Project consultant

Contract

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

Background

The EC-UNDP Joint Task Force in Electoral Assistance (JTF) was established in 2007, to further strengthen and facilitate the already existing EC-UNDP partnership in the field of electoral assistance and improve the overall efficiency and adherence of the projects to the common EC-UNDP strategic approach, in line with the EC-UNDP Electoral Assistance Guidelines. The JTF monitors and supports the EC-UNDP Partnership in Electoral Assistance, which, since 2004, has seen over $1 billion of EU funds support UNDP-implemented electoral assistance projects in approximately 50 countries. The JTF comprises experts from UNDP, the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) and provides in-depth technical and advisory support to all EC-UNDP joint electoral assistance projects world-wide, through the conduct of in-country missions as well as remote support from Brussels.

The day-to-day work of the JTF is divided between country-level support, knowledge materials production and the organization of global thematic events. At the country level, the JTF is assisting UNDP Country Offices and EU Delegations in the resource mobilization, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of joint electoral assistance projects, as well as in drafting of the narrative and financial reporting. The JTF is currently supporting 10 EU-funded electoral assistance projects worldwide (currently Bolivia, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Somalia, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe). Also, in several countries, such as Zambia, Ivoiry Coast and Burkina Faso, the JTF is implementing conflict-prevention activities serving to prevent electoral and political violence through informed coordinated prevention and response planning. The Early Warning Systems developed by the JTF aim at identifying potential risks and incidents during elections or periods of political violence, and to coordinate the response to the identified risks through a multi-stakeholder dialogue and coordination platform. On the knowledge production front, the JTF undertakes research, regularly develops publications and online learning courses on a wide range of electoral-related topics fed from experience implementing the national level projects. In addition, the JTF has organized a number of global thematic workshops worldwide and carries out communication and outreach events. To know more about the JTF and its mandate, visit: https://www.ec-undp-electoralassistance.org/.

In this context, the EC-UNDP JTF on Electoral Assistance is seeking to recruit a Project Consultant with excellent computer skills, attention to detail and organizational abilities, to support the JTF in all programme operations, including procurement processes, budget management and revision, finance, travel management and administrative tasks.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the JTF Programme Advisor, the Project Consultant will provide execute services within the JTF unit, working in close collaboration with the UNDP Country Office teams, and with the operations, programme and project teams in Brussels, as well as UNDP HQ in resolving project-related issues and supporting information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

Under the overall guidance of the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force Coordinator, the Project Consultant shall be required to perform the following tasks:

1. Project procurement support:

• Prepare a project procurement plan

• Process and manage project procurement processes

• Ensure timely corrective actions on purchase orders with budget check errors, reconcile and close purchase orders

• Support project in the preparation of Procurement Committee meetings (CAP/ACP)

2. Accounting and budget support

• Prepare and revise project budget
• Manage, monitor and record project funds and expenses
• Provide team with periodic updates on expenditure status
• Process and reconcile invoices
• Manage project reporting, monitoring and evaluation
• Draft periodic reports on the state of project implementation

3. Project travel and logistical support:

• Verify that entitlements are appropriately allocated and any payments due by traveller are recovered
• Process closure of travel by creating checklists and Expenses Reports
• Support with visa issuance where necessary
• Manage the receipt and shipment of communications materials such as leaflets and publications

4. Project general administration support:

• Provide project with periodic updates on workplan progress
• Manage a proper filing system for registry records and documents
• Manage external archiving and retrieval of records

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlinesand achieving results

Functional Competencies

• Excellent critical reasoning and problem-solving skills
• Ability to set priorities and manage time effectively
• Excellent communication skills (spoken, written and presentational)
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in and with teams

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to perform a variety of specialized activities related to the organization and conduct of procurement processes, implementation of contract and sourcing strategies, reporting
• Sound knowledge of UN/UNDP financial rules and regulations
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system
• Willingness to learn and apply new analytical approaches

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary Education
• University Degree in Finance, Accounting, International Relations, and Social Sciences would be desirable, but it is not a requirement

Experience:

• 2 years of progressively responsible administrative or programme experience is required at the national or international level
• If in possession of a Bachelor’s degree, the minimum relevant experience requirement is reduced to 1 year
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc)
• Advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages desireable
• Experience in handling web based management systems is an asset
• Knowledge of the UNDP Procurement Certification programme is an asset

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English (written and oral) and French (written and oral) is a requirement

Other requirements

Should have a valid residency and work permit for Belgium for the duration of the assignment

EVALUATION OF APPLICANTS

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight: [70%]

Financial Criteria weight: [30%]

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the Technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points:

• Proven relevant experience in providing effective support in project’s accounting and budget management – 20 points
• Proven relevant experience in providing effective support in procurement, travel and logistics – 20 points
• Relevant accounting experience within a firm or working with international organisations, preferably with United Nations agencies – 20 points
• Relevant experience with working with country-level entities – 10 points

Financial Criteria – 30% of total evaluation – maximum 30 points:

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

UNDP will apply a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores. Please go the following link for the General Conditions of Individual Contracts: https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=215249

Application Submission Process

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications:

Step 1: Interested individual consultants must include the following documents when submitting the applications in UNDP job shop (Please note that only 1 (one) file can be uploaded therefore please include all docs in one file):

• Personal History Form (P11), indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references (the template can be downloaded from this link: http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

Applicants are instructed to submit their financial proposals in US Dollars for this consultancy to procurement.be@undp.org using the financial proposal template available here: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780. The proposals should be sent via email with the following subject heading: “Project Consultant – JTF” latest by Friday 4 September COB. Proposals should be based on a monthly lump sum. Proposals received after the deadline will be rejected. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal should be all-inclusive and include a breakdown. The term ‘all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, utilities, consumables, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the financial proposal. No travel expenses will be involved as the duty station is Brussels and no travel is required.

UNDP retains the right to contact references directly.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation by UNDP that contract obligations have been delivered in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

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.