International Consultant in charge of the development of the Common Country Analysis for Zambia

  • Consultancy
  • Lusaka, Zambia
  • - / Month
  • Applications have closed

UNDP

Background

The UN Sustainable Development Partnership Framework 2016-2021 represents the programmatic and operational framework UN General Assembly resolution 72/279 elevated the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, renamed the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, as The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) is a strategic, medium-term results framework that describes the collective vision and response of the UN system to national development priorities and results on the basis of normative programming principles.

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Zambia is launching the preparation and formulation of the 2023-2027 Cooperation Framework (duration to be confirmed in consultation with government), as the next partnership strategy between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the UNCT towards the achievement of Zambia’s sustainable development. Nationally owned, the Cooperation Framework will be anchored on the national development framework as elaborated in Zambia’s Vision 2030 and the 8th National Development Plan (8NDP) which the government will develop with support from the UN. The Cooperation Framework will also outline the UN development system’s contributions sought by national stakeholders to reach the SDGs in an integrated manner, with a commitment to leave no one behind, human rights and other international standards and obligations.

This process will start with the development of the Common Country Analysis (CCA) as the UN development system’s independent, impartial and collective analysis of the country situation for its internal use in developing the Cooperation Framework (CF).

Focus and underlying principles of the CCA

The development of the CCA will be inclusive, participatory, co-led by the UN Development system (UNDS) and the Government.

The CCA will require due attention to the following:

  • The CCA will draw from and add to existing data, statistics, analyses, reviews, research, capacities and resources from within and outside the UN system. ?These include various planned and ongoing assessments including the joint assessment on socioeconomic impact COVID-19, national and sector specific development visions and strategies, national budget allocations, and development financing from domestic and international, private and public sources.
  • The CCA will examine progress, gaps, opportunities and bottlenecks vis-à-vis the country’s commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda, UN norms and standards, and the principles of the UN Charter as well as premised on the doctrines of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including as reflected in the UN Cooperation Framework Internal Guidance.[1]
  • The CCA will consider the guiding principles for the Cooperation Framework: Leaving no one behind, Human Rights-Based Approach to Development and humanitarian interventions, Gender equality and women’s empowerment, resilience, sustainability and accountability. These principles should be part of an integrated programming approach in line with the “five P’s” of the 2030 Agenda (people, prosperity, planet, peace and partnerships).
  • To leave no one behind, it is important to generate evidence and data disaggregated not only by income, gender, disability status, geography and age but also by legal status of the persons (e.g. Zambians, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers). Social, cultural, economic, political, legislative and other systemic drivers of exclusion should be examined and described.  Analysis of specific groups that have been left behind or who are at risk of being left behind such as persons with disabilities, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees; barriers/ challenges/ root causes of risk and exclusion should be considered. In addition, the analysis should explore factors that cause and reinforce inequality and discrimination; gaps in data, capacities and processes that should be supported to monitor the “Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principles across SDGs.
  • In line with the UN reforms, Zambia’s CCA is expected to (i) demonstrate a broad holistic and integrated approach that takes into consideration the interlinkages and integrated nature of SDGs (ii) reflect the inter-linkages amongst the three dimensions of sustainable development and all spheres of the UN’s work; and (iii) reflect the linkages between the SDGs and human rights framework.  The CCA will analyze existing data and data gaps for national SDG indicators comparing official data with international sources and where possible use innovative diagnostic tools. In addition, the CCA will identify key humanitarian and development stakeholders and describe their capacities and potential contributions to national SDG priorities and outline the UN’s collective comparative advantage in Zambia versus these stakeholders. This analysis could be based on the SDG Baseline Report for Zambia, the Rapid Integrated Report for Zambia and the Voluntary National Review, that Zambia presented to the High Level Political Forum in July 2020, among other reference documents.
  • Further, the CCA will examine the country’s financial landscape for sustainable development, analyze financial flows, and identify the greatest opportunities to reorient all sources of financing. The CCA ?will integrate analysis of relevant regional, sub-regional and cross-border dynamics, and their impact on achieving the 2030 Agenda in the country.  The CCA will also outline Zambia’s trajectory for achieving Agenda 2030 stemming from the country analysis, reflecting on the main gaps and bottlenecks that need to be addressed to accelerate SDG implementation.
  • The CCA will analyze multi-dimensional risks that could impact Zambia’s development trajectory across the development, humanitarian, peace-building/consolidation and human rights spectrum
  • In a nutshell, to ensure a compressive and integrated analysis, the CCA will follow the following diagrammatic representation of analysis components, all underpinned by Human Rights

Team of International Consultant and National Consultant

Therefore, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office is recruiting a team composed by a lead international Consultant and National Consultant to undertake a CCA that will serve in the development of the next Cooperation Framework for Zambia and thereafter as a living document.

[1]https://unsdg.un.org/resources/united-nations-sustainable-development-cooperation-framework-guidance

Objectives

The overall purpose of engaging the team of consultants is to facilitate the development of a high-quality and evidence-based UN CCA as the foundation for the upcoming Cooperation Framework.

Under the overall supervision of the RCO team leader and the technical guidance of the PMT, the team of consultants will be responsible for preparation, implementation and administration of the assignment. The team of consultants will fully adhere to all aspects of CCA outlined in the Consolidated Annexes to the Cooperation Framework Guidance (Annex 2 that indicates the elements of CCA) as well as UN CCA Companion Piece that offers “how to” guidance, tools and examples of how a CCA should be developed (to be shared with the selected Consultants).

International consultant

The international consultant is required to serve as the lead facilitator of the development of the CCA document and will be responsible for the outputs’ quality and timeliness. As the lead, the international consultant will report directly to the RCO Team Leader who will be technically supported by the PMT Chairs, providing weekly progress briefings either verbally or by e-mail. The specific tasks of the consultants are outlined as following:

  • Developing an outline and methodology for the CCA exercise in line with the UNSDG guidance on the CCA process and with focus on innovative approaches to inclusive and participatory data collection (including consultations with various stakeholder groups) and analytical processes;
  • Facilitating discussions among UNCT, PMT, UN Results Groups and Theme Groups (Data – Monitoring & Evaluation, Gender, Humanitarian and Development Nexus, LNOB) about the concept and findings of the analysis;
  • Synthesizing secondary and primary data and adding to existing data, statistics, analyses, reviews, research, studies and resources from within and outside the UN system with analytical inputs from and in close coordination with UNCT, PMT and UN Results Groups ;
  • Facilitating discussions between the UNCT and Government through Ministry of National Development Planning including the National SDG Technical Working Group, Cooperating Partners Group, National Development Coordinating Committee forum, key stakeholders as required, on the draft CCA to validate and enrich the findings;
  • Drafting a high quality CCA and revising it following the CCA presentation sessions as well as UN Development System and key stakeholders review and feedback;
  • Finalizing and submitting the final CCA document incorporating the comments of the UNCT;
  • Supervise and quality assure the work of the national consultant.

National consultant

Under the overall guidance of the lead facilitator (international consultant), the national consultant will be responsible specifically for the following:

  • Support the design and presentation of the detailed CCA methodology and tools including for data collection and analysis, review and reporting to fulfil the consultancy objectives;
  • Support the conduct of consultations with key stakeholders (Government, Cooperating Partners, international financial institutions, private sector, civil society, academia, international and local NGOs, trade unions, youth, women, people with disabilities, children, key populations and other vulnerable groups of persons at risk of or already being left behind);
  • Analytical review of the priorities in the different provinces and support with communication, where necessary, in terms of language and cultural peculiarities;
  • Ensure data from the provincial levels are fed into the CCA;
  • Support the preparation of a high quality analytical CCA document following the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework guidelines;
  • Participate actively in the CCA presentations to UN entities and key stakeholders;
  • When necessary, translate in English discussions during meetings of lead facilitator with various stakeholders;
  • Participate in the development of a high quality, evidence based and analytical CCA document.

Methodology

In line with CCA guidelines outlined in the introduction, the consultants will develop a detailed technically sound methodology for completing the assignment with focus of the following:

  • consideration of the human rights approach to data, international data protection standards and the UN Principles on Personal Data Protection and Privacy;
  • identification of key data and establishment of questionnaire needed to undertake multidimensional risk analysis, sub-regional and cross-border dynamic analysis that could enable the resolution of cross-border issues while favoring the development of regional and sub-regional integration;
  • collect and review of financial data to analyze debt sustainability, the country financial landscape and the opportunities to fund the SDGs;
  • use innovative diagnostic tools to review of existing data and data gaps for national SDG indicators comparing official data with international sources;
  • in-depth face-to-face (or virtual, as feasible) consultations with UN Agencies, along with a broad range of stakeholders (Government, Cooperating Partners, international financial institutions, private sector, civil society, academia, international and local NGOs, trade unions, youth, women, children, persons with disabilities, key populations and other vulnerable groups of persons at risk of or already being left behind) consultation in line with global guidance;
  • a desk review that includes a comprehensive list of data sources, data availability and gaps as well as a review and analysis of other sources of evidence (research, evaluations, studies, relevant global indices).  The data collection and analysis would be disaggregated by income, gender, geography and age to generate evidence and identify grounds of discrimination prohibited under international law to ensure that no one is left behind;
  • A feasible and clear work plan, including number of days for each of the deliverable, validation and finalization of the CCA.

Institutional arrangements

(i) United Nations Country Team (UNCT)

The UNCT, under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, will provide the overall strategic oversight and guidance for the entire process. The UNCT will be responsible for approving all the deliverables. As a part of quality assurance, draft deliverables will be shared with the UN regional and headquarter offices through DCO.

(ii) Programme Management Team (PMT)

The PMT under the leadership of the Chairperson, supported by the technical co-chairs, will provide relevant background documentation from both UN and non-UN sources required for desk reviews. The PMT has the role to ensure quality assurance, that all milestones on the CCA elaboration are met on time, and the effective engagement and participation of relevant stakeholders. Therefore, the PMT which constitutes of deputies of UN agencies and senior programme officers will provide oversight for CCA and quality assurance in terms of reviews, analytical support and recommendation on the draft products. The PMT will also secure effective engagement and participation of in-house UN experts and other relevant stakeholders.

(iii) UN Resident Coordinator Office (RCO)

The RCO will be responsible for the overall coordination and day to day management of the assignment on behalf of the UNCT.  It will provide guidance, data and analytical support as well as quality assurance, in consultation and coordination with the UNCT, PMT, Results Groups.  The responsibility of the RCO includes but is not limited to:

  • Ensuring that PMT provides relevant background documentation from both UN and non-UN sources required for desk reviews;
  • Provision of lists of contacts in advance and additional support upon request;
  • Organization of group consultative meetings, briefing and debriefing sessions with the RC, UNCT, CF Management Team and the Government counterparts, where needed;
  • Provision of office/working space during the assignment, if required, however, consultants will have to use their own office equipment (e.g. computer/laptop, phones);
  • Coordinate the inclusive and comprehensive review of the draft research results and draft reports;
  • Facilitate the provision of necessary inputs (reference document and written inputs, as required) to the process.

(iv) UN Results Groups

The UN Results Groups, composed of technical programme and policy staff from resident and non-resident UN Agencies, will provide support in line with their related themes and areas. They will be responsible for the following:

  • Reviewing the CCA process and information in the UNCT’s Data and Analysis Repository, on a regular basis to identify new data needs, and/or potential adjustments to existing assumptions, analyses or other outputs;
  • Providing technical and analytical support, including data, thematic analysis and documents collection as well as identification of key national stakeholders to be consulted for CCA development purposes;

 (v) Theme Groups

The different Themes Groups will provide support in line with their related themes:

  • Data, Monitoring & Evaluation: This technical team will provide assistance in the development of the CCA by ensuring that the latest and most up-dated surveys and analyses undertaken in the country are available and reviewing the relevancy of the analysis.
  • Gender Theme Group: the group will review the draft deliverables to ensure that the CCA responds to the Gender analysis global guidance.
  • LNOB Theme Group: as per the new guidance and the checklist established by UNSDG the group will provide assistance to ensure that the principle of Leaving No One Behind is taken into account.
  • Humanitarian Development Nexus Theme Group: The Group will provide input in the CCA process bearing in mind the need for greater coherence and synergy between humanitarian and development interventions in support to the implementation of the SDGs especially with regard to managing transition from immediate term humanitarian support  to long-term sustainable development.

(vi) Operation Management Team (OMT)

The OMT will play a key role in the elaboration of the CCA by:

  • ensuring the availability of information from UN agencies for the examination of the country’s financial landscape for development, analysis of financial flows;
  • providing information on the operational environment in relation to the UNCT established Business Operation Strategy;
  • providing the logistical / administrative supports above the RCO capacities.

Tentative Timeline and Deliverables

Overall, the process of developing the CCA is expected to take 4.5 months, covering the period of October 2020 to February 2021:

  • The consultants are expected to finalize the CCA assignment within sixty (60) working days, from the date of signing the contract, spread between 15 October 2020 and February 2021;

However, the indicated number of working days is tentative and should be used for orientation only. In the financial offer the consultant should indicate the number of working days per deliverable.

