Saturday, October 2, 2010

Request for Expressions of Interest: Baseline Household Survey, Vava’u, Tonga

Consutlant Firms
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International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)
Location: Vavau, Tonga
Last Date: October 14, 2010
Email: djayasuriya@ifc.org (Reference: DevNetJobs.org)
Date 30/09/2010


Subject: Baseline Household Survey, Vava’u, Tonga
Request for Expressions of Interest


IFC-Private Enterprise Partnership for the Pacific (PEP Pacific) intends to finance the following assignment:

Summary Description of the Scope of Work

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank group, has launched a new microfinance initiative for the Pacific in partnership with AusAID. The 12.3 million dollar project will provide funding to microfinance organisations in Papua New Guinea, the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

One organization IFC is supporting is planning to expand operations to the island of Vava’u, Tonga. Vava’u can be reached via a one hour flight from the main Island of Tongatapu. According to the latest Tonga census in 2006, the main island of Vava’u, Neiafu, has 2885 households, 38 villages and a population of 15,505. Villages are accessible by land vehicle and are located within 20 minutes of each other at most.

As part of the microfinance initiative, IFC is committed to undertaking regular monitoring of all programs and ‘in-depth’ evaluations of selected programs. For the purposes of this assignment, IFC is procuring a firm to address the objective of: undertaking a baseline survey of 2685 households in Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga. Only one female between the ages of 18-65 is required to be interviewed in each of these households.

Indicative Timeline

ACTIVITIES/ TIMELINE
RFP Issued: October 18, 2010
Proposals Submission Deadline:October 26, 2010
Review Team Selected and Contract Awarded: November 5, 2010
Survey Questionnaire Finalised (English version provided by IFC). Survey Firm will translate: November 26, 2010
Pilot Survey: Early December 2010
Main Survey: January-February, 2011
Main Survey Results: February 2011

PEP Pacific now invites eligible Consutlant Firms to indicate their interest in providing their services by submitting a response to this Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI). Please note that Consulting Firms may associate with other interested firms or individuals to enhance their qualifications. Firms that have been determined to be qualified through the evaluated results of this first stage may be invited to submit proposals for the Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be issued at a later date.

Interested consultants must provide the following information that will indicate that they are qualified to perform the services:
• Provide information on your expertise and experience with any prior similar assignments; experience in similar conditions; availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.
• Demonstrate a capability to meet the World Bank Group’s Vendor Eligibility Criteria as found on www.worldbank.org/corporateprocurement .
• Please note that Marketing Brochures should only be provided as attachments and will not be considered as a substitute for written responses. Elaborate artwork is not required or encouraged.
Responses must be delivered to the below mentioned personnel by e-mail no later than 5pm Sydney Time, 14 October 2010 and shall not exceed ten (10) pages. If the submitted response exceeds ten (10) pages, IFC reserves the right to read only the first ten(10).
By responding to this REOI, you are confirming compliance with the World Bank Group Procurement Policy.

The responses will be reviewed and those consultants deemed best qualified in IFC’s judgment will be short-listed according to the following criteria:

The following qualifications are desirable
• The firm has previously undertaken large-scale surveys for multi-national firms, NGOs, bi-lateral agencies or multi-lateral agencies in Tonga.

The following qualifications are mandatory:
• The firm has previously undertaken large-scale surveys for multi-national firms, NGOs, bi-lateral agencies or multi-lateral agencies in the Pacific Island Countries.
• The firm has previously translated surveys from English into a Pacific Island country language.


IFC reserves the right to limit the number of qualified firms shortlisted for efficiency. IFC reserves the right to verify any information provided, or to request additional information after REOI packages are received. IFC reserves the right to proceed, or to not proceed, with issuing an RFP. IFC reserves the right to modify the scope of work for the RFP as necessary to meet Project requirements.

All data and information received from IFC for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written notice of IFC.

All correspondence related to this REOI should be addressed in writing only by sending an e-mail to Dinuk Jayasuriya at djayasuriya@ifc.org. IFC is not responsible for any verbal explanation or interpretation of these documents.

