Consultancy Support to the Regional Liaison Advisors, Field Support Team, Development Operations Coordination Office, UNDG

The United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO), under the leadership of the UNDG Chair, and with the guidance of the UNDG, has as an overall objective to support the strategic priorities of the UNDG, and related coordination goals, and to meet DOCO’s responsibilities under the Management and Accountability (M &A) system, in furtherance of the QCPR framework. DOCO supports the UNDG at all levels to better support national partners in meeting the MDGs/IADGs and other critical national development priorities, specifically, the UNDG and its Advisory Group at Headquarters, Regional UNDG Teams, and RCs and UNCTs. In carrying out its responsibilities, DOCO works closely with other UN entities and stakeholders (including DPA, DPKO, DSS, WB, OCHA and the Policy Committee in case of crisis countries), and through various interagency mechanisms. The Field Support Team (FST) is DOCO’s field facing coordination support and knowledge management team that provides the following four primary services and works in collaboration with the Headquarters Support Team (HST): Through the Regional Liaison Unit, support the Regional UNDG Teams and UNCTs to implement the UNDG strategic priorities, the Management and Accountability (M&A) system responsibilities and the agreed commitments on aid effectiveness, including through tools related to UNDAF programming, harmonization of business practices, change management, RC system, crisis/post-conflict countries, and Delivering as One measures. Through the Regional Liaison Unit, serve as the primary interface for DOCO communication with Regional UNDG Teams and UNCTs to ensure a clear, shared understanding of UNDG strategic priorities and guidance, and of regional and country coordination issues. Through its Knowledge Management Unit, gather, analyze, disseminate and communicate information, lessons learned and best practices regarding regional and country coordination to support the achievement of UNDG strategic priorities and M&A System objectives. Provide advice and support to the Director to deepen engagement of senior UNDG leaders in key regional and country-level issues and to identify opportunities to leverage UNDG/DOCO leadership authority/influence in pursuit of development coordination objectives. The Regional Liaison Advisors (RLA) report to the Deputy Director for general direction and guidance, and serve as the principal focal points for DOCO for regular contact and communication with the Regional UNDG Teams and RCs on UNDG strategic priorities and provides support to the assigned Regional UNDG Team(s), and as required to the Resident Coordinators (RC) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) on the implementation of UNDG strategic priorities and the Management and Accountability (M & A) system and agreed commitments on common country programming, aid effectiveness, business operations, joint funding, support to Delivering as One, crisis/post-crisis transition planning and coordination, and human rights. Each Regional Liaison is assigned geographically to support one or more Regional UNDG Teams, and may be required to cover other regions as necessary.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will support DOCO’s two field-facing Regional Liaison Advisors in a transitional period of reduced capacity by: Providing backstopping support the Regional Liaison Advisors, primarily on queries and Headquarters’ activities related to the two Africa regions. This could entail: Participating as needed in inter-agency/inter-departmental task forces and coordination meetings, representing UNDG concerns; Helping coordinate UNDG inputs into draft country-specific Policy Committee background submissions; Preparing draft talking points for the UNDG Chair for Policy Committee meetings; Undertaking other country-specific tasks, as requested. Helping establish an RLA support mechanism for: Answering queries from Regional UNDG Teams and RC Offices; Compiling relevant FAQ and answers; Identifying and outlining good practices; Tracking resource allocations and over expenditures; and Undertaking other tasks, as required and requested by the RLAs. Scope: The scope of the work covers the broad spectrum of thematic areas such as: Common country programming, Aid effectiveness, Business operations, Joint funding, Delivering as One, Crisis/post-crisis transition planning and coordination, Human rights, and Allocation of coordination resources to UNCTs and Regional UNDG Teams. It is important to realize that in all of the above thematic areas, there is ample know-how available within DOCO. The challenge of the consultancy is to design a support mechanism that would allow for easy availability of relevant information to the RLAs, and ensure quick responses to specific queries from RCs/UNCTs and Regional UNDG Teams. Methodology and Working Arrangements: The consultant will scope and prepare a draft plan of action within two weeks of the beginning of the consultancy, and will report weekly to the RLAs on the status of the proposed outcomes. Given the nature of the work, the consultant will work regular office hours at the DOCO premises, under the supervision of the RLAs. In addition to the ongoing back stopping support role that the consultant will provide particularly on issues related to the Africa regions, the key product of the consultancy will be the development and implementation of the support mechanism outlined above. The consultant will be asked to provide a short report at the end of each month outlining the work accomplished. At the end of the consultancy, the consultant will prepare a final month report outlining recommendations on how the support role of the RLAs could be strengthened. Timeline and Location: The work is New York, USA based and envisaged to start in September 2012, and would not exceed 4 months after the beginning of the consultancy. Regardless of when the consultancy begins, the consultancy would conclude on 15 January 2013 at the very latest. Deliverables: The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables: A work plan and timeframe for tasks of the consultancy produced within 2 weeks of the inception of work; Draft inputs for answers to incoming queries form the Africa Region and -on the basis of these drafts- a set of standardized/tailorable answers; Conception and design of an appropriate RLA support mechanism in the areas of FAQs, good practices and fund-allocation monitoring, building on existing tools such as the UNDAF FAQs, the UNDAF helpdesk, the ‘UNDAF-answers’ filing system and the existing country allocation- and capacity gap spread-sheets; consult on the proposed mechanisms with the other DOCO teams and other stakeholders, especially ensuring full alignment with existing knowledge management systems; test the proposed support mechanisms in the areas listed and suggest appropriate adjustments; and Handover of the finalized mechanisms to the RLAs through a final report including recommendations; and Any other related tasks deemed relevant to this assignment by the Regional Liaisons Advisors.

