Consultant to Create a Strategic Civil Society Development Programme

In order to meet the challenges of the Millennium Declaration and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, joint action by civil society, governments, private sector and other actors is necessary, indeed essential. The United Nations Development Programme has increasingly institutionalised mechanisms for consultation, negotiation and collaboration with civil society, in addition to its traditional contributions to operations and services in partnership with government. These mechanisms have become important to the conception, implementation and monitoring of a wide range of international conventions, agreements and guidelines. There is also general consensus that appropriate policies and programmes at the national level remain the foundation to success. In this regard, UNDP Kuwait seeks to develop a civil society programme strategy to engage, work with, and develop relationships with Civil Society Organizations on the ground. The strategy will identify opportunities for UNDP interventions in advancing the role of civil society in the country, and contribute to the empowerment and strengthening of civil society by recognizing it as an important actor in changing national realities and achieving national development goals.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives: The consultant’s role will be to conduct a needs assessment process, identify key partners and lead the process of developing a national CSO programme. The key responsibilities include: Leading the defining, design, and planning phases of the programme, in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures; Identifying and addressing the challenges and possible entry points of CSOs in Kuwait; Offering strategic recommendations and producing a detailed programme strategy for the development of the CSO programme for UNDP in Kuwait; Supporting the design, planning, and inception phases of the CSO strategy; Engaging with key government and CSO stakeholders and strengthening national ownership of the programme. Serving as the interlocutor with the Government and CSO lead agencies to develop a comprehensive programme, ensuring their involvement and endorsement; Ensuring harmonization and coherence of the programme with the national CSO plans and other parallel CSO interventions; Offering strategic recommendations regarding the sustainability of the CSO development programme; Delivering a training/presentation to UNDP team on the recommended UNDP strategy on CSO, including policies, tools, procedures supported by cases; Creating a database of CSOs in Kuwait. Methodology: The expert will provide assistance in the development of an overall UNDP strategy for engagement with civil society at the national level, jointly addressing the internationally agreed development goals and the MDGs. The strategy should emphasize catalysing the emergence of NGO advisory groups at the national level, communicating relevant international trends and innovations regarding civil society and exploring appropriate strategies for CSO‘s increased role in development. The consultant will: Conduct a review of the civil society in Kuwait and provide an analytical report highlighting the opportunities for UNDP in line with planned outcomes and national priorities: Comprehensive desk research review of global sources and regional research as well as inputs from the Country Office (CO) prior to the mission, including publications, research papers, previous programme/project documents, interview transcripts etc. Key meetings with the relevant organizations, institutions and various CSOs and NGOs; Ensuring that full account is taken of the lessons learned from similar initiatives in the region and the world as implemented by the UNDP and others. Develop a concept note for a comprehensive national CSO programme. Present the concept of the programme to selected stakeholders. These include, but not limited to: Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour; Relevant CSOs; Private sector enterprises; Youth-led organizations. After the initial consultations, the consultant will present recommendations regarding the appropriate agency to take the lead to ensure national ownership. Outline the programme’s scope in consultation with the appropriate lead agency. This involves setting the nationally-owned outcomes of the programme. Design and develop a programme document with input from Government counterparts. This involves developing the outputs required to achieve the nationally-owned outcomes and setting targets and indicators for each output. Creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy that engage potential partners in the private sector and civil society to leverage technical, in-kind, and financial support for the programme. Provide recommendations for programme sustainability and evaluation beyond the allocated timeframe. The evaluation of the programme will be subject to formal endorsement. Provide recommendations on areas of potential support and mechanisms of engagement. Provide guidance to country office staff on UNDP Partnership Frameworks in relation to CSO related projects. The UNDP Country Office will provide the consultant with the necessary briefings and required documents such as: Country Program Document (CPD), Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP), programme reports, evaluation reports, survey/study reports, and other relevant regional and international studies. UNDP programme staff will provide technical support to the consultant to ensure quality assurance with regard to corporate programme policies. Expected Outputs: At the end of the task, the consultant is expected to produce: A Concept note for a comprehensive national CSO programme strategy: Synthesizing the key issues to form the basis of the strategy development; Articulating clearly the roles and responsibilities of the different actors, the private sector, the Government, CSO and UNDP; Specifying ideas for key entry points / interventions including agenda for partnerships; Articulating how to link to relevant regional / global UN initiatives; A national CSO programme document consistent with the CPAP; A database of CSOs in Kuwait; Recommendations for programme sustainability and partnerships; A final mission report to be prepared and submitted to UNDP office.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards; Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP; Ability to advocate and provide policy advice; Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting; Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects; Ability to research and analyze national development situation; Demonstrates strong writing, communications, interpersonal, and facilitation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education An advanced degree in social sciences, economics, law or political science, or a relevant field. Work Experience At least 10 years of experience developing social programmes or projects; Experience in Project Planning and Design, Monitoring and Evaluation; Substantive experience working with Government partners on the implementation of complex and socially sensitive programmes; Adequate knowledge and experience working with communities; Knowledge of UNDP programme policies and procedures is an added advantage; Experience working in GCC countries is favourable. Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.