Individual Consultant – State Coordination, Uttar Pradesh

Background
ObjectiveTo support UNDP to coordinate with civil society organizations, government departments and private sector partnerships for Uttar Pradesh.BackgroundThe Covid 19 pandemic has posed severe challenges especially for the vulnerable section of Uttar Pradesh. The second wave has been very severe, and it has impacted a large population in Uttar Pradesh especially major urban centers. Physical distancing has become a new normal and one has to learn to live with it. Unemployment is set to rise and conditions of the poor and marginalized is bound to deteriorate further with dip in economy. Such scenario calls for adopting innovative measures for combating the new challenges while adapting ways to cope.With GDP contraction in last financial year FY , the challenges in getting into jobs and enterprise opportunities for the masses has been immense. Abysmally low FLFPR (18%) and soaring unemployment were already existing challenges. COVID-19 second wave is placing further stress on an already vulnerable segment in many ways. The fault lines created due to COVID-19 in livelihood activities of community-based organization will ratchet events to an irreversible vicious cycle.The second wave is severely impacting the economic recovery and the socio-economic wellbeing of the poor and marginalized populations, further pushing vulnerable groups below the poverty line. It has impacted the tourism, MSME and informal sectors, and disrupted jobs, availability of essential supplies, livelihoods of daily-wage workers and food security. With more than 80 percent of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector, and one-third working as casual laborers, one of the greatest challenges is to address the socio-economic and human rights impact of COVID on the poor and marginalized populations. The vulnerable and deprived communities now face a double burden of disease, displacement from their homes and scarcity of essential items, along with the existing economic vulnerabilities.Last year, UNDP created partnerships with multiple state departments and formed Uttar Pradesh Covid-19 Economic Recovery Alliance (UPCERA) with the support of 14 large development sector partners. UNDP supported economic recovery of more than 100,000 families directly through awareness, capacity building, market linkages and social protection etc. Through alliance and government partners, the UNDP programs has impacted millions of populations in Uttar Pradesh indirectly. There is need to support the state government as well as civil society organization in coordination to mitigate the adverse fall out of second wave of Covid-19 on public systems and strengthen the public systems to manage the crisis well.To build on UNDP work last year and effectively support the UNDP work on relief, recovery with build back better approach with the stakeholders in Uttar Pradesh, UNDP is looking to hire an experienced development professional with experience in government relationship, strategy development, monitoring & evaluation, data analytics etc.
Duties and Responsibilities
Scope of Work:The consultant will support the UNDP State Head of Uttar Pradesh on developing the partnerships and coordinating with civil society, government, and private sector to support a holistic covid-19 relief and recovery response for citizens of Uttar Pradesh.Objectives of the assignment:Identify critical needs of the departments in government of Uttar Pradesh with special focus on Rural Development, Urban Development, Office of Relief Commissioner, MSME, Labour, Health, Skills etc.Map the presence of civil society organization across all the districts, blocks, village, and cities of Uttar Pradesh and develop a database of itSupport in coordination of Uttar Pradesh Covid-19 Economic Recovery Alliance activities (newsletter, website, dashboard updation, minutes of meeting etc.)Support in design solutions like apps, templates, reporting formats based on the need communicated by relevant departments of Uttar Pradesh as COVID responseFacilitate convergence among departments for achievement of goals, support the department in drafting Governmental and Official OrdersFacilitate convergence among civil society organizations for achievement of common objectives related to Covid-19 relief and recovery support to citizensDevelop partnership with private sector nationally and globally to support covid-19 relief and recovery work for Uttar PradeshActivities:The specific tasks to be undertaken are as follows:a. Partnerships with government departments & technical supportPrepare a report on current scenario, anticipated disruptions and/or bottlenecks, and the available resources specific to the departmentConduct 2-4 meetings with various stakeholders of UPSRLM, MGNREGA, Labour, MSME, MSDE, UPSDM, Urban Development, Rural Development and related departments and officers to map the needsPrepare 2 brief concept notes on policy response by analyzing the existing data available with the departments and creating brief policy notes on issues identified by government Coordinate with different department for implementation of the activities.?b. Partnership with Civil Society Organization and Uttar Pradesh Covid-19 Economic Recovery Alliance (UPCERA)Convene monthly meetings of UPCERA Alliance, and write minutes of meetingWork with UPCERA alliance partners on developing newsletter, dashboard, joint programming opportunities on monthly basisFacilitate government support and related communications to UPCERA alliance partnersPrepare one well researched report to document ground level implementation challenges and identify possible areas of intervention for addressing the critical needs so as to ensure economic recovery for vulnerable families including women headed householdsSupport in strategy formulation with the timeline, potential timelines, activities, deliverables, budget, implementation mechanism, monitoring, and evaluation frameworkc. Partnership with national and global private sector organizations and foundations for Uttar PradeshPrepare a report on mapping of the private sector organizations and international foundation interested in Uttar Pradesh as a geography and their thematic areaDeveloping two concept notes on new programmes relevant to the citizens of Uttar Pradesh in partnership with interested private sector organizationsOrganize two roundtables and workshop on SDG/MPI/Development challenges relevant to UP with private sector organizationsd. Implementation SupportCoordinate with implementation partners and their teams for timely achievement of project objectives and targetsDevelop implementation mechanism, monitoring, and evaluation framework, knowledge management framework for achieving the intended outputs and outcomes as per program documentBuild capacity of teams of government department and civil society organizations in order to implement the decided solutionsMonitor the implementation of project activities in consultation with private sector, government departments and implementation partners on periodic basisPrepare the paperwork and facilitate approvals in place before implementation of the strategy and activities with appropriate departmentsSupport data collection, analysis, documentation, and reporting for the COVID 19 economic recovery activities conducted with the concerned departmentMonitor the activities and ensure implementation of activities of technical support agency selected to support implementation of COVID response across Uttar PradeshAny other activity as required by the supervisore. CommunicationsSupport the UNDP in drafting communications for partners in Uttar PradeshSupport development of IEC materials and collaterals as and when requiredSupport in organization of roundtable, workshop, consultation as per requirementAny other activity as required by the supervisorf. ReportingPrepare meeting notes and meeting minutes; draft articles, speeches, briefings, presentations, reports; compile documents and collate information as and when requiredEnsure close monitoring of implementation and achievement of deliverables as per agreed workplanPrepare project progress report, monitoring reports as per workplanAny other activity as required by the supervisor
Competencies
Functional Competencies:Functional Competencies:Job Knowledge/Technical ExpertiseOverall understanding of livelihood situation of the countryExperience working with the Central and/or State Government will be an added advantageExcellent data sciences skillsExcellent demonstrated documentation skills vis-a-vis MS Office Suite and prior experience in developing concept notes / reports / project plans will be essentialSelf-motivated and ability to work with minimal supervisionCommunication skillsGood communication, interpersonal skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.Core Competencies:Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrityWorks as a team member
Required Skills and Experience
Recruitment Qualifications: Educational Qualifications: Postgraduate in Development Studies/Social Work/Rural Management etc. qualification is essentialExperience: At least five years of experience in programme design and implementation in development sectorAt least two years of experience of working with Government departments or agencies or UN systemExperience in implementation of programmes at state level, documentation of project reports, development of apps & dashboards, and stakeholder managementExcellent communications, documentation (MS Word, Excel) and data sciences skills in EnglishLanguage Requirements: Fluency in Hindi & English is essential.Duration of the Contract7 monthsDeliverables & Schedule of Payment

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