Procurement Notices

Title

Programme Specialist

Project

RESPAC

Type of Contract

National Individual Contractor (IC)- Fiji Nationals Only

Languages required:

English

Duration of Contract:

15th Aug - 30 Nov 2020 (Approx. 75  days)

Duty Station

Suva, Fiji

The Disaster Resilience in the Pacific (RESPAC) is a 4-year project funded by the Government of Russia that commenced in mid-2016 and complete by 2019. With the overall objective of improving capacity of 14 Pacific Small Islands States (P-SIDs) in the area of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction mitigation (DRR&M), the RESPAC project has 3 main components: i) Strengthened early warning systems and climate monitoring capacity in selected PICS; ii) Preparedness and planning mechanisms and tools to manage disaster recovery processes strengthened at regional, national and local level; and iii) Increased use of financial instruments to manage and share disaster related risk and fund post disaster recovery efforts.

Within the UNDP Pacific Office, the RESPAC project is also set up as an “umbrella or overarching project” which means that it is the parent or primary project to several other smaller projects; some are funded by UNDP resources or in the case of others by other external donors. These projects are closely linked with the original 3 components of the RESPAC. Refer Figure 1.

The Japanese Government funded tsunami preparedness project is one such project which the United Nations Development Programme Bangkok Regional Hub (UNDP BRH) has implemented the first phase of “Partnerships for Strengthening School Preparedness for Tsunamis in the Asia Pacific region” from June 2017 to November 2018 to mitigate the impact of tsunamis by empowering school preparedness in 18 high risk countries in the Asia Pacific region. Given the impact and lessons learnt, UNDP received an additional grant from the Japanese Government which has been channeled into the second phase. The major aim is to keep the momentum going, fill the gaps, scale-up and integrate the preparedness programme and drills into the school curriculum and systems. The project emphasizes institutionalizing disaster preparedness in schools for sustainability beyond the projects. UNDP will implement the second phase in collaboration with the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC), Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC), the Indonesia Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Fujitsu Ltd. and Tohoku University (IRIDeS). At the national level, the Embassy of Japan, relevant country offices of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNDP Country Offices will be engaged. The project will be implemented over a period of 18 months, aiming to achieve three outputs:

1. School preparedness and awareness programmes for tsunamis institutionalized in project countries,
2. School preparedness and awareness programmes for tsunamis replicated and adapted in more schools in the Asia-Pacific region, and
3. Capacity of data collection enhanced in the countries requiring support.

In addition to rapid onset and potentially devastating consequences of earthquakes that trigger tsunamis, climate change on a global scale is one of the most impactful phenomenon’s and carries the potential to negate all development aspirations of particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Pacific SIDS are located in a region of the world where there are intense, frequent and increasingly impactful environmental disasters. SIDS’s vulnerability to disasters is heightened due to their isolated geographic situation, insularity, ecological fragility and the social and economic disadvantages related to their small size. Small populations and high level of outward migration compound this vulnerability; economic stressors due to poverty, limited resources, markets unable to generate economies of scale, reliance on international trade, and costly public administration infrastructure creates indebtedness and further susceptibility to global developments.

Early warning is a major element of disaster risk reduction, preventing loss of life and reducing the material and economic impact of a disaster. Its importance relies in the timely provision of disaster risk information, allowing guidance on how to act upon warnings, ensuring a constant state of preparedness50. According to the UNISDR terminology (UNISDR, 2009), an Early Warning System (EWS) is “the set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities and organizations threatened by a hazard to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss”. An effective EWS is comprised of risk knowledge, monitoring and warning service, dissemination and response capacity. Timely warning regarding climate-related hazards is extremely important, making the provision of meteorological and climate services a key component for DRR.

In the Pacific, one of the its major development challenges lies with the ineffective disaster preparedness, response and recovery due to its geographical vulnerability to the frequency climate related disasters. The Indian Government has provided a grant of USD1million which is funding the South-South Cooperation: Strengthening Climate & Hydrology Early Warning systems in seven selected PICs. The project aims to enhance Pacific Island’s adaptive capacities for disaster preparedness response and recovery. This will be realized in two major solution pathways for the seven selected Pacific Island Countries. These two solution pathways are integrated as Project outputs as 1) strengthening early warning and disaster risk human resources capacities of national meteorology and hydrology services and 2) strengthening early warning and disaster risk technical capacities of national meteorology and hydrology services.

Scope of Work

The scope of work for this assignment will primarily revolve around the provision of advisory support for the Regional Tsunami Support Project leading to the successful completion of its activities. In this regard the consultant will be supporting the RESPAC team in liaising with counterparts from the focal Ministries with the 6 countries that have been selected for the phase 2 of the project. The 6 countries are; Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Palau, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Focal Ministries include a) The Ministry of Education and b) The National Disaster Management Offices. It is expected that 70% of the advisor’s time will be spent on providing advisory services to the Tsunami Awareness Project.

With regards to the remaining 30%, the advisor will also be required from time to time to support the M&E and related reporting under the RESPAC and the India CLEWs project.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

With regards to the main output – provision of advisory support for the successful implementation of the Tsunami Awareness Programme, the main deliverable will be 12 monthly reports submitted before the 20th day of each month in which the advisor is to list down all the accomplishments and pending activities under each country.

For the RESPAC and ICLEWs, a one-page M&E update will be sufficient however quarterly updates will be in much longer and detailed format.

Institutional Arrangement

The RESPAC Project manager will directly supervise the IC, and to whom he/she will be directly responsible to, reporting to, seeking approval/acceptance of output from.

The IC is expected to provide monthly reports of his/her deliverables. In addition, he/she is expected to provide updates during the weekly project team meetings.

The IC is expected to liaise with the project focal points based at the Bangkok Regional Hub, UNDP country focal points, government focal points at the Ministry of Education and National Disaster Management Office, School Principals and Management, Municipal  and Local Government representatives, JICA, Japanese Embassies in respective countries, development partners implementing similar projects in the countries like Pacific Community, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, PICS, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The RESPAC project team through the Project Manager will provide oversight in the management/ implementation of the contract as the approving authority and evaluate performance of IC.  

The 6 countries are allocated specific budget for the project. The IC will coordinate with UNDP country offices and government counterparts in the implementation of project activities. Budget includes consultancy, travel, workshops and consultations, printing of knowledge management materials.

Duration of the Work

The expected duration  of the contract is approximately 22 days per month. The target date for the start of work is 15 July 2020 and the expected completion date is 30 Nov 2020.

Duty Station

• The IC’s duty station will be based with the RESPAC project team at the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, Level 7, Kadavu House, Suva. In the event of unforeseeable travel that is not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective UNDP business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

1. An action-oriented approach and strong drive for results
2. Work with teams of diverse capacities;
3. Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
4. Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
5. Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
6. Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
7. Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
8. Comprehensiveness knowledge of disaster preparedness and planning mechanisms as well as government coordination machinery;
9. Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research;
10. Outstanding communication, project management and organizational skills;
11. Excellent presentation and facilitation skills;
12. Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
13. Positive, constructive attitude to work;
14. Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Educational Qualifications:

• Minimum Masters in development, environmental policy development, climate change and project management or other relevant disciplines in resource management disciplines

Experience

•  At least 10 years of experience in project planning and management and working with development partners, government agencies, including experience engaging and managing consultants and managing small budgets;
• Experience in working with multi-stakeholders
• Understanding of disaster risk management issues, preferably in the Pacific;
• Working understanding of working cultures and norms in the Pacific;
• Experience planning workshops and events, organizing logistics;
• Experience in conducting consultations / meetings for different level stakeholders;
• Excellent writing skills

Language requirements

• Fluency of English language is required;
• Knowledge of local non-verbal communication styles would be an asset.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Daily Fee method. The total amount quoted (in the daily fee) shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components ( including Medical insurance costs) required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment.The contract price will based on the number of day worked verified through the submission of timesheets regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done monthly based on the submission of the following:

1. completed and verified timesheet;
2. monthly progress report which at the minimum will describe the activities completed in the month and the focus or activities to be completed in the upcoming month;
3. certified Certificate of Payment.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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 set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

Minimum Masters in development, environmental policy development, climate change and project management or other relevant disciplines in resource management disciplines  ( 10 %)

At least 10 years of experience in project planning and management and working with development partners, government agencies, including experience engaging and managing consultants and managing small budgets;

( 10%)

Relevance of experience in area of specialization (Disaster Preparedness Planning and Coordination / conduct  of similar deliverables e.g. public consultation, stakeholder engagement and tsunami drill) ( 20 %)

•  
• Relevance of experience in key areas (e.g. coordination with government agencies, regional agencies and development partners) (10%)
•  

 Experience in working with multi-stakeholders (10%)

• Understanding of disaster risk management issues, preferably in the Pacific;(10%)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Shortlisted candidates shall be called for an interview which will be used to confirm and/or adjust the technical scores awarded based on documentation submitted.

Proposal Submission

Offerors must upload all the below   Mandatory documents to UNjobshop website.

https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm

i) Signed CV  including names /email contacts of at least 3 professional referees.

ii) Cover letter setting out: A statement of how the applicant meets the qualifications and experience requirements.

iii) Completed template for confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal

Applicants must send a financial proposal based on daily fee for the maximum for 75 days  . Daily fees to include IC’s medical insurance costs.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Individual Consultant wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

Template for confirmation of interest and Submission of Financial Proposal is available under the procurement section of UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji website (www.pacific.undp.org)

Women candidates are encouraged to apply

Interested Candidates must accept UNDP General Terms and Conditions for Individual Consultants