National Consultant to develop training curriculum and train the group of women refugees and IDPs on UI/UX Design

Background

Since UNDP launched its Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalization of State Services in Ukraine (DIA Support) Project (cutt.ly/DIA-Support-Project), it’s been focused on making digital transformation available to the vulnerable audiences. Supported by the Swedish Embassy, and in close cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the DIA Support project follows a mission to advocate for better and multifaceted inclusivity when developing or rendering electronic services and aims to bridge the digital divide between generations and different social groups in Ukraine. The goal of the Project, shared by MDT, is that Ukrainian women and men have the necessary knowledge and digital skills to use digital and mobile-based services available to them. Going beyond this mission during the war in Ukraine, it aims at assisting women in need to develop their digital skills to such a degree that they would be able to acquire a new profession in IT and would be able to support themselves and those dependent on them.

The focus on developing digital skills of Ukrainians is consonant with the Ukrainian Government’s Programme. In 2020, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (MDT) launched a new era in the country's digital transformation by developing and operationalizing numerous online services. However, despite the roaring success of the first steps, research suggests (https://cutt.ly/jnFomdn) that Ukrainians still face barriers on their way to enjoy the simplicity and comfort of digitally-transformed solutions: Thus, out of the 47% of Ukrainians who – for some reason – did not use any electronic service recently, 24% reported poor digital literacy skills. Another study (https://cutt.ly/lRKzbLg) revealed that 53% of Ukrainians already have some digital competence, but below the basic level. The 2021 report (https://osvita.diia.gov.ua/uploads/0/2625-doslidzenna_2021_ukr.pdf) on the digital literacy of Ukrainian population has demonstrated the shrinking of the group with digital skills below basic level by 5,2 p.p, constituting 47,8% of population.

Within efforts to decrease the digital gap, MDT has set the ambitious goal of helping 6 million Ukrainians develop good digital competence by 2023 and deployed several instruments for various groups of citizens. In particular, the platform Diia.Digital education was launched in 2019. It serves as the main portal where all educational materials are collected to increase digital literacy. Today, it has over 1 million registered users, more than 70 educational courses on various aspects of digital competencies, designed for different age groups and categories of citizens, and 6 tests on digital literacy. One of them is the national digital literacy test (Cyfrogram, https://cutt.ly/CRKcWiD) that helps identify the general level of digital literacy and gaps in digital skills.

In 2021 the national concept for the development of digital literacy (https://cutt.ly/mRKnh9m) was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and almost half of the regions have already created appropriate concepts with specific action plans. MDT has also adapted the Digi Comp 2.1 digital competency framework for citizens (https://cutt.ly/mRKnnsO).

Importantly, MDT ensured offline access to the online courses on Dia.Digital Education. People without digital skills or devices with internet access can study at the Hubs of Digital Education. Digital Education Hubs (DEHs) are public and community places (libraries, schools, centres of state administrative services, IT-companies, NGO’s offices, even shops) that have registered themselves as Hubs (https://cutt.ly/NRKnJdx) and are willing to assist people in obtaining digital skills. To be verified they must have at least one device with access to the internet and at least one person who has completed the online course “Training for trainers” at Dia.Digital Education platform. Currently there are over 6,000 operating DEHs in the country.

MDT’s own Dia.Digital Education platform, while offering a number of courses, cannot guarantee hands-on, practice-based approach. That is why UNDP Ukraine with the MDT became partners with Ukrainian Projector Creative & Tech Online Institute to provide digital skills to Ukrainian women. Founded in 2015, Projector Institute has been focused on the customised, digital, student-oriented education, sufficient to entry tech positions.

Providing access to women to gain IT professions reflects on the values of equality and providing fair opportunities to all to excel in life, no matter their background, stereotypes, or barriers they face. According to the IT professionals’ community research (https://dou.ua/lenta/articles/it-woman-2020/), in 2020 in Ukraine only 25% of women were working in IT, most of them performing non-technical jobs. UNDP supports efforts to bridge the digital divide in the country, help displaced women, and assists the Government of Ukraine in fostering digital transformation based on principles of living no one behind and a human rights-based approach.

In this context, UNDP is recruiting a professional with relevant experience and track record for the position of a National Consultant on organizing the training of the group on UI/UX Design to provide Ukrainian women refugees and IDPs with sufficient education and skills to obtain employment in creative & tech fields.

The incumbent will promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behavior, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective of this assignment is to provide Ukrainian women refugees and IDPs with sufficient education and skills to obtain employment in creative & tech fields.

