Monday, October 24, 2011

Consultant: Senior Partnership Strategy Consultant for Strengthening the Partnership Coordination and Management Capacity of the African Union Commiss

The African Union is charged with spearheading Africa’s rapid integration and sustainable development by promoting unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among African States as well as developing a new strategic partnership worldwide. In pursuant of its mandate the AU has established a number of multilateral, bilateral partnerships, as well as relationships with regional groupings and organisations. Several others are under consideration, and others are to be initiated.

In 2009 the AUC conducted a Global Review of Africa’s Strategic Partnerships (GRASP)[1] in an effort to get better clarity on the state of partnerships in the AU. The study identified the need for strengthening these partnerships and to this end the AUC intends to strengthen its capacity to deliver by, amongst others, effective management of Strategic Partnerships between Africa and the rest of the world. Further to this, a decision has been taken by the Executive Council of the AUC to establish a new Partnerships Unit.

UNDP has been a key partner of the AU for many years. Under the Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF), UNDP has been providing support to the AU notably through the Ten Year Capacity Building Programme (TYCBP) and regional programmes focusing ondemocratic and participatory governance in Africa,support for the implementation of the peace and security agenda of the Union, and strengthening institutional capacities of the AUC and selected regional economic communities. UNDP is also currently conducting a management and Technical review of its Regional Programmes to position itself more strategically to support the priorities of the AU.

The AU has requested the assistance of UNDP to strengthen the strategic partnership management and coordination function at the AUC. As a result of this request the UNDP has fielded two missions to the AUC. The first mission was a scoping exercise to provide an analysis of the current partnership management situation and to propose a set of long term and short term actions for the development and setting up the partnerships unit; the second mission was to conduct a capacity needs assessment for partnership management and coordination. The mission reports are annexed and constitute an integral part of this TOR.

The AUC now requires the services of a consultant to assist in the the development of a comprehensive framework for AU partnerships.

[1] Global Review of Africa’s Strategic Partnership with Other Parts of the World.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective and Tasks

The objective of the consultancy is to support the AUC in developing a strategic policy framework to guide partner relationships. The consultant will formulate a policy framework and guiding principles to govern the implementation and coordination of existing partnerships, and to guide the development of future partnerships with a view to promote sound management of development assistance at continental and regional level in support of the AUC’s development objectives. To this end the consultant will perform the following tasks:

  • Review the report on the Global Review of Africa’s Strategic Partnerships (GRASP) which was conducted in 2009;
  • Undertake analyses of existing and newly developed partnerships to establish their relevance, scope, spirit, objectives, action plans, and monitoring mechanisms;
  • Assess consistency and value-addition of existing and developing partnership against AU vision, the 4 pillars of the AUC’s Strategic Plan (2009-2012), and guiding principles;
  • Conduct an internal and external survey of stakeholders on the state of partnerships in the AU, as well as the perceptions and expectation of staff and external partners on the AUC’s performance with respect to partnerships;
  • Undertake an assessment of opportunities for institutional partnerships between the AUC and non-governmental actors (CSOs, private sector, foundations)
  • On the basis of but not limited to the above, prepare a draft partnership strategy elaborating principles, setting forth a clear coherent and consistent framework for engagement with partners, criteria and guidance to manage existing, evolving and/or potential partnerships, and a partnership accountability framework;
  • Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for the implementation of the partnership strategy;
  • Provide strategic guidance and support for partnership meetings that may be held during the period of the contract, including but not limited to the Africa-South America Summit, Senior Officials Meetings with China and Korea, meeting with Turkey, and the Africa-India Plan of Action.
It is important that the forthcoming meetings with partners referred to in should be anchored in a ‘coherent and consistent framework of engagement’ as indicated in the list of tasks above. In this regard a partnership orientation paper shall be prepared for discussion with senior personnel of the AUC before the scheduled meetings. The paper shall set forth a framework for engagement with partners, key principles on partnerships, and elaborate criteria and guidance to manage partnerships.
Expected Deliverables and Timeframe
The assignment will be based at the AUC in Addis Ababa. It is expected to commence on November 2011 and end on 31 January 2012.
Deliverables expected from the assignment are indicated in the table below, with the respective due dates: The delivery dates will be reviewed in consideration of the actual date of assumption of assignment by the consultant.

Review of the GRASP report

30 Nov. 2011

Report on stakeholder survey of AU partnerships

30 Nov. 2011

Partnership orientation paper

15 Dec. 2011

Monitoring framework for the implementation of the AU Partnership Strategy

30 Dec. 2011

Final draft AU Partnership Strategy elaborating principles, setting forth a clear coherent and consistent framework for engagement with partners, criteria and guidance to manage existing, evolving and/or potential partnerships, and a partnership accountability framework

31 Jan. 2012

Institutional Arrangements
With regard to the specific deliverables, the consultant will report to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, who will be responsible for day to day the management of the consultant. The AU Commission will provide the consultant with the necessary logistical support, including workspace, internet access, and secretarial assistance to enable the consultant to perform his official duties.

The UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative (Ethiopia) is entrusted with supervision of the consultant. The latter will report on the progress of activities and other day-to-day implementation issues, and support needed where necessary, to the Resident Representative.

The UNDP Representation to the AU and Liaison Office with UNECA will facilitate and provide in-country administrative and logistical support to the consultant.

The overall management of the assignment and contract will be by the Project Manager of the Regional Project to Strengthen Institutional Capacities to Accelerate Pro-Poor Growth and Accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa, under which the consultant contract is issued. In this regard the Project Manager will have responsibility for monitoring and reporting on overall progress of implementation.

In addition, the UNDP Regional Service Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, will provide technical support to the consultant to undertake the assignment, while the Partnership Bureau in New York will provide guidance on substantive partnership management issues.

Competencies

  • At least 10 years of work experience in the field of development management (with at least 5 years in Africa), strategic/policy advice and/or global geo-politics, donor coordination, and ODA management;
  • Extensive experience with African political institutions, including the Regional Economic Communities and continental institutions;
  • Familiarity with global aid standards such as the Paris Declaration, the Accra Agenda for Action and the Dili Declaration;
  • Strong analytical skills with emphasis on assessments;
  • Knowledge of multi-stakeholder engagement processes;
  • Ability to engage at a very high level;
  • Ability to work independently and creatively, with delegated authority.

Required Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate would have the following profile:

  • Post-graduate degree or equivalent in international relations, or related field with work experience related to partnership development.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposal

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  1. Proposal: (not more than 450 words) (i) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work and (ii) providing a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable);
  2. Financial proposal: indicate monthly fee;
  3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

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.

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