No.                                                     Deliverables                                                                                                                   Due date

1..          Following the contract signature, tentatively on September 1st, inception report

            (minimum 6 pages) detailing the CCA approach and methodology, including the workplan

           to complete the assignment                                                                                                                                           October 22, 2020

2..       First Draft Common Country Analysis Document available and shared with PMT and working

          groups for feedback and comments                                                                                                                               December 4, 2020

3..    Second Draft Common Country Analysis Document available and shared with UNCT,

        PMT and working groups                                                                                                                                                 January 8, 2021

4..   Presentation of the draft CCA document and discussion with the UNCT                                                                           January 15, 2021

5..   Presentation of the draft CCA (taking into account the UNCT comments) report

       at a multi-stakeholder validation workshop                                                                                                                        January 31, 2021

6..  Final Country Common Analysis report (including Executive Summary, plus annexes /

       other CCA outputs) submitted to UNCT                                                                                                                          February 22, 2021

Reporting Arrangements and Payment Structure

The consultants will contractually report to the Resident Coordinator. All costs directly related to this contract will be covered through the UN Resident Coordinator Office. The assignment will be a combination of field and home-based work. The consultants are expected to undertake missions to provincial and district levels where necessary.

All installments will be processed subject to UNCT’s assessment of the basic requirements of completeness and quality of content in line with the Terms of Reference. The Consultants’ payment shall be made in four instalments of:

Deliverables                                                                                                                      Percentage of full contract amount

Contract signature and submission of inception report approved by UNCT                                                             20%

First Draft Common Country Analysis Document                                                                                                  20%

Second Draft Common Country Analysis Document and a power point presentation

on the CCA document to present it to the UNCT                                                                                                    20%

Final Country Common Analysis report approved by UNCT                                                                                   40%

The consultants should possess the following competencies:

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards; Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age differences.  Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment; ability to exercise sound political judgment;

Functional Competencies

  • Outstanding communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to write reports, conduct consultations and interviews and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style;
  • Good knowledge of the UN system, UN Development System Reform and the new Cooperation Framework Internal Guidelines;
  • Outstanding communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to write reports, conduct consultations and interviews and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style;
  • Ability to review and synthesize large amounts of information rapidly, and to distinguish major trends from minor details;
  • Ability to conceptualize and analyze problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate;
  • Technical competence in undertaking complex analysis which involve use of mixed methods;
  • Familiarity with statistical data and knowledge of human rights and gender equality approaches;
  • Ability to respond positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
  • Ability to handle a large volume of work under time constraints;
  • Ability to share knowledge and experience and provide helpful feedback and advice.

Required Skills and Experience

International Consultant

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (Masters and equivalent) in development studies, economics, public health, social sciences, international relations or related field. A PhD is preferred.

Skills and experience:

  • A minimum of 10 years of professional experience of conducting country-level multi-sectoral situational analysis;
  • Previous experience of leading and developing country analysis for UN programming;
  • Good knowledge of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and the SDGs;
  • Previous experience of conducting UN Common Country Analysis is an asset;
  • Excellent facilitation skills with experience in leading multi-stakeholder discussions;
  • Extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying qualitative and quantitative analytical methods using a wide range of analytical (including innovative) approaches;
  • Substantial professional application of human rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability, results-based management, and capacity development in research;
  • Strong understanding of the development- humanitarian- peace building nexus and political context and working experience in Zambia and/or in the region.

Language

  • Fluency in spoken and written English.

Application procedures and documents to submit

Interested individual consultants should submit the following documents:

  • Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar consultancies/processes, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) and at least two professional references.
  • Brief description of why the individual considers herself/himself as the most suitable for the assignment (please specify the position: international consultant or national consultant), and a methodology on how s/he will approach and complete the assignment in collaboration with the other team member.
  • Financial offer containing a lump sum in USD for the deliverable specified in the TOR, and including a breakdown into number of anticipated working days, consultancy fee per day and costs for travel and any other expected expenditures.

Evaluation criteria

The contracts will be awarded to the consultants whose offer has been evaluated and determined as having received the highest combined score of the technical and financial scores.

  • Technical Criteria weight: 70%
  • Financial Criteria weight: 30%

* Legitimate employers do not ask for payment. Find out more at safe job search tips.