National Consultant (ICT & Telecom Expert) for Police Emergency Response Service-UNDP-LOTFA-CSM

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

Organizational context:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is committed to strengthening the capacity of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s (GIROA) to administer rule of law and improve the safety and security for all Afghan citizens. As the lead rule of law institution in the country, improving the ability of the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoIA) to fulfil its mandate remains critical to the overall stability of Afghanistan and its people. As the UN’s primary development agency, and a longstanding development partner to GIROA’s rule of law and security sector, UNDP Afghanistan plays a leading role in facilitating reform and development of MOIA as well as the Afghan National Police (ANP) to better serve the people of Afghanistan.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP has administered the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) and supported the payment of salaries of the police officers, institutional development of the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOIA) and police professionalization of the Afghan National Police (ANP) since 2002. Based on consultations conducted in 2017, a growing view emerged that the scope of LOTFA should be expanded to include the entire justice chain (police, courts and corrections) and cover all institutions across the entire Rule of Law sector, with an increased focus on anti-corruption.  Accordingly, the following four Thematic Windows have been identified for the Trust Fund: 1) Security; 2) Justice; 3) Anti-Corruption; and 4) MOIA Payroll. Under the new Trust Fund, new project(s) will be designed and developed in alignment with the national strategies, plans and policies and with the Fund’s Strategic Framework. One of these projects, the Transitional Support to MOIA (CSM) project commenced through a Project Initiation Plan (PIP), which was developed as a project at a later stage and subsequently placed under the new Trust Fund. The current CSM project is a successor to PIP will conclude existing project deliverables associated with Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOIA) requested areas of support, while also engaging in new initiatives providing opportunities for the MOIA to demonstrate to the Afghan people direct impact and high visibility of the ANP in responding to safety and security related public emergencies. Initiatives such as these will enhance public trust in the police and promote a sense of safety and security in the communities they are serving.

Police Emergency Response Service (PERS) Initiative Background:

Pursuant to a directive of the Minister of Interior Affairs, MOIA established the 119 Emergency Call Center (ECC) in 2007. Presently, ECC functions out of an office within the old MOIA complex and operates with 12 emergency phone lines working 24/7. An initial call center in Kabul was soon followed by additional call centers in Herat, Balkh (Mazar-e-Sharif), Helmand (Lashkar Gah), Kandahar, and Jalalabad, serving all 34 provinces. Initially, the purpose of the 119 call centers was to receive and process reports of corruption and official misconduct. As 119 was the only direct access to the MOIA/ANP, its function evolved to include emergency response, as well as reporting of corruption and allegations of official wrongdoing as well as violations of citizens’ rights, both criminal and civil in nature. Calls for help with Fire Services and Ambulance are also dealt with.

UNDP, through the CSM PIP is supporting the MOIA to design, build and operationalize a new PERS. The PERS will be a critical interface between Afghan citizens and police, enabling the provision of security and rule of law and contributing to improved public trust and confidence in the ANP.

Organizational context of the position:

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the CSM Project Manager and PERS Programme Management Specialist, the System Solution/Telecom Expert will be responsible to provide technical and advisory support to UNDP, MOIA, Kabul Provincial Headquarters (PHQ) and Police Districts (PD) in implementation of the PERS concept, focusing on telecom, ICT and systems integration. In addition, the consultant will be tasked to provide technical assistance and monitoring support in all stages of PERS implementation and develop technical, operational and training manuals. Finally, s/he will coordinate with relevant programme/project and operational units within the UNDP Country Office to ensure adequate support is provided in a timely manner, consistent with the rules and regulations of UNDP and in a client-oriented manner. 

Objective of the Assignment

Under the overall supervision of the CSM Project Manager and technical guidance of the Governance for Peace Unit (G4PU) and direct supervision of the PERS Programme Management Specialist, the incumbent will ensure the following key functions are performed to a high standard:

• Based on provided space for primary and secondary data centres by MOIA, designing and submission of PERS physical ICT infrastructure and Network connection point diagrams.
• Assist in analysing the nature of all emergency cases in 119 and configuring Contact Center systems and services accordingly.
• Help and support in coordination with MOIA authorities, ICT advisors and GD ICT in terms of PERS and other related support.
• Monitor physical setup and deployment of ICT related equipment and services (Network switch, E1/SIP connection, power backup, Server machines, PABX, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and all other network peripherals etc.) in MOIA, Provincial headquarters (Kabul), disaster recovery site and 19 PDs;
• Provide technical support for all software, hardware and equipment of PERS to meet Police needs and requirements of Police-e-Mardomi General Directorate in terms of PERS.
• Help and support in developing concise reporting on the PERS initiative during each phase of implementation;
• Assist in defining the Data Centre and disaster recovery requirements in terms of hosting models, data replication mechanisms (active-active vs. active-passive) and location;
• Support MOIA with the PERS project in Kabul via technical support and oversight;
• Support and close coordination/communication with other colleagues involved in the PERS Initiative throughout the assignment in order to monitor progress and provide crucial and to the minute updates (including challenges and issues) to keep everyone abreast with the project progress.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The consultant will submit monthly progress report and any other documentation as required by the PERS Programme Management Specialist and the CSM Project Manager at the end of each month. Monthly progress reports will cover all achievements, issues and recommendations during the applicable month.

