Senior Consultant for Background Paper on: “Socio-Economic and Development Profile of UMICs in Africa: Positioning Namibia”

Contract

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

Background

The UN Resident Coordinator (RC) system encompasses all organizations of the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development. The RC leads the Country Team (UNCT), which is composed of representatives of all the UN entities with a presence in the country. Working closely with the Government of Namibia and with the support of the rest of the Country Team, the RC coordinates the UN agencies that make up One UN, advocating for the mandates of the whole UN system, towards accelerated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As the highest UN Official and representative of the UN Secretary General at the country level, the RC coordinates and provides leadership in strategy development, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of development programmes as outlined in the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPAF 2019 -2023) aligning with the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The RC advances the Delivering as One (DaO) Standards of Operating Procedures (SOPs) so that the UN coordination system is empowered to deliver results together.

The RCO (Resident Coordinator’s office) supports the role and functions of the UNCT through shared global, regional and country level vision, norms and standards, capacities and operating protocols to deliver together more coherent, effective and efficient support to globally, regional and nationally agreed goals and priorities. To do this, the RC system focuses on leveraging the leadership, policy and practices, and diverse expertise across UN development entities, to work together towards this common end, of improving the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the UN’s contribution to development results.

The leadership role of the RC in driving the UNDS operational activities for development at the country level is captured in the six core functions of the RC including:

i. Ensuring coordination of UNDS operational activities for development, creating a platform for coordinated delivery, and promoting the development of national capacities.

ii. Supporting the Government, at the latter’s request, in its coordination of all types of external development and technical assistance (including from the UNDS).

iii. Ensuring effective advocacy of human rights and other UN values, norms, standards, principles and activities on behalf of the UNCT with the highest level of Government.

iv. As Designated Official, where applicable ensuring effective coordination of country-level security and the safety of all UN staff and dependents and leading the inter-agency Security Management Team.

v. Encouraging and supporting national efforts in disaster risk reduction.

vi. Finally, if international humanitarian assistance is required and a separate HC position is not established, the RC takes on the role of Humanitarian Coordinator, leading and coordinating response efforts of the UNCT and other relevant humanitarian actors.

Additionally, the RCO provides support to the RC/UNCT’s roles and efforts in coordinating the work of the UN system at the country level. The office works in close collaboration with the UN programme and operations teams of the Agencies, Government officials, technical advisors and experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful implementation of UNCT activities. The RCO also acts as a first port-of-call to provide services and support to the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) and other stakeholders such as the Private Sector, Academia, International Finance Institutions, Civil Society Organisations and other Development Partners.

The year 2020 marks the beginning of the Decade of Action to accelerate implementation and deliver the SDGs by 2030. As part of its functions, the RCO 1 ) Plans, facilitates and consolidates evidence-based Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) analysis in support of a shared understanding by the UN Country Team (UNCT) of sustainable development trends, challenges and opportunities in programme countries; 2) Provides substantive advice on innovative socio-economic and SDG policies to Resident Coordinators (RC) and UNCTs, as well as to national counterparts in Government and other relevant partners; 3) Coordinates the development by the UNCT of a new generation of SDG programmes with a strong investment orientation and focus on acceleration towards achieving the SDGs; 4) Plans and directs SDG knowledge generation and management, and capacity building

Namibia, prior to COVID-19 was facing a suppressed economy alongside the twin challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty. Austerity measures resulting from constrained fiscal space to respond and recover from COVID-19 have forced policy makers in all countries to think innovatively about all available options to finance development. For Upper Middle-Income Countries (UMICs) such as Namibia, this has not been a straightforward process due to this country categorization, hampering its ability to invest in social outcomes.

In this context, the UN System in Namibia seeks the services of a consultant to add to the knowledge base of positing Namibia as an UMIC.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant is required to conceptualize, research, draft and produce a background paper, providing qualitative and quantitative analysis and description on the socio-economic and development finance profile of UMICs in Africa; challenges faced by UMICs and opportunities for Namibia as a UMIC.

His/her responsibilities will encompass:

• Conceptualization, outline, research analyse, draft and produce the background paper.
• Research, producing socio-economic and development finance data on UMICs.
• Advise the RCO and the UNCT on prospects for Namibia’s categorization as a UMIC.
• Prepare recommendations and analytical inputs including Policy Briefs.

Competencies

• Excellent research and analytical skills;
• Excellent communication and networking skills
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Working proficiency in MS Office Package (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook);
• Attention to details;
• Ability to identify priority activities and assignments and good self-management;
• Ability to work independently with only rudimentary supervision;
• Ability to work in a team and collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• Maintain confidentiality and a positive attitude
• Demonstrates an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
• Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced degree in international economics/ development economics or related field (e.g., economics, public policy, etc.), with a strong quantitative element that encompasses data management and analysis is mandatory. PhD is an asset

Experiences:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in international development policymaking and support relevant experience in the area of economics and quantitative analysis.
• Experience in provision of policy advice and technical assistance on data, statistics and indicators for monitoring and accountability of development goals.
• Expertise in economic analysis of Upper Middle-Income Countries in Africa, understanding of Namibia’s Economy.
• Demonstrated capacity to perform outstanding research and collaborating on economic research.
• Highly developed writing and drafting skills, including demonstrated experience with translating quantitative analysis into accessible policy insights on sustainable development.
• Excellent written communication skills with fluency in English (both written and oral), including advocacy, negotiation and presentation skills.
• Excellent quantitative skills, with demonstrable skill in the use of programming/modeling/simulation languages.
• Experience with macroeconomic modeling/programming. Computing proficiency with competency in the use of Microsoft products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) as well as one or more econometric software packages.
• Knowledge and experience of UN policies on data and statistics for sustainable development;
• Demonstrated excellent analytical, writing and editing skills.
• Substantial familiarity with the SDGs and UN needs assessment methodologies is desirable.
• Prior experience working with an international financial institution, national finance/planning ministry, central bank, university or research institution on macroeconomic modeling/programming would be an asset.
• Prior working experience with agencies of the UN system would be an asset

Languages:

• Excellent oral and written command of English.

Recommended Presentation of Offer;

• Completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
• Personal CV or a P11 Personal History form, 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;
• Brief description of approach to work/technical proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a proposed methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment (max 1 page).

Financial proposal:

Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (based on the number of working days mentioned ToR.

Note:

• Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows uploading maximum one document.
• Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply;
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Incomplete applications will be excluded from further consideration.

To view the full Terms of Reference (TOR) and download letter of confirmation of interest and P11 form, please access the UNDP Procurement Notice site on the below link:

https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=73043

Application process:

Applicants are requested to submit price offers indicating the total cost of the assignment (including daily fees, per diem and travel costs). All application should be done via the online portal and must not be emailed to the Procurement email address.

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

Applications will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified above through a desk review