UNDP Jobs - 54315- International Consultant- Environment M&E Speciali

International Consultant- Environment M&E Specialist

Location :

Port-au-Prince, HAITI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

13-Mar-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English French

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 UNDP Office in Haiti includes a program section which consists of a management team and different units such as:

Management support;
Global Fund;
Environment and Energy;
Governance and Rule of Law;
Recovery and livelihoods;
Risk and Disaster Reduction.

The Environment and Energy Unit (EEU) provides assistance to the State (either national and local governments) and the civil society in planning and capacity building in mainstreaming environment rehabilitation and sustainability criteria in sectoral policies and improving management of specific environmental and renewable energy resources like watersheds, water, biodiversity and biomass.

In a context dominated both by reconsideration of UN agencies in Haiti’s portfolio, five years after the 2010 earthquake and an international context of financial crisis, the Environment and Energy Unit needs to renew its portfolio and to reorganize internally so as to insure same quality projects monitoring with less staff. The consultancy requested should help succeed in this restructuration.

This Consultant will be placed within the Environment and Energy Unit (EEU). He/She will work in close collaboration with other colleagues in the EEU, with the operations team, program staff, the Regional Technical Advisors, other UN Agencies, UNDP headquarter staff, Government officials, experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful program implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Environment and Energy Programme Specialist, and together with the supporting unit staff, the Consultant will assist in the program management, relatively to projects supported by the UNDP, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other donors.

He/she will undertake the following tasks:

Project Management Support:

Monitor implementation of the annual work plans and timetables and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Monitor project cycle milestones and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Monitor project results, track results framework indicators and co-financing where relevant; monitor risks and support the preparation of annual report where required by donor and/or UNDP/GEF and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Facilitate and support Project Board meetings as outlined in project documents and agreed with UNDP and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Participate in the preparation of mid-term, final, and other evaluations: support to hire personnel, plan and facilitate missions/meetings/ debriefing, circulate draft and final reports;
Participate as necessary in other evaluations;
Ensure tracking of committed and actual co-financing as part of mid-term and final evaluations;
Prepare management response to project evaluations and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Support in coordinating budget revisions, verification of expenditures, advances of funds, issuance of combined delivery reports, assurance of no over-expenditure of budgets; Contribute to ensure necessary audits and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Act as liaising officer between the EEU and the Bi-national Artibonite project implementation team;
Participate to site visits;
Facilitate consolidation of the Project Management Unit where relevant;
Contribute to play the role of project assurance;
Support to manage and conduct financial review of project Initiation Plans;
Discuss management arrangements;
Assist in project proposal writing, assist proponent to identify and negotiate with relevant partners, co-financiers, etc.;
Review, appraise, finalize Project Document;
Provide project management units with technical advice on environment/energy substantial matters.

Knowledge building and management:

Contribute to identify information sources related to programme and project management;
Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals;
Contribute to knowledge production and sharing, policy development and establish good practices;
Contribute in the organization of trainings for the operations/projects staff on programme issues.

Programme Management Support:

Advise on Respect of UNDP practices and guidelines in terms of environment programme implementation and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Participate in Monitoring of projects’ progress related to established work plans and Project Documents and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Coordinate communication related project achievements in collaboration with UNDP Communication Unit and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Participate in formulation, management and evaluation of program activities;
Respond to information requests, arrange revisions, etc.;
Prepare operational and financial reports on development stage as needed and coach a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) junior in doing so;
Identify risks and possible issues and formulate management responses where relevant.

Mobilization of resources:

Research and assess how other UNDP offices are leveraging resources for strengthening their portfolio in environment and energy that could be examples for Haiti’s office;
Research and assess funding made available by multi-lateral and bilateral donors to global (ex: less developed countries) or regional (ex: Cariforum, binational initiatives) constituencies for environment management, from which Haiti’s public sector could benefit but is not currently connected and where an assistance by UNDP could be welcomed;
Map, for donors present in Haiti, past experiences of channeling funding for environment through UN agencies.

Expected Outputs:

The activity reports should include description of all monitoring activities realized by the consultant (field visits, minutes on meetings held, reports of meetings with stakeholder and partners). It should also include a detailed status on specific aspects of the four projects;
Reducing conflicting water uses in the Artibonite river basin : final activities implementation, final evaluation, management response and recommendations, capitalization of lessons learned, project‘s outputs diffusion and communication;
Reducing population and infrastructure vulnerability in the South department (GBVS) final evaluation, management response and recommendations, capitalization of lessons learned, project‘s outputs diffusion and communication;
Strengthening capacities of the Ministry of Environment (PARC): support on strategy, project development and resources mobilization;
Improving capacities of coastal communities to adapt to climate changes follow-uup of studies, public awareness and capacity building activities at the national level.

Output Deadline Description

Report 1 - month 1 - Activity report : See content below

Report 2 - month 2 - Report on Quarterly review of portfolio

Report 3 - month 3 - Activity report : See content below

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays strong cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Demonstrates skills and ability to coordinate and manage the work of others, work to tight deadlines.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Ability to conduct results-based management and reporting:

Excellent conceptual knowledge of and good practical experience in the relevant area;
Solid knowledge of risk and vulnerabilities in Haiti.

Management and Leadership:

Interacts, establishes and maintains effective working relations both as a team member and as a task manager, with people of different national and multi-cultural backgrounds;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations at senior levels, both orally an in writing, in a clear and persuasive stile tailored to match different audiences;
Demonstrates strong negotiating and interpersonal skills;
Leads teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Empowers others to translate vision into results;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Is able to anticipate and resolve conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Environmental Sciences, Geography, or related field.

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in the development field, and the area of environment in particular;
Experience in design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Environment projects, preferably in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in post-conflict settings will be considered in advantage;
Experience with project/program management and coordination;
Experience with the implementation of GEF funded projects, experience with the GEF Small Grant Programme will be considered in advantage;
Experience in knowledge management;
Experience in the development of financial and technical partnerships and relations with main donors and multi-lateral cooperation represented in Haiti (including Canada, Norway, UE, USAID);
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.

Language:

Proficiency in French and English, with excellent writing skills;
Knowledge of Creole is a considerable asset;
Knowledge of Spanish is an asset.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

The offers will be evaluated in the following manner: Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

NB. The position is open to candidates of both sexes.