Viet Nam: Consultancy to support the development of UN Women Viet Nam Country Strategic Note (2017 – 2021)

Title : Consultancy to support the development of UN Women Viet Nam Country Strategic Note (2017 – 2021)

Contracttype: SSA

Duration: 30 working days over a period of 3 months (9 March – 30 July 2016)

DutyStation : Home based assignment and travel to Hanoi, Viet Nam

Supervisor : Representative, UN Women Viet Nam

1. Background and Rationale:

The first UN Women Viet Nam Country Strategic Note (2014–2016) is now in its last year of implementation. Since 2013, when the current Strategic Note was formulated, there have been a number of developments at the national level in Viet Nam. With adoption of the 2013 Constitution providing stronger guarantees of gender equality and human rights, a number of laws have been amended and there is a stronger call for rule to law. There is acknowledgement by the government of inequities and inequalities amongst certain populations, including women, against the backdrop of significant MDG achievements, and recognition that the social protection system needs to be reformed. At the same time women’s leadership and political participation is stagnating, and gender discrimination in laws and practice persist, as witnessed by the resistance to harmonize retirement age for women and men, to strengthen provisions against sexual assault in the criminal code, and the sex ratio at birth imbalance that continues to widen.

At the global level, with the adoption of to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that includes a stand-alone gender equality goal as well as gender targets cutting across the different goals, the 20 year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for the advancement of Women and Girls, there is an increasing emphasis on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls (GEEWG) in inter-governmental fora. The President of Viet Nam who participated in the Global Leaders Meeting on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women last September alongside the SDGs Summit in New York pledged to devote all resources needed to bridge the gender gap in all areas.

The world has also seen a significant evolution in financing for development cooperation, including for the UN development System. The implementation Agenda 2030 and the SDGs calls for strengthened partnerships, data, monitoring and accountability, and a UN Development System that is “Fit for Purpose”. In this context, one of the most significant challenges for the UN system in Viet Nam, including UN Women, is the shifting development cooperation financing landscape which is accentuated in Viet Nam because of its lower-middle income status.

It is against this background that UN Women Viet Nam Office is commencing development of the next Strategic Note (2017-2021). The UN System in Viet Nam is currently formulating the new One UN Strategic Plan 2017-2021 and the design and structure of the UN Women’s Strategic Note will be in alignment with the framework and priorities describes therein. Analysis conducted by the UN System for the development of the Strategic Plan serve as foundational materials for the UN Women Viet Nam Strategic Note together with findings of the Mid-term Review of the Strategic Note completed in early 2016 and consultations that will be conducted with key national partners and stakeholders, including government, civil society organizations, the UN system and development partners. The UN Women Global Flagship Programme Initiatives also are a key premise for the definition of UN Women’s Strategic Notes and engagement moving forward.

It is in this regard that UN Women Viet Nam Office is looking for the services of a consultant to support the development of the Strategic Note.

Rationale

The purpose of Consultancy is to enable prioritisation of programming areas for the upcoming Strategic Note and the development of programme results as well as strategies that can contribute to support the national priorities for the realization of the rights of women in the changing country context. The Mid-term Review of the Strategic Note recommended that Viet Nam office programmes focus on fewer areas. The global call is also for Country Offices to align programmes to a selected few Flagship Programme Initiative Theories of Change.

While further defining and optimizing the comparative advantages of UN Women in-country, the consultant will help the office identify entry points that:

a) Consolidate existing programmes of the Viet Nam Country Office and refine these in light of the Flagship Programme Initiatives, and other priorities as appropriate to the national context.

b) Identify strengths where UN Women can make or has made a difference and optimize and identify opportunities for sustaining the achievements made through the human, technical, and financial investments made since the offices establishment.

c) Fit the resource scenario of Viet Nam in the coming years.

With the advice of UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), the SN development process has been formulated with following key four phases and time line as mentioned in Table 1.

(Detail information on Table 1 can be find at the TOR of this position at below link:

http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs )

This consultancy is to provide support to the Viet Nam Country Office throughout the designing and writing phases (phases 1 – 5 in table one above) of Strategic Note in close collaboration with the UN Women Representative in Vietnam.

2. Objectives

The overall objective of the consultancy will be to support the UN Women Viet Nam office to develop its new Strategic Note (SN) (2017-21). The consultant will:

• Ensure alignment of the SN to the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, national priorities, sector strategic plans and programme strategies; other normative obligations of the government (CEDAW; UPR etc); UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017 and FPI’s and UN Strategic Plan 2017-2021.

• Review of the changing context as a key consideration for the programme priorities and strategies

• Assess UN Women and other partners comparative advantages, particularly for the FPI’s

• Prioritize key results, with focus on the FPI’s adopted by the VN CO’s, and more broadly where appropriate.

• Assessing the effectiveness of each programme strategy to achieve results, including; Capacity development; substantive coordination; evidence generation, policy dialogue and advocacy; partnerships; South-South and triangular cooperation; Identification and promotion of innovation; Support to integration and cross-sectoral linkages; and Service delivery;

• Identify interagency coordination and normative priorities

• Assess financing environment and options

• Ensuring inclusion of cross-cutting issues such as intersectionality, RBM and SMART result frameworks.

