Individual Consultant for Development of New Cooperation Framework for UNCT in Timor-Leste

Background

1. Project Description

Timor-Leste is one the newest countries in the world and the newest in Asia. It is a democratic republic, with civil liberties, political rights and stability relatively well established, but with relatively weak governance and fragile institutions. With a total population of 1.2 million, over 70% living in rural areas, Timor-Leste has also one of the youngest populations in the world. Timor-Leste is considered as a lower-middle-income country because of its GDP, but a Least Development Country[1] due to low Human Asset Index, a composite index of nutrition, health, and education indicators. The UNCT is composed of 16 agencies, out of which 12 are resident. The Government contributes to the UNDS by way of rent-free premises for the joint UN compound where all the resident agencies, except for FAO, are located. Good cooperation already exists between the UNDS and the Government. The joint physical presence of the UN system in common premises has helped facilitate better coordination and collaboration among the UN agencies in supporting government efforts; to be more closely and functionally connected to the government and other key stakeholders that it serves in the country; and to amplify the importance of Timor-Leste’s deep and extensive engagement with the United Nations. 

The United Nations County Team (UNCT) in Timor-Leste is currently in the process of preparing the United Nations Assistance Framework (UNSDCF) for the period 2020-2024.  A Roadmap has been developed to outline the process of preparing the UNSDCF to support the country’s achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDGs in line with national priorities as outlined in the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 and sectoral strategies (education, health, food security, nutrition, social protection, environment, migration, disaster risk reduction, etc.).

The UNSDCF will present the collective, coherent and integrated support of the UN system in line with national development priorities, Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) recommendations and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, anchored in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A cornerstone of this process is the Common Country Analysis (CCA) that will be built on key reference documents including the Voluntary National review (VNR) prepared by the Government of Timor-Leste in 2019 and the Evaluation report of the UNDAF 2015-2019. The CCA will present a concise analysis of the country’s development challenges, reflecting changing dynamics and needs of the country, the region and the world, and the areas in which UN agencies are mandated and have the comparative advantage to address remaining and newly emerging development challenges affecting Timor-Leste’s development. The CCA is currently being developed and provided to the consultant to be used as a base for the formulation of the UNSDCF.

The UNSDCF will be developed following an inclusive and participatory process between Government and the UNCT outlining how the United Nations can most effectively partner with the Government and other development partners to address national priorities. The UNSDCF is a document intended to serve as a strategic framework for the UN’s support to the Government of Timor-Leste over the 2020-2024 period. The UNSDCF must follow Results Based Management principles and be guided by the recently revised UNDG UNSDCF Guidance[2]. It must be developed as per the UNDG provided “UNSDCF document template”[3] and meet the UNDG prescribed “quality criteria for UNSDCFs”[4].  It must incorporate the four principles for integrated programming: Leave no one behind; Human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment; Sustainability and resilience; and Accountability. In addition, it will need to reflect, the basic principles and Standard Operating Principals (SOPs) of the “Delivering as One” approach.

The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator is recruiting a Consultant with the overall responsibility of supporting the UNCT to organize and prepare for the various stages of the UNSDCF development. The UNCSDCF will be prepared with the assistance of a small team (consisting of one International and one National consultant). This post will work closely with the UNCT and the UNSDCF team to ensure that all the preparations are arranged in advance, S/he will be required to actively work with the UNSDCF Team in managing consultations and supporting report preparation.

[1] UN Committee for Development Policy, Development Policy and Analysis Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2017 June)

[2] https://undg.org/document/united-nations-sustainable-development-cooperation-framework/

[3] Refer Annex 3 of the UNSDCF Guidance – The Cooperation Framework Outline

[4] Refer Annex 1 of the UNSDCF Guidance 2017

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Responsibilities and Duties

The Consultant will assist the UNSDCF Team to coordinate and facilitate the process required to help develop and deliver the UNSDCF. The primary responsibility will include:

• Coordinate the consultation process, including preparations, communications, and logistics
• Document the consultation process
• Assist the UNSDCF Team meet deadlines as specified in the UNSDCF Roadmap
• Assist in the identification of stakeholders to take part in the consultation process
• Ensure partners are regularly briefed and, particularly, before meetings

Competencies

1. Expected Outputs/Key Deliverables and Timeframe

Deliverable 1: 25% fees to be paid upon submission of a plan, in consultation with UNSDCF Team, outlining the delivery of all key milestones in UNSDCF preparation. Consultant ensures that the key milestones for preparing the UNSDCF are met (in accordance with the Timeline for the SDCF preparation);

Deliverable 2: 25% fees to be paid upon submission of report, validated by UNSDCF Team, on substantive results in managing communications with the UNCT and other stakeholders. In coordination with other colleagues in the RCO, Consultant ensures that UNCT is kept fully informed of the plans and prepares appropriately for each stage;

Deliverable 3: 25% fees to be paid upon submission of report of all UNSDCF consultations. Consultant ensures that arrangements for all consultations are smoothly managed and do not result in delays including all timely contracting and payments that need to be made;

Deliverable 4: 25% fees to be paid upon satisfactory delivery of UNSDCF. Consultant ensures that the UNSDCF is delivered on time and meets appropriate quality standards to be acceptable to the UN in Timor-Leste.

1. Institutional Arrangements

• The Consultant will report directly to the RC and the RCO.

1. Duration of Work

• The assignment covers a period from 16 September to 15 December 2019.

Required Skills and Experience

1. Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

Education:   

• At least a Master’s degree in communications, international development, social sciences, economics or related field.

Competencies:

• Outstanding communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with counterparts;
• Good knowledge of the UN system and UN common country programming processes (CCA/UNSDCF);
• Ability to work with others to deliver products on time and to the right quality specifications;
• Good organizational skills with the ability to work under tight deadlines
• Facility with statistical data and knowledge of human rights and gender equality approaches;
• Facility with statistical data and knowledge of human rights and gender equality approaches;
• Ability to work in a team
• Ability to share knowledge and experience and provide helpful feedback and advice.

Skills and experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in development programme coordination and implementation
• In country research experience a distinct asset;
• Demonstrated knowledge of UN agency mandates and activities; direct experience of UN programming at the country level; familiarity with the UNSDCF process and the Delivering as One modality;
• Substantive knowledge of development issues in the country is required.
• Command of one of the Timor-Leste official languages (Tetum or Portuguese) highly desired

1. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

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1.  Recommended Presentation of Offer

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

1. Dully accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (to be downloaded from the procurement notice link);
2. 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;
3. A brief methodology and step by step timeline on how he/she will approach and complete the assignment, and
4. Financial Proposal in the template provided by UNDP (to be downloaded from the procurement notice link).

1. Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

K. Approval