Local Action strategic development Consultant

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UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

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Consultant

Application deadline 2 years ago: Wednesday 29 Sep 2021 at 23:59 UTC

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Contract

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Details

Background

In September 2019, world leaders called for a decade of action to deliver the sustainable development goals by 2030 and announced actions they are taking to advance the agenda. While the SDGs are global, the role of community-based organizations in helping to carry out these actions to achieve the SDGs, and the need to support their agency and strengthen their active participation, is paramount to ensure meaningful and sustainable progress. Community and other local organizations and institutions have a critical role to play in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

For over three decades, UNDP has supported community level, grassroots organizations to address sustainable development. This support has been provided via a variety of initiatives targeting communities through small grant mechanisms, e.g., hundreds of UNDP implemented projects that address enabling communities to plan for and achieve sustainable livelihoods in the face of the loss of biodiversity and a changing climate - including the poor and most vulnerable; The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) which delivers global environmental benefits in the areas of biodiversity conservation, climate change, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation, and chemical and waste management through community-based approaches; the Adaptation Fund-UNDP Innovation Small Grant Aggregator Platform (ISGAP) which aims to support the development and diffusion of innovative adaptation practices, tools, and technologies; and others.

However, there is a significant opportunity to further and significantly expand the size and scope of UNDP’s community level support to countries beyond UNDP’s existing funding and capabilities by bringing in new partners and sources of funds. Building upon UNDP’s decades of experience supporting community level work, such a scaling up should be done in a manner that brings coherence to UNDP’s small grants and other work corporately. Recognizing the increased complexity and responsibilities to deliver such support, a newly designed UNDP local action mechanism will respond efficiently and effectively to the growing demand from governments and communities.

As a result of this analysis, in 2020, UNDP commissioned an organizational review of its community-focused work that identified options for greater integration of the different initiatives and activities as the foundation for future growth in its support to local action. This report identified a five-point transition plan to a consolidated Local Action cluster based on functional integration of the largest community-focused initiatives and their closer collaboration with other areas and groups in NCE and UNDP overall.

A key factor in the successful growth of the Local Action cluster is the mobilization of sufficient financial resources to permit effective oversight by UNDP staff and implementation support by project staff members. Increased financing of Local Action Country Programmes – building on SGP Country Programmes - will result in increased size and sophistication, permitting to serve a greater number of community organizations more efficiently. A critical feature of the transition to a fully established Local Action cluster is the need to develop and implement an effective strategy to mobilize increased resources from donor governments, NGOs, the private sector and others in sufficient volume to offset administrative and operational costs and achieve an acceptable level of cost-efficiency in supporting Country Programmes.

At the same time, in parallel, the Global Environment Facility has signaled its interest in expanding the SGP to include execution of resources by different GEF Agencies e.g. FAO, regional development banks, CI, WWF, etc. The operational, management and oversight implications for expanding the SGP in this regard have not been studied nor discussed in any meaningful detail. It would be important to understand clearly what a decision to make use of SGP’s installed capacities would entail in NY, the Regional Hubs and the UNDP Country Offices.

A potential feature of local action efforts is their integration into larger scale projects as community-focused components. While superficially this integration appears straightforward, there are a number of issues that make this difficult: the project time frames don’t allow sufficient growth of CSO capacities; one-off CSO grant programmes may take time to establish and operationalize; grants may be difficult to provide in the context of government supervision; financial administration of a local action component may involve unfamiliar systems and skills, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will review and assess the objectives and structures of UNDP-implemented (UNOPS-executed) existing initiatives, particularly with a view toward effectively expanding the size and scope of community level work with new partners and/or additional sources of funding within the GEF-managed funds (Least Developed Countries Fund, Special Climate Change Fund, and focal area dedicated funding windows, e.g., biodiversity, mitigation), the Adaptation Fund, the Green Climate Fund, the private sector, governments, etc.

The consultant will work with the NCE Local Action cluster to mobilize resources, develop strategic partnerships for multi-agency use of SGP installed capacities, and explore and analyze the potential for design and implementation of effective local action components in larger projects.

The consultant will review past evaluations, useful lessons from institutional reviews, project reports from the existing initiatives and the wider literature in the field, as relevant. The consultant will consult with SGP, Equator Initiative, and AIM staff, as well as RTAs and RTLs, regarding their perceptions of resource mobilization, partnership development and community-focused work in larger projects.

