Researcher (Greek Speaking)

The principal mandate of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus is to establish the fate of the people that went missing as a consequence of the tragic events of 1963-1964 and 1974 and to provide answers to anguished families.  One important aspect of this work is to exhume, identify and return remains of missing persons.  This process enables the relatives of the victims to recover the remains of their loved ones, arrange for a proper burial and provide closure to a long period of anguish and uncertainty, thereby promoting a process of reconciliation, healing and dialogue between both communities. This project also aims to strengthen the capacity for civil society to engage in sustained cooperation and reconciliation, through the important participation of bi-communal scientific teams in all stages of the process. This bi-communal cooperation will strengthen civic participation toward an issue that is critical for the healing of old wounds, and will sustain partnerships of cooperation and trust between both sides.

The CMP Project includes the following phases:

• Archaeological Phase (Phase I) related to the exhumation of the remains of missing persons; 
• Anthropological Phase (Phase II) related to the analysis of the recovered remains at the CMP Anthropological Laboratory; 
• Genetic Phase (Phase III) related to the DNA analyses; and 
• Identification and Return of Remains (Phase IV) related to the reconciliation of all pertinent information obtained in the previous phases and to the establishment of a formal identification. This phase includes the return of the identified remains to their relatives and the provision of psycho-social support to help the families cope with the difficult task of coming to terms with their loss.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Programme Management Office in Cyprus, seeks to contract on behalf of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) a Researcher to contribute to CMP’s objective which is to recover, identify and return to their families the remains of 2001 persons who went missing during the inter communal fighting of 1963-1964 and the events of 1974.

The individual contractor reports to the UNDP Operations Manager and will work closely with CMP teams and the UNDP operations unit. CMP will be requested to review deliverables/timesheets from the substantive side and provide their opinion prior to approval of services and payment by the UNDP.

Description of Responsibilities:

• Provide information by collecting, analyzing and summarizing data regarding missing persons possible burial sites, last seen place of disappearance etc.
• Prepare work by gathering data and related documents.
• Review objectives and evaluate current information.
• Resolve discrepancies by analyzing information.
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.
• Serves as a point of contact with the Greek Cypriot Member of CMP.
• Coordinates with the CMP geneticists the follow-up on all cases undergoing genetic analyses.
• Updates the CMP GKC database with all the relevant information.
• Identifies potential impediments and suggests operational solutions if and when necessary and in agreement with the relevant parties in order to expedite identification of remains, without affecting the quality assurance procedures already established by the local and foreign laboratories.

Expected deliverables; progress report(s):

The consultant will provide a weekly output/progress report which outlines the activities carried out, the deliverables completed, and the milestones reached.

The progress report should include information which will be obtained by collecting, analyzing, summarizing, data regarding missing persons possible burial sites, last seen place of disappearance etc. 

Functional Competencies:

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things;

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

• Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position;
• Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;

Promoting Organizational Development

• Demonstrates ability to identify problems and proposes solutions;

Client Orientation

• Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion;
• Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines;
• Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients;

Promoting Accountability

• Prepares timely inputs to reports;

 Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Have good management skills;
• Good communication (written and spoken) and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to work well under pressure;
• Good understanding of the sensitive and bi-communal work of CMP;
• Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
• Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others;
• Respond positively to critical feedback.

Education; 

• Secondary education.
• Bachelor and/or master degree in in a relevant field is considered as an asset.

Experience; 

• Minimum one year of relevant experience (in information analysis, political science, international relations, journalism, development, security or related field);
• Additional past experience is considered as an asset;
• Previous experience working with local communities in a post-conflict setting is an asset.

Language Requirements;

• Excellent knowledge of English.
• Excellent knowledge of Greek.

Other requirements:    

• Nationals or others legally authorized to work in Cyprus.

Driving License:

• The incumbent will travel in Cyprus and a valid driver’s license is a requirement.

Application:

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

• CV or Personal History (P11): Applicants are required to submit CV or a P11 Form. The UNDP P11 Form can be downloaded from: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc 
• References: Contact details of 3 references.
• Financial Proposal: Applicants requested to submit financial proposal. The financial proposal will specify the daily fee in EUR per working day. A day will be calculated as 8 hours in total (half an hour break and 7.5 hours of work), could be pro-rated to the actual hours worked and shall cover all expenditures including fees, health insurance, vaccination, international (all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel) or local travel (place of residence to office and office to place of residence), cost of living and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services. Leave benefits (annual, sick, paternity, maternity) are not applicable to Individual Contractor and absent days including weekends and office holidays are not payable. Expected number of working days is 19 days per month and total number of working days (approximately 228 days) will be in accordance with the duration of the contract.

Evaluation / Selection Process
All applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies set above. Candidates fully meeting the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below. 

Technical Criteria (CV review and Desk Review / Interview) – 70 % of total evaluation– max. 70 points

CV review: 30 points:

• Educational qualifications as defined in the ToR (10 points);
• Experience as defined in the ToR (20 points).

Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the CV desk review (who will score at least 21 points) will be qualified for considering for desk review and/or interview.

Desk Review and/or Interview: 40 points 

• Experience in research, investigation and information analysis (20 points);
• Experience in working with local communities in a post-conflict setting (10 points);
• Communication and interpersonal skills (10 points). 

Only those individual consultants who obtained at least 70% of points from the interview (28 out of 40) will be qualified for considering for financial proposal evaluation.

Financial Criteria – 30 % of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

Financial scores will be calculated using the formula [lowest offer / financial offer of the candidate x 30].

UNDP applies the “Best value for money approach” – the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualification and financial proposal.

Payment Term: 

Monthly lump-sum payable upon submission of the reports, time sheet, certification and approval of the UNDP.