Resource Person for Advocacy for the EU-PH Public Procurement Project

Description of the Assignment:

Effective and sustainable advocacy is critical in ensuring that policy reforms, research findings and audit observations, as well as procurement governance recommendations are translated into concrete measures that continuously promote accountability, transparency, and stakeholder participation.

The enactment of the New Government Procurement Act (Republic Act 12009) marks a significant shift in the Philippine public procurement system. The NGPA repositions public procurement as a strategic lever for reforms in governance, service delivery, and inclusive economic development. The key reforms introduced aligns with internationally-recognized good practices, particularly on digitalization and strategic use of procurement data for evidence-based decision-making and strengthened integrity safeguards and value-for-money principles.

While the NGPA provides a two-year transition period from the legacy framework established under Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act 9184), early adaptation by both government and non-state actors remains critical. Under the EU-PH Public Procurement Project, funded by the European Union, efforts to strengthen capacities of public expenditure bodies and promote meaningful civil society participation in procurement governance are underway. Four civil society organization have been engaged through Responsible Party Agreements to implement initiatives that contribute to improving public procurement systems and practices. Working in collaboration with government agencies and other stakeholders, these CSOs will generate research-based evidence, conduct Citizen Participatory Audits, engage communities and concerned stakeholders, monitor procurement activities, and contribute to policy dialogue and reform processes.

As these initiatives generate valuable findings and recommendations, there is a need to strengthen advocacy capacities of CSOs to effectively communicate evidence, influence decision-makers, and promote adoption of reform measures. Enhanced advocacy skills will enable CSOs to strategically engage policymakers, oversight institutions, procuring entities, and other CSOs and networks to advance transparent, accountable, and responsive public procurement.

To support this objective, the EU-PH Public Procurement project will engage a Resource Person on Advocacy to design and deliver capacity-strengthening activities focused on advocacy strategies, stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, and evidence-based policy influencing. The engagement aims to equip CSOs with practical knowledge, tools, and approaches to translate research findings, audit results, and policy recommendations into compelling advocacy messages and actionable reform agendas.

The Resource Person on Advocacy will support the Responsible Parties in strengthening their ability to communicate and lobby policy and audit recommendations with government institutions and oversight bodies, including the Commission on Audit (COA), Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), and the Government Procurement Policy Board – Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO). Through this engagement, CSOs will be better positioned to contribute to support the effective implementation of reforms under the NGPA.

A total of 20 participants from the four (4) Responsible Parties/CSOs will take part in the advocacy training programme. These four CSOs are established Philippine organizations that contribute to strengthening public governance, social accountability, and citizen participation through diverse yet complementary approaches. They possess extensive experience in public finance monitoring, citizen participatory auditing, data analytics, stakeholder engagement across government and non-government sectors, and advocacy for good governance. Together, they represent a multi-sectoral mix of local procurement monitors, citizen auditors, researchers, private sector coalitions, and media organizations.

Period of assignment/services: 45 person days spread over four months

Qualifications:

Education

Bachelor’s degree in communications , Public Policy, Development Studies, Political Science, Social Sciences, Governance, or related fields

Experience

At least seven (7) years of demonstrated experience in advocacy, policy engagement, development communication, social and behavioral change programming or development programming; experience with public procurement or demonstrated public finance management expertise is a plus

At least five (5) years of proven experience in designing and facilitating trainings, workshops, or capacity-building programs.

At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience leading or supporting advocacy campaigns, policy reform initiatives, legislative engagement processes, social and behavioral change campaigns, or government policy dialogue at national or local level, with non-government organizations in the Philippines

At least three sample works in developing advocacy strategies, policy briefs, training modules, or advocacy-related knowledge products

Proficiency in the English and Filipino Languages

(must be indicated in application)

Proposal should be submitted directly in the portal no later than indicated deadline. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via messaging functionality in the portal. UNDP will respond in writing including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry.

http://supplier.quantum.partneragencies.org using the profile you may have in the portal. In case you have never registered before, you can register a profile using the registration link shared via the procurement notice and following the instructions in guides available in UNDP website: https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/resources-for-bidders . Do not create a new profile if you already have one. Use the forgotten password feature in case you do not remember the password or the username from previous registration.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Women, individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.