The consultant will produce three analytical reports on 1) the potential for the use of SGP’s installed capacities by other agencies and institutions; 2) the advantages and disadvantages of integrating community-focused components within larger projects; and 3) the potential for significant resource mobilization an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of integrating community-focused components within larger projects, as well as operational details. As part of the first task, the consultant will work with Local Action advisers to formulate and implement a resource mobilization strategy. Each analytical report will identify options that will be used as a basis for making informed decisions to meet the important mission and ambitious goals of an NCE Local Action cluster.

Expected Tasks and Deliverables

To achieve the foregoing, the consultant will utilize relevant documents, in-person meetings, group discussions, teleconferences, and e-mail exchanges, to prepare concise reports as follows:

In analyzing and determining the potential for the use of SGP’s installed capacities by other agencies and institutions, the consultant will:

Develop workplan to review and explore possible financial, operational and oversight arrangements for future use of GEF Small Grants Programme staffing and modalities by other GEF Agencies e.g. FAO, UNEP, CI, TNC, IFAD, etc.;
Establish and lead a multi-stakeholder Task Force to explore potential for GEF and other funding by these agencies to be either executed by UNOPS with SGP implementation or directly executed by the corresponding agency and identify agreed upon strategy to identify potential options;
Develop, schedule and carry out consultations with relevant GEF Secretariat staff members as well as GEF Agency focal points to determine potential interest in use of SGP installed capacities in implementation of projects and programmes;
Draft an initial report on findings and feasibility of potential use of SGP capacities by other agencies and present it to NCE senior management for comments and discussion;
Revise and finalize the report based on comments and discussions and present to NCE senior management.

Based in part on I. above, determine the advantages and disadvantages of integrating community-focused components within larger projects, as well as options for operationalization of this integration, the consultant will:

Develop a workplan to analyze and determine interest in UNDP for using the SGP as a Local Action execution mechanism for community-focused components of GEF full size projects;
Develop, schedule and carry out consultations with RTAs regarding their experience with community-focused activities of larger projects;
Develop, schedule and carry out consultations with SGP National Coordinators who have had experience supporting larger projects with community-focused components;
Analyze lessons learned from RTA and NC experiences including identifying obstacles to more effective integration;
Based on above, identify and prioritize options for SGP use by UNDP and other agencies as components of medium-size and full-size projects or in particular as components of GEF Impact Programmes;
Develop options for integration reflecting differences in scale, theme, government institutional context;
Draft a report describing lessons, obstacles and options for review by NCE senior management;
Revise and finalize the report based on comments and discussions and present to NCE senior management.

Based in part on I. and II. Above, assist UNDP to mobilize resources for Local Action, the consultant will:

Provide UNDP Inputs to GEF replenishment negotiations, particularly in regard to SGP;
Participate in and provide inputs to GEF SGP visioning exercises and assist in drafting UNDP’s position;
Develop workplan to analyze history of co-financing of SGP and other local action signature programmes by donors at global, regional and national levels;
Assess specific donor priorities identified by NCE and determine coherence with UNDP, GEF, SGP and/or Local Action priorities and capacities;
Assess SGP Country Programme and country absorptive capacities for increased funding using a sample of countries reflecting various regions and capacities`;
Work with Local Action Comms team to develop material fit-for-purpose for approaching donors;
As requested, consult with specific donors on behalf of NCE regarding their potential interest in co-financing an SGP programme;
Draft a detailed report on findings with recommendations for strategy development and present to NCE senior management.

Other duties, as requested

As requested, review management audits for SGP and Local Action initiatives and prepare UNDP inputs to management responses;
Review and provide input to the GEF SGP OP8 Implementation Arrangements Paper;
Provide inputs to SGP Steering Committee meeting agendas and discussion.

Key deliverables

Detailed written analytical reports with recommendations on:

Utilization of SGP installed capacity by other agencies for execution of community-focused components or activities;
Integration of Local Action activities and components into UNDP larger projects;
Resource mobilization potential for UNDP Local Action, including recommendations for a RM strategy; and
Inputs to management responses to audits, SGP Implementation arrangements and SGP Steering Committees.

To achieve the above deliverables, the consultant will consult with UNDP NCE staff at HQ and Regional levels, as well as UNDP and SGP staff at country level engaged in supporting community-focused activities, GEF-SGP CPMT, Equator Initiative, ISGAP and UNOPS colleagues, among others, as relevant.

