National Consultant – To Conduct Surveys for the Northern Division, Markets for Change - M4C Programme, UN Women Fiji MCO

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Tuesday 17 Aug 2021 at 23:59 UTC

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Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Fiji Multi Country Office (MCO) covers 14 Pacific countries, with field offices/presence in 6 countries, and six ‘focus countries’ (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tonga and Samoa). Each field presence is led by a national Country Programme Coordinator with a Programme Officer in Tonga. UN Women, in partnership with Pacific Islands Governments, regional organizations, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within four interlinked programme areas:

The Markets for Change (M4C) project brings together governments, market vendors and market vendor associations, civil society organizations and UN agencies to promote gender equality through economic empowerment of women market vendors in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. M4C is implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNDP and the Governments of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Conducting a monitoring exercise of market vendors, particularly women vendors; Local Government, and relevant stakeholders is a key commitment under the regional M4C program Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (MEF). This initiative links to its four outcomes:

  • Outcome 1: Inclusive, effective, and representative marketplace groups are created and grow, contributing to gender, social and economic advancement, the elimination of gender-based discrimination and violence, and expanded economic opportunities for women.
  • Outcome 2: Improved socio-economic security and rights of market vendors, (farmers and vulnerable groups) especially women market vendors.
  • Outcome 3: Local Government and market management are gender responsive, effective, and accountable to women market vendor needs.
  • Outcome 4: Physical infrastructure and operating systems are improved to make markets more sustainable, resilient to disaster and climate change, safer and more accessible.

From August-October 2021, the UN Women M4C Project will be conducting a monitoring exercise of marketplaces covered by M4C in Fiji.

In close consultation with the M4C Fiji Project Manager and direct supervision of the M4C Fiji Communication and Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, the telephone call interviews will be undertaken utilizing mobile based technology and will include one on one survey interviews of market vendors and council staff relating to the four project outcomes. Each interview would generally take 20-45 minutes to complete. The survey will be undertaken using AKVO, an online application.

In this regard UN Women Fiji MCO seeks to hire national consultant(s) to conduct telephone call interviews for selected municipal marketplaces in the Northern Division including Vunisea in Kadavu and Levuka markets.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

The key objective of the assignment is to support the M4C Project in Fiji to undertake a monitoring exercise in a structured way according to specific questions aligned with project Key Performance Indicators.

Scope of Work/Duties and Responsibilities

Under overall guidance of the M4C Fiji Project Manager and direct supervision of the M4C Fiji Communication and Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, the consultant(s) will perform the following tasks:

  1. Support coordination and scheduling of telephone call interviews for market vendors and selected municipal council staff across the municipal markets.
  2. Conduct telephone survey interviews with market vendors and municipal council staff within the municipal market under northern division including Vunisea in Kadavu and Levuka markets. The consultant will be undertaking (a) the annual AKVO survey as per the market vendors list provided by UN Women and (b) a targeted COVID-19 AKVO survey.
  3. Support for any unforeseen activities during the interviews e.g., translation/interpreting; and
  4. Support the UN Women M4C Fiji team post survey by:
  • Supporting data cleaning and analysis of results;
  • Providing an Annual AKVO survey report containing recommendations as well as feedback and clarification as needed.
  • Providing COVID-19 survey report containing recommendations as well as feedback and clarification as needed.

Duration of the assignment

This contract shall be for up to 30 days over a period of two (2) months to commence as soon as possible and shall expire on the satisfactory completion of the services described above, but no later than end of October 2021, unless sooner terminated under the terms of this contract.

Expected Deliverable

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs.

Timing will be confirmed once consultant(s) are appointed, and the schedule of telephone interviews are confirmed; time required for data collection/transfer is dependent on the number of assigned interviews.

No.

Deliverables

Approximate No. of Days

Deadlines

  1. Annual AKVO Survey data collected on market vendors, council and market management operating in the following marketplaces: Labasa, Savusavu, Vunisea and Levuka.

Up to 16 days

August-September

  1. COVID-19 AKVO Survey data collected on market vendors and market management operating in the following marketplaces: Labasa, Savusavu, Vunisea and Levuka.

Up to 10 days

September-October

  1. Handover of verified data collected.

Up to 3 days

October

  1. Submission of Final Report

Up to 1 day

October

TOTAL

30 Days

October 2021 (submission to be done 1-week before 23rd Oct)

Upon receipt of the final deliverables and prior to the payment of the installment, the deliverables, will be reviewed and approved by UN Women within one week.

