Tender Advertisement #911529

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
CONSULTANCY TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL AND PROGRESS GENDER EQUALITY AND CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT IN GOVERNANCE PRACTICES

Background
The Forum Secretariat is looking to contract a suitably qualified and experienced consultant to prepare an Action Document for Priority Area 3.2 of the Pacific Regional Indicative Programme (PRIP). The final document must be acceptable to all members of the working group and the European Union. An indicative sum of 7 million euros has been allocated to promote and protect human rights for all and progress gender equality and civil society within the region.
The Contracting Authority is the Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) entrusted to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Suva, Fiji. However, proposal development is the responsibility of the South Pacific Community (SPC). The project supervisor will be the Chief Adviser to the Director General of SPC, working in close consultation with the Senior Technical Adviser (EU) based in the RAO’s office. All decisions on implementation of the assignment will be taken in close consultation with the above personnel.

Scope of Works
The scope of works will involve, but not be limited to:
a. Appraising Documents- the Consultant will review existing documents, including an earlier draft of the Action Document. He or she will also have to be very cognizant of relevant EU and Pacific Policy Documents in the areas of Human Rights, Gender and Civil Society;
b. Undertaking a comprehensive stakeholder analysis in the areas of human rights, governance, and civil society engagement and gender issues. The expected outcome will be a concise donor matrix of who is doing what, and which identifies specific gaps which the programme can address, including the identification of potential implementation partners;
c. Holding a Project Design Workshop. In order to carry this out the Consultant will have to first identify a balanced mix of potential partners, outside of SPC, in the fields of Human Rights, Civil Society and Gender. The expected outcome of the resulting two (2) day workshop will be an indicative log frame matrix clearly stating a commonly agreed objective and purpose, together with a set of specific outcomes, activities and measurable indicators. The logframe will also provide existing baselines, targets, sources, and means of verification and assumptions.
d. Preparation of Action Document (AD). The consultant will then prepare a draft AD for agreement by the working group and the European Union Delegation (EUD). Once a text suitable for submission to the Quality Support Group (QSG1) has been agreed, the Consultant will also make himself available to guide the more detailed stage of formulation.

Academic qualifications:
Should have an advanced degree (Masters Level) in social sciences and significant practical experience of working in the Pacific, preferably in the field of human rights, civil society and gender issues.

Knowledge, skills and experience:
• Should be an excellent proposal writer and good communicator.
• Experience in holding participatory workshops is necessary.
• Prior Experience working with EU Development Programmes, desirable, but not essential.
• Computer literate, familiar with Word, Excel and PowerPoint programmes.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
Personal competencies:
• Should have excellent negotiation, facilitation and communication skills
• Should be respectful of Pacific Cultures and Customs
• Should be an excellent report writer in the English Language

Evaluation Criteria:
Item Percentage (%)
Meets all qualifications 15%
Experience for assignment 25%
Methodology 40%
Financial Proposal 20%

The Proposal should be a maximum of 1 ½ pages and include a budget.

How to apply:

Submissions should be entitled:
Expression Of Interest - CONSULTANCY TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL AND PROGRESS GENDER EQUALITY A ND CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT IN GOVERNANCE PRACTICES.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Private Mail Bag
Suva, Fiji

Method of Submissions:
Submissions must be forwarded in PDF format following the instructions at: www.tenders.net/forumsec

*All interested bidders will need to register at www.tenders.net/forumsec

Deadline for Submissions:
Submissions need to reach the Secretariat by 5pm (Fiji time) on Friday, 23 September 2016.

Late or incomplete tenders will not be considered.

All queries or request for information must be submitted via the Question and Answer Forum on www.tenders.net/forumsec before 5pm on Friday 16 September.

All queries will be responded to via the Question and Answer Forum on www.tenders.net/forumsec before 5pm on Tuesday 20 September.

Note: The Secretariat will not be responsible for non-receipt/non-delivery of the Bid documents due to any reason whatsoever.

Any complaints regarding the Secretariat’s tender must be directed to the following email: Tender.Complaints@forumsec.org. This email address will forward your complaint to a person that is independent and removed from the tender process. Complaints must be well founded and should not be used as a mechanism for notifying displeasure with the outcome of a tender award.

In the event that further information is required by the Secretariat in relation to the tender for consultancy, the Secretariat reserves the right to seek the required information without the need for calling for resubmission of proposals.