Consultant to Prepare the South Sudan Funding Request to the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM)

UNDP South Sudan currently serves as the Global Fund interim Principal Recipient (PR) for HIV/RSSH and TB grants allocated to South Sudan. The grants aim to provide comprehensive TB and HIV services and building Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) in South Sudan. The Global Fund grants provide critical services by addressing the gaps observed in the health service delivery in the country. UNDP works in partnership with the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), the Ministry of Health and other partners supporting the South Sudan health sector.

South Sudan confirmed its first Covid-19 case on 5 April 2020 and has subsequently confirmed 44 additional cases, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 45 by early May 2020. The Ministry of Health, with technical support from partners, is now responding to the outbreak by conducting outbreak investigation activities and scaling up active and sentinel surveillance, risk communication, coordination, IPC and case management activities.

In order to complement Government efforts in the fight against Covid-19 in South Sudan, UNDP would like to recruit a Consultant for a period of 20 days to Prepare the South Sudan Funding Request to the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM). The due date for the Funding Request is 31 May 2020.

The Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism is designed to:

1. Support direct COVID-19 responses in countries, such as purchase of diagnostics and personal protective equipment (PPE), and other emergency response supplies.
2. Fund activities to mitigate risks and impact of COVID-19 on HIV, TB, and malaria activities.
3. Address critical gaps in health and community systems, such as strengthening laboratory networks, supply chains and community engagement.

Eligibility and conditions to access C19RM include:

1. All countries with active grants are eligible for support through C19RM. Current multi-country grants/regional grants are also eligible through Regional Coordination Mechanisms.
2. Unlike requests to use flexibilities (savings/reprogramming) submitted by PRs, CCMs will coordinate and submit funding requests to access C19RM funds. All CCM members are required to endorse this funding request using the standard endorsement form. This requires involvement of all stakeholders, including civil society and key populations.

For more information, please refer to the Global Fund website: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/funding-model/updates/2020-04-22-covid-19-response-mechanism-application-materials 

Duties and Responsibilities for the Consultant to Prepare the South Sudan Funding Request to the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM).

1. Submission of an Inception Report Detailing the Following
   1. Design of the assignment/approach/workplan
   2. List of documents to be reviewed
   3. List of stakeholders to be consulted

1. Development of the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism Funding Request
   1. Activities
2. Review the South Sudan COVID-19 Country Preparedness and Response Plan
3. Review the HIV, TB and Malaria programs implementation strategy/approach
4. Assess the national systems for health structures and readiness vis-à-vis the COVID-19 pandemic
5. Review and Prioritize the intervention to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on HIV, TB and Malaria programs
6. Map existing preparedness and response capacity and identify key gaps
7. Prioritize the interventions to fight the COVID-19
8. Prioritize the interventions to fill gaps in health and community systems
9. Select the interventions to be included in the COVID-19 response mechanism funding request
10. Draft the funding request
11. Present the draft funding request
12. Finalize the funding request
    1. Deliverables
13. Draft COVID-19 response mechanism funding request and annexes

Final COVID-19 response mechanism funding request and annexes

Payment Method for the Consultancy  

1. The consultant shall be paid a daily rate (based on the number of working days worked)
2. The consultant shall not be paid the Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) because this is a Homebased consultancy
3. Payments will be based on the Certificate of Payments to be submitted to UNDP
4. The final payment shall be paid upon performance evaluation from the direct supervisor

Reporting for the Consultant

1. The Consultant shall report to the Global Fund Coordination Advisor and the CCM Chair

Evaluation of the Consultant

Applicants will be evaluated based upon their submitted expressions of interest and financial proposals, which includes a cumulative analysis method based upon a combination of technical and financial evaluation results.

Required Competencies for the Consultant

Corporate Competencies

1. Demonstrates diplomacy and tact in dealing with sensitive and complex situations
2. Able to work in difficult and remote areas for extended periods of time

Professionalism

1. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter
2. Demonstrated ability to negotiate and apply good judgment
3. Shows pride in work and in achievements
4. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results

Planning & Organizing

1. Organizes and accurately completes multiple tasks by establishing priorities while taking into consideration special assignments, frequent interruptions, deadlines, available resources and multiple reporting relationships
2. Plans, coordinates and organizes workload while remaining aware of changing priorities and competing deadlines

Establishes, builds and maintains effective working relationships with staff and clients to achieve the planned results

Qualifications for the Consultant

Education

1. An advanced university degree in Public Health, Epidemiology with a proven track record in preparing large-scale technical funding requests and country response strategies  
2. A Degree in Medicine with extensive training and experience in Epidemiology and infectious disease outbreaks will be an asset

Experience

1. At least 10 years of working experience in preparing large-scale technical funding requests, designing national strategies for infectious disease outbreaks, and managing public health programmes
2. Experience in preparing Covid-19 response strategies will be an asset
3. A good understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic is an added advantage
4. Strong experience in providing technical programmatic assistance to developing countries and post-conflict settings
5. Ability to meet tight deadlines and to work effectively under pressure

1. Excellent analytical and written skills proven by produced evaluation reports or relevant documents in English
2. Computer skills including Microsoft office, spreadsheet, database, etc.

Guidelines for Applications

Interested applicants are advised to carefully review this advertisement and ensure that they meet the requirements and qualifications described.

Evaluation criteria for the International consultancy

• Applicants shall be evaluated based upon their submitted expressions of interest and financial proposals, which includes a cumulative analysis method based a combination of technical and financial evaluation results
• Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following’s methodology:
• Cumulative analysis
• When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant 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%]

 Applicants are to submit:

• Signed and Updated Personal History Form (P11) or CV. The template can be downloaded from this link: http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc).
• Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability indicating all-inclusive daily rate in USD).

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. rent of dwelling, fee, health insurance, vaccination, visa costs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged costs (except of the unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any) must be included in the financial proposal. Unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any, will be paid separately according to UNDP rules and regulations. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. Per diems cannot exceed UN DSA rates (http://icsc.un.org/rootindex.asp).

​​​​​​​Security: Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://trip.dss.un.org

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we can inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.