  • All the documents, including the interview tools, and transcripts, all scoping materials including images materials and reports should be submitted in written English language.
  • Note that all materials, including video footage and images will remain the property of UN Women and cannot be used without UN Women’s permission.

Inputs

  • UN Women will provide the survey questions for the two surveys to be undertaken.
  • UN Women will also cover the costs of daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for any unplanned in-country travel as per standard UN rate.
  • The Consultant is expected to work remotely using a designated tablet and may access the UN Women office for printing of relevant documents.
  • UN Women will cover the costs for translation of printed materials as required throughout the duration of the assignment.

Performance evaluation

  • Contractor’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial arrangements

  • Payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables, and certification by the Supervisor that the services have been satisfactorily performed as per the delivery table above.
  • The National Consultant is expected to reside locally.

Travel

Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Fiji, no travel is anticipated. However, if travel does take place, then the following arrangement will be adhered to:

  • UN Women will not cover transportation cost within or to duty station i.e., Suva, Fiji.
  • Any unplanned official travel costs outside of home-based location will be covered separately by UN Women with prior approval based on agreement upon routing and in conformity with UN Women applicable travel rules and regulations.

Competencies

Core Values

  • Respect for Diversity;
  • Integrity;
  • Professionalism.

Core Competencies

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
  • Accountability;
  • Creative Problem Solving;
  • Effective Communication;
  • Inclusive Collaboration;
  • Stakeholder Engagement;
  • Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies

  • Ability to think conceptually, strategically and analytically;
  • Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Results oriented, flexible and problem-solving skills.

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

Education:

  • A Bachelors’ degree or equivalent in Community Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gender Studies or other related field is a requirement.
  • Completion of Secondary Education, in addition to a certifying Diploma in combination with 5 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the Bachelor’s degree in Community Development, Monitoring & Evaluation, Gender Studies or other relation field.

Experience:

  • At least 2 years (with Bachelor’s degree) or 7 years (with Secondary Education including Diploma Certificate) of progressively responsible work experience in community development/gender.
  • At least 3 years’ experience in research with experience in conducting surveys and interviews.
  • Knowledge of Fiji is an asset.
  • Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Cloud, etc).
  • Experience using mobile based applications for data collection.
  • Experience in using AKVO is also an asset.

Language and other skills:

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Working knowledge of I-Taukei and/or Hindi is an asset.

Evaluation Procedure

Initially, individual consultants’ applications will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

  • A Bachelors’ degree or equivalent in Community Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gender Studies or other related field is a requirement.
  • Completion of Secondary Education, in addition to a certifying Diploma in combination with 5 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the Bachelor’s degree in Community Development, Monitoring & Evaluation, Gender Studies or other relation field.
  • At least 2 years (with Bachelor’s degree) or 7 years (with Secondary Education including Diploma Certificate) of progressively responsible work experience in community development/gender.

The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on a cumulative analysis scheme, with a total score being obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes. Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which will be 30% out of a total score of 100 points.

Evaluation of submitted offers will be done based on the following formula:

where:

T

is the total technical score awarded to the evaluated proposal (only to those proposals that pass 70% of 70 points obtainable under technical evaluation);

C

is the price of the evaluated proposal;

Clow

is the lowest of all evaluated proposal prices among responsive proposals; and

X

is the maximum financial points obtainable (30 points)

Technical evaluation will be represented through desk review of applications. Interviews and/or written tests will be organized if needed only, depending on the short-listed candidates’ qualifications.

Technical Qualification Evaluation Criteria: The technical part is evaluated based on its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

No.

Criteria

Maximum points

1.

  • A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Community Development, Monitoring & Evaluation, Gender Studies, or other related field is a requirement.
  • Completion of Secondary Education, in addition to a certifying Diploma in combination with 5 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the Bachelor’s degree in Community Development, Monitoring & Evaluation, Gender Studies or other relation field.

Secondary Education / Diploma Certificate – 5 pts, Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent of 10 pts

10

2.

At least 2 years (with Bachelor’s degree) or 7 years (with Secondary Education including Diploma Certificate) of progressively responsible work experience in community development/gender

*2 years (**Bachelor’s* *Degree) or 7 years (Secondary Education / Diploma Certificate) – 8 pts, each year over 2 (or 7) years - 1 pts up to a max 10 pts*

10

3.

