TEAM LEADER-OIC-COMCEC POVERTY STUDY

COMCEC Coordination Office (the Ministry of Development) requested UNDP Turkey to conduct a study entitled “Enhancing Productive Capacity of the Poor in the COMCEC Member Countries through Improving Human Capital” which will be submitted to the Working Group Meeting on Poverty Alleviation. This study will serve as a resource document within the ‘poverty alleviation’ area covering the 57 OIC member countries, and will be linked to capacity development initiatives and programming support by COMCEC. Poverty alleviation is a key concern relating to the economic and social development in many of the COMCEC member countries. Although most of the developing countries experienced significant progress on poverty reduction and achievement of the MDGs, poverty levels are still high for a considerable number of countries. Particularly countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia account for almost half of the total poor in developing countries. The recent global financial and food crises have worsened situation, strengthening the need for efficient poverty reduction policies. This review will focus on key lessons in poverty reduction, particularly from the perspective of improvements in human capital—with a special focus on income generation for poor households, vocational education, social enterprises, and active labour market policies addressing the poor. With respect to the definition of human capital and the broader definition of poverty from a multi-dimensional perspective and welfare, other areas such as health policies that strengthen poor households’ welfare will also be relevant. Similarly, any programme on education sector (formal and informal education) that improves the employability of the poor will also be relevant. The objective of this work is to prepare a comparative analytical study focusing on the experiences of 57 OIC member countries in investing on human capital for strengthened productivity/employability of the poor. This comparative assessment will be used as a reference material during the Working Group Meeting of COMCEC on Poverty Alleviation. As such this study will serve to: Draw attention to the importance of investments on productive capacity of the poor for poverty alleviation through presenting real experiences of the member countries and sharing lessons learned on this topic. Investigate the latest trends and policies on improving human capital for enhanced productive capacity of the poor, using the data from member countries and global information that could be relevant for the member countries, with recommendations for planning and implementation of such policies in COMCEC countries in general. Draw attention to the importance of investments on productive capacity of the poor for poverty alleviation through presenting real experiences of the member countries and sharing lessons learned on this topic. In this connection, this support will contribute to the COMCEC Strategy (http://www.comcec.org/UserFiles/File/28.isedak/Tum%20dokumanlar/Strategy/STRATEJI%20RAPORU-finallll%207%20kas%EF%BF%BDm.pdf) that aims at increasing the cooperation of member countries. The Strategy is based on three core principles. These principles are: Enhancing Mobility Strengthening Solidarity  Improving Governance As such, the findings and recommendations of this study will also link with the above principles to the extent possible. In addition to explicitly linking with the above core principles, the study will also give due consideration to the topics such as inclusive growth, reducing inequalities, sustainable growth and continued prosperity for all, while selecting successful practices and developing recommendations.

Duties and Responsibilities

For this assignment, UNDP Turkey will recruit external consultants and will also engage Country offices in OIC member countries, Regional Bureaus and Bureau for Development Policy to the extent possible to ensure quality control and coherence. UNDP Turkey will coordinate the conduct of this study, with its mandate for strengthening Turkey’s role in international platforms. The comparative study will be prepared by the team composed of the experts, under the overall coordination and supervision of UNDP-Turkey: The team leader will be responsible for preparing the methodology including the questionnaire, overall coordination of the inputs received, and preparation of the final document. S/he will also present the report at the Working Group Meeting on Poverty Alleviation which will be launched in June 2013. S/he will conduct below tasks: Have online briefing sessions with relevant Units of UNDP and Ministry of Development to reach an understanding on all topics relating to the Terms of Reference. These briefing sessions will be organized by UNDP Turkey.  S/he will be responsible for overall coordination of the team as well as timely completion of the report as per the time-plan presented in this ToR. As such, s/he will be incorporating the inputs received from the Regional poverty experts into an analytical study with key messages, drawing conclusions and recommendations based on the expertise of the whole team. Preparation of the methodology, including the Outline of the Study, approach in the comparative assessment and a questionnaire for country level info sheet (to be inputted to and consequently used by the regional Poverty experts), for submission to the Ministry of Development. This methodology should also include a detailed time-plan that shows the sequence of the actions, for the whole team. Conduct desk review to develop an understanding of the latest literature on poverty reduction through increased productivity with investments in human capital and capability. This includes the latest global and regional trends/developments and different institutional approaches. The references used throughout the process will be presented in the References section of the report.  Draft the Conceptual Framework section of the report drafted based on definitions, global trends including Post 2015 and MDGs as well as the common agenda of the OIC member states with reference to the COMCEC Strategy to the extent possible. This section will be revised or refined as per the inputs received from the member countries, as needed. Coordinate the work of the Regional Poverty experts (country reports and regional/sub-regional patterns of poverty reduction work) to lead to a coherent consolidated report and in line with the planned calendar. Contact relevant advisors/focal points within various units of UNDP to receive comments and inputs as planned.

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; Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment Functional Competencies: Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations, strong adherence to deadlines; Strong analytical skills and ability to synthesize/process information from various sources Familiarity and openness to multicultural values Excellent drafting and writing skills in English Strong presentation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Minimum Master Degree in Economics, International Relations, Public Administration or related fieldExperience: Education: At least 10 years of proven international consultancy experience in topics including income generation, poverty reduction and research on development cooperation issues. Good level of knowledge in regional and global trends and understanding of development and particularly poverty reduction. Good level of knowledge on various international and multi-national platforms. Prior experience with OIC and its member countries is an asset. Prior experience in policy oriented research is an asset. Good level of knowledge on various international and multi-national platforms. Language skills: Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English. Evaluation and Application:   The evaluation will be based on cumulative analysis (i.e. technical qualifications and price proposal). The weight of the technical criteria is 70%; the weight of the financial proposal is 30%. The Procurement Notice for the position can be reached at http://www.undp.org.tr/Gozlem2.aspx?WebSayfaNo=4812 . The applications made in accordance with the instructions available at the Procurement Notice will only be considered.   FC: 30071

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.