Sincerely,




Dinuk Jayasuriya
M&E Specailist
IFC PEP-Pacific

Associate Researcher, Governance and Capacity Group

Associate Researcher, Governance and Capacity Group
    
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
Location: Kanagawa, Japan
Last Date: October 31, 2010
Email: recruit-governancecapacity@iges.or.jp (Reference: DevNetJobs.org)

One Associate Researcher (yearly contract) is wanted.
The Governance and Capacity Group will conduct policy analysis and make policy recommendations regarding governance and capacity issues related to the promotion of sustainable development in Asia. In particular, during the Fifth Phase, the following issues will be main focus areas:
(1) Global governance, focusing on strategies for Rio+20
(2) Regional and National Governance and Environmental Cooperation in East Asia (broadly defined)
(3) Trans-boundary Air Pollution (focusing on domestic factors influencing the potential for international cooperation in East Asia)
(4) Biofuels (policies and environmental, economic, and social impacts in East Asia)
(5) Environmentally Sustainable Consumption
(6) Local governance (7) Participatory Environment Decision Making
Research will be conducted on the above topics in cooperation with various institutes in the Asia-Pacific region, while keeping close connections with international organisations such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Government of Japan, as well as with governments and organizations in other related countries.

Duties and Responsibilities
(1) Plan and conduct research and manage related administrative issues, regarding the following research projects of the GC Group: Global governance for environment and sustainable development, developing strategies for Rio+20
- Regional governance and environmental cooperation in East Asia
- Transboundary air pollution
- New projects that may arise
(2) Contribute to new proposal planning and development
(3) Contribute to IGES participation in relevant international conferences and meetings (such as preparatory meetings for Rio+20, EAS/EMM, TEMM, etc.)
(4) Assist with overall management and operations of the GC group, as necessary

Qualifications
- Should have broad and deep understanding of decision making processes at different levels (international, national, local) and in a variety of different policy contexts, and experience in comparative policy analysis, especially in an Asian context
- Should have a Master�fs degree or above, or equal qualification, in international relations, comparative politics, political economy, public policy, or public administration or other related or relevant field.
- Extensive knowledge on sustainable development issues in the Asia-Pacific region, and knowledge and actual experiences in the above areas of his/her expertise
- Strong motivation to conduct strategic policy related research
- Should have experience in planning, managing, and implementing interdisciplinary strategic policy research and analysis
- Language ability
Strong Japanese language ability (reading, writing publishable reports and articles, speaking/presentations) preferred
Strong English language ability for writing publishable reports and articles and taking part in conference discussions
- More than 5 years work experience in research institutes, universities, think-tanks, governmental agencies, private companies or international organisations is desirable

Term of employment
In principle, from October 2010 to 31 March 2011.

Place of work
Headquarters, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
2108-11, Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan

Work Conditions
- Type of Employment:
Full-time
- Hours of work:9:30-18:00
- Holidays:Saturdays and Sundays, summer holidays (three days), the end and the beginning of the year (29, 30, 31 of December and 2, 3 of January) and national holidays.
Annual vacation (paid leave) will be granted in accordance with the Labour Standard Law of Japan
- Salary:Monthly payment
Salary is determined by IGES regulations, taking into consideration the employee's research career, achievements, occupational history, expertise and experience.
- Allowances:Allowances (overtime, commuting, housing, end-of-term, retirement) will be provided and travel expenses for relocation/return trips will be covered in accordance with the internal rule of IGES
- Insurance:Insurance (health, employee pension, unemployment and workers�f accident compensation) will be partly covered by IGES.

Application
- How to apply:
Step 1: Prepare the application form in English by following the format below.
Step 2: Submit the application form and two recent publications by e-mail to the IGES Secretariat.

We will NOT accept any application that fails to complete the provided form.
The application documents are not returnable.

- Send application to:
E-mail: recruit-governancecapacity@iges.or.jp
- Deadline:
31 October 2010
Please note that we will begin processing the applications in the order that they arrive, so early submission of your application is highly recommended. As soon as we have decided on the right applicant to hire, we will close the recruiting process.

- Process of screening
- After screening of the application materials, only short-listed applicants will be contacted for interviews (face-to-face or by telephone).
- Only the successful applicant will be selected and notified after the interviews.

*Application format can be downloaded from the following site.
http://www.iges.or.jp/en/news/saiyo/201009gc/index.html

Inquires
Attn.: Ms. Oride, Research Support Section, IGES Secretariat
recruit-governancecapacity@iges.or.jp
(Email only)