National Project Coordinator to support a short-term Joint-Program in response to the food, energy and finance crises’ impacts in Laos

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UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for an Individual Consultancy: National Project Coordinator to support a short-term Joint-Program in response to the food, energy and finance crises’ impacts in Laos. The duration of this assignment is 5 months, starting from 01 August – 31 December 2022 with possibility for extension and the consultant will be based in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Work Assignments

Overall Management of Project and Activities

The Overarching Responsibilities Include

The Project Coordinator will support on a short-term Joint Project in response to the food, energy and finance crises’ impacts in Lao PDR and be responsible for organising mission logistics and administration within the timeframe and budget of the programme.

• Planning and organising logistics for Mission 1,2 and 3;
• Closely collaborate with the Technical Specialist, and Project Manager and ensuring the quality of their deliverables;
• Providing planning direction and input to the management of the project;
• Ensuring the effective coordination between involved parties, including by facilitating communication between IP, UN AFPs and sub-national authorities and community members.

Specific Responsibilities

The Project Coordinator will support on planning, coordination and organisational aspects of the Joint Programme, supporting the international Technical Specialist and Project Manager.

Research design and methodology

The Project Coordinator will facilitate meetings between LASES / MRI and UN counterparts on the development of the research design and methodology. It is also expected that the Project Coordinator facilitates the collection of inputs and integration of inputs from UN agencies and other stakeholders to create a single, light, integrated, and replicable questionnaire facilitating survey missions (see below). An initial workshop to present the research design and workplan is expected to take place in August 2022.

Data

The Project Coordinator will support the Project Manager to work with the international Technical Specialist and LASES / MRI as well as relevant national counterparts to pool existing relevant data sources, especially disaggregated data. This includes the datasets on inflation generated by LSB, prices bulletin of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and World Bank household survey 2021, and monitoring of the parallel exchange rate. The Project Coordinator will be expected to undertake data cleaning to ensure up-to-date and reliable information.

The Project Coordinator will be crucial to the planning and organisation of 3 missions that are envisioned, supporting LASES / MRI to increase the frequency and reach of existing survey missions of businesses and households in key provinces, from biannually to every 2 months until the end of 2022.

Analysis

The Project Coordinator Will Support The Coordination Of The Analysis Of Information That Will Be Used To Develop Clear, Concise, And Policy-relevant Findings Including Through Organisational And Logistical Support For The Development Of

• Monthly bulletins;
• Regular policy briefs with recommendations;
• Ad-hoc short publications and communication.

The Project Coordinator will be expected to translate key documents from English to Lao.

Policy dialogues

The Project Coordinator will support LASES / MRI and other partners in the organisation and logistics for policy discussions with relevant parts of government, development partners, and CSOs.

Qualifications Or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required

• University degree in economics, public administration, project management, public policy, development policies, international relations, social sciences or related field.
• At least three years of work experience in developing countries, in international organisations, public administration, NGOs, or research institutes coordinating and planning programmes or projects involving a broad range of stakeholders.
• Knowledge and management experience with project management methodologies including results-based management is an asset.

Knowledge And Skills

• Strong experience in programme management and coordination of development cooperation, international relations, macroeconomic policy or related field is required;
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an advantage;
• Fluency in Lao and English is required.

Competencies

• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Innovates and embraces change –
• Works collaboratively with others
• Nurtures, leads and manages people

Languages

Good oral and written English skills and fluency of Lao required.

Submission Of Applications

Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents to: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/

• Letter of Interest (cover letter)
• CV or Resume
• Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available)
• Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost with a breakdown by consultancy fee, living allowance, and travel costs as per work assignment.

The deadline for applications is 25/07/2022

Assessment Criteria

A two stage procedure shall be utilized in evaluating proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared.

Applications Shall Therefore Contain The Following Required Documentation

• Technical Proposal, including a cover letter, updated CV, and copies of 2 relevant evaluations performed earlier by the consultant.
• Financial Proposal: Lump-sum offer

No financial information should be contained in the technical proposal.

For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment:

• Technical Qualification (max. 100 points) weight 70 %

Education (30 points)

• Advanced university degree in economics, public administration, project management, monitoring and evaluation, statistics, public policy, development policies, international relations, social sciences or related field.

Work Experience (30 points)

• At least five years of work experience in developing countries, in international organisations, public administration, NGOs, or research institutes managing programmes or projects involving a broad range of stakeholders (5 points)
• Demonstrable experience working on project development and implementation, including financial/budget management, procurement, and reporting (5 points)
• Knowledge and management experience with project management methodologies including results-based management (5 points).
• Experience in financial management and reporting is required (5 points) Previous experience in setting up a research design for surveys, conducting surveys and analysing survey data are considered an asse (10 points).

Knowledge and Skills (40 points)

• Strong experience in programme management and coordination of development cooperation, international relations, macroeconomic policy or related field is required (15 points)
• Strong research and policy level analytical skills and experience in data analysis knowledge products and / or reports across social and economic sectors is desired (10 points)
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an advantage (5 points).
• Strong writing skills and experience in managing and coordinating inputs is required (5 points)
• Fluency in English is required; excellent written and verbal communications skills in English (5 points).
• Financial Proposal (max. 100 points) weight 30 %

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened /evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 70 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

The applicants should provide medical insurance covering medical evacuation for the whole duration of the assignment -as part of the financial proposal submission.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.