International Consultant Specializing in Partnership Communication and Resource Mobilization

Background

The Partnership and Communication Action Plan (PCAP) of UNDP Zimbabwe is an essential document for the implementation and impact of the 2022-2026 Country Programme.  As part of the development of the PCAP, the analysis and assessment of the country's partnership landscape is an important phase that requires in-depth analysis and a relevant assessment of partnership opportunities. UNDP Zimbabwe is recruiting an international partnership    and communication consultant to support the development and finalization of partnership communication strategy and action plan, and help cultivate, build and maintain strategic relationships and alliances with donors whose partnerships are essential to advance and successfully realize UNDP's mission in Zimbabwe. Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative Programme, the Consultant together with the local partner will collaborate with the Country Office Management Teams, the Communications Unit and other relevant teams within the Country Office.

UNDP will only award the contract to the consultant who will be able to identify the local based patner to team up with for the consultancy and ensure that the financial proposal for the local partner is part of the final submitted financial proposal.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective of the consultancy is to support the development of a UNDP Zimbabwe Partnership and Communication Action Plan (PCAP), with particular focus on Partnership, Communication and Resource Mobilization for the new Country Programme Document (CPD) 2022-2026. The Key deliverables from the consultancy are as follows:

Map Zimbabwe’s main development partners, multilateral/bilateral donors, financial institutions, private sector, foundations, philanthropies, charity organizations and UN agencies committed to national development and the SDGs):

• List their cooperation budgets; their funding priorities (thematic, geographical as appropriate); their funding allocations to Zimbabwe and priority projects; new cooperation documents signed; their level of commitment in Zimbabwe’s   National Development Strategy One; their policies and procedures for collaboration with UNDP, past trends and forward-looking allocations to UNDP at HQ and Country Office level,
• Analyse the Financial Flows and Overseas Development Assistance to Zimbabwe over the past country programme and establish trends for the new Country Programme cycle,
• Analyse current and anticipated trends in the Funding Partner environment,
• Map key emerging partners in Africa in general including opportunities for south-south cooperation and make recommendations for proactive outreach for partnership in Zimbabwe,
•  Map key private sector entities, foundations and tech companies that have interest in Africa with substantive investment in the continent along with their priority sectors; and make analysis on the viability of potential partnerships in Zimbabwe during the CPD cycle.

Align the CPD programme thematic areas to the development partners portfolios including their resource envelopes earmarked for programme implementation at country, regional and global levels.

•  Establish a platform of traditional and non-traditional UNDP partners and donors   with a potential impact on resource mobilization for strengthening of the Office’s pipeline project,
• Review existing opportunities by partner and analyze their relevance to the Country Office according to the components of the Country Programme Document,
• Compile information on resource mobilization opportunities and donor partners visibility strategies and develop partner action plan with concrete actions by whom and when, including pipelines,
•  Analyze the comparative advantage of UNDP vis-à-vis other actors (other UN agencies, multilateral/bilateral   donors, CSOs, Host Government, private sector, foundations, development finance institutions in relation to donor partner relationship.
• Identify reoccurring bottlenecks/gaps and new opportunities,
• Develop a risk analysis and mitigation measures for partnership and resource mobilization.

Suggest a Communication and Advocacy Strategy in relation to.

• key objectives of Communications Action Plan reflecting programme & ressource mobilization
• Donor Partner visibility,
• The PCAP target audiences, key messages and communication channels,
• Re-aligning current Country Office communications to the PCAP.

Risk identification and Mitigation

• Risk related to the political and regulatory country context,
• Risk related to the Economy,
• Risks related to Crisis and Shocks.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The expected deliverables of this assignment are:

A methodological note on the consultant's understanding of the mission, integrating a detailed program of tasks, activities and services, as well as workplan.

•  Develop a methodological note incorporating a detailed chronogram of the mission, which will be validated by UNDP,
• Hold exchange meetings with UNDP, partnerships and resource mobilization focal point at the regional office, HQ and Country Office management, Heads of Programme and Operations Units, and the Communications Unit.,
•  Review relevant documentation developed by the Office within the framework of the partnership and harmonize it according to Headquarters and donor standards,
• Meet Zimbabwe’s donors and UNDP’s traditional donors, potential donors, UN agencies, Private Sector and collect from them all the information necessary to produce the expected deliverables,
• Hold regular step validation meetings and provide a report each time presenting the progress made in carrying out the mission.

