Procurement Notices

Pursuant to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 56/201 on the triennial policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) framework was first adopted in 2005 by UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA. In Malawi, HACT has been implemented since 1 January 2008 and is coordinated by the HACT Working Group representing 7 UN Agencies namely: FAO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP and UNW. The HACT framework represents a common operational (harmonized) framework for transferring cash to government and non‑governmental Implementing Partners (IPs), irrespective of whether these partners work with one or multiple United Nation agencies.

One of the major elements of HACT is capacity development of implementing partners so that they are able to manage development assistance in general and from the UN in particular more effectively and efficiently to achieve agreed developmental results. Capacity Development (CD) is defined as a process by which individuals, groups, organizations, institutions and countries develop their abilities, individually and collectively to perform functions, solve problems and achieve objectives. Since 2011 the UN HACT Working group, the grouping of representatives of the UN Resident Coordination Office (UNRCO), government and UN agencies that have adopted HACT that coordinates the implementation of HACT in Malawi, has organized and implemented a total of 9 Training Workshops that have been facilitated by the Malawi Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi. The training workshops have been in Financial Management, Procurement Management and Results Based Management which were identified through analyses of the macro assessment and micro assessments, HACT audits and spot checks of implementing partners (Government Ministries and NGOs) undertaken to-date. A total of 332 staff members of both governmental and non-governmental partners of the UN in Malawi have participated in these training workshops with 98 participating in the RBM training, 113 in Procurement Management and 121 in Financial Management.

UNDP on behalf of the participating UN organizations in Malawi, seeks proposals from competent individuals to undertake the impact assessment of the training initiatives so as to provide a basis for decisions on the shape and type of future capacity development initiatives under HACT.

The Objectives of the Assignment

The objective of the HACT framework is to support a closer alignment of development aid with national priorities and to strengthen national capacities  and assess the extent to which the UN undertakes Capacity Development in Malawi and to determine how effective and efficient this has been in delivering the development priorities set out in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy MGDSII (MGDS II) and the UNDAF, in particular the fulfilment of partner staff capacity development under the various training initiatives since 2011 and how well they are managing resources and programmes.

Overall Objective of the evaluation will aim to:

Establish the extent to which staff of implementing partners that have undergone training in Financial Management are demonstrating adherence to organisational processes, procedures, rules and regulations governing the management of financial resources and if this is as a result of the UN training initiatives

Establish the extent to which staff of implementing partners that have undergone training in Procurement Management are demonstrating adherence to organizational processes, procedures, rules and regulations for procurement of goods and services than they did before the training and if this behaviour can be attributed to the UN training initiative.

i)Conduct a desk review of key documents

ii)Determine if there has been knowledge transfer between staff who have undergone training and other staff within their organizations who have not undergone UN organized training in Financial Management, Procurement Management and Results Based Management

iii)Identify any best practices developed by the participants which can be adopted by other partners

iv)Develop a Catalogue the opportunities that have facilitated the participants to apply the knowledge they gained in the training they attended

v)Develop a Catalogue the challenges they have faced in the application of knowledge they have gained through the UN supported training initiatives

vi)Make recommendations on how the training initiatives can be improved and on future capacity development options that the HACT WG can use for its partners to achieve better results.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1

The consultant will be responsible for developing an appropriate methodology for the assignment.

The proposed methodology should be included in the technical proposal and if necessary, will be refined based on discussions with the Operations Management Team/Programme Management Team. The final methodology will be clearly outlined in the Inception Report.

Task

Deliverable

Description

Timeframe in Days

Payment Percentage

Task 1: Planning and Preparation

Inception Report

The inception report should clearly define the tasks, proposed methodology to be used including the findings of the desk review and provide a summary of the conducted trainings. The Inception Report will be shared with OMT for review and feedback

5

20%

Task 2: Implementation

Key Findings Report

A report outlining the key findings.

20

40%

Task 3: Report and Presentation

Final Report

The consultant will be expected to develop a final report that clearly outlines how UN Malawi how the training initiatives can be improved and proposed future capacity development options that the HACT WG can use for effectiveness.

5

40%

Education:

Advanced university degree in: Economics, Public Administration, Finance, Capacity Development or related field

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years relevant experience undertaking similar work/assignment
• Proven experience in organizational change management and business process reviews
• Demonstrated experience in working with, or supporting, the development of new and innovative approaches, particularly in all areas relating to human resource management, innovative learning strategies and incentive programmes, knowledge management and goal alignment.

Competencies:

• Drive for results,
• Formulating Strategies and Concepts,
• Planning and Organizing; and
• Hands-on experience working with UN/DaO processes, supporting UNCTs at country level on change and capacity development exercises.
• Familiarity with UN reforms and the larger context of the changing development aid environment, particularly aid delivery, donor harmonization and alignment
• Understanding of UN programming principles
• Ability to translate strategic thinking and innovative ideas into practical operational recommendations
• Excellent analytical and presentation skills
• Ability to operate in a multicultural environment with political sensitivity and to meet deadlines

Reporting Requirements: The consultant will report directly to the Chairpersons PMT and OMT.

Interested individual consultants should apply online at www.jobs.undp.org. Applicants must submit the documents/information outlined below to demonstrate their qualifications by Wednesday 8th July, 2015.

1. Technical Proposal:

(i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work

(ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable)

2. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects  at least 3 references

3. Financial proposal

Proposals must include all three documents. Proposals not meeting this requirement will be rejected.

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel Costs

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed

Cumulative analysis: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. * Technical Criteria weight; 70 %* Financial Criteria weight; 30 %.

c) Only candidates that obtain above the minimum score of 70 point will be eligible for financial evaluation.

NB! A minimum of 70 % point would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.