Back National Consultant (Local Security Assistant) UNDP-UNESP Project

Background

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years, UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational context:

The UN Electoral Support Project (UNESP) is the international community’s programming vehicle to support the next elections in Afghanistan, including the parliamentary and district council elections announced by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) for 7 July 2018. The project has two overall objectives – 1) to build the capacity of the Afghan electoral institutions (the Independent Elections Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission) to implement elections in line with the national electoral legal framework and Afghanistan’s international commitments; 2) to allow a programming mechanism for the international community to partially finance the elections as per the request of the Government of Afghanistan. The project follows previous UN projects in support of the Afghan electoral process, most notably the Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) projects, from 2006-2011 (ELECT I) and 2012-2015 (ELECT II), and the UNDP Project Initiation Plan that is in place since July 2015 – October 2017. The UNESP places the UN’s electoral support to Afghanistan directly under the political and supervisory oversight of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and reflects the growing sustainability of the Afghan electoral process, as evidenced by the Government of Afghanistan’s financial commitment to both electoral institutions, and the provision of significant in-kind support to the implementation of elections. The Project Board, under the overall political guidance of the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political, will be co-chaired by UNAMA DSRSG for Political and the Chairpersons of the IEC and ECC or their delegates. It will be comprised of all key stakeholders to oversee and approve UNESP’s budget, annual work plans and policy in support of the Afghan electoral institutions. Project implementation support will be provided by the UNDP Country Office, reporting, on fiduciary and operational matters, to the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Development/ UN Resident Coordinator/ UNDP Resident Representative through the UNDP Country Director.

Along with support to both electoral institutions, UNESP will also support Afghan civil society’s civic and voter education and observation efforts to enhance the quality and quantity of participation in the electoral process. Overall, the project will have three outputs: (i) administration of credible elections is facilitated by the meeting of key IEC structural and planning milestones; (ii) credible electoral dispute resolution is provided by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) (iii) public outreach (along with support to civil society) to encourage citizen engagement in the electoral process. Mainstreaming of gender throughout the project is evident in key output indicators related to women’s participation in all three project outputs, reflecting the importance that UNESP places on increasing the position of women in Afghan electoral and political life. The project also aims at supporting the EMBs in strengthening integrity of the electoral process by enhancing accountability of responsible actors and supporting the implementation of electoral fraud mitigation mechanisms. Assisting the EMBs to implement measures to increase public confidence in election and democracy will be mainstreamed through the electoral assistance provided.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Chief Electoral Advisor / Project Manager, and direct supervision and reporting to the UNESP Field Security Specialist (FSS), with a matrixed reporting line to the UNDP Country Office (CO) Field Security Advisor (FSA).  The National Consultant will work in close collaboration with UNDP personnel in the CO and provides support to UNESP personnel to share information and resolve security-related issues. In addition, works closely with UNDSS and other relevant security counterparts. The National Consultant the Local Security Assistant promotes a client, quality and results-orientated approach.

The National Consultant Local Security Assistant will provide support and assist the implementation of security operations and all matters relating to the management of safety and security for UNDP personnel including the United Nations Election Support Project (UNESP) in Afghanistan.

The National Consultant Local Security Assistant will be responsible for the following but not restricted to key functions to achieve desired results:

Summary of key functions:

• Ensures regular collection, updating and communication of information regarding the security situation in the area;
• Ensures maintenance of the Security Plan and security SOP;
• Monitors UN Security Risk Management (SRM);
• Performs other security-related tasks.

Deliverable 1:

Ensures regular collection, updating and communication of information regarding the security situation in the area, such as:

• Liaises and coordinates, as appropriate, with the host government security organizations and/or personnel, including national and local provincial/district authorities, military, and police officers, as well as non-governmental organizations and other non-State actors in the area of operation;
• Helps to assess the security situation at the duty station and ensures adequate gathering and verification of security information that may be required for a proper analysis of the situation;
• Communicates information on security to the UNESP FSS;
• Assists in the timely and quick dissemination of information to UNDP/UNESP personnel in case of emergency situation;
• Maintains regular contacts with Security Officers of other UN agencies.

Deliverable 2:

Ensures maintenance of the Security Plan and security SOP

• Supports actions during the implementation of the Security Plan, as required;
• Assists with developing, updating and implementation of Security SOP, as directed by UNESP FSS.

Monitors UN Security Risk Management (SRM)

• Assists with/Conducts Security Risk Management (SRM) assessments of UNDP/UNESP activities in UN premises, Government of Afghanistan premises, and UN hosted/attended events in public locations;
• Reports security incidents affecting UNDP/UNESP personnel, offices and assets in the area to the UNESP FSS, and prepares initial draft of Security Incident Report;
• Provides requested Administrative and Logistical support.

Performs other security-related tasks assigned by the UNESP FSS

• Maintains Project (UNESP) Warden system;
• Assists in implementation of Pass and ID system for UNESP personnel as required;

• Organize and conducts emergency drills for UNDP/UNESP personnel, as directed by UNDP FSS, to include writing after action review and lesson learned reports;
• Provides security orientation to newly assigned UNDP/UNESP personnel, including orientation of UNESP offices in Government of Afghanistan premises;
• Conducts security briefings, as required.

Expected Outputs, Deliverables, Timelines:

The National Consultant Local Security Assistant will:

Deliverables/ Outputs

Estimated Duration to Complete

Target Due Dates

Review and Approvals Required

• Deliverable 1
• Ensures regular collection, updating and communication of information regarding the security situation in the area,
• As per detailed description above;

• The Consultant will submit monthly and ad-hoc reports during the consultancy period.

44 working days (maximum)

TBD (on initial contract start date).

By completion of contract period.

UNESP Field Security Specialist (FSS)

Deliverable 2

• As per detailed description above;

• The Consultant will submit monthly and ad-hoc reports during the consultancy period.

21 working days (maximum)

TBD (on initial contract start date)

By completion of contract period.

UNESP Field Security Specialist (FSS)

** Deliverables 1 & 2 can be conducted concurrently**

SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT:

Payments shall be done monthly based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of specific reports and approval by the consultant’s supervisor and a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. 

Institutional Arrangements:

Duration of the Work:

The National Consultant Local Security Assistant shall work for 3 months (maximum 65 working days) on 5 days per week, 40 hours max per day.

Duty Station:

Kabul, Afghanistan.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Encourages office staff to share knowledge and contribute to UNDP Practice Areas;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change;
• Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view;
• UNDP Accounting and Finance Training and certification.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:        

• Secondary education.  University Degree desirable in business administration, political science etc, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

• 7 years of relevant experience in security or related area;
• Prior experience with the UN system or an international NGO is desirable;
• Experience in diplomatic security, protection and intelligence considered an asset;
• Knowledge of host country safety codes;
• Solid communication and presentation skills;
• Possession of a valid driver’s license, and experience in driving armored vehicle is considered an asset;
• Knowledge of HF and UHF radio operation;
• Physically fit;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) (Mandatory);
• Experience in handling of web-based management systems.

Language Requirements

Fluency in English and local languages of Dari/Pashtu.

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:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Professional Fees – The Consultant shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication and transportation costs. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is three months (with maximum 65 working days).

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

Evaluation Method and Criteria

National Consultant Local Security Assistant 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 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 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 past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
• Technical Proposal (can be attached with CV or response can be provided to mandatory question on jobs site):
  • Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
    • A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above.

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
  • A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above.

• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above.

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).

Incomplete application will not be considered, it will be disqualified automatically.