UNDP Jobs - 38954- International Consultant / Capacity Development an

International Consultant / Capacity Development and Project Design

Location :

Dushanbe, TAJIKISTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Aug-2013

Application Deadline :

29-Jul-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. 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.

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is providing assistance to the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan in the preparation of the GEF Medium Size Project (MSP) “Strengthening Capacity for an Environmental Information Management and Monitoring System in Tajikistan.” In accordance with UNDP/GEF procedures, UNDP is hiring a team of consultants to develop the MSP proposal “Strengthening Capacity for an Environmental Information Management and Monitoring System in Tajikistan” for submission to the GEF Secretariat fully compliant with the enforced GEF rules and standards as part of the GEF Project Preparation Grant (PPG). The consultants will report to the Programme Analyst / Energy and Environment at UNDP Tajikistan and work closely with Regional Technical Advisor at UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre. The purpose of the PPG is to fully design the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the medium size project “Strengthening Capacity for an Environmental Information Management and Monitoring System in Tajikistan” and to fully develop a full set of project documentation for submission to the GEF Secretariat and approval. Normal rules for development of medium-sized GEF projects apply.
Copies of the GEF templates and guidelines can be found at: http://www.thegef.org/gef/guidelines_templates

The proposed project addresses convention obligations related to reporting requirements under the three main focal areas: Biodiversity, Climate Change and Land Degradation. It specifically fits under the fifth (5) strategic objective of the Cross Cutting Capacity Development (CCCD) strategy developed under GEF5, that is “enhancing capacities to monitor and evaluate environmental impacts and trends”. The goal of the project is to strengthen the environmental information availability and the national environmental reporting capacity of Tajikistan to fulfill its reporting obligations under the 3 Rio Conventions. Its objective is to introduce a national integrated and coordinated environmental information management and monitoring system in Tajikistan. The project will strengthen the national capacity for environmental monitoring and information management in the country in order to improve the reporting process to the Conventions as well as to ensure national sustainable development through improved monitoring and information management for better environmental policy development. Environmental monitoring and information management is critical for understanding the current status and dynamic changes in the state of environment. Consistent and regular monitoring, research and data analysis provide the essential foundation for adequate policy response and timely and appropriate national decision-making processes. Hence, the issue would have both global and national priority dimensions.

In line with this objective, the project will:

(i) strengthen the institutional framework to enable a coordinated multi-agency information management and monitoring system;
(ii) strengthen the legal and regulatory framework to enable a coordinated multi-agency information management and monitoring system;
(iii) upgrade environmental information management and monitoring standards, norms, procedures and IT architectures; and
(iv) pilot the new approach in one environmental area responding to environmental information and monitoring requirements.

The PPG process will be used to further define the management, coordination and consultation mechanisms. At this stage, the government stakeholders and beneficiaries of the project include the:

(a) Committee for Environmental Protection, which takes the lead in environmental policymaking and development of regulatory frameworks;
(b) Agency for Hydrometeorology under the Committee of Environmental Protection as the lead agency responsible for monitoring of the state of environment and hydro meteorological patterns;
(c) Centre for Analytical Control under the Committee for Environmental Protection and its subordinate laboratories charged with responsibility to undertake instrumental measurements, chemical and physical analyses within the framework of environmental monitoring, radiation safety issues, development of standards and instrumental methodologies;
(d) State Agency for Statistics under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan serves is the main official data provider in the Republic of Tajikistan.

Duties and Responsibilities

The principal responsibility of the international consultant is to lead the development of the Medium Size Project (MSP) project document fully compliant with the enforced GEF rules and standards, as a leading expert on capacity development and project design, closely collaborating with the local consultants, UNDP and national counterparts. Within the framework of these terms of reference, Capacity Development and Project Design Consultant is expected to perform the following tasks:

Work together with the local consultants (LC), UNDP and national counterparts on setting PPG implementation strategy; Finalize PPG work plan, TOR for LCs, and design consultation and validation workshops;
Support LCs as they undertake background studies, providing guidance and support;
Oversee completion of background studies, ensuring they are appropriate in scope and provide required analysis;
Conduct meetings with national decision-makers to identify priorities and approaches;
Facilitate and guide consultations to determine project strategy, priorities, key partners, and key barriers to success; Provide technical support to LCs and national stakeholders;
Develop the project strategy, detailed budget, work plan and logical framework, develop a sustainability and replication strategy;
Assume the main responsibility for finalizing the project document, with inputs from local consultants;
Finalize the project document. Another key role of the International Consultant shall be to look for other key partners that the project might partner with and seek co-financing from, working closely with the UNDP Country Office and UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre;
Besides a desk review of the relevant documents the consultant will undertake two missions to the country, in full collaboration with the UNDP Country Office and team of consultants.

The missions will include:

Consultations with key partners responsible for environmental management, within sectoral ministries; as well as relevant stakeholders among donor community and civil society; Facilitation of project validation workshop.

The key products to be delivered are as follows:

Detailed Assignment Work plan; Detailed PPG work plan and design of consultation and validation workshops;
Draft UNDP/GEF Project Document (including Project Results Framework);
CEO Endorsement / Approval Document; GEF Tracking Tool;
Final UNDP/GEF Project Document(including Project Results Framework); CEO Endorsement / Approval Document; GEF Tracking Tool fully compliant with the enforced GEF rules and standards;
Environmental and Social Assessment for the developed project as Annex to the Project Document.

In addition, the incumbent will:

Oversee completion of background studies, ensuring they are appropriate in scope and overall quality; Provide required analyses;
Facilitate and guide consultations to determine project strategy, priorities, key partners, and key barriers to success.

Competencies

Technical work:

Strong expertise in Environmental Management;
Experience in developing institutional arrangements for multi-national projects;
Familiarity with the International Conventions addressing Climate Change, Desertification and Biodiversity Conservation;
Experience in drafting project proposals;
Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily;
Familiarity with GEF policies, templates and requirements for MSP.

Partnerships:

Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior members of national institutions;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of quality analysis for the project proposal;
Excellent coordination skills and result oriented collaboration with colleagues – especially for this case the national level consultants.

Results:

Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Good team player who has ability to maintain good relationships.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University degree in the fields of environmental management, public administration or relevant related fields.

Experience:

At least 7 years of relevant professional experience;
Proven experience in developing/implementing similar projects – preferably in the region;
Previous successful experience in development and approval of the GEF project documents;
Previous experience with UNDP is a great advantage;
Proven expert knowledge in the GEF CCCD/CB2 Project Cycle;
Experience of work in the region is an asset.

Languages:

Excellent English writing skills are essential;
Knowledge of Russian would be an asset.

Application procedure:

Please do not apply on this web site. Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to apply online via website www.undp.tj; In order to be considered in the long list of applicants please go to the Registration link, register your account and upload P11 Form. (If you already have a registered account, please use your login and password for further applying); Filled Personal History Form should be uploaded in your account. Please upload the exact P11 form instead of CV or Resume; Further, in the list of announced vacancies click on apply link beside the Vacancy post. You will be receiving a confirmation e-mail in short period to the address indicated in your account.

Additional documents should be sent to e-mail address ic.tj@undp.org, for proper evaluation:
Proposal stating your interest and qualifications for the advertised position and providing a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work; Financial proposal; Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references. Please note that incomplete applications will not be further considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. Candidates should submit the above-mentioned tender materials by 22 July 2013 via e-mail to ic.tj@undp.org The title of the assignment should be written in the subject line of the email.