ON-CALL TRANSLATION SERVICES BY INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS Date: 16 October 201 Dear Madam/Sir, 1. You are requested to submit a proposal for Translation Services, as per the Terms of Reference (ToR) detailed below. 2. To enable you to submit a proposal, please find attached: Annex I: Financial Proposal Form Annex II: Individual Consultant General Terms And Conditions 3. In addition, your proposal shall contain: a) A detailed Curriculum vitae (CV) listing professional qualifications; b) A statement of interest (00 words maximum) explaining why the applicant considers himself/herself as the most suitable candidate (include specialized subject matter(s)) c) List two (2) translated publications in at least two (2) of the following areas of specialized subject matter including: democratic governance, sustainable development, crisis prevention, climate change and/or gender issues (provide URL); d) List(s) of demonstrated clients from a) UN (international organizations, NGOs) and/or b) non-un (private sector); e) At least two (2) letters of professional reference f) A financial proposal (submitted in a password-protected folder). Documents should be emailed to oc.procurement@undp.org no later than 30 October 201 at 6 PM NY time. The subject line of your email MUST read: UNDP 201 On-Call IC Translation Services. 4. Any request for clarification must be e-mailed to Lamine Bal, Translations Manager: lamine.bal@undp.org. No query or request for clarification will be accepted after 21 October 201. Consolidated responses to queries will be posted to UNDP s Procurement Notices Site on 23 October 201.
. As part of the application process, candidates will be requested to take a timed written examination; those who obtain a passing grade (70% and above) will qualify for the second part of technical evaluation. 6. Successful respondents will be awarded an On-Call Individual Contract for an initial one (1) year period with the possibility of a two (2) year extension based on satisfactory performance. 1. BACKGROUND UNDP is the UN s leading development organization. It is a multicultural institution and has three working languages: English, French and Spanish. UNDP also commissions translations into Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. Translations are assigned to Individual translators with on-call contracts. They are expected to provide high quality translations for the organization, in accordance with UN and UNDP terminology guidelines. Any UNDP unit can assign translation requests to translators under contract and expect high quality of work, as they have been duly vetted and evaluated. Under the supervision of the Translations Manager, the Consultant will be responsible for translating documents from the Communications Group (CG) or from other UNDP Units/Bureaux into the required languages. The Translations Manager manages translations for the CG, the Executive Office and other UNDP units, as needed. As UNDP s Language Services Specialist, the Translations Manager provides translation and terminology guidance to other UNDP Units/Bureaux. 2. TERMS OF REFERENCE Scope of Work The consultant will undertake the following specific tasks: Translation, editing, review, and proofreading of UNDP internal documents such as: messages from the Administrator, Associate Administrator and other members of UNDP s senior management team (consisting of UN Under-Secretaries- and Assistant Secretaries General), UNDP Staff messages and Intranet advisories; UNDP rules, regulations and guidelines, any other internal texts as required. The translated text has to be delivered in MS Word, Powerpoint, or Excel files, as required, following the formatting of the original document as needed. Translation, editing, review, and proofreading of UNDP external documents such as: materials for the media, including press releases, media advisories, publications, reports, and other editorial products. These texts could be for print publications, or broadcast or the web. The translated text has to be delivered in MS Word, Powerpoint or Excel files as required. Translation of bibliographical entries: The entry (UN publication, scientific article, newspaper article, special interest paper, etc.) should only be translated if further research determines that there is an equivalent in the target
language. Reference information within the bibliographical entry (e.g. publishing entity, location, date, retrieving instructions) should be translated and/or localized. Country specific institutions (e.g. L Académie française, Loya Jirga, Keidanren, etc.) and acronyms of world-renowned institutions (NASA, FBI, BBC, etc.) should be left as is and explained in brackets. Note: All text, including text contained in figures, boxes, tables, photo captions, sources and covers requires translations and proofreading. Note: Translators are expected to perform terminology research (i.e. on UNTERM and other relevant terminology portals), and consult UN style guides to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of all translations. Translators are also responsible for ensuring quality and accuracy of the entire document before submitting it back to UNDP through the Translations Manager. Contractual Arrangements: Successful respondents will be awarded an On-Call Individual Contract for an initial one (1) year period with possibility of a two (2) year extension based on satisfactory performance Individual translators will be engaged on an on call basis. In other words, when UNDP requires their services, a selection will be made based on availability at the needed time, best possible delivery and subject matter expertise. For every on-call engagement, an Individual Contract/Purchase Order (prepared by the requesting unit) shall be issued referring to the On-Call Individual Contract, attaching clear TOR/Milestones for each engagement for specific deliverables The timeline for deliverables (including deadlines) will be agreed upon with the Translation Manager. Consultants will be home-based. No travel is envisaged. Conditions of Payment: Corresponding payments shall be made following certification by UNDP Translation Manager that the translation services requested have been satisfactorily performed and deliverables have been achieved by or before the due date. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS I. Academic Qualifications: Bachelor s degree in translation or related field and/or a minimum of 1 years of progressive translation experience; Master degree in translation is considered an asset. Translation Certification from the UN (Language Competitive Exam (LCE)), American Translators Association (ATA), the Société française des traducteurs (SFT), or from other accredited