Deliverables, estimated duration, fee percentage

No.

Deliverables

Days

Duration

Percentage

Detailed report on analytical findings and feasibility of potential use of SGP capacities by other agencies

By 31 January 2022

38%

Detailed report describing lessons, obstacles and options to integration of Local Action activities and components into UNDP larger projects

By January 2023

23%

Detailed report on resource mobilization potential and recommendations for Local Action resource mobilization strategy development

By 30 June 2022

27%

Other duties, as requested: Inputs to management responses to audits, SGP Implementation arrangements and SGP Steering Committees.

TBD

12%

130

100%

Information on Working Arrangements

Estimated level of effort is 130 working days over an 18-month period;
The consultant will report regularly, and be directly supervised by, the Senior Technical Advisor for Local Action, NCE, BPPS;
The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
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;
The consultant shall submit to the Supervisor a progress report on the status of the implementation of tasks;
Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;
Payments will be made upon submission of a certification of payment form (COP), and acceptance and confirmation by the supervisor on outputs delivered.

Competencies

Corporate:

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.

Technical:

• Ability to carry out data exploration and analytics

• Strong understanding of climate change adaptation and natural resource and environment

Functional:

Communications

Able to communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner;
Excellent analytical, writing, and good advocacy and communications skills.

Professionalism

Capable of working in a high- pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
Excellent analytical and organizational skills;
Exercises the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.

Teamwork

Works well in a team;
Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
Focuses on results for the client;
Welcomes constructive feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Qualifications Criteria (Pass/Fail):

Master’s degree or equivalent in community development, community-based project and portfolio management, environmental management, organizational behavior, operations, human resources or another related field.
At least 15 years of work experiences related to strategic management and operations, as well as, human resources management;
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (Can be demonstrated if the candidate has earlier worked in an English working environment, and/or has any formal English language training/certification).

Evaluation Criteria (Scoring Criteria):

Experience in strategic planning, partnership development, systems analysis, and organization of complex programmes (max 10 points)
Knowledge and understanding of SGP, Equator Initiative and Local Action operations (max 10 points)
Knowledge and understanding of GEF, GCF and other donor policies (max 10 points)
Demonstrated ability to research, conduct analysis and evaluate information (provide a link or a sample of research conducted) (max 10 points)
Good knowledge of United Nations system/international organizations, preferable with UNDP (max 5 points).
Knowledge of another UN language is desirable (max 5 points).

Documents to be submitted:

Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) and/or CV including Education/Qualification, Professional Certification, Employment Records /Experience to be downloaded from the link;P11.
Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the e-tendering system when submitting the application;
Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment.
For more information on how to prepare and submit proposals through eTendering link-eTendering information portal for bidders

A.Financial proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive daily fee. 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 all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment);
Financial Proposal must be submitted as a separate file encrypted with a password. None of the financial proposal data is disclosed in other documents of the submission. UNDP shall request password for opening the Financial Proposal only from the Proposers who are deemed technically compliant;
DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR PRICE IN THE LINE ITEMS IN THE ETENDERING SITE. YOU MUST PUT PRICE AS “1” AND PROVIDE THE FINANCIAL PROPOSAL AS PASSWORD PROTECTED DOCUMENT.

Selection Criteria:

The award of contract will be made to one individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as being:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
Achieving the highest combined score (financial and technical).

The technical criteria (education, experience, language [max. 50 points] and interview [max. 20 points]) will be based on a maximum 70 points;
Only the top 3 candidates that have achieved a minimum of 35 points (70%) from the review of education, experience and language will be considered for the interview;
Candidates obtaining 14 points or higher in the interview will be deemed technically compliant and considered for financial evaluation;

Criteria

Max. Point 100

Weight

Criteria A: relevance and responsiveness of candidate’s past experience, Qualification based on submitted documents:
Experience in strategic planning, partnership development, systems analysis, and organization of complex programmes (max 10 points)
Knowledge and understanding of SGP, Equator Initiative and Local Action operations (max 10 points)
Knowledge and understanding of GEF, GCF and other donor policies (max 10 points)
Demonstrated ability to research, conduct analysis and evaluate information (provide a link or a sample of research conducted) (max 10 points)
Good knowledge of United Nations system/international organizations, preferable with UNDP (max 5 points).
Knowledge of another UN language is desirable (max 5 points).