UNDP Consultancy Job Opportunity

Job Title: NATIONAL CONSULTANCY : EDITING THE FINAL MDG LOCALISATION SURVEY REPORTS FOR 5 DISTRICTS (UGANDAN NATIONALS ONLY)

Location : Kampala, UGANDA
Application Deadline : 30-Mar-11
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : National Consultant
Languages Required :
English
Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 06-Apr-2011
Duration of Initial Contract : 20 Days
Expected Duration of Assignment : 20 Days

Background

The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty goals by their 2015 target date and the announcement of major new commitments for women's and children's health and other initiatives against poverty, hunger and disease. Uganda has showed a good performance in some MDGs, whereas in some others it seems to be out of track. One biggest issue to keep track of those divergences in performance are regional disparities, sometimes there are huge regional differences within the country. There are some areas of Uganda which are performing better others and in order to be able to plan for more precise interventions that could address the disparities it is necessary to localise the MDGs.

As part of this MDG localisation process for Uganda, 5 districts were selected through the regional dissemination exercise of the 2007 National Human Development Report and Millennium Development Goals Reports. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) facilitated five (5) local governments to generate disaggregated MDG indicators at district level. The programme was piloted in five (5) districts of Arua, Kabarole, Kumi, Moroto and Rakai. A baseline survey was undertaken in each of the 5 districts to yield benchmark statistics on the MDG indicators at constituency level. The process generated very interesting results and the reports have been drafted.
It’s against the above background that UNDP Uganda in collaboration with Uganda Bureau of Statistics is therefore seeking the services of qualified consultant to serve as an Editor for the 5 dsitrict MDG reports.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives and key tasks of the Editor are as follow:

* Review, organize, edit, and consolidate material for the Report for clarity and continuity of the argument; as well as clarity of structure and core themes; Identify critical knowledge gaps which may remain; Liaise with UNDP and Uganda Bureau of Statistics, directorate of district statistics, focal point;
* Oversee technical editing and copy-editing of the Report for readability and consistency;
* Proof-reading of layout files of the Report and Summary. The editor will oversee the implementation of the UNDP corporate editorial guidelines. (UNDP Editorial Manual, will be provided).

Reviewing, organizing and editing

* The editor will be responsible for editing the Report’s chapters and narrative sections with a view to ensure: clarity and continuity of the argument and political focus of the Report; clarity of structure and core themes of the Report; internal consistency, both analytical and stylistic; general readability and accessibility to a broad readership (worldwide);
* At the beginning of the assignment the editor may be requested to discuss with UNDP team and Uganda Bureau of Statistics ad hoc editorial guidelines for the reports.

Technical editing and copy-editing

* In the later phase of the Report’s preparation, the editor will do the technical editing and copy-editing of the Report and statistical tables in close consultation with UBOS, UNDP and the consultant;
* Special attention will be paid to the role of boxes, graphics and tables, the objective being to bring the different components of the draft together seamlessly into a single Report; the editor shall also suggest catchy and concise titles for those elements;
* The technical editing and copy-editing will concentrate on flow and clarity of argument, sequencing, consistency, especially between text and tables and figures and integration of text and boxes, content errors, style and punctuation, spelling and grammar;
* Lastly the editor shall ensure that the statistical data used and referenced in the text are consistent with the data in the respective tables, figures, charts and maps, as well as with the indicator tables.

Proofreading

* Once the Report has been copy-edited and laid out, the editor will perform one or more rounds of proofreading, checking spelling, district and county names as well as acronyms and other abbreviations (making sure that they follow official GOU terminology and conventions), style consistency, callouts, layout problems, references, etc.

Deliverables

The Editor is expected to produce a report that reflects the quality and the standards established for District MDG reports. The following deliverables will be expected:

* Five (5) edited district reports, delivered in soft copy and hard copies
* One (1) end of activity report.

Timing and Duration

The assignment is expected to take approximately 20 days. The starting date will be communicated.

Reporting Arrangements

The consultant shall be reporting to the Director in charge of District Statistics and Capacity Development in Uganda Bureau of Statistics for the day to day activities in consultation with the Strategy and Policy Unit of UNDP.

Competencies

Technical Competencies:

* Very good knowledge of surveys;
* Superior writing and editing skills;
* Must be conversant with the achievements on MDGs in Uganda and the localisation of MDGs in Uganda;
* Have a strong track-record of in technical and policy-oriented publications;
* Be an effective advocate of, and able to articulate, and agenda for social and economic change;
* Excellent communication skills;
* Should demonstrate leadership, team working and coordinating skills;
* Should respond positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

* The consultant will possess a Masters Degree in Mass communication, Journalism (preferably in the print media) or English Language.

Experience:

* At least 7 years of relevant experience as a Writer/Editor
* Experience in doing similar assignments will be an added advantage
*

Proven experience in English editing and writing. A good understanding of publication requirements is desirable

Language:

* An excellent command of English is essential.

Application Procedure - applicants are required to submit an application and proposals, which include the following:

Job Proposal:

* Letter of Interest.
* Explanation as to why you consider yourself suitable for the assignment.
* A brief methodology on the approach and implementation of the assignment.

Personal CV

* Highlighting past experience in similar projects.
* Work references - contact details (e-mail addresses) of referees.

Financial Proposal

* Please submit a financial proposal indicating consultancy fee in Ugandan Shillings, lump sum fee or unit price together with any other expenses related to the assignment.

Please note that the system will only allow you to upload one document, therefore all the job and finance proposals are to be attached to the CV and uploaded together at once.

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.

To Apply
https://jobs.undp.org/cj_apply.cfm?job_id=22374