Individual Consultant Jobs Vacancy at UNDP in Uganda

Job Title: INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT TO DEVELOP A THREE-YEAR PEACE, JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE DIRECTORATE PLAN AND FACILITATE A RETREAT OF THE COUNCIL OF PRESIDENTS - (UGANDAN NATIONALS ONLY)
Location :     Kampala, UGANDA


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)    08-Jul-2013
Duration of Initial Contract :    20 Working Days
Expected Duration of Assignment :    20 Working Days
Background

Introduction:

The Inter-Religious Council  (IRCU) of Uganda was established and registered in November 2001 as a Faith-Based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Its current members are the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda, Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Church of Uganda, Uganda Orthodox Church and the Seventh-day Adventist Uganda Union. However, other religious organizations, such as the Baha’i and independent Pentecostal and Evangelical churches, also participate in the implementation of its programmes. IRCU implements cross-cutting programs/projects in various sectors; for example, health, peace building and governance.

 IRCU Vision:

    A divinely peaceful, united, prosperous Uganda where all people enjoy full health and freedoms for the common good.

IRCU Mission:

    To promote peace, reconciliation, good governance, and holistic human development through interfaith action and collaboration, advocating for the empowerment of member bodies for the common good.

Background:

The Council of Presidents of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) will hold a retreat together with the Chairpersons of its Executive Board and Thematic Committees, Leadership Team, all the Archbishops of the Catholic Church and retired members of the Council of Presidents. The retreat will provide an important opportunity for the leadership of IRCU to reflect on its work in the last 10 years and position itself effectively to deal with challenges ahead of the 2016 General Elections. It will also allow the members to agree on a set of strategic priorities for action in the next three years.

The retreat comes against the background of a decade-old effort by the Council to deliver services to the people of Uganda and influence policies on governance, development and peace building in line with the Millennium Development Goals. The Council is currently providing HIV/AIDS services to thousands of persons affected by the pandemic. Similarly, it is undertaking interventions in governance and peace building at local, national and international levels (Great Lakes and Africa). A number of national and sub-regional dialogues have been held to allow religious leaders and other stakeholders in Uganda and the Great Lakes Region to reflect on their duties and responsibilities in light of present-day political, economic and social developments. These dialogues have produced excellent resolutions and commitments for peace and governance interventions.

It is, however, noted that despite great strides in organization and programmes, IRCU is yet to fully implement the resolutions of the various dialogues held since its founding in 2001. Besides, the Council has not had the opportunity to reflect on the overall impact of its work on the Ugandan society, including leadership and institutions. Further, the organization does not clearly know the extent to which it has implemented the numerous commitments made by religious leaders in the aforementioned fora.

In October 2011, IRCU initiated a process code-named “Envisioning the Uganda we want”. The initiative is intended to clarify the role of religious leaders in nation-building. It coincided with the national preparations for the celebration of 50 years of Uganda’s independence from colonial rule. An extensive regional consultation process culminated in a set of commitments, which was launched during a national conference held in Kampala from 2nd to 4th October 2012. The commitments were meant to refocus and reenergize religious leaders to act individually and together to confront the array of issues affecting the common man and woman in Uganda, including poverty, corruption and violence.

Duties and Responsibilities

 Scope of Assignment:

The main objective of the consultancy is twofold: develop a three-year plan for the Peace, Justice  and Governance Directorate and facilitate a reflective process involving key leadership of IRCU, leading to consensus on priorities for  the next three years and strategies for implementing the priorities.

Specific objectives:

IRCU is seeking to engage a national consultant who will work with an identified International consultant to:

    Developing a stocktaking report, involving review, together with the participants, of the performance of the Council since 2001;
    Developing the Directorate’s plan outlining the strategies and actions for the next three years;
    Facilitating a retreat of the top religious leadership of IRCU to build consensus on issues and strategies for action in the next three years.

