Enterprise Application Development Specialist (Closing date)

Title:Enterprise Application Development Specialist

Duty Station: Peshawar

Type of Contract: Consultant

Duration :Intermittent Input of not less than 10 working days a month between April, 2024 to September, 2024. A maximum of 100 days input to complete all the deliverables under the contract.

Background:

The Stabilization and Inclusive Development Programme (SIDP) was established in May 2015 to complement the efforts of the Government of Pakistans vision 2025. SIDP is oriented around four main goals: engaging communities to promote social cohesion and participate actively in the rehabilitation process; improving economic development opportunities for communities; improving access to basic services including education; and promoting economic and social empowerment of women.

The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is aiming to further develop a conducive business environment for the private sector. A supportive policy framework, enabling infrastructure and simplified administrative procedures are critical to attract private sector investment in the region. The GoKP intends to further streamline the investment patterns across different sectors in order to leverage the available resources for achieving accelerated economic growth.

The Planning and Development Department (P&DD) and through financial assistance from USAID, UNDP has established a Planning Support Unit (PSU) for providing technical backstopping for this initiative. The unit is led by a Team Lead having a team of experts in the areas of access to finance, economic growth and investment promotion. The PSU supports relevant sections of P&D, Finance and Industries Departments and relevant entities of GoKP like KP Board of Investment and Trade (BoIT), Bank of Khyber (BoK), Chambers of Commerce, KP Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) to improve planning, implementation of economic development initiatives and gathering results. Supporting business enabling environment and development of the private sector, with key focus on Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the predominant areas of support by the PSU.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KP BoIT) was established for the promotion of trade and investment activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The GoKP is committed to bringing economic prosperity to the province through industrial and trade development and delegated this role to KP BoIT. KP BoIT is striving for exploiting the tremendous potential of the province into reality and is focused on meeting its important objective of facilitating local and foreign investors desirous of benefiting from this huge potential of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Aimed at revolutionizing business networking by providing a comprehensive platform that not only connects professionals but also creates an environment conducive to collaboration and growth, the KP BoIT under technical assistance from PSU intends to develop and deploy a vibrant digital platform consistent with the following objectives.

Mass awareness and engagement of SMEs across the province through modernized and digitized communication and awareness platform(s) to grow their businesses by making optimal use of a multi-purpose and multi-dimensional digital platform. Anticipated outcomes include greater outreach to (approx. 1 million) SMEs around two-way communication including enhanced access to relevant services, facilities, incentives, innovative ideas/models, redressal of issues/challenges and informed policy discourse based on a vibrant database of SMEs.

In this backdrop, this component would reflect on the successes achieved through relevant support to the following target sectors i) Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries, ii) ICT, iii) Tourism in collaboration with KP BoIT, Industries Department, SMEDA, Chambers of Commerce and other relevant entities.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Enterprise Application Development Specialist will have to lead this work stream and will work under the direct supervision of the Team Lead Planning Support Unit (PSU) and functional guidance of the Director Business Facilitation KP BoIT.

Define Scope of Work:

• Assess the information needs, process flows and retrieval/organizing available information/data set for programming into the digital platform.
• Assist KP BoIT and stakeholders to identify and define features and flow of the proposed system to make it more user friendly, interactive, and easy to use
• Prepare a software requirement specification document and consult with stakeholders to finalize the content for the development of web and mobile applications
• Define the technical requirements of the app, such as the programming languages, the frameworks, the APIs, the databases, the security protocols, etc
• Prepare a non-functional prototype that is in line with the following requirements; so that the client gets the feel of the system to be developed and can provide necessary feedback
• Work closely with the team of KP BoIT and other stakeholders to finalize the feature of both web application and mobile application
• Stakeholders engagement to understand the existing processes, document it and get approval from the stakeholders

Networking Component:

• Users can create comprehensive profiles highlighting their skills, experience, and business interests
• A searchable directory of businesses and professionals categorized by industry, allowing users to find and connect with relevant contacts
• Users can create and discover networking events, conferences, and seminars.
• Integration with calendars for event reminders and planning
• Real-time messaging to facilitate quick and efficient communication between users
• Group chat functionality for collaborative discussions
• Dedicated spaces for businesses to collaborate on projects and initiatives
• A repository for industry-specific articles, whitepapers, and best practices
• Integration with business events and conferences related to entrepreneurship and business opportunities

Investment Component:

• Investor hunting
• Projects portfolios - An organized catalog of investment opportunities categorized by industry, risk level, and investment type.
• Detailed project descriptions, financial projections, and potential returns.
• Integration of images, videos, and presentations to provide a visually engaging overview of each investment opportunity.
• Users can create investor profiles, specifying their investment preferences, risk tolerance, and industry interests.
• Access to comprehensive due diligence materials, including legal documents, business plans, and financial reports.
• Access to finance (grants/loans/ventures etc.)
• Donors portfolios (institution wise) (segmental)
• Events announcements (upcoming events that are useful for SMEs in terms of finances, ideas etc.)
• A personalized feed displaying curated business opportunities based on user preferences, location, and industry interests.
• Clarify the hosting plans to be secured in the government hosting facility

System Development and Deployment:

• Design and develop the system and web and mobile applications based on the pre-defined requirements consistent with the scope of work
• Developed system should be modular enough to integrate future changes and scalable to handle a large user base
• Develop mobile applications for both Android and IOS platforms (cross platform)
• Define the testing and deployment procedures of the app, such as the testing methodologies, the testing tools, the deployment platforms, the maintenance procedures, etc
• Test run the App and troubleshooting
• Provide necessary support to deploy mobile applications to play and app store
• Technical support to the IT team of KP BoIT throughout the App development cycle
• Support the mass awareness campaign maximum number of SMEs reached out through adequate channels
• Provide necessary support during the Launch event of the App

Requirements:

1. IT professional with bachelors degree or equivalent degree in Computer related studies / Masters in Computer Application sciences or related studies with strong theoretical and practical knowledge of IT
2. Demonstrated experience in the design, development and deployment of Mobile Apps in the public or private sector

1. Should have significant programming skills specifically required for digital platform development
2. Having back-end computing knowledge
3. Familiarity with JSON/APIs development
4. Experience with profiling and debugging digital platforms
5. Knowledge of, and experience working with, government & partners
6. Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills
7. Excellent writing and communication skills in English
8. Consultant will be required to travel to settled and newly merged districts in KP as required by the programme.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the organizational values and ethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the organization
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Organizational Values:

• Human rights and gender equality are prioritized as ethical principles within all actions
• Activities are designed and implemented in accordance with the Social and Environmental Standards of the organization
• Any kind of diversity based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender is respected within all implementations including data production
• -Differentiated needs of women and men are considered in all aspects of the programme
• An inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations through the creation of an enabling and accessible work setup
• Necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings, etc

Benefits:

• Excellent opportunities to develop your technical skills in a policy environment alongside national and international experts
• Competitive market salary
• Daily sustenance allowance while on official travel outside of duty station
• International work environment
• Women-friendly workplace

Reporting lines: Direct and dotted line:

• The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Team Lead Planning Support Unit (PSU) and coordinate closely with the Director Business Facilitation KP BoIT
• The consultant to be institutionally placed in KP BoIT
• Periodic progress reporting to the Team Lead PSU within stipulated timelines
• The consultant will coordinate with SIDP for all matters related to the contract including the approval of the contract deliverables, certification of work completed and final evaluation and payment

Payment:

Payments will be released after the submission of agreed deliverables and where mentioned their approval by UNDP. In exceptional cases, UNDP may consider making partial payment against a deliverable. The deliverables are as follows:

1. Define scoping consistent with the ToRs 25% of the consultancy fee shall be paid
2. System design, review, and deployment duly - 45% of the consultancy fee shall be paid
3. Trainings and operationalization of the system 20% of the consultancy fee shall be paid
4. Post implementation support for up to 3 months 10% of the consultancy fee shall be paid

Following are the key deliverables of the assignment.

S#

Deliverables/ Outputs

Number of Working Days

Means of Verification

Payment
(%)

1

Mass Awareness & Communication - App Scoping

25

25%

1.1

Design, review and approval of Scoping

10

Meeting Minutes / Record Notes
Approved Scoping Report

1.2

Software requirement specification & content

10

Approved Content

1.3

Non-functional prototype

5

Meeting Minutes / Record Notes
Approval of prototype

2

System Design, Review, Deployment

45

45%

2.1

Database Developed - Ready to Go Live

13

Meeting Minutes/Record Notes
Manuals/System Documentation
Formal endorsement by UNDP

2.2

Web App Developed - Ready to Go Live

12

2.3

Mobile App Developed - Ready to Go Live

12

2.4

Digital Platform Deployed

8

3

Training and Operationalization

20

20%

3.1

Training Material Developed

10

Training Material duly endorsed

3.2

3 Training Sessions Held

5

Training Reports

3.3

Launch Event - Digital Platform Going Live

5

Launch Event Report/Media Coverage

4

Post Implementation Support - 3 Months

10

Documented Incidents duly verified:
- # of issues resolved
- # of system

halts/interruptions

10%

Total

100

100%

1. Travel cost outside the duty station (Peshawar) will be covered.