Individual Consultant - Progress review of SDGs

Background

In September 2015, UN Member States adopted the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. It is an agenda for people, planet and prosperity, which also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. Since the proposal of the 17 SDGs, Zimbabwe has been proactive in crafting a nationally driven approach to prioritizing 10 of the most critical goals. The implementation of 10 Focus goals is expected have a multiplier effect throughout the economy reaching to all 17 goals. The Zimbabwe Position paper on SDGs, sets the tone for a Post-2015 agenda for Zimbabwe which addresses the causes of poverty, and facilitates the enhancement of the country’s development by promoting inclusive economic growth, social transformation and strengthening the resilience of the populace.  

The implementation of SDGs in Zimbabwe has been through Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation (ZimAsset) and the Transitional Stabilization Programme (TSP). This is supported by other stakeholder initiatives in support of achieving nationally driven development objectives and internationally agreed upon development goals, including 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) and the region’s long term aspirations as articulated in Agenda 2063.As it completes three years of SDG implementation, it has become imperative to assess the progress made so that timely action could be undertaken to ensure goals are achieved and no one is left behind the development process. Zimbabwe has already produced and submitted a Voluntary National Review (VNR) of the implementation of SDGs for the 2017 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) held in July 2017 in New York. The next step is to have a full pledged review of the progress on SDG implementation.

Progress Report on the Implementation of SDGs

By end of 2018, Zimbabwe had completed three years of implementing SDGs. With support from UNDP and the UN system, Zimbabwe plans to undertake its first review of SDGs in 2019. It will be analytical in nature and will provide a comprehensive analysis of the related progress, challenges and successes.

The process:

The review of SDGs will be based on the national agreed upon targets, indicators and baselines. Given the data limitations in some areas, the analysis could be complemented by other data sources. The review will cover all SDGs, nationally owned and inclusive. The SDG Steering Committee will guide the review process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the SDG Steering Committee chaired by the Office of President and Cabinet and direct supervision of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Services, Labour and Social Welfare and the Senior Economic Advisor of UNDP (on behalf of the UN system in Zimbabwe), the consultant(s)/think tank will lead the review of progress in SDGs in Zimbabwe.

The consultant/Think Tank will lead in the drafting of the Zimbabwe SDG Report 2019 within the stipulated time frames. The consultant(s) will:

• Undertake consultative meetings with line ministries and relevant stakeholders including relevant UN agencies on the progress made in implementation of SDGs, challenges faced and opportunities exist to implement policies and strategies more effectively for greater outcomes;
• Collect and analyze data and other information including reports (including the Joint Needs Assessments, sector reviews and TSP) to review the progress made against the agreed upon SDG targets and indicators and the baselines;
• Identify policy and institutional challenges and opportunities for the successful implementation of SDGs;
• Draft chapters covering all SDGs pertaining to Zimbabwe and submit for review by key stakeholders and the Steering Committee, present the initial findings to a select group of reviewers;
• Present the draft report at a consultative workshop(s) and revise accordingly;
• Consolidate, edit and finalize the report for final review;
• Present the draft report at a validation workshop, and final revisions if required;
• Submit a complete final report to the Steering Committee.

Deliverables

• First draft SDG report within 120 days since offer;
• Present the report at a  stakeholder review within workshop 135 days since offer;
• Final SDG report within 195 days since offer.

Competencies

High Level of Professionalism:

• Strong analytical, quantitative and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to provide clear messages on complex information;
• Ability to seek and synthesize information from a variety of sources and draw solid conclusion based on in depth analysis;
• Accuracy and attention to detail;
• Good communication skills, including the ability to write high quality reports, conduct studies and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, teamwork and adept at working with people of diverse cultural and social backgrounds;
• An understanding of and ability to abide by the core values of the United Nations.

Strong Planning & Organizing Capacity:

• Organizes and accurately completes multiple tasks by establishing priorities while taking into consideration special assignments, frequent interruptions, deadlines, available resources and multiple reporting relationships;
• Plans, coordinates and organizes workload while remaining aware of changing priorities and competing deadlines;
• Demonstrates ability to quickly shift from one task to another to meet multiple support needs.

Demonstratable Teamwork:

• Works collaboratively with partners to achieve organizational goals;
• Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise;
• Facilitates the development of individual and multi-cultural/team competencies;
• Ability to provide substantive training and mentoring and manage teams.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A Post graduate qualification, MA or MSC in economics, development economics, environmental economics, Governance or related field. Consultant(s) having a PhD is preferable. The team of consultants having economic, environmental     and governance backgrounds is preferred;

Experience:

• Proven track record over a period of 10 years in development research with specialization in economics/development economics;  
• Familiarity and previous working experience with international development organizations particularly on MDG/SDG reports or similar reports;
• Good understanding of the changing socio-economic and political situation in Zimbabwe.

    Language

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Application ProceedureApplicants are requested to upload copies of:

Latest CV highlighting the relevant experience;Updated P11 Form template of which can be downloaded from this website - http://www.sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.A detailed technical proposal on undertaking the tasks and evidence of previous work;Letter Indicating the role applied for;

Please group all your documents (CV, P11, Technical Proposal and certificates) into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Incomplete applications will not be given consideration. Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application. Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Evaluation criteria:

The Consultants will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology: Technical Criteria weight: 70%;Financial Criteria weight: 30%;The award of the contract shall be made to the 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 Terms of Reference.

UNDP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff, and equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Well qualified candidates, particularly women and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.