Procurement Notices

To apply, please use the below link 

UNDP Jobs - 110971- Individual Consultant - International Economy Advi

Terms of Reference

1. Project Title

00137889 - Umbrella Programme for Socio-Economic Development

1. Project Description 

For the last four decades, Saudi Arabia has realized and sustained remarkable progress along the socioeconomic development path. As a result of this, the Kingdom has been able to move to a high-income country. The GDP, for instance, increased from SR156 billion in 1969 to SR 2,631 billion in 2018, putting the Economy among the top 20 global economies in terms of size. Based on the annual ranking of the Human Development Index (HDI) of the Human Development Report, Saudi Arabia has steadily moved from the medium human development category in the 1990s to the very high human development category in 2018 at 0.857 value of HDI.

The Saudi Vision 2030 represents an ambitious resolve with long-term goals and expectations founded on the strengths and capabilities of the Kingdom. It covers the three themes of a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. A thorough review of the three themes and their underlying issues of national concern would reveal a holistic approach to development that encompasses the three dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): the social, the economic and the environmental.

The Umbrella Program for Socio-Economic Development is a partnership between the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) and UNDP aims at mainstreaming social and economic development the national policies, sectoral and regional plans. It focuses on mobilizing technical assistance and capacity development to MEP to facilitate economic and social transformation, including economic diversification, inclusive and accelerated economic growth. Specifically, the program framework covers the following main areas:

• SDGs monitoring and reporting.
• Policymaking, policy analysis and regional development planning.
• Producing the National Human Development Report

Within this context, the project seeks to recruit a Senior Territorial Development Expert to support the "Sectoral and Regional Development Affairs" Deputyship at the Ministry of Economy and Planning (Regional Development Affairs Department) at MEP to improve and maintain the Territorial development toolkit of the Department. The Expert will also focus on capacity building and transfer of knowledge to the Regional Development Affairs Department.

A Consultant, or Analyst, is responsible for providing industry expertise to corporations and individuals. Their duties include researching their client and their client's position within an industry, meeting with company executives or professionals to make suggestions and develop improvement plans based on their needs and maintaining a professional relationship with their clients over time.

1. Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the Undersecretary for International Economics Affairs Deputyship, and in close coordination with the Chief Technical Advisor of the project, the Advisor will provide technical advisory services on policies and strategies relating to the International Economy as well as support the implementation of these policies.

1. Duties and responsibilities

Precisely, the Advisor will deliver duties and responsibilities, including the following:

• Participate in the development and update of the knowledge base, including new or emerging international economic issues of concern to the Kingdom, and support the design and formulation of programmes and policies to address them.
• Conduct analysis on the implications of international economic policies and strategies on the Saudi Economy; identify national development opportunities and highlight potential areas of concern for policy-makers.
• Support the preparation of reports on issues relating to the contemporary Economy, international trade and regional integration.
• Support the harmonization of Saudi policies and strategies (such as trade, investment etc.) to the international policies and regional integration programmes. Support the development of sustainable strategic partnerships. 
• Develop research guidelines and standards and provide substantive support to the assessment of policies and strategies.
• Identify capacity needs to support the advancement of MOEP's work on international Economy emerging trends;   Design and implement the training to address the identified technical capacity gaps.
• Perform any other relevant substantive tasks that might be requested by the supervisor.

1. Deliverables:

1. Institutional Arrangement

• The Advisor will be based at the Ministry of Economy and Planning. 
• Under the supervision of the Undersecretary for International Economics Affairs Deputyship, and in close coordination with the Chief Technical Advisor of the project, the Advisor will provide technical advisory services on policies and strategies relating to the International Economy as well as support the implementation of these policies.
• Reporting and follow-up Mechanism: The Expert will report monthly to his/her supervisor and to UNDP focal Person. The Specialist will submit monthly reports to his/her supervisor, including activities, outputs, performance indicators, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations

1. The Duration of the Assignment

• The expected duration of work is 12 Months, with the possibility of an extension.
• The anticipated starting date of the assignment is 15th of February 2023. And the expected date of full completion of all tasks under this assignment is 15th of February 2024.

1. The Duty Station

• The assignment will be in-country (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). He/ She will be embedded within The Advisor and will be based at the Ministry of Economy and Planning. 
• If unforeseen travel outside the consultant's home-based city is requested by UNDP and not required by the Terms of References (ToR), such travel shall be covered by UNDP in line with applicable rules and regulations and upon prior written agreement. In such cases, the consultant shall receive living allowances not exceeding the United Nations (UN) Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate for such other location(s).

• Note: A written approval from UNDP and relevant authorities will be required to facilitate the consultant's travel to any locations than stated on this TOR on official missions where necessary.

Working Arrangements:

• All mission travels must be approved in advance and in writing by the supervisor.
• United Nations Development of Safe and Security – BSAFE course must be successfully completed prior to the commencement of travel.
• The Consultant is responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director.
• The consultant is also required to comply with the UN security directives.
• The consultant is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP.
• The consultant will be responsible for submitting his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies.
• The consultant is responsible for required health and life insurance related to work or travel.
• The consultant is expected to have his/her own Laptop/Computer.

1. Required Skills and Experience
   1.  Education:

• Master's degree in economics, international Economy, Business Administration, Public Policy, or a related field is required.
  1. Experience:
• At least 15  years of progressively responsible relevant experience involving the application of economic principles and policies at the national and international levels. Experience in regional integration, international trade and other areas related to international economics.
• Extensive experience and understanding of strategy development process for the government/ public sector.
• Experience in n drafting policy documents and analytical reports.
  1. Language: 
•  Excellent command of English and Arabic (both written and spoken) is required.

1. Competencies
2. Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards.
• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
• Display cultural, gender, religious and age sensitivity and adaptability.
  1. Functional competencies:

•  Strong strategic thinking and analytical skills.
• Ability to organize and manage teams, and work under pressure to achieve the assignment objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish strong cooperative relationships with senior government officials and a diverse set of partners.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

1. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

All proposals must be expressed in a lump sum amount. This amount must be "all-inclusive". Please note that the terms "all-inclusive" implies that all costs (professional fees, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal.

Payments shall be made to the individual contractor upon successful completion and certification by UNDP that services have been satisfactorily performed, based upon the actual number of working days and accomplishments of each deliverable.

Payment shall be made as a deliverables-based lump upon the receipt of the deliverables and certification of satisfactory performance by UNDP.

The Expert will share a Certificate of Payment (CoP) where he/he needs to indicate achieved outputs. Then the certificate of payment must be verified by the UNDP Team and certified by UNDP top management. The Expert is advised to keep a detailed timesheet of the days worked and tasks performed throughout the consultancy assignment. A bi-weekly update of the timesheet will be requested, and such documentation will support the payment process as deemed needful.

1. Recommended Presentation of Offer

For purposes of generating Offers whose contents are uniformly presented and to facilitate their comparative analysis, it is best to recommend the preferred contents and presentation of the offer to be submitted, as well as the format/sequencing of their presentation. The following documents may be requested:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
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. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per the template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

1. Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Applicants are shortlisted based on the Required Skills and Experience stated in the TOR.

The selection of the best offer from the shortlisted candidates will be based on a Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70% and combined with the price offer, which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Step I: Screening and Desk Review

Technical Criteria (CV review and Desk Review/Interview optional) – maximum 70 points. Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the CV desk review (who will score at least 49 points) will be considered for the next evaluation stage, i.e., financial evaluation.

Applications will be first screened, and only candidates meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

Technical Evaluation (70 Points, 70% weight)