Country Office Liaison Advisor

Background

The Country Office (CO) Liaison Advisor serves as lead advisor in the RBx HQ to support the liaison and representation of the Regional and Country Office’s needs and priorities with a wide range of partners, including donors and member states. S/he supports COs on UNDP positioning in New York and in representation in coordination bodies within UNDP, across the UN System, including on the occasion of high level events, and with other partners. Together with BERA, s/he engages in partnerships development and resource mobilization to advance the CO’s development initiatives and programme interventions in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

1)Ensure targeted and effective representation & coordination by

·        Developing UNDP positioning on CO and sub-regional portfolios, drawing on analysis, forecasting and targeted support and advice to COs in the design of their Country Programmes or other programmatic innitiatives, based on clear results benchmarks and indicators and specific aspects related to coordination mechanisms, in   consultation with the Strategic Planning and Oversight and the CO Support and Quality Assurance teams.   Showcase COs programme performance and compliance including delivery targets to support visibility and impact of programmatic interventions.

·        Advising  the  Bureau  leadership  on  crisis  preparedness  and  response  coordination mechanisms with UN partners, OCHA, UNHCR, DPPA-DPO, PBSO, external missions and other stakeholders, including the UN Integrated (Mission) Task Force (ITF/IMTF) and Crisis Management Teams for Level 2 and 3 crises.  Ensure adequate communication with the Country Advisors throughout crisis coordination processes, conducting preparatory and follow-up activities, including technical level consultations, coordination of and input to strategic briefs on crisis/complex development challenges, and follow-up on agreed action plans;

·        Advising the Bureau leadership on issues impacting the region by providing ad-hoc briefings on political, sensitive and crisis issues in close partnership with the Senior Strategic Advisor, proposing options for regional positioning. Support senior management to represent the region in relevant meetings in HQ, and

·        Ensuring  the  quality  and  completeness  of  internal  briefings,  position  options  and corporate internal papers based on inputs from HQ and regional teams including data derived from corporate programme process, such as UNDAFs/CCAs,   providing a feedback loop/mechanism to the regional teams and facilitating HQ’s timely and effective response to CO needs. Initiate dialogue with key stakeholders and participate in relevant internal UNDP interfacing/coordination activities, including on crisis response, advocating regional priorities.

2) Enhance external partnerships and relations

·        Supporting  the  Regional  Bureau  and  COs  in  partnership  building  and  resource mobilization efforts and initiatives by facilitating the implementation of country strategies, advising on target organisations, developing proposals and participating in meetings with key regional inter-governmental organisations and CSOs to coordinate approaches for capacity development at regional level, in line with the Bureau’s partnership and resource mobilization strategy;

·        In consultation with the CO Support and Quality Assurance team, analyze key elements of COs performance and challenges to better inform advocacy and resource mobilization efforts.

·        Contributing to UNDP-led crisis and recovery-related resource mobilization efforts in close coordination with relevant units by providing focused briefs on improved performance and compliance in implementing donor-funded programmes, and

·        Liaising   with   governance   bodies   and   key   stakeholders   on   budget/programme performance or substantive programmatic issues as appropriate. Analyze COs contributions to joint programming processes such as CCA and UNDAF and joint programming initiatives.  Participate in inter-agency meetings to better harmonize and inform the development and monitoring of said initiatives and programmes.

·        Contribute  to  the  development  and  adaptation  of  corporate  communication  and information strategies to specific region/sub-region in order to strengthen the Bureau’s position and foster relationships with the media and targeted audiences.

3) Enhance the creation, capture and dissemination of knowledge by

·        Contributing  to  the  development  and  review  of  knowledge  products  in  close coordination  with  the regional teams by analyzing and sharing lessons learnt  and programme evaluation results as well as targeted interventions in crisis countries. Ensure that these are incorporated into knowledge management initiatives and in evidence-based policy dialogue, and

·        Identifying best practices for recording and dissemination, based on assessment of programme implementation in the region including recovery interventions.

4)   Ensure integrity and effectiveness in the management of the Team by

·        Providing strategic guidance and oversee the management of the   team to ensure adherence to policies and procedures and the accountability framework;

·        Establishing   the   team’s   annual   work   plans   and   set   objectives,   performance measurements, standards and expected results in collaboration and discussion with team members;

·        Supervising and assessing work in progress to ensure delivery of results according to performance standards, overall objectives and accountability framework. Provide intellectual leadership and technical guidance and timely take decisions to meet objectives, and

·        Promoting teamwork to facilitate harmonization, linkages, collaboration and synergy in order to ensure that staff members are provided sufficient information, guidance and support to perform and deliver results according to organizational and professional standards of efficiency, accountability and integrity.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

DELIVERABLE Deliverable: Country and issue-specific analyses and reports on Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, the Pacific, Thailand, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Philippines, and coordination of UNDP cross-bureau efforts and interagency dialogue, e.g. on the Philippines and the response to the Rohingya situation in Myanmar and Bangladesh; the SAMOA Pathway mid-term review; Engagement with ASEAN; MCO review under the UNDS reform, etc. Briefing notes concerning these countries, including materials for the Executive Office and the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July, as well as early preparations for the Climate Summit and General Assembly in September, as needed. Summary records of meetings and discussions, including: -Outreach to the relevant Permanent Missions; - Support to Executive and Deputy Executive Committee meetings and follow-up concerning countries that have gone through an RMR or IATF in particular. - UNDP corporate task force meetings as required. Support to high-level events and visits, such as: - Side events in the margin of the HLPF Backstopping the visits of   RC/RR/CD/DCD from the countries mentioned above to HQ, including accompanying to meetings and record taking. Institutional Arrangement S/he will report to the Chief, Country Liaison and Coordination (COLAC) Unit and manages a portfolio as decided by the Unit Chief. Duration of the Work 1 July 2019 – 18 July 2019 (a maximum of 17 working days) Duty Station New York, U.S.A. with no travel.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in social sciences, development studies or related disciplines.

Experience

• Over 10 years of professional work experience managing and implementing development programmes and/or providing policy advice.
• Country and or regional experience in developing country settings, and preferably in AP region.
• Knowledge and experience of UNDP and UN system policies and programming.

Language:

• Excellent English communication and writing skills.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The contract will be 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. 

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 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 qualified proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in social sciences, development studies or related disciplines. - max 10 points;
• Criteria 2: Over 10 years of professional work experience managing and implementing development programmes and/or providing policy advice. – max 10 points;
• Criteria 3: Country and or regional experience with developing country settings; experience dealing with complex political situation and/or the AP region an advantage – max 25 points;
• Criteria 4: Proven Experience in conducting country analysis, briefing notes for high level meetings and reports – max 15 points;
• Criteria 5: Knowledge and experience of UNDP and UN system policies and programming. – max 10 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for interview and Financial Evaluation respectively.

Documentation required

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 using the template provided in Annex II.
• Personal CV 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.
• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: National consultant must quote price in U.S. Dollar that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an 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 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.

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

To download related documents and templates, please click the link below:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=56684

Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders). Deliverable:

Country and issue-specific analyses and reports on Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, the Pacific, Thailand, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Philippines, and coordination of UNDP cross-bureau efforts and interagency dialogue, e.g. on the Philippines and the response to the Rohingya situation in Myanmar and Bangladesh; the SAMOA Pathway mid-term review; Engagement with ASEAN; MCO review under the UNDS reform, etc.

Briefing notes concerning these countries, including materials for the Executive Office and

the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July, as well as early preparations for the Climate

Summit and General Assembly in September, as needed.

Summary records of meetings and discussions, including:

-Outreach to the relevant Permanent Missions;

- Support to Executive and Deputy Executive Committee meetings and follow-up concerning countries that have gone through an RMR or IATF in particular.

- UNDP corporate task force meetings as required.

Support to high-level events and visits, such as:

- Side events in the margin of the HLPF

Backstopping the visits of   RC/RR/CD/DCD from the countries mentioned above to HQ,

including accompanying to meetings and record taking.