An interim report outlining:

• Strategic analysis of Zimbabwe’s donors and establish a platform of traditional and non-traditional UNDP partners and donors with a potential impact on resource mobilization for the strengthening of the Office's current pipeline project,
• The compilation of resource mobilization opportunities by call for proposals or according to the programming cycles of the partners.
• The platform of traditional and non-traditional UNDP partners and donors with a potential impact on resource mobilization,
• Analysis of the comparative advantage of UNDP vis-à-vis other actors (other UN agencies, multilateral/bilateral donors, CSOs, host government, private sector, foundations, development finance institutions, etc.),
• Key objectives of Communications Action Plan reflecting programme & ressource mobilization,
• Summary of Donor Partner visibility ideas and preferences ,
• The PCAP targeted audiences, key messages and communication channels.

A final report presenting:

• A comprehensive partnership communication action plan that covers all the deliverables under section 111 with relevant annexes,
• The summary of the mission,
• The main recommendations for fund-raising for the programme cycle of the Office.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards,
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability,
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:Judgement/Decision-making

• Strong technical skills and analytical capacities, sound judgment;
• Strong technical problem-solving skills;
• Ability to understand and establish priorities and work by objectives.

Teamwork

• Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relationships with people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds;

Ability to work under stress and work overtime when required.

• Excellent knowledge of the UN system and UN joint country programming processes (CCA/UNDAF),
• Good knowledge and experience with the national development frameworks, especially Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) PRSP, SWAP, key legislation, etc.
• Specialised technical knowledge, including in conducting external programme evaluations, data collection and analytical skills, mainstreaming the HRBA to programming and gender equality and women’s empowerment considerations, and transition contexts.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork and adept at working with people of diverse cultural and social backgrounds,
• An understanding of and ability to abide by the core values of the United Nations.

Skills

Intrinsic skills:

• Demonstrate commitment to the missions, visions, and values of the United Nations,
• Demonstrate sensitivity and adaptability to differences in culture, gender, race, nationality, and age,

Functional skills:

• Development and operational efficiency,
• Ability to undertake several specialized activities in the areas of information collection and analysis,

Leadership and self-management:

• Focuses on results for the client,
• Works with energy and a positive and constructive attitude,
• Remains calm, under control and in a good mood even under pressure,
• Demonstrates an openness to change,
• Responds positively to differing opinions.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Advanced degree: Masters, (etc.) in economics, finance, administrative management, international relations, or any other discipline related to resource mobilization and partnership.

Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in negotiations, formulation of partnership development strategies and resource mobilization in public or international organizations,
• Proven and concrete experience in the field of partnership opportunities analysis and resource mobilization,
• Good knowledge of the national and international landscape relating to the issue of resource mobilization (trends, constraints, opportunities),
• Ability to work in a team, with intrinsic qualities to easily establish and maintain interprofessional relations,
• Excellent analytical and synthesis skills,
• Mastery of computer tools, including Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, Power Point),
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English,
• Experience with the United Nations and any of the key development partners is an asset (EU, FCDO, SIDA, CIDA, etc).

Language

• Excellent written and spoken English.

PAYMENT TERMS

• The consultant must send a financial offer based on Daily Fee.  The 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.The consultant must seperately include the freight charge to and from Zimbabwe, travel costs in country,daily allowances, and any other costs associated with the consultancy that maybe incurred. The financial proposal for the local patner should also be clearly indicated which is inclusive of the daily fee and all the other cost associated with the consultancy,

  Payments will be made based on the agreed financial proposal (contract is based on daily fee) and released upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating deliverables achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor,

  The qualified consultant shall receive his/her lump sum service fees upon certification of the completed tasks satisfactorily as per the below:

• Upon the review and approval of draft report: 50%,
• Upon review and approval of final report: 50%.

Application Procedure

• Applicants are requested to upload copies in pdf format  as one document of:
• Latest CV highlighting the relevant experience;
• Updated P11 Form template of which can be downloaded from this website http://www.sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.
•  A detailed technical proposal on undertaking the tasks and evidence of previous work;
• Financial proposal (All-inclusive daily fee)- including the fees for the local partner: Interested individuals are kindly requested to submit an all-inclusive daily consultancy fee using the template which can be downloaded from:     https://www.dropbox.com/s/789q1hvdrdgwqqc/PPG_Cons_Letter%20of%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx?dl=0

• Please group all your documents (CV, P11, Technical Proposal, Financial Proposal and certificates) into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Incomplete applications will not be given consideration,

  Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application,Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted,Evaluation criteria:The Consultant will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology: Technical Criteria weight: 70%;Financial Criteria weight: 30%;The award of the contract shall be made to the 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 Terms of Reference,

  Confidentiality

  The analyses, mapping, documents, and reports shared or developed within the framework of the assignment remain the exclusive property of UNDP. The consultant undertakes to keep confidential all unpublished information that the Country Office will share with him during the mission, and not to publish the analyses, reports, documents and working tools developed,

• “UNDP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff, and equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Well qualified candidates, particularly women and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply”.