Republic of Moldova

National Consultant on MDG 2 and 3 - education and empowerment of women

Vacancy Number: Pr13/00330

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	24 May 2013, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	31 May 2013
Reference to the project:	Formulation of the National Human Development Report Project
Expected Duration of Assignment:	40 working days
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 24 May 2013. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail:  dumitru.vasilescu@undp.org. UNDP 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:

Mr. Dumitru Vasilescu.

Background

Since the signature of the Millennium Declaration back in 2000, the Republic of Moldova made significant progress in certain dimensions of human well-being, economy, governance and management of ecosystems, while in others, more sustained effort and consolidated action is needed to achieve the national targets by 2015. For national MDG2 and MDG6, Moldova is close to missing the set targets and acceleration efforts by all key stakeholders are required. Moreover, the sustainability of the already achieved results in reducing poverty and some other inter-linked domains is still fragile. This is due to the ongoing political instability, difficulties in the implementation of planned reforms, limited sustainability and inclusiveness of economic growth, growing disparities and inequalities between rural and urban areas, and a series of external factors. An overall updated presentation of the key achievements and challenges in the implementation of the national MDG agenda is provided in the recent policy brief developed by the UNDP Moldova Policy Unit.

Successful implementation of the national MDG agenda requires active engagement of all relevant stakeholders, ranging from central and local authorities, civil society organizations, development partners, and private sector. It requires consolidated efforts in ensuring the development of a resilient society and emergence of empowered citizens. Measurement of the progress in achievement of national MDG targets is therefore important and shall lead to identification of lagging domains and consulted solutions to accelerate progress.

The role of the upcoming National MDG Report for Moldova is to provide MDG evidence from the ground, highlight lessons learned during the implementation of the national MDG agenda, and maintain momentum towards the MDGs. With 2015 fast approaching, all countries that signed the Millennium Declaration are facing twin tasks of ensuring, from one hand, as much progress as possible in the implementation of the MDGs, while also articulating post-2015 development priorities. Countries shall be able to make best use of lessons learned from the last 15 years or so and project these into the future. The acceleration plans developed by the Governments, through the MAF or similar exercises, should be also taken into consideration, given their importance in ensuring the final push for the MDGs and motivation of all stakeholders to contribute.

Up to date, the Government of the Republic of Moldova, with the support from the United Nations, coordinated the development of two national progress reports on MDGs. In particular, the First MDG Reportwas released in 2005 and the Second Report launched back in 2010. Such analytical products were developed in a consultative and participatory manner and updated the key national stakeholders on the progress achieved and areas of concern that required more consistent efforts for getting the results back on track. Moreover, with the support from UNDP and WHO, the first MAF Report on MDG6 was developed to assist the governmental institutions to embark on fast-track solutions to accelerate progress in controlling HIV and TB, and reducing their incidence and related mortality. The national consultations over the vision for the development of the country beyond 2015 have ended and the final Post-2015 National Report will be released any time soon.

Scope of work

The Education and Empowerment of women area consultant shall, under the coordination and guidance from the team leader, strictly adhere to the Guidelines for the production of MDG country reports and the 2013 Addendum to named Guidelines. In particular, following the additional required analytical focus of the 2013 Report, the area consultant and the rest of the team of area consultants shall provide in-depth analysis under the draft proposed structure of the national report and scope of the research undertakings (please refer to the detailed description in the Terms of Reference).

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences or other related fields; alternatively, Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of ten years of progressive experience in research on education and gender issues, socio-economic and related fields is mandatory.

Years of experience:

• Proven extensive experience (at least 5 years) in conducting complex research on MDGs and areas connected to the implementation and monitoring of progress in national MDGs, in particular MDG2 and MDG3;
• Previous experience (at least 3 years) in coordinating and leading similar research projects at national or regional level.

Competencies:

• Experience in drafting complex analytical products; previous experience with UNDP is a strong asset;
• Excellent skills in organizing and coordinating joint research activities, moderating working groups, organizing national level launching events;
• Developed skills in communication with various stakeholders in public and private sectors;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of the Romanian and Russian is necessary.

Documents to be included

1. Proposal:

(i)            Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

(ii)           Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work;

2. Financial proposal;

3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references, or dully filled Personal History Form (P-11).

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 (Annex A).  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 daily fee, number of anticipated working days, etc.).  

Travel: Local transportation (car) in undertaking field visits and gathering needed data at local level will be provided by the Project. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 

Disclaimer In case of discrepancies between the text published on the website and the contents of the supporting documents, the provisions, instructions and conditions included in the supporting documents (published as Adobe Portable Document Format files) shall prevail. In case of discrepancies between the English version and the Romanian and/or Russian versions of text, documents or other content published on this webpage, the English version shall prevail.

Notice UNDP, as a matter of practice, does not charge any application, processing or training fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions as to vacancy announcements you may have received, please refer to this website. UNDP is currently aware of fictitious vacancy announcements that are being circulated through the internet, the purpose of which is to get people to register for a training and send in a fee. If you believe that you have received such a notice, please forward it, and any other related information you have received, to scamalert@undp.org. Since logos, emblems, names and addresses can be easily copied or reproduced, you are advised to take particular care in applying for vacancies, including undertaking all appropriate measures to protect against the unauthorised use of any personal information you may have provided as a result of the scam.