 Main Tasks
The consultants will perform the following tasks:

Stocktaking (Phase I):

Analyze the strategies of IRCU and, on the basis of focus group discussions and bilateral conversations with key stakeholders, develop a stocktaking report outlining the key progress achieved on the commitments of religious leaders associated with the Directorate. An integral part of the stocktaking exercise is an assessment of the strategic positioning of the Directorate’s activities and IRCU in general to use the comparative advantages of the organization.

Consultants are expected to undertake the work using a participatory approach, involving the relevant stakeholders.

 Strategic Three Year Directorate Action Plan (Phase II):

Following the stocktaking analysis and the commitments achieved, delineate a clear and progressive strategic action plan for the Directorate. The action plan should provide way forward on the key actions of the Directorate and IRCU in general to strategically position itself in the current socio-political environment. Using a progressive approach, the plan should highlight the key short term, medium term and long term strategies for the Directorate and IRCU in general.

 Expected Deliverables:

National Consultant will take lead in delivering on deliverables i and ii, while the International Consultant will take lead in delivering on deliverable iii.

    Stocktaking Report;
    A three-year Directorate’s strategic action plan agreed on by the leadership of IRCU;
    Facilitated Retreat of Council of Presidents. 

It is expected that the national consultant also contributes to the facilitating of retreat along with the international consultant. It is also expected that the international consultant also contributes to the finalisation of deliverables 1 and 2: Stocktaking report and Three year Directorate’s strategic action plan. After the retreat, both the consultants will incorporate the comments from the retreat and submit final documents. IRCU will be making a press release and the consultants are expected to also contribute to the development of the press release, working in close conjunction with the Secretary General of the IRCU.

Competencies

Functional competencies:

    Excellent analytical skills;
    Demonstrated ability and excellent communication skills;
    Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines; remains calm and in control under pressure;
    Excellent inter-personal and technical communication (oral, written and visual) skills;
    Strong knowledge/experience in results-based management and results-oriented approach to project implementation;
    Technical knowledge and understanding of religious institutions.

Personal Competencies:

    Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
    Positive, constructive attitude to work;
    Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

    Have a minimum academic qualification of a Masters Degree, preferably in Social Sciences and Humanities,

Experience:

The Consultant is required to undertake the three phase assignment and should be:

    A reputable individual with proven program expertise in developing strategic action plans;
    Have at least 8 years of experience working with religious institutions and leadership;
    Proven experience in undertaking stocktaking exercises;
    Experience of undertaking programmes within the religious institutions context will be a definite asset;
    In-depth understanding of the political context of the country and experience in undertaking political and conflict sensitive analysis.

 Language Requirements:

    English is required: high level language writing skills are essential.

Duration of Consultancy:

    Total number of days for national consultant is 20 workdays, from signing of contract.

Reporting arrangements:

Consultants are expected to work full time with the IRCU Secretary General and the technical team of IRCU on a day-to-day basis. In addition UNDP Country Director will provide overall leadership and guidance for the successful completion of the assignment. Detailed briefing on the implementation arrangements and work distribution between the national and international consultant will be made upon signing of contract by the IRCU Secretary General.

 Information Available:

    Concept paper;
    Resolutions of various Conferences;
    The set of commitments made in 2012;
    IRCU 2009-2013 Strategic Plan.

 Price Proposal and Schedule of payments:

Payment shall be by the lump sum modality in the following 3 installments. These shall be all inclusive and the contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components:

    Upon submission of an approved inception report: 20%;
    Presentation of acceptable and approved Draft report: 30%;
    Submission and acceptance of Final Report: 50%.

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:

    Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
    Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
    Technical Criteria weight: 70%;
    Financial Criteria weight: 30%;
    Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria – Maximum 70 points
Criteria - Points

    Education (Masters Degree Social Sciences and/or Humanities): 10;
    Language skills: 5;
    Knowledge of working with religious institutions and leadership: 10;
    Relevant experience in conducting similar assignments: 15;
    Relevance of experience in report writing and drafting: 10;
    Description of approach/methodology to assignment: 20.





How to Apply:
http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=38333


Closing Date;02/07/2013