Administrative Assistant to provide technical support to the Advocacy Team and Gender Consultant on the Review Process of the 1999 constitution

Background

Democratic governance is a concept that requires the establishment of democratic institutions and procedures of democracy which, among other things, brings about respect to the principles of the separation of powers and independence of the branches of government; the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law; respect of human rights, effective people’s participation, as well as transparent and accountable processes and institutions.  The culture of democratic governance also promotes a wide scope of political participation embracing a pluralistic system of political parties, a free fair and credible electoral process, a vibrant civil society and media; and a space for equal participation of both women and men at all levels. The Democratic Governance for Development Project in Nigeria is aimed at strengthening the democratic character of Nigerian political processes and outcomes through consolidating and advancing democratic governance and accountability, to achieve the country’s stated development priorities and goals. In order to achieve this aim the project has identified four components: Promoting Credible, Transparent and Sustainable Electoral Processes; Improving the Democratic Quality of Political Engagement; Enhancing Participation by Women, Youth and other Marginalized groups; and   Strengthening Channels of Civic Engagement. The Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) project is funded with contributions from the European Union, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UNDP, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is managed by UNDP. The project duration is 2010-2015. Gender issues are technical and require a professional handling especially when it relates to constitutionalism. The assignment given to the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 constitution is so massive and tasking that, leaving gender issues to be handled by the committee is to say the least, daunting. Since gender issues are cross cutting issues that permeates the entire framework of the review process, there is the need to have an expert in the field who will serve as the bridge between the committee and various gender advocates that presented memoranda and are still pushing for far reaching reforms and pronouncements on gender issues. The Consultant, who should be a gender specialist with a history of legislative relations, will serve as a liaison between the committee and the Gender Advocacy team whose main duty is to simplify and amplify the committee’s work as it relates to gender issues. During the review process, the plethora of issues advocated, promoted and sponsored by various gender CSO’s aimed at giving the emerging constitution a gender base and compliant will be classified, organized and structured in such a way that it will be inputted into the constitution through the amendment bills. As a specialist, the consultant should be able to organize interactive sessions between the committee and the Gender Advocacy Team based on the issues addressed by the memoranda submitted by gender CSO’s. Both the committee as well as the Advocacy Team would benefit from the consultant’s guidance, assistance and advice.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key functions: Summary of key functions to be performed by the consultant : Effective running of the secretariat Develop a working schedule on providing administrative and logistic support to the Advocacy Team and Consultants - Develop a detailed work plan of the assignment with time lines, indicators and outputs, to be prepared at the commencement of the consultancy, and agreed upon by DGD Facilitate the process in the way planned, timely meeting and travel logistics to be provided to the honourable members as well as the Advocacy Team and Consultants including identifying and making copies of relevant documents as well as prepare meeting folders as required. Administrative support towards planned advocacy visits across the Nation to State Houses of Assembly and other relevant government institutions and stakeholders. For an all-inclusive and balanced constitution to be achieved, the committee as well as the Advocacy Team will embark on Advocacy visits to various state Houses of Assembly not only to sensitize the members, but also to mobilize them towards this noble goal. As such the consultant is to plan and organize such visits across the nation. These visits are a follow up to the people’s public sessions which the House committee embarked upon during the nationwide public hearing sessions. During these visits, advocated issues, opinions, positions and sentiments of Gender CSO’s as submitted will be re-packaged and presented to the state Assemblies and relevant bodies with the sole aim of influencing their decisions in favor of a gender responsive constitution. A very strong administrative assistant is required to perform this function effectively.   Provide logistic support on Gender issues/matters to the Advocacy Team and Consultants   Deliverables / Outputs The Administrative Assistant is expected to provide the following specific tangible deliverables: An inception report and checklists for the progress of engagement with time lines and milestones; the report should include detailed work plan of the assignment with timeframes, indicators and outputs at the commencement of the assignment and agreed upon by DGD An interim report of activities implemented according to approved work plan; A final report for the period of engagement incorporating the feedback from DGD and the Advocacy Team and the consultants.   Supervision The Project Director of DGD will provide strategic guidance to the consultant in the discharge of the assignment while monitoring and supervision will be carried out by the Democratic Governance Gender Experts. The total fee will be paid in three instalments as follows: 30% upon submission of a detailed work plan of the assignment with timeframes, indicators and outputs at the commencement of the assignment and agreed upon by DGD; 30% upon submission and clearance of progress report of activities implemented according to approved work plan; 40% upon submission and clearance of a final report detailing technical support provided to the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Review Process of the 1999 and its Team of Experts and recommendations on way forward. For all approved travel outside Abuja, transportation and accommodation costs will be covered in addition to the consultancy fee.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Required Skills and Experience

Education: First degree in Law, Political Science, Gender and Development studies or any social science related field Experience: At least 5years relevant experience providing administrative support service; Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.); Excellent drafting and report writing skills; Good interpersonal skills Language Requirements: Strong skills in written communications in English; Excellent spoken English is also required. Note: DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS. Interested individual contractors must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications alongside their proposal:   Proposal: Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work Past experience in carrying out similar assignment with verifiable evidence i.e. reference with detail contacts All proposals must be submitted alongside signed cover letter. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects with detailed contacts relating to the project and at least 3 references Financial proposal Lump sum contracts The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. Your financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the lump sum   All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. All travels shall be refunded by UNDP at economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she shall do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets (economy class), lodging and terminal expenses shall be paid at UNDP rate. Individual Contractors responding to this request for Individual Contractors should use the Price Schedule in Annex 1 below in their submission:   Selection Criteria   Cumulative analysis The evaluation Criteria as shown in the table below shall be used to evaluate all the proposals received. The award of the Individual Contractors Contract shall be made to the individual contractors 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 that obtain a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. The maximum 30 points all be allotted to the lowest bid, all other bids shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fee e.g. [30 Points] x [Naira lowest] / [Naira other] = points for other proposer’s fees Selection Criteria: Education 10points At least 5years relevant experience providing administrative support 30points Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) 30points Financial proposal 30points TOTAL 100points

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