Unicef recruits a Consultant for Navision Installation, Configuration and User Training (working 25 days) – Lusaka, Zambia

 

 

Unicef :

The UNICEF Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the threat of poverty the country’s children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.

In response to the combination these threats involve the Programme supports national efforts to improve service delivery in the key areas of: child health and nutrition and HIV and AIDS, quality basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene education, child protection and social policy, advocacy and communication.

To find out more about UNICEF’s work in Zambia, please visit https://www.unicef.org/zambia/.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the Consultancy: To provide training and software set up services

 

 

Background :

Since 2003, the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) has been implementing the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme.  Over the years the programme has grown to full national coverage, with over 700,000 beneficiary households. This translates to about 3 million people being assisted by Social Cash Transfers. The programme has been one of the most successful Social Protection programmes to date, with positive impact to beneficiary household welfare, living conditions, self-esteem and even improved productivity. However, despite this, there is need to continue strengthening and building robust programme and financial management systems to ensure sustainable, effective and efficient programme delivery.

A Fiduciary Risk Assessment (FRA) of the programme, 2015, concluded that the fiduciary risk level associated with scaling up the SCT is substantial.  The report recommended strengthening the Ministry’s financial management and reporting. Subsequently, in 2016, MCDSS and Cooperating Partners agreed an action plan based on the FRA. Through this action plan, the United Nations Joint Programme, UNICEF provides technical assistance to MCDSS for the strengthening and development of social protection systems and the implementation of the SCT. among these systems is financial management. Recent assurance activities conducted related to Financial Management, have indicated that financial management gaps in the Ministry continue to exist. One of these gaps is that financial reporting, from the Districts, lacks accuracy and is not real time. Efforts have been that need to be strengthened.

In efforts to fill this gap, MCDSS has requested UNICEF to procure financial management software to provide real time, web based financial management visibility from district level. Also, to hire a consultant to build capacity in the use of this software.

 

 

Justification :

To date staff at MCDSS are able to mane finances using a financial management tool, however the tool is manual i.e. excel based. This entails that once district officers have populated the sheet it is sent to Provincial Accountants who review and consolidate the information, provide a provincial report and forward to HQ for further consolidation. Though the tool has over time been improved with validation checks, it does not provide real time tracking of expenditure. The consultants will build capacity of MCDSS staff entailing government ownership of system once operationalised. UNICEF will only provide capacity building financial assistance thereafter MCDSS will continue with maintenance.

Linkage to IT is foreseen, with the software being an IT solution. It is desired that IT provides quality assurance around the configuration of the software to meet the needs of the business owners. Also, Child Protection Section may profit from the software as the same district officers are implementing the PWAS education support and SEEVCA case management. The software can later be upgraded to include functionality for budget tracking for the two interventions.

 

 

Objectives / Target :

The overall objective of the consultancy will be to provide services to Financial Management software roll-out for Social Cash Transfer Programme. The Consultant will be expected to work with relevant departments within MCDSS to attain effective Financial Management of resources in MCDSS – SCT. The consultant will also be expected to provide advice and recommendations on potential/further Financial Management work.

• Configuration of Navision Software to suit MCDSS needs;
• Training of Users in Navision Software;
•  Backstopping (second level support) post operationalizing.

 

 

Description of the Assignment (Scope of Work)/ Specific tasks :

The overall assignment is likely to take 25 working days to complete and will take the following themes;

• Configuration of software to include business owner discussions/meetings: this will be characterized by inception meeting held with MCDSS (both finance department and social welfare department to be present). Meeting should yield a clear picture of business owner (users in MCDSS) requirements. These user requirements must be documented and endorsed by MCDSS. Thereafter consultants can proceed to configure the software to mimic business processes conducted by the Ministry, with regards to management of finances. Once configuration is completed, a completion report will be written and endorsed by the Ministry as satisfactory. the report should highlight clarity of functions and user-friendliness of system.
• The 22 computers and Navision software will be provided UNICEF;
• User training; once computers are installed with configured software a training workshop will be held. First users from HQ and provincial Offices will be trained. These shall be super users, who will have heightened functions and will provide support to district offices once system operational. Thereafter training of District level users will be held and super users to be present. Approximately 40 users will be trained in total;
• Second level support-Backstopping for the first 3 weeks of software use; the consultant (s) to provide second level support for the first 3 weeks of operationalizing software at District level i.e. remote backstopping of 10 Districts. First level support will be Provincial Accountants and any issues unresolved will be escalated to the consultants for resolution.

 

Expected Deliverables :

Task	Expected Output	Deliverables	Timeframe (Tentative)	Payment Schedule
Build capacity of MCDSS staff in Navision Software	Meeting with MCDSS to understand business requirements       Installation and configuration of software to meet business requirements	-Inception report highlighting business requirements from MCDSS	5th July 2019	25%
		-Completion report endorsed by MCDSS
	Training of users in software usage i.e. HQ, Provincial and Districts	-Training material/guide -User manuals -End of training report	12th July2019	45%
	Backstopping of users (second level support)	-FAQs -revised user manuals	29th July 2019	20%
	Close out meeting with MCDSS	-End of consultancy report, that includes recommendations	4th August2019	10%
			TOTAL	100%

 

 

Reporting requirements :

During the course of the assignment the Consultant will work closely with the UNICEF Social Policy Specialist and provide the following reports:

• Inception Report
• Configuration completion Report
• Draft and Final Report
• Training/Presentation material
• Workshop/training evaluation report

 

 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT :

This Consultancy will be managed by the Social Policy and Research (SPR) Section. With the exception of travel for training of Users, the consultancy will be home – based. The Consultant will be expected to update the Social Policy Specialist, Director Social Welfare and Director Finance on progress towards key deliverables and/ or challenges on a weekly basis.

 

 

Location and duration :

 

• Starting period: tentative  start date for this assignment is 1^st July, 2019:
• Duration of assignment: Indicative schedule of the assignment is;
• inception visit and report 3 days;
• -configuration of software 4 days;
• -training of super users and District users 8 days;
• -roll-out and backstopping 10 days;
• No field visits are expected for this assignment, per se. Consultant will only travel to training venue. District and Provincial Officer engagement will be done at the training venue, which will be at one central location. Training will be conducted outside Lusaka. The inception meeting, however, be held at MCDSS HQ, Lusaka. Consultant to meet their own cost of travel (to be included in financial proposal). UNICEF will meet conference package costs at training venue and travel costs of participants.

 

Payment Schedule :

 

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have :

• Must have at least Bachelor’s degree in Financial Accounting, Information Technology or equivalent;
• Minimum 3 years’ experience providing training services with at least three notable references;
• Adequate knowledge in WEB based design configuration and installation;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working on Financial Accounting software, training and management and similar work assignment particularly for Navision software;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to actively listen and discuss the work around the scope of work.

Additional Qualifications/Specialized knowledge :

• Good written and communication skills;
• Good computer knowledge;
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

 

 

Evaluation Process and Methods :

• The weight allocated between technical and price proposal. The ratio between the technical and the commercial criteria established shall be 75/25 (technical/commercial). Sum of technical and commercial will equal 100 points,
• Technical evaluation criteria. Please refer to Annex 4 for technical criteria and relative points.

Item	Evaluation Criteria	Points
	Technical Evaluation Criteria
1.0	Overall Response
1.1	Understanding of UNICEF’s requirement based on ToRs.	5
1.2	Understanding of the Consultancy which UNICEF wants to enter based on the documents.	5
1.3	Understanding of developmental issues within Zambia and UNICEF’s role in supporting and coordinating with the Government and other stakeholders.	5
2.0	Company profile and key personnel
2.1	Range and depth of organizational experience with similar projects	5
2.2	Client references and samples of previous work	10
2.3	Relevant experience and qualifications of the proposed team for the assignment	10
3.0	Proposed Methodology and Approach
3.1	Proposed work plan and approach of implementation of the tasks as per the ToR	10
3.2	Training strategies, monitoring and evaluation, quality assurance mechanism	15
3.3	Technologies used – compatibility with MCDSS	10
	Total Technical Scores	75
4.0	Financial Proposal	25
4.1	Financial Proposal
	Grand Total	100

Only proposals which receive a minimum of 60 points under a technical evaluation will be considered technically compliant.

 

 

Administrative issues :

• Evaluation of candidates is conducted on the basis of their profile;
• Bidder should are requested to provide an all-inclusive cost in the financial proposal.  Bidder should be reminded to factor in all cost implications for the required service / assignment;
• Bidder shall be required to include the estimate cost of travel in the financial proposal.  It is essential to clarify that costs for accommodation, meals, transportation (fuel) and incidentals shall need to be factored in.
• Unexpected travels shall also be treated as above;
• UNICEF will not provide office space or a computer for this assignment, the consultant must provide their own.

 

 

For every Child, you demonstrate :

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at Here

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

 

Remarks :

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.