Individual International ICT and T4D Consultant

Contract

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UNICEF is a UN organization mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. In Lao PDR, UNICEF is working with its partners to support the Government to realize children’s rights on survival, development, protection and participation.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, support

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UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for an Individual International ICT and T4D Consultant. The total duration of this assignment is 11.5 months and the consultant will be based in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Provide technical and programmatic support on T4D:

• Portfolio Coordination: Work closely with the regional office in deploying a portfolio approach, adapting common solutions prioritized for UNICEF programming (e.g. Digital Public Goods).
• Support and assist in the design of T4D interventions: Provide support and technical assistance to the Country Office in the identification, selection, concept design, deployment and sustainability of T4D interventions to address bottlenecks towards the achievement of programme results.
• Identify and assess Technology and Digital Innovations: Assist programme sections to identify and assess T4D initiatives with potential to improve UNICEF programming.
• Solution procurement and evaluation: Assist the review of technical solutions to ensure UNICEF standards are followed; contribute to project management processes, generation, and review of terms of reference and vendor selection.
• Deployment advice and support: Assist with implementation strategy of digital technology initiatives. Including technical oversight, troubleshooting and the documentation of challenges and resolutions.
• Design thinking: Support human/user-centered design methods to enable useracceptance testing, evaluation, documentation, and analysis.

Advisory and Quality Assurance to Technology-enabled Programming

• Digital Development and Technology Innovation Strategy: Support implementation of the technology and digital innovation strategy for the country office; bring visibility to T4D gaps, opportunities, and scale-up strategy in support of CO priorities.
• Quality Assurance: Assist with development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of T4D initiatives; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation, and support mechanisms for T4D.
• Guide compliance with T4D best practices: Participate in CO T4D Governance Committee and support compliance of T4D initiatives with the Principles for Digital Development and UNICEF T4D best practices.

Engage, facilitate and maintain partnerships and networks

• Engage and maintain partnerships and networks: Support the development of partnerships and networks with local solution providers, innovators, NGOs, cultural and religious organizations, the private sector, local media, and academia to build and provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative technologies and build local capacity.
• Advocacy and communications: Participate and support Country Office representation in external, inter-agency or partner forums on Digital Development and Technology Innovation where requested.
• Proposal and partnership development: Identify opportunities for resource mobilization and new partnerships and support proposal and partnership development efforts in close collaboration with ICT Division’s Digital Centre of Excellence, where applicable.
• Provide advice and support to programme partners: Provide inputs to technical and operational support to a wide range of stakeholders and partners on UNICEF policies, practices, standards, and norms on technology for development.
• Standards and procedures for ownership: Work with stakeholders to help develop standards, procedures, and partnerships for T4D interventions and their transition to relevant Government and Civil Society Institutions.
• Transfer and skill-sharing for programme partners: Help maintain partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing and transfer of knowledge, skills, and tools to foster and facilitate technology-enabled programming.
• Document localized partners and profiles: Contribute updates to a catalogue of country specific T4D partners and their profiles/areas of engagement to promote and enhance UNICEF goals for outcomes for children through the use of technology.

Support Knowledge Management and T4D and Digital Transformation in programming

• Share lessons learned: Help identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from T4D for integration into broader knowledge development planning, advocacy, and communication efforts.
• Landscape mapping: Assist in maintaining an inventory of Technology and Innovation interventions, assets, resources, and networks.
• Monitoring, evaluation and learning: Work with PME to ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for innovation and T4D projects including baseline data collection, on-going monitoring, as well as first phase data collection and analysis.
• Contribute to Peer Support Networks: Contribute and share to regional and global digital development and technology innovation networks and activities.

ICT Technical Support for the office

• Provide technical assistance and support to the ICT functions and the provision of ICT solutions and services.
• Provide ICT end user support as required.
• Liaise with regional office, GSSC and ICTD to keep abreast of new initiatives and opportunities to innovate and modernize office operations and to contribute to the collective ICT evolution.
• Assist in the management of contracts for ICT/T4D for services and products.
• Work closely with ICT team to monitor, assess, and verify the use of ICT resources to ensure compliance and update CO ICT Disaster Recovery Plans and BCP
• Support CO operational and administrative tasks related to ICT.
• Assist in the delivery of results as per the ICT Workplan.
• Provide help, support, and assist with capacity building and knowledge management.
• Support in liaising with regional office, GSSC and ICTD to keep abreast of new initiatives and opportunities to innovate and modernize office operations and to contribute to the collective ICT evolution.

Capacity Building

• Co-create appropriate solutions: Work directly with programme teams and partners to adapt technology and innovative solutions appropriate to the country programme.
• Provide training to stakeholders and end-users: Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies, capacity, and knowledge within the programmes on digital development; train UNICEF staff, partners, government counterparts and other end users in digital development and technology innovation.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Experience identifying, designing, and implementing solutions for large-scale projects with technical components – including supervising external vendors and software developers; responsibility for business analysis, budgets, contracts, project management and procurement, etc.
• Experience with ICT, mobile and web-based technologies, particularly designing or deploying tools appropriate to Asia and Pacific.
• Experience in Open Source, mobile and emerging technology applied to UNICEF programme areas
• Exposure to UNICEF, UN or other INGO programmatic areas, including (but not limited to) health, nutrition, child protection and/or education, and experience in applying technical solutions to address programmatic issues.
• Experience with RapidPro, OpenSRP, DHIS2, ODK and other digital public good technologies, and deploying, maintaining, and scaling these technologies is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated strong writing and presentation skills.
• Knowledge on the landscape for other countries, EAPR or especially Laos startup ecosystem in the technology sector is highly desirable.
• Experience in coordination with multiple stakeholders like government agencies, academic institutions, research organizations, private sector, etc. in implementing ICT projects and exploring space for collaboration and partnerships.

• Project management skills including task prioritization, workflow coordination, and results-driven strategies.

  Submission of applications:

Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents:

• Letter of Interest (cover letter)
• CV or Resume
• Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available)
• Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost with a breakdown: fee, living allowance and the travel cost for this assignment as per work assignment. -

The deadline for applications is 13 December 2021

Assessment Criteria:

As part of the evaluation and selection, a Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment. This involves a technical evaluation and an assessment of the financial proposal:

a. Technical evaluation of the candidates’ qualifications, experience and expertise (max. 100 points) weight 70%:

Qualifications (20 points)

• Advanced degree (Master preferred) engineering, information technology or other related field (20 points).

Experience and expertise (80 points)

• At least 7 years of professional work experience in Technology for Development (T4D) and/or information system development, IT system integration development, including web-based applications. Specific experience on GIS enabled platforms and/or ICT for learning is an advantage (20 points).
• ICT equipment and procurement planning, monitoring and evaluation experience (10 points).
• ICT systems training planning and implementation experience is considered an advantage (10 points).
• Experience in the design and implementation of ICT enabled data collection and reporting systems. Solid technical understanding of ICT systems in the education sector is a clear advantage (10 points).
• Demonstrated Experience in working in cross cultural environment. Previous working experience in ASEAN countries is desirable. (10 points).
• Familiarity and prior experience with the UN system, or with the international development/ humanitarian/ emergency community highly desirable (10 point);
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills in English language (10 points).

b. Financial Proposal (max. 100 points) weight 30%

1. The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened /evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 70 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price. The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

For the technical assessment candidates will have to be awarded at least 60 points out 100 to be considered for the assignment.

The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

The applicants should provide medical insurance covering medical evacuation for the whole duration of the assignment -as part of the financial proposal submission.

Please find attached the TOR here: TOR ICT and T4D Consultant_final for VA.pdf

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at here

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.