UNDP Jobs - 48618- Consultant – Project Coordinator

Consultant – Project Coordinator

Location :

HQ offices in New York with mission travel, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Sep-2014

Application Deadline :

14-Aug-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Through 30 April 2015 (160 working days)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) with the objective of developing a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention, applicable to all Parties. In the past two years, the ADP has devoted its work to discussing substantive and technical aspects of the 2015 agreement and has also considered options to increase pre-2020 ambition.

In this context, the COP invited all Parties to initiate or intensify domestic preparations for their intended nationally determined contributions. These contributions should be communicated to the UNFCCC in advance of COP 21 to be held in Paris in 2015. Developed countries, the operating entities of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC and other organizations were invited to provide support to this task as early as possible in 2014.

While further guidance or information on intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) is still being discussed under the UNFCCC, past experience in national processes relating to low emission and resilient development provides a starting point to develop INDCs. It is generally understood that these INDCs refer to national actions to address climate change that will eventually become part of the agreed outcome as targets or objectives of each Party toward meeting the objective of the Convention.

The UNDP implemented project entitled ‘Technical Dialogue on Nationally Determined Contributions towards a 2015 Agreement under the UNFCCC’ intends to establish an advanced dialogue between interested countries on different aspects of the process of putting forward nationally determined contributions. To serve this purpose, a series of three regional workshops have been organised through which countries engaged in discussions on the domestic aspects to consider when preparing, consulting and communicating their INDCs. A key recommendation from participants to these workshops was to organize a serie of follow-up dialogues to discuss the technical elements of INDCs in more detail and to share experiences developed by countries as they prepare their INDCs. The objectives of the follow-up dialogues will include the following:

Share progress and lessons learned in the preparation of INDCs;
Discuss the technical elements, approaches and challenges to put forward solid and agreed INDCs;
Identify the technical gaps and provide recommendations on ways to address them to ensure that INDCs are rooted within relevant national processes and linked with development priorities;
Identify the critical upfront information that should be included in INDCs as well as the consultation process to secure the necessary political endorsement;
Provide examples of the work carried out in the more advanced countries in order to assist others in the preparation of their INDCs.

Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Manager of the Low Emission Capacity Building Programme, the consultant will support the implementation of the above mentioned Technical Dialogue project. The consultant will be expected to develop brief background technical documents to facilitate the dialogues, presentation materials, outcome reports of the workshops, lessons learned to capture and share conclusions and recommendations, and an analysis of priorities and gaps.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will support the implementation of the Technical Dialogue Project, in close collaboration with the Lead Countries in the regions where technical workshops will be taking place during the course of the year 2014, and in coordination with the Low Emission Capacity Building programme and the Global Support Programme for the preparation of National Communications and Biennial Update Reports. Key tasks are listed below.

Project Implementation

Provide strategic thinking to ensure proper implementation of project activities;
Carry out the day-to-day operations to ensure the effective implementation of the project’s activities;
Coordinate with workshop host countries and respective UNDP country office on the necessary arrangements, processes, and request for authorizations to ensure the organizations of the workshops;
Prepare and support implementation of the project workplan;
Meet deadlines for submission of technical reports, including the workshop reports;
Guide resource people and partners to ensure the necessary coordination in the delivery of the project activities; and
Evaluate progress towards overall programme outputs and goal.

Technical Support

Provide technical expertise and facilitate the preparation and implementation of scheduled workshops;
Prepare technical presentations, guiding materials for working group discussions and workshop reports;
Follow up on technical issues and challenges emerging from the dialogues to provide recommendations on how to assist countries address these challenges;
Regularly update the donors and partners in the project, including the Lead Countries and the UNFCCC, through substantive progress reports of the of project;
Provide talking points, briefing and background papers to senior UNDP management upon request to disseminate the results of the project;
Maintain and share an updated overview of events and knowledge development in the area of the 2015 Agreement and the work of the ADP.

Coordination and Networking

Organize and facilitate technical and monitoring meetings on a regular basis with key partners in the project, and ensure appropriate follow-up;
Identify and reach out to new partners, as needed;
Attend external meetings, and present the ad-interim and final results to different audiences;
Establish and maintain collaborative bilateral relationships and linkages with the participating countries in the project countries and strengthen intra-country networks in close collaboration with the Lead Countries in the different regions.

Other Duties

Perform other related duties as requested by the LECB Programme Manager.

Institutional Arrangement:

The Consultant will work from the BDP office in New York City. S/he will work, directly report to, and will seek approval/acceptance of outputs from the LECB Programme Manager;
S/he will work closely with the climate change programme teams, in particular the Senior Policy Advisor on Climate Change, the LECB team and the GSP team, as well with the government and UNDP country office counterpart in the lead countries from each region. S/he will liaise with all of the core partners in the process of performing this work;
The initiative will provide support personnel, facilities and services where appropriate;
The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop;
Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Programme Manager on days worked and outputs delivered.

Travel:

International travel will be required to the three workshop host countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, and to other locations when appropriate;
Any necessary missions must be approved by the LECB Programme Manager. The Basic Security in the Field II and Advanced Security in the Field courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;
All mission related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be arranged for by UNDP in accordance with UNDP entitlements and travel policy. Costs for mission travel should not be included in financial proposal;
Travel to join the duty station, if necessary, should be included in the financial proposal.

Competencies

Core:

Excellent communications and networking skills and the ability to work in a team;
Strong interpersonal and negotiating skills;
Ability to work in a multicultural environment; and
Sound judgment and discretion.

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

Understands more advanced aspects of the iNDCs and fundamental concepts of related issues;
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally; and
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Management and Leadership

Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm, in control and composed even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Communicates effectively with staff at all levels of the organization;
Acts with tact and diplomacy;
Proves outgoing and comfortable in handling external relations at all levels;
Demonstrates compelling communication skills and cross-cultural effectiveness;
Demonstrates experience in bilateral and/or multilateral negotiations, and negotiating and training / facilitation skills; and
Possesses the ability to convey difficult issues and positions to senior officials, proven political judgment, sensitivity to local cultures.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in environment, economics, business, or a closely related field. (Max 5pts).

Experience

A minimum of 7 years relevant work experience on climate change and/or environment activities (Max 5pts);
Excellent knowledge of a range of climate change thematic areas (mitigation, technology transfer, adaptation and financing) (Max 10pts);
In-depth knowledge of the UNFCCC, the COP and its subsidiary bodies (Max 5pts);
Substantive experience in working and collaborating with governments on climate change issues, particularly in developing countries in areas relevant to the preparation of INDCs (Max 10pts);
Substantive experience in organizing and facilitating international workshops (Max 10pts);

Language: English is the working language for this assignment, therefore excellent oral and written communications and presentation skills in English are required.

Knowledge of Spanish and/or French is a strong asset (Max 5pts).

Evaluation Method

Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated;
Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the technical criteria will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer will be weighted at 30%;
The technical criteria will be based on maximum 70 points: qualifications (education, experience, language) for maximum 50 points and an interview for maximum 20 points;
Only the top 4 scoring candidates of those obtaining a minimum of 37.5 points from the review of qualifications will be considered for the interview and financial evaluation;
Financial proposals will be based on the total amount quoted for the assignment duration, including (a) all-inclusive Daily Fee; (b) living allowance cost (if applicable); (c) return Economy ticket to join the Duty Station (if applicable);
Financial score (max 30 points) shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal of those technically qualified;
Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.

Documentation to be submitted

Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the below link. Kindly note you can upload only ONE document to this application. In addition, applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.

UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.