II. Experience: professional translation institutions is considered an asset. A minimum of seven (7) years of translation experience. Five () years of translation experience for the UN, UNDP or other multilateral organization is preferred. At least two (2) translated publications in at least two (2) the following areas of specialized subject matter including: 1) democratic governance; 2) sustainable development; 3) crisis prevention; 4) climate change and/or ) gender equality. III. Competencies: Outstanding translation, editing, proofreading skills in any of the following languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Chinese; Knowledge of MS Office, Adobe Reader, terminology portals; Knowledge of translation and terminology software an asset; Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines; Ability to produce a high volume of quality content; Demonstrated willingness to work as part of a team in a multicultural environment. 4. TECHNICAL EVALUATION: WRITTEN EXAMINATION AND CREDENTIALS The RFP technical evaluation is comprised of following main parts. Pre-Evaluation minimum requirements to qualify (0 obtainable points) Upon the expiration of the RFP submission deadline, UNDP will only contact those applicants who have submitted proposals that meet the following basic application requirements including: a) A detailed CV with professional qualifications; b) Brief narrative (00 words) explaining why the applicant considers himself/herself as the most suitable candidate c) Provision of two (2) URLs of translated publications in at least two (2) the following areas of specialized subject matter including: democratic governance, sustainable development, crisis prevention, climate change and/or gender equality; d) List(s) of demonstrated clients from a) UN (international organizations, NGOs) and/or b) non-un (private sector); e) At least two (2) letters of professional reference f) Financial proposal. Part 1. Written Examination (60 obtainable points) Applicants meeting the basic application requirements are required to take a timed written examination to demonstrate their qualifications. UNDP will contact them to determine their availability to take the
examination. Written examinations will be administered remotely. Candidates will be asked to translate the documents listed below into their respective target language(s): a. Statement, speech, or allocution by a senior UN official (approximately 1000 words); b. Excerpt from a UN technical report (approximately 700 words); c. Press article (approx. 600 words). Candidates will have up three (3) hours to complete the translation of each document. Only those candidates who have passed the written examination with a 70% and above score (42/60 points and above) will be considered for Part 2 of the technical evaluation. Part 2. Credentials (40 obtainable points) The credentials of those candidates who have passed the written examination portion will be further evaluated based on the technical criteria below detailed. Only those candidates who passed the credentials portion with a 70% and above (28/40) points will qualify for the financial evaluation.
TECHNICAL EVALUATION (continued) Successful respondents are those applicants whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Part 1. Written Examination (60 obtainable points) 12 and below (Poor), 14 (Average), 16 (Good), 18 (Very good), 20 (Outstanding). Tests will be graded according to their faithfulness to the source text, adherence to subject matter terminology, grammatical accuracy, syntax and punctuation Points obtainable a. Speech, statement, allocution by a UN official 20 b. Excerpt from a UN technical report 20 c. Press article 20 Total Part 1 60 Applicant A B C D E Part 2 Credentials (40 obtainable points) a. Relevance of education: Bachelor s degree or a minimum of 1 years of progressive translation experience in lieu of degree = pts; Masters and above = + additional pts b. Relevant experience: seven (7) years translation experience = pts; at least five () years translation experience for the UN, UNDP or major international organization or NGO = + additional pts c. Demonstrated UN client list (international organizations, NGOs, etc.) over the last three (3) years minimum of three (3) d. Demonstrated non-un client list over the last five () years minimum of three (3) Points obtainable 10 10 Applicant A B C D E
e. Translated publications in at least two of the specialized subject matter above-listed per official language (two (2) areas - 2 pts; 1 pt. shall be added for each additional area up to pts) f. Translation certification from the UN (LCE), ATA or any other accredited professional translation institution. Total Part 2 40 Total obtainable points for Parts 1 and Part 2 100 The Cumulative Analysis method will be used in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed before any financial proposal is opened and compared based on the weighted technical criteria outlined above.. FINANCIAL EVALUATION Financial Proposals (see attached Annex I) will be opened only for those submissions that passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points (Written translation examination and Credentials) in the evaluation of the technical proposals. Both scores, technical and financial, will be combined and a total score awarded on a 70:30 proportion (technical 70%; financial 30%). ANNEXES Annex I: Financial Proposal form Annex II: Individual Contract General Terms and Conditions