Jobs at UNDP in Uganda- National Consultant

Job title: NATIONAL CONSULTANT: CARRYING OUT A CAPACITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF THE NATIONAL PLANNING AUTHORITY FOR DELIVERING ON ITS MANDATES IN DECENTRALIZED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
Location :     Kampala, UGANDA
Application Deadline :    15-Jun-12
Additional Category    Democratic Governance
Type of Contract :    Individual Contract
Post Level :    National Consultant
Languages Required :
    English 
Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)    02-Jul-2012
Duration of Initial Contract :    30 working days
Expected Duration of Assignment :    30 working days
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Background

The National Planning Authority (NPA) set up by the 2002 Act of parliament is required to produce comprehensive national development plans and reports on the performance of the economy. The NPA Act 2002 provides that:

“In pursuance of the Authority’s primary function of producing comprehensive and integrated development plans for the country in terms of the perspective vision and long and medium term plans the authority shall:- Section 7(2) (d) Support local capacity development for national planning and in particular provide support and guidance to national and local bodies responsible for the decentralised planning process;-Section 7 (2) (i) Design and implement programs to develop planning capacity in Local Governments; and -Section 7 (3) (c) Monitor the performance of the decentralised system of development planning and finance and propose such institutional innovations as may be required for its improved operation”.

Section 8 of the Act further provides for NPA to be the national co-ordinating body of the decentralised planning system. The Authority is thus mandated to regulate and provide guidance and prescriptions of the District development plans. This provision is further operationalized in Section 35 of The Local Government Act CAP 243.

Due to the apparent lack of requisite capacities within the Authority the mandate of supporting decentralized development planning has not been implemented. In order to support the fulfilment of this mandate the Authority, in collaboration with Ministry of Local Government and with support from UNDP under the Country Program Action Plan 2010 – 2014 is implementing the project “Strengthening Institutional Frameworks for Service Delivery”. Outputs of this project include, among others, the enhancement of national and LG capacity for service delivery. The specific activities towards realizing this output include; capacity needs assessment, and development and implementation of a capacity building plan/program for NPA.

NPA with support from UNDP therefore wishes to engage a consultant to carry out a capacity needs assessment of NPA for delivering on its roles in the decentralized planning function. This consultancy will be undertaken in collaboration with a second separate consultancy that will be expected to produce capacity building plan/program in the area of decentralized planning based on the capacity assessment.
 
Scope of assignment:

The assignment will be comprehensive and consultative. In close consultation with key stakeholders (internal and external), the consultant will study and make recommendations on specific areas for capacity strengthening of the NPA to undertake its role in guiding and coordinating decentralized development planning and produce a report.

Duties and Responsibilities
The consultants shall:

    Assess and make recommendations on existing institutional framework/arrangements, policies, legal and regulatory frameworks for national and decentralized development planning in Uganda;
    Study the linkages between NPA, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Local Governments, Civil Society/private sector in decentralized development planning and make recommendations on strengthening the linkages;
    Study NPA internal structure and institutional arrangements and identify gaps in  specific categories and numbers of staff including key skills and competencies required for effective guidance and coordination relation to its role and best practices for coordinating the decentralized development planning function and make recommendations for its improvement;
    Identify equipment needs necessary for supporting the function of decentralized development planning at NPA;
    Identify possible areas of collaboration between NPA and other development partners that are aimed at strengthening capacity of the Authority in the area of decentralized development planning;
    Make a final report on capacity needs assessment highlighting the identified capacity gaps, and make strategic recommendations to address the gaps.

Deliverables:

The deliverables expected from the consultants are:

     Inception Report within six (6) work days of carrying out the assignment;

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 the overall assignment.

Agreement on the inception report will be the basis for consultancy deliverables that will include:

    A draft capacity needs assessment report (soft and 5 hard copies) within sixteen (16) work days after submission of an acceptable inception report;
    Consultation workshops and validation meetings; and
    A final Capacity Needs Assessment report incorporating stakeholders’ recommendations and a process report containing reports and minutes on stakeholders’ consultations and workshops within seven (8) work days after discussions of the draft report.

Timing and reporting:

    The duration of this consultancy is thirty 30 work – days.
    The consultant shall be responsible to the NPA Executive Director.
    The day to day reporting and quality assurance will be to the Head Decentralized/Local Government Development Planning at NPA.
    Technical backstopping and quality assurance shall be the responsibility of NPA Board, who will be responsible for approving the deliverables.

Remuneration:

    The consultant’s payment shall be based on the financial proposal developed for this consultancy;
    Payment shall be made in three installments of;
    20% down payment upon submission of an inception report acceptable to the client (NPA),
    50% upon submission of an acceptable draft report; and
    30% final payment upon submission of the approved final report incorporating recommendations from the Authority and/or the validation workshops.

Competencies

Competencies and experience:

    Minimum five years experience in Decentralized Development Planning or Public Sector Planning and Management;
    Progressive consultancy experience in institutional capacity needs assessment;
    Familiarity with best practices of carrying out or coordinating effective participatory and integrated decentralized development planning;
    Excellent analytical, communication and writing skills in English;
    Demonstrate positive attitude to work and integrity by modeling the UN values and ethical standards;
    Ability to act professionally and flexibility to engage with Government officials, donor representatives, the private sector and communities.

Required Skills and Experience

    Minimum Master’s Degree in development policy and planning, Management, Organization development, Human Resource Planning and Education or any other closely related areas.











How to Apply:
Applicants are required to submit the following:

    A Job Proposal: Letter of Interest, stating why you consider yourself suitable for the assignment;
    Brief methodology on the approach and implementation of the assignment;
    Personal CVs highlighting past experience in similar projects; and
    Work references - contact details (e-mail addresses) of referees;
    Financial proposal indicating consultancy fee (lump sum fee) and a breakdown of expenses (unit price together with any other expenses) related to the assignment.

Eligible consultants are required to submit application and a detailed CV/Resume at http://jobs.undp.org.

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