Republic of Moldova

National Consultant to Facilitate Focus-Group Discussions and Data Analysis

Vacancy Number: Pr17/01554

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	12 Jun 2017, 10:00 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	19 Jun 2017
Reference to the project:	Moldova Social Innovation Hub
Expected Duration of Assignment:	June – September 2017, up to 55 working days but not less than 45 working days
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than June 12, 2017, 10:00 local time (GMT+2). Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: a.moraru@undp.org. UN will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Ms. A Moraru.

a.moraru@undp.org

Background

A new generation of tools and approaches are making it easier than ever for governments to make use of the knowledge and expertise of citizens, employees and external experts, involving them in activities starting from policy making to decision-making, idea generation to scrutiny. This ‘Collective Intelligence’ has been successfully harnessed by many organizations in the past, from NGOs to research institutes. However, the use of Collective Intelligence within and by governments is less established. Building on this concept, United Nations in Moldova together with NESTA (UK) are working to put these ideas into practice to generate and share new learning about how Collective Intelligence can be successfully integrated into policy making processes.

The current initiative implemented by MiLab, a joint project between UNDP, UN Women, and State Chancellery, in close cooperation with the National Bureau of Statistics, aims to pilot a participatory approach to measuring multidimensional poverty, departing from the current measurement of monetary poverty. The multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) will grasp multiple deprivations including access to basic services, such as health, education, and others. As such, the MPI will be a more truthful measurement of human poverty by combining several crucial dimensions of deprivation.

While several international methodologies for measuring MPI exist, making poverty data useful for policy making requires it to be relevant and applicable to the local context. Therefore, it is important to establish the dimensions of poverty which are relevant for the Republic of Moldova. In this sense, MiLab intends to organize consultations with various groups of vulnerable citizens, to understand how do they perceive poverty and which aspects of poverty are experienced more acutely than others. The data resulting from the consultations will further inform the data collection instrument developed and piloted jointly with the National Bureau of Statistics and be used for recommendations for a full scale, national multidimensional poverty measurement tool. 

Therefore, UN Moldova is looking for a national consultant to facilitate focus group discussions with vulnerable groups of population and conduct post-event data analysis, as to shed light on what are the dimensions of poverty experienced in the Republic of Moldova.

Scope of work

The national consultant is expected to support MiLab by providing substantial support in the facilitation of focus groups and data analysis as detailed below:

1. Provide support in facilitating 13 (thirteen) focus-groups;
2. Analyze the data from 15 (fifteen) focus-groups and identify poverty dimensions, further consulting them with NBS, MiLab and UNDP;
3. Prioritize and weight resulting dimensions, in consultation with NBS and UNDP;
4. Participate in validation of results, together with NBS, MiLab and UNDP;
5. Based on recommendations received, provide the final analysis of poverty dimensions.

Requirements for experience

Academic qualifications:

• Master degree or equivalent (5 year university degree) in social sciences, economics, statistics, international development, or related areas.

 

Work Experience:

• At least five (5) years of relevant professional experience in applied social sciences / conducting sociological studies (managing research projects, elaboration of research design, data collection tools, reporting, etc.);
• At least five (5) years of experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis;
• At least three (3) records of projects in the area of poverty measurement and / or analysis;
• At least three (3) years of experience in conducting and facilitating focus-groups;
• Minimum five (5) records of facilitating focus-group discussions with vulnerable and sensitive groups (ethnic minorities, people living with HIV/AIDS/chronic diseases, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, etc.);
• Experience in working with UN or other donors is considered to be an asset;

Competencies:

• In-depth knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods;
• Working knowledge of SPSS, Stata, R, or other statistical package;
• Understanding of the concept of poverty as applicable to the local context;
• Empathy, ability to communicate effectively, ability to create a trusting environment conductive to open and sincere discussions;
• Fluency in oral and written Romanian, Russian and English. Excellent writing skills in Romanian.
• Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language is an asset;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

 

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Proposal:

     I. Eplaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

     II. Provide a brief research methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work with clear distribution of working days per tasks and timelines;

2. Financial proposal;

3. Personal CV including experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

 

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fees, taxes, travel costs, accommodation costs, communication, and number of anticipated working days). 

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 

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