Senior Advisor-Policy and Compliance (Programme and Operations Manual Development Consultant)

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

Under the supervision of the Senior Programme Manager / Head of Management, Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund Secretariat, and in collaboration with the Spotlight Initiative senior management team, the consultant is expected to: 

Review of Documentation

• Conduct a comprehensive review of foundational documents, including the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund Terms of Reference, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing the Fund, agency-level MoUs between the MPTFO as the Administrative Agent and the recipient UN organizations, interim guidance notes, and the Spotlight Initiative 1.0 Operations Manual, to gain institutional knowledge and understanding of the Fund’s parameters. 
• Review relevant thematic and final evaluation reports, management reviews, and institutional assessments from the 2017–2024 Spotlight Initiative period to identify lessons learned and actionable recommendations. 
• Analyse operational manuals and guidance from other UN pooled funding instruments to identify good practices and replicable features for incorporation into the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Programme and Operations Manual (POM). 

Review of Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Programme and Operations Manual content 

• Review the outline of the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund POM with the Global Team, consolidate key sections and features as needed, and propose revisions to the Manual.
• Review already developed draft of the POM, identify gaps in information covered, consistency, alignment among sections, and suggest measures of improvement for the Manual both in terms of content as well as presentation/structure/layout. 

• Introduction 
• Spotlight Initiative Model and Key Features
• Fund Governance, Administration, Management and Accountability 
• Financial Management 
• Programme Cycle
• Civil Society Engagement
• Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation
• Knowledge Management 
• Communications, Advocacy and Visibility 
• Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
• Sustainability
• Risk Management 
• Annexes

Key stakeholder consultations

• In coordination with the Global Team and based on agreed phases of POM development, conduct inclusive consultations through interviews or focus groups with key stakeholders, including: the Global Team, MPTFO, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, UN Development Coordination Office (UNDCO), focal points from recipient UN organizations, the UN System-wide Evaluation Office, the Global Civil Society Reference Group, and others. 
• Engage with MPTFO to collect detailed information on the Administrative Agent function and ensure alignment of the POM’s business processes with the MPTFO Gateway Fund Management System–an online tool for Fund management that focuses on programme development, monitoring, reporting, and evaluations, as well as fund transfers. 
• Engage with UNDCO to ensure alignment with ongoing UN Reform efforts, joint UN programming, and UN development coordination as applied in the Spotlight Initiative.
• Synthesize stakeholder insights into concrete content improvements and refinements of the POM structure and content, in consultation with the Global Team

Finalization of the POM

• Lead the quality assurance in the finalization of the POM, integrating inputs received from the Global Team and consulted stakeholders.
• Develop visual representations (with support of the SI Global Team’s communication team as needed) (e.g., flowcharts or diagrams) of 8–10 key business processes described in the POM to facilitate user navigation. Integrate these into the manual and provide as a standalone presentation (e.g., PowerPoint or similar format).
• The POM is expected to be in the realm of 60-80 pages, with concise, accurate and user-friendly structure and layout. 

Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services. 

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Deliverable

1. Review of the draft of the POM: Draft of the POM is reviewed and quality assured, incorporating measures of improvement both in terms of content and presentation/structure/layout. The revised version is formally presented to the Spotlight Initiative Global Team’s senior management for input and considerations.

Expected Date of Completion

1.5 months after the start of the assignment.

Percentage of lumpsum amount payable upon completion of Deliverable

40% of the total value of the contract 

Deliverable

2. Key stakeholder consultations:  Once a draft has been approved by the Senior Management Team and deemed ready for sharing with external stakeholders, consultations with key stakeholders will be conducted as per the parameters above and the agreed plan with the Spotlight Initiative Global Team. Information gathered is consolidated and synthesized. The structure and content of the POM are refined accordingly, in consultation with the Spotlight Initiative Global Team.

Expected Date of Completion

1.5 month after the completion of Deliverable 1

Percentage of lumpsum amount payable upon completion of Deliverable

N/A

Deliverable

3. Finalization of the POM: The POM is finalized in collaboration with the Spotlight Initiative Global Team and incorporates feedback from all relevant stakeholders. Visual representations (8–10) of key business processes are proposed and integrated into the POM and provided as a standalone document.

Expected Date of Completion

5 months after the start of the assignment. 

Percentage of lumpsum amount payable upon completion of Deliverable

60% of the total contract value

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The Consultant will report to the Senior Programme Manager / Head of Management, Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Fund Secretariat. The consultant will work closely with other sub-teams/colleagues in the Spotlight Initiative Global Team and the MPTFO to thoroughly integrate all aspects of the Initiative into the new Programme and Operations Manual in consultation with UN counterparts (including the Agency Focal Point group from recipient UN organizations), civil society partners (including the Global Civil Society Reference Group), and other key stakeholders, to incorporate user feedback and implementation insights.

The Consultant is expected to exercise flexibility in the consultancy assignment to accommodate dynamically changing delivery requirements, such as adapting working arrangements based on stakeholder feedback. The Consultant will work on the assignment as needed over an estimated period of up to four months to achieve all deliverables. While the position is home-based, some international travel may be required.