Provision of Standardized and Customizable Assessment Content Services

By way of this Request for Expression of Interest (REOI), the United Nations (UN) Procurement Division seeks expressions of interest from qualified service providers capable of delivering skills-based assessment content and related professional services in support of the UN Office of Human Resources (OHR), Global Strategy and Policy Division (GSPD). The UN Secretariat, through the Office of Human Resources (OHR), is seeking qualified firms for the provision of standardized and customizable assessment content and related professional services to support the Staff Selection 2.0 programme and the implementation of the UN Assessment Framework. Staff Selection 2.0, endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 77/278, is the Secretariat initiative to advance skills-based recruitment. The content will be used in the UN staff selection mainly through assessments administered on or integrated with the UN Online Examinations and Tests System (UNOETS), the UN in-house testing platform based on Moodle. Materials for in-person assessment-centre exercises will be supplied in formats agreed with the UN. The UN Assessment Framework adopts a multi-method, multi-stage approach to candidate assessment, in which lighter-touch methods may be used for early screening and higher-fidelity methods at later stages. The required assessment content will support valid, reliable, fair, accessible and efficient evaluation of candidates, mitigate bias, and contribute to the Organization's objectives related to merit-based selection, equitable geographical distribution, gender balance, disability inclusion, multilingualism and workforce rejuvenation. Assessment content is expected to support the assessment of Core (broad, generic, and transferable) skills and Leadership and Management skills, grouped into the assessment construct clusters, across a broad range of occupational groups, job families and organizational levels throughout the UN Secretariat. The planned solicitation is structured in four Lots, one for each assessment method: • Lot 1 - Reasoning tests: verbal, numerical, abstract and other reasoning tests, including computer-adaptive testing (CAT) batteries; • Lot 2 - Self-report questionnaires: personality inventories and working-style inventories; • Lot 3 - Situational judgment tests (SJTs): tests presenting realistic work situations and asking candidates to choose or rate possible responses; general SJTs and SJTs adapted to the UN context; and • Lot 4 - Job simulations and assessment centres: in-tray and e-tray exercises, role plays, analysis-presentation exercises, group exercises, and digital or immersive simulations, and where offered, the design and running of virtual and in-person assessment centres. Item banks and modular components may be offered within any Lot: they are not a separate Lot. Related professional services, such as assessment design, customization, validation, implementation, technical integration, administration, training, and support, form part of each Lot. Assessment content may be used in both high-volume and low-volume recruitment exercises, including roster-based recruitments, centrally administered programmes and position-specific selection exercises across the United Nations Secretariat globally. Indicative volumes for planning purposes only, are approximately 850 assessment exercises and 56,000 applicants annually, with a maximum planning scenario of up to 5,000 concurrent test takers in a testing window. Actual volumes under any resulting contract will be demand-driven and are not guaranteed. Vendors may express interest in one or more Lots: each Lot will be evaluated separately, and vendors are not required to bid for all Lots. The detailed scope of requirements will be provided within the Request for Proposal (RFP), which will be sent out to all vendors responding to this EOI. No further details can be made available prior to the issuance of the RFP solicitation. NOTE: Due to the expected high volume of communications, please follow the instructions below: 1. Please review all the information provided in this Request for Expression of Interest document. 2. Interested vendors must register electronically by clicking on the form link provided on page 5 of this document. At this stage please do not submit any additional information. 3. If you have questions related to UN vendor registration, please follow the instructions provided on page 5 of this document or contact register@un.org. Specific Requirements/Information NOTE: This solicitation will be conducted through the ARIBA platform (e-tendering) directly connected to UNGM data. Therefore, interested vendors are instructed to verify that their UNGM account is up to date regarding the contact information (representatives' email addresses) in order to ensure receipt of tender notifications. This REOI does not constitute a Solicitation; responding to the REOI does not guarantee that the Vendor will be invited to participate in the Solicitation when issued. The UN reserves the right to change or cancel the procurement at any time during the REOI process or the formal Solicitation process. The UN reserves the right to send the Solicitation Documents to Vendors who were identified through additional market research or other means to source the UN requirements.