International consultancy Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Incubator Capacity Building

Contract

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Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. With these Goals that universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. The SDGs, also known as Global Goals, build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to go further to end all forms of poverty. The Goals are unique in that they call for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.

In September 2019, the UN Secretary-General called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action on three levels: global action to secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals; local action embedding the needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments, cities and local authorities; and people action, including by youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia and other stakeholders, to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required transformations.

Civil society is recognised by all Member State as a core partner in achieving the SDGs, with various fora established at the global, regional and country levels.

CSO-UN Maldives Forum

The CSO-UN Forum was launched on 11 June 2020. Based on feedback from participants, the Forum is open to all UN and CSO organisations in the Maldives and meets monthly. Each meeting focuses on one theme, developed in advance through consultations with participants, with presenters agreed by the UN agencies.

The purpose of the CSO-UN Forum is to:

1. Provide space for dialogue, linking people to decision-making in line with the 2030 Agenda for a long-term vision for Maldives; and
2. Enable building of sustainable partnerships, providing opportunities for joint advocacy/action, and SDG acceleration.

CSO Membership

In order to strengthen and widen civic space in the country, and advance the outcomes achieved through the CSO-Forum, CSOs were asked their core needs. CSO members participated in a survey to understand the motivation for joining the forum, which included:

• Building partnerships for awareness, knowledge and exchange of ideas around development
• Space for ‘middle ground’ dialogue, engaging with other CSOs
• Facilitating dialogue between government, civil society and the private sector
• Developing advocacy on issues
• Committing to SDGs, contributing to Maldives’ reporting to global bodies on SDG reporting; domesticisation of SDGs
• Developing partnerships between local, regional and international organisations
• Mobilising resources for projects
• Supporting training; strengthening organizational capacity for and advising on policy and strategy development

An agreement was reached to explore a multi-purpose CSO Incubator concept to address the core needs expressed by CSOs, to streamline UN support, and attract focused donor and business community investment.

Objectives

To support and strengthen CSOs as a core pillar to the democratization process in Maldives and build momentum for achievement of the SDG 2030 Agenda. This is to be achieved by:

1. Core UN technical support provided to CSOs through a combination of virtual/physical trainings, on-the-job accompaniment/coaching and a rolling calendar of events on requested issues
2. CSO fora as a platform is more effective based on the additional capacity provided to CSOs to follow up on joint initiatives in line with the 2030 Agenda.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator Office, the international consultant will conduct the following:

1. Engage CSOs to build relations, understand context and needs;
2. Engage UN agencies to understand existing CSO capacity building programmes, challenges and lessons learnt;
3. Develop a set of training modules, based on identified needs of CSOs and advice from UN agencies, to cover organizational management, financial management and project development, among other areas of focus;
4. Create a calendar together with UN staff for provision of a rolling set of trainings, advocacy sessions etc. for CSOs. A strong focus on communications’ strategy will be built around the programme;
5. Engage donors in building the training platform financing;
6. Conduct meeting with Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment to look at opportunities to build momentum and partnerships.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant is expected to work under the guidance of the Resident Coordinator’s office. S/he will be supported by a translator who will support the scope of work. Regular meetings will be held to update on work progress.

Deliverables

1. Inception report that identifies context, needs and existing CSO capacity building programmes, challenges and the lessons learnt;
2. Draft CSO training modules that include but are not limited to organizational management, financial management and project development for validation by UNRCO
3. Final CSO training modules that include but are not limited to organizational management, financial management and project development approved by UNRCO

Duration of the Work

This assignment will take approximately 40 days. The consultant should develop the above products as a consolidated proposal as stipulated above.

Competencies

• Demonstrated experience working in, or with, civil society organisations
• In depth understanding of the 2030 Agenda, and demonstrated track record in supporting civil society engage in the 2030 agenda dialogues and SDG achievement
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal guidance and support
• Demonstrated familiarity and use of virtual communication platforms for consultations and discussions
• Ability to operate in a highly fluid environment and in a virtual context
• Demonstrated high level oral and written communication and facilitation skills in English.
• Demonstrated experience in coaching, mentoring and/or training.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree) in political science, sociology, international relations, international economics, law, public administration, or other related social sciences.

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in multilateral or civil society organization;
• Extensive experience in research and project development;
• A proven policy, advisory and training experience and track record of engagement with different levels of government, United Nations, Civil Society Organisations and donors
• Experience in national and community-level capacity-building initiatives and programming;

Language requirement

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

Application process

Interested individuals must submit the following as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications.

• A letter indicating why the candidate considers himself/herself suitable for the required consultancy;
• Submission of an updated detailed Personal CV or P11 form which can be downloaded from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc
• Financial quotation with daily consultancy fee, in MVR. This consultancy will be done remotely and no travel is required.
• At least two references from recent previous jobs or three references contact details

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