Deliverables covering the period are summarized below:

Payment Modality:

Payments shall be made at the end of each month and will vary depending on the number of days worked, as indicated in a properly completed UNDP timesheet. This timesheet should follow the UNDP procurement format for individual contractors and is to be submitted by the consultant alongside the progress report. The PERS Programme Management Specialist, or his/her designate, will review the progress and quality of the assignment prior to payment being issued. The CSM Project Manager will approve the payments.

Institutional Arrangements:

The National Consultant will be working under the overall supervision of the PERS Project Management Specialist or his/her designate and under the technical guidance of the G4PU.

The CSM Project will provide office space, internet, logistical and other support services. However, the consultant is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communications costs (UNDP will provide a local pre-paid SIM card). Costs to arrange meetings, workshops, travel costs and DSA during field visits (if any), etc. shall be covered by CSM Project/UNDP.

Duration of the Work:

The deliverables under this contract shall be completed within 3.5 months (Maximum of 77 Working days) after the signing of the contract, including all preparation work and on-site visits. A contract extension beyond the proposed dates may be available, subject to acceptable performance by the contractor, but is not guaranteed.

Duty Station:

Work will be carried out in-country. The duty station for the Consultant shall be Kabul, Afghanistan. The CSM Project will cover expenses of all official field missions, upon receiving the prior approval from the CSM Project Manager. When in Kabul, the contractor will be based at the UNDP CO office, security conditions permitting. The consultant will follow the working hours and weekends applicable to UNDP Country Office (CO) staff. The Consultant’s movement for meetings and consultations shall be coordinated by the CSM Project.

The Consultant is at all times required to observe UNDP security rules and regulations.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s vision, mission, values and strategic goals; 

• Display cultural, gender, religious, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;

• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Strong communication skills, both in writing and orally, including networking skills;

• Strong ability to persuade and influence others to cooperate;

• Ability to work in a complex environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple actors;

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity, tact and diplomacy and judgment;

• Strong analytical, organizational and negotiation skills.

Client Orientation:

• Researches potential solutions to internal and external challenges and reports back in a timely, succinct 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 for positive feedback.

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s and/or bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology or other relevant field from an accredited college or university.

Experience:  

• With Master, at least 7 years and with Bachelor at least 10 years’ experience in System/Network administration, Telecom and related management is required.

• Prior experience working with enterprise level Call Centre systems such as” Avaya and Cisco” are required;

• Experience of working with Government departments/ministries, public sector institutions is an advantage;

• Prior experience working in Telecommunication company including data center is required, on similar assignments will be considered an asset;

• Prior experience with the UNDP or any other UN agency is highly desirable;

Language:

• Excellent written and oral English skills is a necessary requirement;

• Fluency in Dari or Pashto is a must.

PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.  The consultant shall then submit a price proposal when requested by UNDP, in accordance with the below:

Daily Fee – The consultant shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of her/his professional fee, local communication costs and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The professional daily fee, all inclusive of the above elements, shall be paid upon submission of timesheet. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 3.5 months with maximum 77 working days.

Payment Schedule – The PERS Project Manager and Programme Management Specialist, or his/her designate, will review the progress and quality of the assignment prior to payment being issued. The CSM Project Manager will approve the payment.

UNDP reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA

Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical criteria (70 marks)

• Review of the previous experience (20 points) – based on the submitted CV (desk review)
• Technical proposal (40 points) – to assess the technical expertise of the candidates
• Language requirements (10 points)

Financial Evaluation (30%):

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

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects relevant to the assignment.

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;

All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNDP Afghanistan.  UNDP Afghanistan will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 – IC Contract Template (for information);
• Annex 2 –  Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (to be completed at later stage upon request by UNDP);
• Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions (for information);
• Annex 4 – RLA Template (if consultant wishes to be recruited through an employer) – (for information).

Note: Incomplete application will not be considered, it will be disqualified automatically