CONSULTANCY: Organizational Assessment and Strengthening of Fora of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region, Johannesburg, ESARO

Contract duration: 60 days (1 June to 31 August 2019)

Purpose of Consultancy:

The purpose of the consultancy is to support the strengthening of the Youth, Women, Civil Society and Private Sector Fora of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The consultant/s will work with the four fora and other key stakeholders to conduct an organizational assessment, propose priority deliverables for the fora and formulate recommendations regarding strategies/interventions for organizational strengthening in order to, where applicable, make the fora more effective in contributing to the domestication of the ICGLR protocols in Member States and related legislative, policy and programmatic frameworks

Scope of Work:

The work includes the following main components: 

1. Identify and document the current status, functionality, institutional arrangements, ways of working, achievements, lessons learnt, gaps, challenges and opportunities associated with the ICGLR Youth, Women, Civil Society and Private Sector Fora. In particular, this work will focus on: 

• How the ICGLR fora have been engaged in ICGLR consultative and political decision-making processes at regional and national level, including engagement regarding the domestication of ICGLR protocols. 
• Initial mandate given by the ICGLR Member States and Secretariat to the fora vis-à-vis their actual work, including the role of the fora in the domestication of ICGLR protocols.
• Review of regional and national action plans of the fora, including review of the plans’ content, the status of implementation and how the plans relate to ICGLR multi-year and annual plans. The review should also consider activities of the fora included in the plans of the ICGLR Secretariat, irrespective of whether these activities are included in the plans of the fora.
• Formal and informal institutional arrangements and ways of working of the fora, both at national and regional levels, including review of all existing governance structures, documents and procedures. 
• Status of the establishment and functionality of secretariats and national structures of the fora. 
• Effectiveness of coordination and communication, internally and externally (internally at regional level, between regional and national level, and at national level; externally between fora and with other relevant institutions, especially ICGLR structures and including the ICGLR Parliamentarian Forum).
• Measures applied to promote internal and external accountability by the fora.
• Status and progress made as regards mobilization of resources to support the implementation of action plans, internal and external engagement and advocacy strategies to ensure sustainability of the fora. 

2. Propose priority deliverables for each of the four fora that can guide and focus capacity building and objective assessment/measurement of efforts, and formulate recommendations regarding strategies/interventions for organizational strengthening. The proposed deliverables and recommendations should consider ICGLR protocols pertaining to the mandated areas of work of the fora and, where applicable, how the fora can work more effectively internally and externally to contribute to the domestication of the protocols in Member States and related legislative, policy and programmatic frameworks. The proposed deliverables and recommendations should be documented in a capacity building plan to advance the work of the fora under each of the focus areas above (a-h). The capacity building plan should include priority actions for both the two-year project period and for the next five years. The priority actions for the five-year period will be used to inform the development of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and resource mobilization plans. The consultant/s is expected to co-facilitate the validation of findings and recommendations and support review/development of regional action plans of the fora in order to accommodate the outcome of the organizational assessment.

3. Within the framework of the capacity building plan, formulate recommendations for effective and innovative use of technologies to strengthen the activities of each of the four fora in a cost-effective way, e.g. through the use of information technology (IT) and virtual approaches for convening regular meetings and for capacity building. The use of IT and virtual approaches is deemed relevant in the light of the complex set up of the fora, intra- and inter-fora dynamics and relations, coordination needs at national and regional levels, and the need to ensure the functionality and sustainability of the fora. 

The consultant will be advised by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), comprised of representatives from all ICGLR fora (including the Parliamentarian Fora), the ICGLR Secretariat, the ICGLR Levy Mwanawasa Regional Centre for Democracy and Good Governance (LMRC Lusaka Centre) and other relevant ICGLR structures, the Office of the Special Envoy to the Great Lakes and implementing agencies of the project. The TAG will be convened by UNFPA ESARO for the purpose of the present organizational assessment. 

In March 2019, an orientation meeting was held to create an opportunity for key stakeholders to provide background information and input to inform the present work. The consultancy should build on the information emanating from the orientation meeting.

