Background
The UNDP Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme has two overall objectives: 1. to build public sector capacity on developing greenhouse gas (GHG) national inventory systems, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, low-emissions development strategies, and monitoring, verification, and reporting procedures; and 2. to build private sector capacity for mitigation actions in selected sectors. The Programme, which is funded by the European Commission and the governments of Germany and Australia, is under implementation in 25 countries around the world.
The Global Support Programme is a UNEP and UNDP implemented programme, funded by the Global Environment Facility, which provides support to non-Annex I Parties in order to prepare quality National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) submitted to the UNFCCC. This five-year programme has the following three outputs: i) strengthened technical and institutional capacities of non-Annex I Parties to report on NCs and BURs, consistent with national development plans and that meet the Convention objectives, ii) established national systems/frameworks of documenting procedures and processes for NC and BUR reporting under the UNFCCC, and iii) high quality and timely reporting on NCs and BURs by non-Annex I Parties. GHG inventories are a key component of both the NCs and BURs, and among other services provided by the GSP to non-Annex I Parties, there is the opportunity for review of draft GHG inventory reports before submission to the UNFCCC and review by the ICA.
In this regard, UNDP is seeking the expertise of a Technical Reviewer to perform reviews of:
- Key products related to the establishment or strengthening of national GHG inventory systems for the LECB programme (e.g., manuals of procedures, GHG inventory databases, training products, etc.);
- National greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories that are included in draft National Communications and Biennial Update Report before their submission to the UNFCCC for the GSP.
Duties and Responsibilities
The reviewer will conduct a detailed assessment of the national GHG inventories and national inventory system products. S/he is responsible for producing timely review reports of a high quality, while conforming to overall standards of style that have been set for previous reviews.
The reviewer will check for calculation errors when spreadsheets are provided, and will identify areas for improvement or further work.
National GHG inventories
For the reviews of national GHG inventories, the consultant will:
- Review the national greenhouse gas inventory, in a timely manner, verifying that the data has been calculated transparently;
- Provide written comments on discrepancies in the inventory, including explanations of the possible sources of error;
- Provide written references of the data sources used to review the inventory;
- Provide additional input to the review, where needed.
The reviewer should follow the UNDP guidance to review national GHG inventories (to be provided upon contract commencement). The review reports must contain the following sections:
- General comments: it will provide a general overview on the completeness, consistency, and transparency of the national GHG inventories;
- Detailed comments by sector: it will include a detailed assessment of the inventory for each section. The assessment will highlight any errors, inconsistency and data gaps, and will provide recommendations to improve the inventories.
The reviewer will prepare one consolidated report per country of approximately 5-10 pages, depending on the quality of the inventory reviewed. The reviewer will provide further clarification or additional information on the review if requested by the GSP’s Manager. The review of each GHG inventory must be completed within 3 days of receipt of the inventory.
National GHG inventory system products
For the review of national GHG inventory system products, the consultant will follow the same approach as described above for the national GHG inventories, but also make recommendations on how inventory products could be further improved as an input to a national inventory improvement strategy.
The timeframe for the review of GHG inventory system products will be agreed with the LECB Programme manager on a case-by-case basis, due to the diversity of products to be reviewed.
Outputs
For the LECB Programme, the following outputs are anticipated:
- Review of up to four national GHG inventory databases;
- Review of up to two “pilot” inventories;
- Review of up to three national manuals of procedures (each ~150 pages in length);
- Review of up to four training programmes;
- Review of up to five reports documenting national inventory systems;
- Other ad hoc products as required.
For the GSP, the following outputs are anticipated:
- Up to 17 technical review reports of the GHG inventories of countries that, under the overall umbrella of the GSP, request for the technical review of their NCs or BURs on a first-come, first-served basis.
Institutional Arrangements
- The consultant will report to, and be directly supervised by, the LECB Programme Manager, based in New York, and the GSP Programme Manager, based in Istanbul, Turkey;
- The estimated level of effort is approximately 100 days in 2015 and 85 days in 2016, spread across various intermittent assignments. Maximum working days over the 2 year period would be 185. However UNDP does not warrant that any quantity of services will be purchased during the term of the Framework Agreement, as this will depend on forthcoming needs;
- The initial contract would be for one year (December 2014 – December 2015) with an option for renewal in the subsequent year dependent on demand for services and satisfactory performance evaluation;
- The Framework Agreement will be for a fixed all-inclusive daily fee;
- Once the Framework Agreement is signed, if there is a specific assignment, the focal person(s) at UNDP would contact, by email, the Consultant informing of specific deliverables and timeline;
- The consultant must advise within 48 hours whether s/he is available to deliver the requested service;
- 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 work station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;
- Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the LECB/GSP Programme Managers on days worked and outputs delivered. If the quality does not meet standards or requirements, the consultant will be asked to rewrite or revise (as necessary) the document before proceeding to payment.
Competencies
- Demonstrated comprehensive technical knowledge related to estimation and technical review of national GHG inventories;
- Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities;
- Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
- Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work;
- Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
- Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
- Positive, constructive attitude to work;
- Excellent human relations, coordination, planning and team work skills;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Required Skills and Experience
Education
- An advanced post-graduate university degree in climate change, statistics and/or energy related fields (max 10pts).
Experience
- At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in application of IPCC methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories, ideally in developing countries (max 40pts);
- Demonstrated experience in providing technical review services of national GHG inventories and inventory system products, including written reports to developing countries (max 30 pts).
Language
- Proficient in written and spoken English (max 10pts);
- Knowledge of Spanish and French is a distinct asset (max 10pts).
Evaluation Method, Criteria, and Award of Contract
- 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 (education, experience, language) will be based on a maximum 100 points. Only the top 3 candidates that have achieved a minimum of 70 points from the review of the technical criteria will be deemed technically qualified and considered for financial evaluation;
- Financial score (max 100 points) shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal of those technically qualified;
- The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive daily fee. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must include a breakdown of this daily fee (all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment);
- Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.
Documentation Required
Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the link below. Please also provide your all-inclusive daily fee proposal for the assignment, including a detailed breakdown of the daily fee. Kindly note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one signle PDF file to attach). 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: