International Consultant for Development of the UNSDCF (2021-2025) Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Strategy

On March 1st, 2021, the Government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Country Team signed the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2021-2025. The UNSDCF seeks to maintain Azerbaijan on track for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is aligned with the strategic development priorities of the Government and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

In line with the commitments in the global Funding Compact, and the UN Reform and steered by the new UNSDCF guidelines, UNCT Azerbaijan developed a Funding Framework (FF) in June 2021 that is based on an assessment of the resources required to deliver the UNSDCF.  The FF reflects the overall funding needs to achieve the UNSDCF outcomes, available resources, as well as annual and quinquennial funding gaps. The FF is a consolidation of the agreed, costed results of the UNSDCF – including operations and communications – for the full duration of the program cycle (2021-2025). It will undergo periodic dialogues with the Government, development partners, including IFIs, private sector, and civil society organizations to estimate the need to adjust funding support to the UN development system.

UN Office in Azerbaijan is currently looking to hire an international consultant for the development of the UNSDCF (2021-2025) Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Strategy. Under the supervision of the Head of RCO and the guidance from the Partnerships and Development Finance Officer, the Consultant will assist the UNCT in developing a vision for Partnerships and Resource Mobilization, assess the partnerships and resource mobilization landscape in Azerbaijan and develop comprehensive partnerships and resource mobilization strategy within a four (4) months period.  The Strategy should explore joint resource mobilization opportunities, and propose options to secure adequate funding for effective and efficient implementation of the UNSDCF (2021-2025), and support SDG acceleration in the country.

The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the UN Country Team in Azerbaijan; the UNRC Office; international development partners; the Government of Azerbaijan including the National Council for Sustainable Development; the private sector; and CSOs (including academia) in Azerbaijan.  The consultancy is home-based with the possibility to travel to Azerbaijan according to need.

The consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks:

• Design and agree on a methodology for the development of a Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Strategy.

• Design and conduct surveys and interviews with relevant partners and report on their results.

• Conduct a desk review, analyzing existing best practices, international standards, tools, and reports available on partnerships and resource mobilization.

• Mentor members of the UN Country Team through the provision of technical advice and sharing of best practices and tools for partnerships development and resource mobilization

• Support the establishment of new partnerships, capacities, and building skills to operationalize the Funding Framework

• Lead joint financial landscape analysis with different national and international stakeholders.

• Raise awareness and promote the application of innovative SDG financing mechanisms, including the possibility to establish an SDG Acceleration Fund for Azerbaijan.

Submit a comprehensive Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Strategy with a time-bound action plan to systematically search partners and mobilize resources.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

The RCO Partnerships and Development Finance Officer is responsible for monitoring and evaluating all deliverables.

LOCATION:

Location of the assignment: home-based with two (2) travels to Azerbaijan (7 days each)  (to be discussed).

REPORTING:

The consultant will provide assessment results, reports on deliverables, and recommendations to the RCO Partnerships and Development Finance Officer

Payment will be done in three installments upon completion of deliverables:

• 31 October 2021 – Deliverables 1, 2, 3 (18 working days) – 20 %
• 30 November 2021 – Deliverables 4, 5 (12 working days) – 45 %
• 28 December 2021 – Deliverable 6,7 (15 working days) – 35%

Timeframe for completion of deliverables:

Core values:

• Respect for diversity

• Creative problem solving

• Intellectual qualities

• Stakeholder engagement

• Results orientation in the process

• Effective communication

• Leading by example

Functional Competencies

• Excellent networking skills

• Excellent analytical skills

• Knowledge of international best practice trends

Maintaining collaborative relationships

Education:

•           Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Business Management, Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations, Communications, or a related field.

Experience:

•           At least seven years of relevant professional work experience in sustainable development policy, resource mobilization, programme management, and/or economic analysis in the context of development cooperation is required;

•           Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of UNSDCF Funding and SDG Financing;

•           Demonstrated experience in building partnerships and resource mobilization;

•           Strong research skills combined with demonstrated ability to analyse data and write reports and other knowledge products;

•           Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills suitable for collaborating with multiple stakeholders.

•           Experience with the UN system would be an asset.

Language:

•           Proficiency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Azerbaijani and/or Russian would be an asset.

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

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 (if applicable);

2. Financial proposal with cost breakdown- In the form of Offeror’s letter to UNDP confirming their interest and availability for the individual contractor (IC) assignment. Please see the link below to the form to download.

https://www.az.undp.org/content/dam/azerbaijan/docs/Legal_docs/undp-aze-PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx

3. Resume including experience in similar projects

Please combine all your documents in one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

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

– Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Business Management, Social Sciences, Public   Administration, International Relations, Communications, or a related field; 15 points

– At least 7 years of relevant professional work experience; 15 points

– Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of UNSDCF Funding and SDG Financing; 20 points

– Experience with building partnerships and resource mobilization; 20 points

– Strong research skills combined with demonstrated ability to analyze data and write reports or other knowledge products; 10 points

–Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills suitable for collaborating with multiple stakeholders; 10 points

-Proficiency in written and spoken English. 10 points

* Technical Criteria weight; [70]

* Financial Criteria weight; [30]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points for the Technical Componenet will be considered for further stage.