At least 3 years’ experience in research with experience in conducting surveys and interviews.

3 years – 7 pts, each year over 3 years - 1 pts up to a max 10 pts.

10

4.

Knowledge of Fiji is also an asset.

10

5.

Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Cloud, etc.).

5

6.

Experience using mobile based applications for data collection.

5

7.

Experience in using AKVO is also an asset.

10

8.

Fluency in English is required.

5

10.

Working knowledge of I-Taukei and/or Hindi is an asset.

5

Maximum Total Technical Scoring

70

Financial Evaluation Criteria: In this Second Stage, the financial proposal of candidates, who have attained minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation (at least 49 points), will be compared.

WINNING CANDIDATE

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit fully completed application on the UNDP Vacancy Site.

Submission Package:

  1. Cover letter explaining the suitability of the consultant: applicants are encouraged to address experience and qualifications listed in the ‘criteria for technical evaluation’.
  2. Duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and/or Curriculum Vitae (CV) of consultant including records of experience in similar assignments and specific outputs obtained; P11 can be downloaded at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
  3. Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipate working days and any other possible costs).
  4. Please read, use, and complete ANNEX I and ANNEX II below to provide your financial proposal.

Applications without a complete financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. UN Women reserves the right to accept or reject any bid.

The consultancy recruitment process will be governed by the rules and regulations of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

Deadline of all submission: Tuesday 17th August 2021

Annex I

Price Proposal Guideline and Template

The prospective Individual Contractor should take the following explanations into account during submission of his/her price proposal.

1. Lump Sum Amount

The price proposal should indicate a "lump sum amount" which is "all-inclusive"; All costs (professional fees, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Individual Contractor needs to be factored into the proposed price.

UN Women will not withhold any amount of the payments for tax and/or social security related payments. UN Women shall have no liability for taxes, duties, or other similar charges payable by the Individual Contractor in respect of any amounts paid to the Individual Contractor under this Contract, and the Contractor acknowledges that UN Women will not issue any statements of earnings to the Individual contractor in respect of any such payments.

Contract price is fixed to activities/deliverables indicated in the ToR, regardless of the changes in the cost components (such as days invested for completion of the deliverables).

2. Travel costs

UN Women will not cover transportation cost within municipality area of Suva City and duty station (Suva) of the consultant.

Any official travel costs outside of home-based location will be covered separately by UN Women with prior approval based on agreed upon routing and in conformity with UN Women applicable travel rules and regulations.

3. Daily Subsistence Allowance

Not applicable.

*** Will only be paid for approved travel-related mission/s outside of Suva-Nausori Road corridor, as per this TOR.

4.Currency of the price proposal

The applicants are requested to submit their price proposals in FJD$.

*In case of proposals in other currency, these shall be converted into FJD$ using the official UN exchange rate for currency conversion to FJD$ at the date of applications’ submission deadline**.*

Annex II

Price Proposal Submission Form

[ Mandatory document for the Consultant to complete and submit]

To: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Ref: National Consultant – To Conduct Survey Monitoring for the Northern Division, Markets for Change / M4C Programme, UN Women Fiji MCO

Dear Sir / Madam,

I, the undersigned, offer to provide professional consulting services to UN Women within the scope of the referred Assignment. Having examined, understood, and agreed to the Terms of Reference and its annexes, the receipt of which are hereby duly acknowledged, I, the undersigned, offer to deliver professional services, in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

My maximum total price proposal for the assignment is given below:

Estimated Costs (in FJD$)

Unit of Measure (e.g. Day, Month, etc.)

Unit Price

(FJD$)

No. of Units

Total Price

(FJD$)

Consultancy Fee

Daily Fee

FJD$

Other Related Costs (please specify)

FJD$

Total FJD$

FJD$

*** Please be informed that for shorter assignments than a full day, the daily rate will be pro-rated into hourly rate.

I confirm that my financial proposal will remain unchanged. I also confirm that the price that I quote is gross, and is inclusive of all legal expenses, including but not limited to social security, income tax, pension, etc., which shall be required applicable laws. I agree that my proposal shall remain binding upon me for the duration of the contract timeline i.e. ________________ days / weeks / months / year.

I understand that you are not bound to accept any proposal you may receive.

[ Signature]

Date:

Name:

Address:

Telephone / Fax:

Email:

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org