The timeframe and deliverables of the assignment are as follows:

No.	Deliverables	Deadline
Deliverable 1	Organization of selection of participants according to the defined criteria (creation of the questionnaire, disseminating information in media); Assessment of the collected questionnaires from participants (reading motivation letters and answers of questionnaires); Sending invitation letters to selected participants (connecting participants to the educational platform and sharing necessary materials for learning a new profession - UI/UX Design). Expected result: Report on the results of selection of participants (lists and registration questionnaires, analysis of participant evaluations, created a group of 20 participants- refugees/IDPs women)	By 30 June 2022
Deliverable 2	Develop curriculum of educational course on the basic principles of graphic design and mastering in Figma Miro and Adobe After Effects; Conducting online webinars for participants; Organization of checking and evaluation of homework of participants - women refugees; Examination and evaluation of course projects of participants - women refugees; Advising participants during educational course. Expected result: Report on the results of the organization of educational course to start in the profession of UI/UX Design for women refugees/IDPs	By 30 August 2022
Deliverable 3	Assistance to the participants- women refugees in drawing up a competitive portfolio for potential employers; Preparing participants for interviews with potential employers; Advising participants on career issues and employment; Assembling the findings of all project stages into one report. Expected result: Report assembling all the findings, including the results of the internship and employment of participants - women refugees/IDPs.	By 12 November 2022

 Management arrangements

The Consultant will be primarily responsible for achieving the objectives of the assignment. The Consultant will work under direct guidance of UNDP DIA Support Project Digital Literacy Specialist, and in close day-to-day coordination with the other project consultants. S/he will work under the overall technical guidance of the UNDP DIA Support Project Manager.

The Consultant will be responsible for all personal administrative expenses associated with the assignment. In case any public events are planned jointly by the Consultant and UNDP as part of the present assignment, the Consultant will not be responsible for the logistics of events. UNDP will cover the conference costs (including possible printing, food, accommodation, etc.) on its own.

 

Competencies

VI. 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 favoritism;
•       Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

 

Required Skills and Experience

EXPERIENCE AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Education

•       At least Master/ Specialist’s degree or equivalent in Technical Science, IT, Design or related field.

Experience

•       At least 5 years of experience in the field of educational project management;
•       Professional experience in the field of UI/UX Design;
•       At least 2 projects in conducting similar assignments relevant to the scope and size of the current consultancy;
•       Proven experience in cooperation with international donor and organization programmes.

Languages

•       Fluency in Ukrainian and English languages is required.

VI. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

x	Letter of interest/proposal, explaining why the applicant considers him- or herself the most suitable for the position; description of specific professional experience in the field of UI/UX Design; description of specific professional in cooperation with international donor and organization programs;
x	Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (template may be found at https://cutt.ly/Bzs6D4A);
x	Personal CV or P11, including information about past experience in similar projects / assignments and the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
x	Financial proposal in line with the information presented in Section III. Measurable outputs of the work assignment / deliverables;
x	Information about 2 projects in conducting similar works/projects relevant to the scope and size of the current contract.

 

VII. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Lump sum contract

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount by components (including a number of anticipated working days).

Travel costs

The travel is not envisaged for this assignment. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. BSAFE course must be successfully completed before the commencement of travel. Individual Consultant is responsible for ensuring he/she has vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. A Consultant is required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/

 

VIII. EVALUATION CRITERIA

EDUCATION - 10 points max

At least Master/ Specialist’s degree or equivalent in Technical Science, IT, Design or related field

10 pts – PhD degree in the relevant field or higher;

6 pts – Master’s/ Specialist’s degree in the relevant field;

 

WORK EXPERIENCE – 55 points max

At least five (5) years of relevant experience in the field of educational project management - 25 points max

25 pts – 8 years and more;

22 pts – 6-7 years;

20 pts – 5 years;

Professional experience in the field of UI/UX Design - 10 points max

10 pts – more than 5 years of experience,

6 pts – 4 years .

At least 2 projects in conducting similar assignments works/projects relevant to the scope and size of the current consultancy- 10 points max

10 pts – 3 project and more,

6 pts – 2 projects;

Proven experience in cooperation with the international donor and organization programs – 10 points max

10 pts – more than 4 years of experience,

6 pts – 3 years.

LANGUAGE SKILLS – 5 points max:

{5 points – Fluency in Ukrainian and English }.

Maximum available technical score - 70 points.

 

 EVALUATION METHOD

Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the cumulative 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 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer.