the agenda without new solutions to enable more inclusive growth based on the full participation of affected groups, and young people in particular.

The UNDP Strategic Plan contains a new emphasis on supporting civil society to be integrated in SDG platforms, and surveys/webinars conducted with UNDP Country Offices (COs) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) in 2017 affirmed the interest of COs to receive support and learning from the region on how to do this. SDGs also emerged as a priority topic for COs to strengthen their work on civic engagement and help enlarge civic space.

The 2019 High-level Political Forum, for the first time focusing on SDG 16 on governance and SDG 10 on inequality, provides the most important advocacy opportunity since the launch of the post-2015 agenda to emphasize the need for countries in this region to find alternative development solutions to reverse growing inequality and meet the needs of those furthest behind, but the preparation work to identify and advocate for these new solutions needs to begin already in 2018.

This initiative will support COs to work with governments and UNCTs to integrate civil society in SDG platforms, building on CO work on “Leaving No One Behind” and inequality; support capacity building of CS–Os and youth groups to generate evidence-based advocacy on the key issues related to “Leaving No One Behind” and inequality within their constituencies (such as youth, women, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, etc.); and participate in sub-regional exchanges to support South-South learning and identify common trends, in particular by supporting participation at the ESCAP sub-regional meetings on HLPF 2019 expected in the fourth quarter of 2018 which are the first opportunity for countries to meet and discuss solutions to achieve the 2030 agenda through strengthening SDG 16 and SDG 10.

In light of this, the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub is seeking a consultant for the policy support, partnership development, resource mobilization, research and knowledge management for this project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work:

The Consultant will assist with:

(a) Policy Support and Partnerships

• Support integrated missions which include UNDP BRH colleagues with CSO expertise in the context of SDG implementation, in order to mainstream civic engagement in UN and governmental SDG strategies and work plans;
• Support the participation of CO staff and CSO national-level experts on Goals 10 and 16 and “Leaving No One Behind” at the SDG sub-regional meetings under ESCAP-ADB-UNDP Partnership (expected in Thailland, Mongolia and India);
• Support the organization of the Youth and Civil Society Forum and joint session at the SDG Regional Knowledge Exchange (expected February 2019);
• Liaise with UN and international partners to ensure sustainability of the initiative and mobilize partnerships with the objective to facilitate knowledge sharing, technology exchange, and resource mobilization;
• Provide inputs, guidance and quality assurance of project concept notes, project documents, briefing notes, talking points and speeches for UNDP senior management in relation of CSO engagement in the 2030 Agenda – as needed.

 (b) Capacity Building and Knowledge-Sharing

• Build the capacity of CO and UNCT staff (disseminate a practical guide and organize a series of thematic webinars) on best practices and lessons learned for meaningful and inclusive CSO engagement in the 2030 Agenda;
• Help identify knowledge, capacity gaps and needs within civil society on their engagement with governments in SDG processes, with an aim to build the capacity of national-level CSO and youth organizations to meaningfully engage in SDG platforms;
• Provide relevant CSO inputs for the design and implementation of an Asia-Pacific wide Massive Open Online Course on Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals.

(c) Research and Advocacy

• Collect good practices and lessons learned (in the form of country research briefs) in support of the “2018 SDG Thematic Report under ESCAP-ADB-UNDP Partnership: Empowering People, Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality in Asia and the Pacific”;

• Support awareness-raising and advocacy efforts, including the joint work with the UN SDG Action Campaign on the ASEAN MY World 2030 campaign and MY World Advocates programme;
• Provide CSO inputs in SDG Country Knowledge Banks, including where relevant, by promoting co-design and co-creation of online repository of resources and best practices;
• Provide inputs and support the implementation of a communication strategy for events and initiatives on CSO and youth empowerment;
• Support joint UN/CSO research initiatives on national “SDG/Leaving No One Behind Landscape” – as needed.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The consultant is expected to achieve the following outputs:

1. Provide policy and programme support to UNDP at regional and country levels;
2. Liaise with partners and mobilize new partnerships for the project;
3. Provide research and knowledge management support on CSO and youth engagement;
4. Lead awareness-raising and advocacy efforts on CSOs and SDGs in the region.

Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant will work closely with the UNDP Inclusive Growth and Youth Teams at the Bangkok Regional Hub, in all aspects of the activities that s/he will be involved in.

Duration of the Assignment

The period of the assignment is 15 August 2018 – 1 March 2019 (for a maximum of 120 worked days).

Duty Station

Duty station is Bangkok, Thailand, with potential travel in Asia Pacific Region. The assignment requires the consultant to work closely with the Inclusive Growth Team and the Youth Team at the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Technical Competencies:

• Analytic capacity and demonstrated ability to process, analyse and synthesise complex, technical information;
• Proven ability to support the development of high quality knowledge and training materials, and to train technical teams;
• Proven experience in the developing country context and working in different cultural settings.

Communication:

• Communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner.

Professionalism:

• Capable of working in a high pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.

Teamwork:

• Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
• Focuses on results for the client;
• Welcomes constructive feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:

• Masters or advanced University degree in development studies, social sciences, international relations or other fields related to the scope of the assignment.

Experience:

• 7 years of relevant work experience in policy, research and advocacy work in the context of SDG implementation, of which at least five in a developing country, preferably in the Asia-Pacific region;
• Expertise and knowledge of civic engagement, youth empowerment, accountable and participatory governance and social inclusion is essential;
• Experience working on “Leaving No One Behind” and reducing inequalities through the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are desirable;
• Experience in collaborating with international development organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, and in reaching out and engaging with traditionally marginalized groups on development issues
• Excellent organizational skills with a successful track record of planning and implementing large-scale and international events;
• Demonstrated understanding of strategic communication, and experience working with social media platforms;
• Understanding of the political context and partners in the Asia and the Pacific region;
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure.

Language requirements

• Excellent English, report writing, presentation and communication skills. Other UN languages an asset.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payment :

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Daily Fee. Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal. If applicable, travel or daily allowance cost (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) should be identified separately. Payments shall be done on a monthly basis based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the IC’s supervisor of a Time Sheet indicating the days worked in the period.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Travel costs shall be reimbursed at actual but not exceeding the quotation from UNDP approved travel agent.  The provided living allowance will not be exceeding UNDP DSA rates. Repatriation travel cost from home to duty station in Bangkok and return shall not be covered by UNDP.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

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 a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (100 points)

• Criteria 1: Relevance of Education - Max 5 points
• Criteria 2: Successful track record of policy, research and advocacy work in the context of SDG implementation - Max 25 Points
• Criteria 3 Understanding of civic engagement and youth empowerment work in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda - Max 25 points
• Criteria 4 Proven experience in collaborating with various international development organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, and in reaching out and engaging with traditionally marginalized groups (e.g. youth, minorities) - Max 20 points
• Criteria 5: Track record of planning and implementing large-scale and international events; demonstrated understanding of strategic communication, and experience working with social media platforms – Max 15 Points
• Criteria 6 Relevant experience of the Asia and the Pacific region - Max 10 Points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for further technical assessment if applicable and the Financial Evaluation.

Documents to be Included When Submitting the Proposals

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability, and Financial proposal using the template provided in Annex III.
• 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.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered. The short listed candidates may be contacted and the successful candidate will be notified.

Annexes

Annex I - TOR_International Consultant on CSO Engagement in the 2030 Agenda

Annex II- General Condition of Contract

Annex III - Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal

All documents can be downloaded at :http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=48097