Closing date: Friday, 16 January 2015
CLIMATE INFORMATION FOR RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT AND ADAPTATION PROJECT SUPPORT CONSULTANT
Location : Home-based (USA) with possible mission travels, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Application Deadline : 16-Jan-15
Additional Category
Management
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : National Consultant
Languages Required : English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
02-Feb-2015
Duration of Initial Contract : Up to195 working days through December 31, 2015
Background
The UNDP-GEF Unit is based in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and is responsible for providing leadership, technical support and implementation oversight to the delivery of GEF managed Trust Funds. The Unit is organized into a number of substantive technical teams with staff located in both HQs and UNDP's Regional Service Centers in Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Panama, and Bangkok, and with a decentralized structure in terms of financial, operational, and budget managements with authority delegated to respective managers located in HQ or in the region.
Under the overall supervision of the UNDP-GEF Project Manager for Climate Information for Resilient Development and Adaptation (CIRDA), the Project Support Consultant will aid in the effective delivery of the CIRDA Project by providing support throughout the implementation, monitoring/evaluation and closure of the CIRDA project under UNDP-GEF. This includes effective data management and monitoring, to maximize the project's timely compliance with UNDP and GEF requirements. The consultancy demands the ability to meet deadlines and maintain high-quality outputs while working under pressure, as well as, practical experience with relevant databases and an understanding of the UNDP-GEF Project Cycle and UNDP Procurement Policies and Regulations.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant will work under the supervision of the CIRDA Project Manager and carry out the following activities
Management and oversight of project processes
- Examines, reviews, processes and records all incoming documents relating to the CIRDA project, as well as, relevant documents to the 11 Nationally Implemented Projects that it supports;
- Communicates directly with UNDP Country Offices (COs), and when necessary, UNDP-GEF Headquarters and Regional Coordination Units to support project implementation;
- Ensures compliance with UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules and the Internal Control Framework;
- Provides support to CO's ensuring that UNDP and Global Environment Facility (GEF) guidelines are followed for project formulation and implementation;
- Coordinates with the UNDP-GEF financial unit and COs regarding operational and financial aspects of project approval and implementation;
- Provides quality assurance in the form of organizing and updating project records, as necessary, in PIMS and any other reporting mechanism;
- Provides facilitation of program implementation, including processing of approval letters, assistance with technical and financial clearances, securing relevant signatures, and ensuring quality assurance within digital project files.
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Monitor project delivery and submission of progress reports;
- Responsible for collection, data completeness and analysis of relevant surveys and questionnaires including Project Implementation Reports (PIR)/Annual Project Reporting (APR), including review of relevant mid-term and final evaluations. Liaise with relevant COs, project team and/or RTA to ensure correction, completeness and quality of every PIR with due consideration of the PIR quality evaluation criteria, which will be provided.
Financial Support
- Coordinate review and approval of budget revisions and approval of Authorized Spending Limits of individual projects in close collaboration with the Principle and Technical Advisor (PTA) and Regional Technical Advisor (RTA), as well as, UNDP-GEF Management and Programme Support unit that is overseeing the CIRDA Project;
- Analyzes the project budgets, commitments, and expenditures and advises the Project Manager of any adjustments that may be needed to comply with Project Documents and UNDP-GEF regulations.
Programme Coordination support
- Manage information flow among COs, Regional Coordination Units (RCUs) and HQs;
- Key performance indicators (figures will be reviewed during the course of the year, as necessary);
- Prepare the Project's AWP and secure approval of the Project Manager, as well as, UNDP GEF oversight staff to ensure ASL is allocated;
- Project Implementation Reports (PIR)/Annual Project Reporting (APR) are collected, reviewed and finalized.
Information on Working Arrangements
- Irrespective of his/her location, the consultant will be expected to be available during the regular business hours of the CIRDA Project Team based in NY;
- The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
- A monthly progress report will be required to be shared with the Supervisor on the status of the Portfolio;
- Due to the demand-driven nature of a number of activities, and the different peak-periods during the implementation phase of the project, monthly deliverables will be reassessed and agreed upon with the Supervisor on an ongoing basis;
- The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
- Payments will be made once a month upon satisfactory submission and acceptance by the supervisor of the monthly progress report against deliverables, and detailed time sheet and certification of payment form providing details of time spent on respective deliverables and their timely execution.
Travel
- International travel, not exceeding 20 days, may be required subject to discussion with and clearance by supervisor. The purpose of missions will include: detailed administrative and financial support to country office teams and national stakeholders in order to advance project implementation and/or resolve delivery issues. Expected travel duration for each mission, if required, is up to 2-4 days in country;
- Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the supervisor;
- The Advance and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
- The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that s/he has the necessary vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
- The incumbent is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
- Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives;
- The incumbent will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies;
- All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents. Costs for mission travels should not be included in the financial proposal.
Competencies
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 favouritism.
Functional Competencies
Planning and Organizing
- Sets priorities, produces quality outputs, meets deadlines and manages time efficiently;
- Ability to set and juggle multiple priorities and work under pressure;
- Strong attention to detail within an overall context of high-performance.
Client Orientation
- Strong service and client orientation;
- Anticipates evolving client needs;
- Excellent interpersonal qualities with the ability to put people at ease and to communicate sensitively and effectively across different constituencies.
Teamwork
- Ability to participate effectively in a highly team-based, information-sharing environment, collaborating and cooperating harmoniously with others;
- Willingness and ability to travel as work requires.
Communication
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and in writing);
- Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately;
- Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication;
- Proven ability to use information technology effectively as a tool and resource.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in economics / business administration or other closely related field (max 10 points);
- Certification in project management is an advantage (max 5 points).
Experience:
- Minimum of five years of experience in financial resources management, budget management, or a project management support functions (max 15 points);
- Solid experience with UNDP-GEF processes, project oversight, or management desirable (max 20 points);
- Knowledge of tools and methodologies to follow-up on projects and project cycle management (max 5 points);
- Experience at the national or international level with organizations that manage grants is a plus (max 5 points);
- Mastery in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, as a minimum; database management as a plus) (max 5 points).
Language skills:
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English language (max 5 points);
- Knowledge of French will be an advantage (max 5 points).
Evaluation Method, Criteria, and Award of Contract
- Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please ensure you have provided all requested materials;
- Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method - where the technical criteria will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer will be weighted at 30%;
- The technical criteria (education, experience, language) will be based on a maximum 75 points. Only the top 3 candidates that have achieved a minimum of 52.5 points from the review of the technical criteria will be deemed technically qualified and considered for financial evaluation;
- Financial score (max 30 points) shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal of those technically qualified;
- The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive daily fee (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of this daily fee (including number of anticipated working days and all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment; costs for mission travel should not be included in financial proposal);
- Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP's General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.
Documentation required
Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the link below. Please also provide your all-inclusive daily fee proposal for the assignment, including number of anticipated working days and all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment. Kindly note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).In addition, applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.
UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.
General Conditions of Contract for the ICs
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.
Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence
