Constitution Review Consultant

Background:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and UN WOMEN have constituted themselves as an Association which is known as the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Office for Project Services and UN WOMEN Staff Association/Staff Council.  The Association is regulated by the Constitution of the UNDP/UNFPA/ UNOPS/UN WOMEN Staff Association/ Staff Council.

As per Article 2, of the Constitution, the purpose of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS/UN   WOMEN Staff Association is to

(a) promote and safeguard the rights, interests and welfare of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS/UN WOMEN staff;

(b) develop and improve effective staff participation in the decision-making process by maintaining active and open channels of communication with the Administration.

(c) promote better understanding between the Administration and the Staff of UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS and UN WOMEN.

(d) promote cooperation and unity among Staff Associations and Unions in the United Nations and UN Specialized Agencies within one Common System on matters governing conditions of service; (e) defend staff and work to improve terms and conditions of employment.

The UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS/UN WOMEN Staff Council is undertaking a process to revise the current Constitution. The Constitution was last revised in 2013 and this review process aims to resolve any inconsistencies, clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Staff Council and make sure that the Constitution is relevant to the current context and needs of the constituency we serve and the Local Staff Associations.

The review will not attempt to change the mandate or core objectives of the Staff Council: Advocate for the rights, interests, and welfare of personnel worldwide and promote a better understanding and mutual respect between the Management and personnel.  

The Staff Association derives its mandate from chapter VIII of the UN Staff Rules and Regulations (ST/SGB/2018/1)[SH1]  and its own Constitution (July 2013). The Staff Association is represented through a Staff Council of elected members in New York and through Local Staff Associations at country-level. Its elected members are fully accountable to the UNDP/UNFPA/ UNOPS/ UNWOMEN/ Staff Association and personnel of the constituent agencies/entities.

This constitution review process seeks to achieve the following:

1. Resolve any inconsistency in the 2013 Constitution
2. Clarify roles and responsibilities of  Staff Council members, Local Staff Associations and committees and other relevant bodies
3. Harmonize and clarify the regulations on membership, nominations for various bodies, elections, decision making and other processes relevant for the Functioning of the Association  
4. Strengthen the Constitution by making it more relevant to the contemporary needs and realities of our constituents

 [SH1]I checked. It’s actually ST/SGB/2018/1

Scope of work:

1. Consultant will be required to collate and summarize feedback received from information gathering stage of the process into actionable themes.
2. Consultant will incorporate the feedback summary into draft of revised constitution ensuring there are no inconsistent, contradictory, or ambiguous clauses.
3. Consultant will share draft constitution with Staff Council members and LSAs for comments and prepare final draft constitution incorporating additional comments received.  
4. Consultant will deliver final draft constitution to staff council who will work with polling officers to plan and administer referendum on revised constitution prior to adoption.

5. Deliverables:

   Output	Activity	# of days	Timeline (all 2021)
   Plan of engagement with the stakeholders of outputs, and activities designed	Based on existing Constitution, draft concept notes and plan of action Review the Constitution Discuss key content with the Constitutional Working Group	3	July
   	Prepare, organize, conduct, and write-up notes from stakeholders (staff representatives, polling officers and LSAs as well as other Unions and associations) consultations and gathering information on Constitution.	4	August
   Zero draft of constitution (to be shared with Constitutional Working Group, Staff Council and LSA Focal Points) prepared	Based on the consultation and collection of information in accordance with the above plan of action revise constitution, add additional references, add a section to showcase the proposed change on the constitution	5	August
   Actionable thematic areas identified	Collate and summarize feedback received from information gathering stage of the process into actionable themes	2	August
   Pre-final draft of constitution prepared (to be shared with Constitutional Working Group, the Staff Council)	Present draft to the Constitutional Working Group based on the above meeting review   Incorporate comments and prepare final draft	4	September
   5. Final document submitted to the Staff Council	Submit final draft constitution to the Staff Council who will work with polling officers to plan and administer referendum on revised constitution for adoption.	2	September
   Total number of days		20

Qualification and experience:

• Consultant should have a legal background with a master’s degree in Law or related field  
• Minimum 5 years of  post-graduation experience relevant to this assignment is required.
• Consultant must have demonstrable experience drafting policy, statutes/constitution of associations, unions, or other representative bodies.
• Consultant must be knowledgeable about staff and management relations in the UN.
• Fluency in English is required, working level of another UN official language will be an advantage.

Criteria for selection:

Only those candidates who meet the minimum level of education, proficiency in English   and relevant years of experience requirements will be considered for the technical evaluation. The technical evaluation will include a desk review and may also include interviews with shortlisted candidates.

Combined scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max of 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Method: cumulative analysis method will be used to evaluate proposals.

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive / compliant / acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria weight: 70 (70% of total obtainable scores).

Financial criteria weight: 30 (30% of total obtainable scores)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on the technical part will be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria and scores for technical evaluation (70 points maximum):

• Knowledge and understanding of the staff associations organizational structures, including set up and internal regulations (20%)

• Knowledge and experience in drafting policies and regulations of the   of Unions (20%)
• Good understanding of the UN and its structure, such as civil service commission and its function (15%)
• Knowledge of staff and management relationships (15%)

Criteria for financial evaluation (30 points maximum):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal:
µ=price of the lowest priced proposal:
z = price of the proposal being evaluated:

The award of contract will be made to the individual consultant who receives the highest combined score out of the weighted technical and financial criteria as specified above.

Duration:

The home-based consultancy will be from July to September 2021 (3months). Total working days over the 3 months will not exceed 20 working days.

Reporting:

The Consultant will work in close consultation with the Constitutional Working Group and will report to Abolade Sobola, focal point of the Working Group, who shall provide status update of work done fortnightly to the Staff Council.