Competencies

Strong analytical skills with conceptual understanding; Strong proven analytical skills; Information management skills and ability to come up with practical tools, mechanisms, Standard Internal Operating Procedures; Excellent demonstrated ability to be flexible and work under tight deadlines in an independent working environment; Ability to summarize and present country level data (both quantitative and qualitative) in manageable and insightfully presented databases; and High level of communication and interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline. Experience: At least 7 years of professional development related work experience at the international level; Good knowledge of UN system functioning and rules; Good understanding of UN common system and policies; Broad familiarity with respective technical areas such as (UNDAF) common programming issues; joint programming and pooled funding mechanisms, harmonizing business operations and crisis/post crisis settings and instrument; Excellent skills in processing and presenting (country level) data both qualitatively and quantitatively; Conceptual writing skills; Prior experience with Headquarters-based inter-agency and inter-departmental coordination mechanisms would be an asset; and Prior experience working in the Africa region(s) would be an asset. Language Requirements: Fluency in written and spoken English. Application Documents/Submission: Interested candidates must submit their Curriculum Vitae without any financial proposal. *Please note that you can only upload one document (your CV) during the application process. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted with a request to present a financial proposal. Individual consultants will be evaluated on the cumulative analysis method – combination of the weighted technical and financial score - to obtain the total score. The candidate scoring the highest combined weighted score will be recommended for the award of contract. The designated weights for the technical and financial criteria are 70% and 30% respectively. The maximum score is 100 points. Step 1: Technical evaluation of the candidates CVs. The minimum score required to pass the technical assessment is 70%. Aspects of the technical evaluation will include but is not limited to the following: Responsiveness to the terms of reference; Work experience with the UN; Knowledge of RC Office/UNCT setting and UN Common programming; Experience in analytical & conceptual design of business solution to manage information; Availability to complete the assignment within the prescribed timeline. Step 2: Financial evaluation of the candidates who passed the technical evaluation in step 1. The lowest financial offer will receive the assigned maximum financial points (100). All other financial offers will receive points in inverse proportion. The contract will be awarded to the candidate with the highest total score subject to the financial cost being within the hiring unit’s budget allocation.

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Consultant - Support to the Regional Liaison Advisors, Field Support Team, Development Operations Coordination Office, UNDG