Individual Consultant

  United Nations Development Programme -UNDP

Individual Consultant – State Project Manager-Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning - Bangalore
Location :	Bangalore, INDIA, INDIA
Application Deadline :	28-Jan-21 (Midnight New York, USA)
Time left :	15d 0h 46m
Type of Contract :	Individual Contract
Post Level :	National Consultant
Languages Required :	English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	01-Feb-2021
Duration of Initial Contract :	One Year

 

Background

The DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission) is the flagship program of the Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India relaunched in 2016 for promoting poverty reduction by building strong institutions of the poor, particularly women. The program creates and enables community-owned institutions of women to empower and make them economically self-reliant by improving their agency to access a range of livelihood and financial services and maximize their resources for creating sustainable livelihood opportunities.  The state governments are mandated to set up dedicated Mission Management Units at the state, district, and village/community level for the effective implementation of the NRLM scheme.  The mission provides regular hand-holding support to SHG/federations for a period of 5-7 years.  At the end of a full implementation cycle, the SHGs/federations are well prepared to become resource institutions at the community level for providing evidence and support to other social initiatives.  Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) The State Government is implementing the DAY-NRLM scheme in phases through Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society in the name of “Sanjeevini”. The mission statement of KSRLPS is: “To reduce rural poverty by providing gainful wage and self-employment opportunities through community institutions resulting in sustainable improvement in their livelihoods”.   Sanjeevini is a community-driven and process-oriented program. The processes include different activities such as awareness building, social mobilization, development of Community Resource Persons (CRPs). Formation of CBOs, strengthening SHGs/ CBOs/federations/Livelihood Collectives, the establishment of linkages, and promotion of livelihoods. The conventional methods of monitoring focus on physical, financial, and logistic aspects of projects, but do not capture the processes of community perception, satisfaction with project services, inclusion, and institutional dynamics. As the community processes do not conform to pre-set rules, deadlines, targets, or blueprint approaches, a responsive and adaptive implementation is necessary.   It is in this context that the State government of Karnataka has partnered with UNDP to implement The National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) in Karnataka.  NRETP proposes to implement higher-order economic activities which are cross-cutting in nature, for instance, the project design envisages that there will be an organic link between the model Cluster Level Federation (CFLs) and financial inclusion strategies, insurance, and pension schemes, producer groups, and organizations, product marketing, and enterprise development. The financial inclusion strategy will also have a key role in the financing of farm and non-farm enterprises. UNDP will be uniquely positioned to quickly transfer the technical know-how gained at the national and state-level working across the country.  The state SMMU will be fully synchronized with the National level team working at the center, important for better alignment of state priorities with those of the national program while formulating the State-specific poverty reduction action plans.   Under the scheme, UNDP is looking for a State Project Manager_ Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning to undertake the activities as provided below. The incumbent will be based at KSRLPS and will perform duties under the direct supervision of the Mission Director.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Mission Director-KSRLPS the incumbent will focus on the achievement of the following results: ·        Provides guidance for the state and district team for the preparation of district profiles suitable/supportive to the programs of the mission ·        Designing and implementing required research activities ·        Explore research opportunities and develop proposals ·        Develop Questionnaires and other tools to collect quantitative and qualitative data. ·        Undertake and oversee data collection using different research tools, editing of raw data ·        Conducting/facilitating labor market survey, skill gap analysis, market research for products and services of beneficiaries of the mission ·        Developing and managing MIS and M&E Mechanisms ·         Providing periodic analytical and narrative MIS report to MD about the performance of the project at various levels ·        Monitoring and ensuring data entry at different levels ·        Work with SPM – Social Development and Communication in developing web-based monitoring and evaluation mechanism. ·        Prepares quarterly analytical reports using the MIS data ·        Visit different districts for effective periodical monitoring and supportive supervision Ensures that the activities of the organization are studied periodically and gets reported in reputed national and international journals

Competencies

·        Experience in planning Monitoring and Evaluation strategies at the State level ·        Concurrent Monitoring systems development ·        Good data analysis and conceptualization skills ·        Ability to write concept notes, proposals, etc., and make effective presentations ·        Ability to build and sustain effective partnerships with Government Agencies and private sector organizations ·        Proven ability to coordinate the work of others and to work as part of a team and share knowledge with others Demonstrated openness to change and ability to manage complex situations.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications: Fulltime Post Graduate Degree or PG Diploma (2 Yrs) in relevant field or Economics / Business Administration / Rural Development / Statistics / Development Studies / Social Work / Agriculture / Economics or equivalent discipline. Experience: ·        10+ years in a large size livelihood development project at the State level, responsible for monitoring, evaluation and learning, and allied activities. ·        Should have exposure to MEL processes tools and techniques. ·        Should have handled large scale monitoring, evaluation, and learning projects preferably in the development sector. ·        Demonstrable experience of MEL, ensuring the delivery of high-quality MEL as well as managing internal learning processes across virtual teams ·        Ability to work as a team and train staff on the job to use the systems: Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities ·        Excellent analytical skills particularly with social processes. ·        Good communication and drafting skills Duration of The Work: The contract will be awarded for one year initially. Working days will be as per the State Government / KSRLPS policy. Official Travel In case of an official journey within/outside the state, candidates will be entitled to reimbursement from KSRLPS. All official travel must be authorized and certified in advance by KSRLPS.  Languages Required: Fluency in English spoken, read, and write for all official communication is essential and Kannada preferable. SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS Consolidated annual consultancy fees (Remuneration) of INR 13,20,000/- payable in equal monthly installments of INR 1,10,000/- upon submission of monthly progress report certified by the reporting officer. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT:  ·        The contract will be administered by UNDP on behalf of the KSRLPS, Government of Karnataka ·        The consultant should report to the Mission Director, KSRLPS, Government of Karnataka ·        All the logistic support related to official travel will be borne by the KSRLPS, Government of Karnataka. ·        The consultant will be entitled to 2 days of leave per month (non-encashable). The accumulated leaves will be forfeited on the termination/further extension of the contract period. Documentation Required Personal CV indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least 3 professional references. Evaluation Method and criteria Preliminary shortlisting would be done based on the following criteria: ·        Educational Qualification 30 marks. ·        Relevant Experience 40 marks. ·        Interview for 30 marks Those who obtain a minimum of 70% of total of 70 marks (Educational Qualification & Relevant Experience) will be eligible to appear for the interview.  Interview for the shortlisted candidates would be either conducted face to face in Bangalore or by telephone/over skype. The contract shall be awarded on a merit basis. For more information and online application click here