Duration and Working Schedule:

The duration of the consultancy is 60 days from 1 June 2019 to 31 August 2019. UNFPA ESARO would like to hire 1-2 individual consultants. 

Indicative working schedule: 

• Inception report outlining the timeline and approach to the assignment (4 days)
• Collection and desk review of key documents from the ICGLR fora and other key stakeholders, including the ICGLR Secretariat and decentralized structures (8 days)
• Development/piloting of interview tools (3 days)
• Phone interviews with ICGLR fora leadership and other key stakeholders, including the ICGLR Secretariat and decentralized structures (12 days)
• In-country visits to national ICGLR fora in at least six countries (6 days per mission including travel) @6 missions (36 days)
• Analysis and draft report writing and revisions based on UNFPA ESARO and TAG feedback (12 days)
• Organization/facilitation of a validation meeting and support for review/development of regional action plans of the fora in order to accommodate the outcome of the organizational assessment (6 days)
• Finalization of the report, including the proposed capacity building plans (item 2 above), consisting of a separate report for each of the ICGLR Youth, Women, Civil Society and Private Sector Fora (6 days). 

Place where services are to be delivered:

This is a home-based assignment with expected travel as described below. 

Deliveries:

• The inception report will be delivered within the first month of the consultancy, i.e. by 30 June 2019 at the latest. 
• The draft report will be delivered within the first two months of the consultancy, i.e. by 31 July 2019 at the latest. 
• The final report will be delivered within the three months of the consultancy, i.e. by 31 August 2019 at the latest. 

The deliverables will be submitted to UNFPA ESARO electronically in a format acceptable to UNFPA ESARO.

Monitoring and progress control:

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadlines are outlined in the preceding and following sections. 

Supervisory arrangements: 

The consultant/s will work under the overall supervision of the Regional Director, UNFPA East and Southern Africa, and under the daily supervision and guidance of the responsible Programme Specialists. 

Expected travel:

Travel is expected to at least six of the 12 ICGLR Member States, for example for in-depth interview with national fora leadership and other key stakeholders, validation of findings and to support review of regional action plans. The countries to be visited should be selected based on input from key stakeholders, e.g. through consulting the TAG. UNFPA ESARO will organize and cover the cost of the travel, including flight tickets, daily subsistence allowances and terminals according to UNFPA policy and procedures.

Qualifications and experience:

Education:

A university degree, at minimum at Masters level or equivalent, in organizational development, international development, public administration, business administration or other field of study directly related to the substantive areas of this assignment 

Experience and skills:

• 7 years relevant professional experience in organizational development and institutional strengthening
• Experience in the establishment or strengthening of organizations, coalitions, networks or fora similar to the ICGLR structures 
• Experience in strategy and action plan development
• Strong advocacy and networking skills with the ability to liaise with and engage Regional Economic Communities, governments, UN agencies, civil society, youth and women’s organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders in a professional and friendly manner
• Experience in qualitative research, including development of interview tools and analysis
• Strong writing and communication skills 
• Ability to work under pressure and with/within interdisciplinary and multicultural contexts 
• Experience from working in the Great Lakes Region is an asset

Language:

• Fluency in English and French is a requirement. 
• Knowledge of Portuguese and Arabic is an asset.

How to Apply:

• Deadline for applications: Monday, May 20th, 2019, 9 am Johannesburg time.
• Interested applicants should first register on the UNFPA Consultancy Roster and apply to the “job post” called UNFPA Consultant Roster. After registering on the Roster, Click ‘Apply Now’. In case you have applied for UNFPA eRecruitment Jobs before, directly click ‘Apply Now’. 
• After application, please send a confirmation email to kivi@unfpa.org clearly stating the position you are applying to, full name, and date of submission in the subject.
• UNFPA reports – If the applicant has worked for UNFPA in the past, he/she may submit their most recent assessment, consultancy report or other documents to illustrate his/work.
• UNFPA will only respond to those applicants in whom UNFPA has further interest.

Disclaimer:

• UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.
• UNFPA is committed to maintaining a balanced gender distribution of the positions and therefore encourage women to apply. 
• There are NO application processing or other fees at any stage of UNFPA application processes.