Procurement Notices

1. Project Title: National Consultant for Coordination Capacity Support for United Nations Timor-Leste. Deadline for applicant submission: 06 March 2019

1. Project Description

The UN System in Timor-Leste operates under the Resident Coordinator System to ensure coherence and efficiency of the UN development activities in the country. The Resident Coordinator (RC) is supported by the RC Office (RCO).

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the RC Head of Office, the UN Coordination Consultant strengthens capacity of the RCO providing assistance to development and implementation of coordination tools and services as well as supporting the RCO to set in place administrative systems and mechanisms of the office.

The UN Coordination consultant works in close collaboration with other RCO members and other UN agencies in the country to support the collective efforts of the UN System to increase coherence and efficiency of development activities in the country.

1. Background

Today, the UN Agencies work in Timor-Leste under the UN Resident Coordinator system, focusing solely on sustainable development. The partnership between the government and the UN is outlined in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2015 – 2020 (UNDAF) for Timor-Leste. The UNDAF is a strategic programme framework to support the national development priorities of Timor-Leste encapsulated in the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 (SDP). The SDP reflects the aspiration of the Timorese People to become a high performing, middle income country by 2030.

Timor-Leste is now at a critical juncture. Many development milestones have been achieved, but key challenges remain. The country successfully and peacefully conducted its eighth parliamentary election on May 12th 2018, with the new Prime Minister sworn in on June 22nd 2018. The UN is committed to supporting the VIII Constitutional Government in achieving the 2030 aspirations of the SDP. 

The UN Resident Coordinator leads the UN Agencies in Timor-Leste.  The Office of the Resident Coordinator (RCO) plays a critical role in supporting the Resident Coordinator, and the UN Country Team (UNCT) by providing coordination, planning, advocacy, analysis, information management and communications support. Furthermore, the RCO liaises with the counterparts, including the Government, the Office of the President, Parliament, civil society and the international donor community on a regular basis to keep national and international counterparts abreast of developments in UN programming, and provide information and support when requested. 

1. Responsibilities and Duties

The consultant will be responsible for communications and outreach, to provide visibility of the UN work in Timor-Leste, and support the administrative and logistical processes of the office. S/he will do this by:

• Coordinating and facilitating training for widely known sport representatives of Timor-Leste (names to be provided by National Olympic Committees) on SDGs
• Writing content for UN website and social medias and publication
• Support preparations of UNDAF evaluation report, Humanitarian Country Team meetings/OCHA mission, including logistical support as well as distribution of materials, etc.
• Support in any other activity requested by the RCO team leader.

1. Scope of Work

The consultant will work under the overall direct supervision of the Head of RCO/RC and the UNCT for communications strategies for the new government and relevant activities. The consultant will also work collaboratively with the UN Communications Group (UNCG) and relevant groups.

1. Expected Outputs/Key Deliverables and Timeframe

The successful individual consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs/key deliverables:

1. Institutional Arrangements

Under the supervision of the Head of Office and the RC, the consultant will work with the RCO team to ensure implementation and quality of delivery.

1. Duration of Work

The successful individual consultant is expected to perform the above-mentioned outputs/key deliverables within 65 working days of the assignment. He/she is expected to start on the 4 March 2019 and all outputs have to be delivered by the 31 May 2019.

1. Duty Station

The main duty station will be in the office Dili.  The consultant must be available for regular meetings with the RCO team, RC and other meetings with the UN Groups and UNCT when required.

1. Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

1. Academic Qualifications:

Maximum a master’s degree in communications, Journalism, International Relations, Public Administration, Political Science/development, or related field.

1. Years of experience:

• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in communications is required, and experience in the international development area is preferred
• Experience in media planning, media pitching, and producing press/social medias or special events is preferred
• Excellent knowledge of the UN system and UN common country programming processes; prior experience in working with multilateral agencies
• Effective techniques for communication with various segments of the population.
• Desirable: Background knowledge of UN related issues  

1. Language requirements

• For this consultancy, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge about Tetun and Portuguese are an advantage.

1. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Lump Sum Contract

The Financial Proposal must be expressed in the form of an all-inclusive[1] Lump Sum Amount, linked to the Expected Outputs and Deliverables, supported by a breakdown of costs as per the template provided by UNDP. Under the lump sum approach, the contract price is fixed, regardless of changes in the cost components or duration of the assignment.

Travel;

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.

Schedule of payments

1. 30% of payment upon submission of summary report of the contents of the UN website and social medias on a monthly basis by 29 March 2019
2. 30% of payment upon submission of the summary report for UNDAF consultants 2nd country visit and summary report on contents of the UN website and social media posted by 30 April 2019
3. 40% of payment upon submission of summary report on UNDAF validation workshop, El Nino mission workshop and trainings and on contents of the UN website and social media posted by 31th May 2019

I. Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Dully accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (to be downloaded from the procurement notice link);
2. Personal CV or 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;
3. A brief methodology and step by step timeline on how he/she will approach and complete the assignment, and
4. Financial Proposal in the template provided by UNDP (to be downloaded from the procurement notice link).

1. Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

K. Approval

This TOR is approved by:  Roy Trivedy, UN Resident Coordinator  

L. Annexes to this TOR

[1] The term “All inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal