UN- UNDP Jobs in Uganda

Job Title: National Consultants - Crisis Prevention and Recovery (3 Positions), Kampala
Closing Date: Monday, 07 March 2011



Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Uganda (GoU) are in the process of rolling out the Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) 2010 -2014. The CPAP is a five year framework defining mutual cooperation between the GoU and UNDP. The CPAP is aligned to GoU's National Development Plan (NDP), as well as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2010-2014). It is nationally executed through the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (MFPED).

The country programme has two main components which are Accountable Democratic Governance (ADG) and Growth & Poverty Reduction (GPR). UNDP contributes through the two programme components to the Northern Uganda recovery priorities set forth in the Peace Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP), and is focused on specific Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) outputs namely:

Functional firearms registries and stockpile management and destruction systems in place.
Policy and mechanisms for peace-building, reconciliation and reintegration in place.
Two (2) targeted project documents are to be prepared to guide delivery.

Background to the proposed projects:

Northern Uganda has been faced with 20 years of armed insurgence that has led to the proliferation of arms, destruction of the region's economic base, and breakdown in social cohesion among communities. Insecurity in the Karamoja sub-region, partly rooted in the proliferation of small arms and problematic disarmament programmes, has hampered administration of central government services, which has resulted in chronic breakdown of law and order and under development. At the root of this insurgency, lie the issues of inequality, exclusion from state mechanisms and development opportunities. This has marginalized a large proportion of vulnerable groups, i.e., the poor in general and overall led to low growth and income for the region as compared with other regions in the country. 61% of the population in the North and 80% in the Karamoja region are living below the poverty line, compared to 30% at national level. These withstanding, high incidences of intertwined conflicts in northern Uganda have witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of agencies working on peace building and conflict issues in northern Uganda.

Against the above background one of the main objectives of the National Development Plan is strengthening good governance, defence and security. Northern Uganda will be one of the focus areas; and in this regard the Government's Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP) is providing a strategic framework for interventions in Northern Uganda. On the other hand, the UNDAF that guides operations of the UN agencies in the country identifies: “Capacity of selected government institutions and civil society improved for good governance and the realization of human rights that lead to reducing geographic, socio economic and demographic disparities in attainment of Millennium Declaration and Goals by 2014” as one of the outcomes to achieve.

In light of the above, one of the outcomes that UNDP aims to contribute to is:

“Selected institutions capacitated (formal and informal) to deliver community security and access to justice services"

Some of the outputs identified in CPAP that contribute to the outcome for which detailed project documents are to be developed are:

Functional Firearms Registries and Stockpile Management and destruction Systems in Place.
Policy and mechanisms for peace-building, reconciliation and reintegration in place

Each output will be delivered through one project document:

Output 1.2.2 is Functional Firearms Registries and Stockpile Management and destruction Systems in place. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (Uganda National Focal Point Department) is the potential Implementing Partner.
Output 1.2.3 is Policy and mechanisms for peace-building, reconciliation and reintegration in place. Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs is th epotential Implementing Partner.

Objectives of the assignment:

Identify UNDP areas of comparative advantage in the areas of Small Arms Control and Peace Building, within the broader framework of the CPAP 2010-2014 and UNDAF 2010-2014.
Identify programmatic strategic interventions that will contribute to:
A functional registry system for Firearms, Stockpile Management and destruction; and
Policy and mechanisms for peace-building, reconciliation and reintegration.

Undertake the initial identification and assessment of the project risks.

Prepare 2 project documents that will guide the implementation and delivery of the selected programmatic interventions.

Scope of assignment

The national consultants are responsible for the following tasks:

Identify niche for UNDP support in line with existing national capacities, support of other national development partners.
Develop annual work plans with outputs and relevant activities, baselines, indicators and targets for the duration of project (guided by three normative principles of human rights based approach, gender mainstreaming and environment sustainability).
Suggest appropriate implementing partner/s and responsible party(ies) for implementation of project.
Identify appropriate management arrangements for implementation of the projects.
Initial risk analysis for the projects:

- Develop monitoring and evaluation framework for the projects (in line with CPAP, UNDAF M&E framework);

- Exit strategy.

The consultants are expected to identify resource mobilization opportunities to support project implementation on the basis of analysis of their interactions with donors (through meeting and documentation). The consultant(s) need to consider the following points;

Relevance
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Sustainability of the project as key operational principles in the design of project document vis-à-vis CPAP RRF.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key activities:

Identify niche for UNDP support:

As part of drafting of project documents, the consultants are expected to clearly identify the scope of project that maximizes the comparative advantages of UNDP operations. Scope of project should contribute to achieving the outcome at end of the 4 year programming cycle and also build synergy within programme components. It should also take into consideration existing donor programmes and identify complementarities.

Develop outputs and activities (Annual work plan):

In close consultation with all stakeholders identify outputs (with clear indicators, baselines and targets) and activities with a view to ensure continuity over the four year period of CPAP. In line with the programmatic approach, project activities should be developed to ensure synergy with other components of the CPAP. Activities should also give due consideration to following principles:

Building national capacities and ownership.
Strengthening capacity development.
Promote south-south cooperation.
Focus on key crosscutting themes of programming of UNDP.

Identify management arrangements:

Management arrangements explain roles and responsibilities (including clarification on accountability for resources) of parties responsible for managing project, carrying out activities and providing oversight. Annexure (template for project document) shows a typical management arrangement for UNDP supported project. A key component of management arrangements section is recommendations on appropriate Implementing and Responsible Parties in line with scope of the projects. Results of the micro-assessment (managerial and financial capacities) of the recommended IPs and RPs will be the basis for final selection of implementing partners. Management arrangements are to be suggested within context of the National Execution Modality (NEX) modality.

Identify appropriate monitoring framework/tools:

Develop monitoring framework/tools for the project to be able to assess project's progress towards intended outputs and effective utilization of resources. Monitoring framework/tools should be built on the principles of national ownership and ongoing stakeholder engagement approaches. Monitoring framework/tools should also be developed in line with management arrangements.

Conduct initial risk analysis:

Initial risk analysis is to be conducted to determine the risks that impact the project formulation and implementation. In undertaking risk analysis, UNDP risk log should be used with a view to utilize the same for updating in the course of implementation of project.

Exit Strategy:

Consultants are expected to identify appropriate exit strategies to be put in place to ensure sustainability and continuity of project interventions.

In addition, consultants are expected to organize meetings with all stakeholders depending on the need and requirements of project formulation, lead Pre-PAC and PAC meetings and incorporate comments into the draft final project document.

Deliverables:

Inception Report

This report should clearly delineate understanding of assignment, conceptual approach/framework/ methodology for design of project documents and timelines for consultancy. Timelines should be developed taking into account the number of working days for overall assignment.

Agreement on the inception report will be the basis for consultancy which will incorporate the following:

Draft 1 – project documents
PAC meetings
Two Final project documents.

Reporting arrangements

The consultants will work closely with the UNDP Crisis Prevention and Recovery unit (that also includes the UNDP Northern Uganda Sub-Offices) and implementing partners – most notably, the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs and selected District Local Governments. They will also report and be accountable to the UNDP Team Leader for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and provide overall technical advisory support of Senior Recovery Advisor. They will work under the overall guidance and leadership of the Country Director, and the UNDP Resident Representative. The Consultants will liaise on a day to day basis with programme consultant.

Competencies

Technical competencies:

Excellent analytical skills.
Excellent communication and writing skills in English.

Personal Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards.
Positive, constructive attitude to work.
Ability to act professionally and flexibility to engage with government officials, donor representatives, private sector and communities.

Required Skills and Experience:

The assignment is open to individual consultants and consultancy firms/companies. It will be carried out by a team of 3 consultants constituted as follows:

Small Arms Control Expert
Conflict resolution/Peace building Expert
Human Rights/Gender expert - with experience in post conflict programming

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters Degree in the area of expertise (areas are indicated above).

Experience:

Minimum of 10 years working experience in programming and project design.
Progressive consultancy experience in the selected area of expertise.
Extensive Knowledge of Uganda 's development context and that of northern Uganda.
Demonstrated capacity for strategic thinking and communication.
Prior experience with UNDP programming and project designing is an added advantage.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English.

Applications from individuals and proposals from consultancy firms are to be submitted as follows:

Individual consultants:

Eligible individual consultants are to submit applications indicating their areas of expertise and upload a detailed CV in this website.

Consultancy firms:

Technical and financial proposals (in separate SEALED envelopes) clearly marked “RFP for Preparation of Project

Documents Crisis Prevention and Recovery” should be submitted to the address below before 4:00pm 7th March 2011.

The Resident Representative

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Plot 24 Prince Charles Drive, Kololo

P.O Box 7184, Kampala, Uganda

Detailed Terms of Reference, evaluation criteria and other additional information for the consultancy firms are to be downloaded from the UNDP Uganda website www.undp.or.ug .

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.