• Ensure lessons learned from evaluation and reviews are incorporated.

3. Duration of the consultancy

30 working days over a period of 3 months (9 March – 30 July 2016)

1. Official travel

· The consultant will travel to Hanoi and stay for 7 working days as per the schedule in table I above

· UN Women will cover economy class round trip air ticket from his/her home country to Hanoi and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) while his/her stay in Hanoi for the consultancy

4. Contract Supervisor:

The supervisor of this assignment is the Representative of UN Women Viet Nam.

The supervisor will ensure the consultant’s compliance with the TORs and progress being made as per the agreed work plan, and provide regular feedback through face to face meetings, phone calls, and emails.

5. Consultant’s Work Place/Any facilities to be provided by office:

· The consultancy is home-based for most parts.

· The Consultant will work at UN Women office while he/she is performing on site activities in Hanoi. UN Women will provide a desk and internet access.

· UN Women will set up interview appointments for the consultant with Vietnamese stakeholders.

6. . Nature of ‘Penalty Clause’ to be stipulated in Contract:

Penalties for Unsatisfactory Performance or Incomplete Assignment: Final payment of fees for this assignment will only be effected upon satisfactory completion of services to UN Women’s satisfaction and certification to that effect by the Supervisor of this assignment.

7. Payment Schedule

Lump sum payment is to be made upon completion of assignment

8. Qualifications:

· A Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, or Strategic Planning, Management and Public Administration or similar background

· Must have strong analytical skills and proven experience supporting strategic planning, programme formulation, and drafting Strategic Papers drawing on multiple sources.

• At least 7 years of working experience in relevant field preferably involving providing programmatic advice to address gender equality issues, in an international environment

• Strong expertise in results based management and formulation of Theory of Change is preferred

• Excellent English language writing skills

• Knowledge of and working experience with UN Women or other relevant UN-agency an advantage

9. Application Evaluation Criteria

The applicant will be evaluated based on technical capacities (70%) and financial proposal (30%). Technical evaluation will be based on the following criteria stated below.

1. A Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, or Strategic Planning, Management and Public Administration or similar background (5 points)

2. Must have strong analytical skills and proven experience supporting strategic planning, programme formulation, and drafting Strategic Papers drawing on multiple sources (30 points)

3. At least 7 years of working experience in relevant field preferably involving providing programmatic advice to address gender equality issues, in an international environment (25 points)

4. Strong expertise in results based management and formulation of Theory of Change is preferred (25 points)

5. Excellent English language writing skills (5 points)

6. Knowledge of and working experience with UN Women or other relevant UN- agency an advantage (10 points)

A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the submissions, with evaluation of the technical components being completed prior to any price proposals being opened and compared. The price proposal will be opened only for submissions that passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the evaluation of the technical component. The technical component is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Term of Reference (TOR). Shortlisted consultants may be selected for an interview to support for technical evaluation.

Maximum 100 points will be given to the lowest offer and the other financial proposals will receive the points inversely proportional to their financial offers. i.e. Sf = 100 x Fm / F, in which Sf is the financial score, Fm is the lowest price and F the price of the submission under consideration.

The weight of technical points is 70% and financial points is 30%.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on Cumulative analysis, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

10. Application Procedure and Deadline

Interested applicants must submit the following document/information (in PDF format) to demonstrate their qualifications

Technical component:

• Letter of interest explaining why they are the most suitable for the work, including previous relevant work experience.

• Signed Curriculum vitae with contact details of 03 clients for whom you have rendered preferably similar services

  Financial proposal (with your signature)

• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount in US Dollar including consultancy fees, lump sum for travel related cost, and all associated costs i.e. tax, insurance etc.

• Please note that the cost of preparing a proposal and of negotiating a contract, including any related travel, is not reimbursable as a direct cost of the assignment.

• If quoted in other currency, prices shall be converted to US Dollar at UN Exchange Rate at the submission deadline. Complete applications should be sent to . Only applications with all items mentioned above will be considered.

Deadline for Application: 2 March 2016

NOTE: Documents required before contract signing:

• UN Personal History Form

• Full medical examination and Statement of Fitness to work and travel for consultants with travel involved. (This is not a requirement for RLA contracts).

• Individual subscribers over 65 years of age are required to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays at their own cost and obtaining medical clearance from the UN Medical Director prior to taking up their assignment.

• Release letter in case the selected consultant is government official.

Application Procedure and Deadline

Interested applicants must submit the following document/information (in PDF format) to demonstrate their qualifications

Technical component:

• Letter of interest explaining why they are the most suitable for the work, including previous relevant work experience.

• Signed Curriculum vitae with contact details of 03 clients for whom you have rendered preferably similar services

  Financial proposal (with your signature)

• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount in US Dollar including consultancy fees, lump sum for travel related cost, and all associated costs i.e. tax, insurance etc.

• Please note that the cost of preparing a proposal and of negotiating a contract, including any related travel, is not reimbursable as a direct cost of the assignment.

• If quoted in other currency, prices shall be converted to US Dollar at UN Exchange Rate at the submission deadline.

  Complete applications should be sent to . Only applications with all items mentioned above will be considered

More information on the TOR can be finded at link:

http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs