UNDP Jobs - 54792- Midterm Review (MTR) of the Full-Sized Project Tit

Midterm Review (MTR) of the Full-Sized Project Titled Grid-Connected Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems (PIMS 4331)

Location :

Mahe, SEYCHELLES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

13-Apr-2015

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 days over 8 weeks

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 days over 8 weeks

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

Project Title

Grid connected rooftop PV systems

Project Description

This is the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the UNDP-GEF Midterm Review (MTR) of the full-sized project titled Grid-connected rooftop photovoltaic systems (PIMS 4331) implemented through the Government of Seychelles Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC) - specifically the Seychelles Energy Commission (SEC) - which is to be undertaken in May 2015. The project started on the 12th September 2012 and is in its third year of implementation. In line with the UNDP-GEF Guidance on MTRs, this MTR process was initiated before the submission of the second Project Implementation Report (PIR). The MTR process must follow the guidance outlined in the document Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/guidance/GEF/mid-term/Guidance_Midterm%20Review%20_EN_2014.pdf )

The project was designed to support the Government of Seychelles in moving towards its targets for incorporation of renewable energy into its overall energy mix. Currently, the Seychelles is approximately 90% dependent on imported oil to meet its energy needs, including electricity production. The objective of the project is to increase the use of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems as a sustainable means of generating electricity in selected main islands and smaller islands of the Seychelles, with a focus on small-scale producers who are already connected to the national electricity grid. The project will revise the legal, regulatory and policy framework to better support the adoption of renewable energy technologies, and grid-connected PV systems in particular; design and implement financial mechanisms that will make the purchase and installation of solar PV systems more attractive to the private sector; establish the first market supply chain for solar PV systems in the country; provide training to establish local capacity for the installation and maintenance of PV systems; and demonstrate for the first time in the Seychelles the viability and practicality of grid-connected PV systems through demonstration PV systems. Together, these actions are designed to play a critical role in “jump-starting” the adoption of solar PV technology in the Seychelles, and in setting the stage for broad-scale replication by reducing the costs of PV technology through a market-based approach that will establish financial incentive mechanisms for PV systems and reduce transaction costs (by creating a reliable supply chain and establishing local capacity for installation and maintenance). In this way, the project is designed to transform an energy sector that today is almost 100% dependent on imported fossil fuels into one where solar PV and other RETs provide a significant percentage of national energy production going forward.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Key Tasks

The MTR will be conducted by an independent international consultant with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in other regions globally.

The MTR consultant will first conduct a document review of project documents (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, Project Document, ESSP, Project Inception Report, first PIR, Project Appraisal Committee meeting minutes, Financial and Administration guidelines used by Project Team, project operational guidelines, manuals and systems, etc.) provided by the Project Team and Commissioning Unit. Then they will participate in a MTR inception workshop to clarify their understanding of the objectives and methods of the MTR, producing the MTR inception report thereafter. The MTR mission will then consist of interviews and site visits to demo sites as appropriate.

The MTR consultant will assess the following four categories of project progress and produce a draft and final MTR report. See the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for requirements on ratings. No overall rating is required.

Project Strategy
Project Design:

Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying assumptions. Review the effect of any incorrect assumptions or changes to the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project Document;
Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results;
Review how the project addresses country priorities;
Review decision-making processes.

Results Framework/Logframe:

Undertake a critical analysis of the project’s logframe indicators and targets, assess how “SMART” the midterm and end-of-project targets are (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound), and suggest specific amendments/revisions to the targets and indicators as necessary;
Examine if progress so far has led to, or could in the future catalyse beneficial development effects (i.e. income generation, gender equality and women’s empowerment, improved governance etc...) that should be included in the project results framework and monitored on an annual basis.

Progress Towards Results

Review the logframe indicators against progress made towards the end-of-project targets; populate the Progress Towards Results Matrix, as described in the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects; colour code progress in a “traffic light system” based on the level of progress achieved; assign a rating on progress for the project objective and each outcome; make recommendations from the areas marked as “not on target to be achieved” (red).
Compare and analyse the GEF Tracking Tool at the Baseline with the one completed right before the Midterm Review;
Identify remaining barriers to achieving the project objective;
By reviewing the aspects of the project that have already been successful, identify ways in which the project can further expand these benefits.

Project Implementation and Adaptive Management

Using the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects; assess the following categories of project progress:

Management Arrangements
Work Planning
Finance and co-finance
Project-level monitoring and evaluation systems
Stakeholder Engagement
Reporting
Communications

Sustainability
Assess overall risks to sustainability factors of the project in terms of the following four categories:

Financial risks to sustainability
Socio-economic risks to sustainability
Institutional framework and governance risks to sustainability
Environmental risks to sustainability

The MTR consultant/team will include a section in the MTR report setting out the MTR’s evidence-based conclusions, in light of the findings.

Additionally, the MTR consultant/team is expected to make recommendations to the Project Team. Recommendations should be succinct suggestions for critical intervention that are specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant. A recommendation table should be put in the report’s executive summary. The MTR consultant/team should make no more than 15 recommendations total.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The MTR consultant/team shall prepare and submit:

MTR Inception Report: MTR consultant clarifies objectives and methods of the Midterm Review no later than 4 days before the MTR mission. To be sent to the Commissioning Unit and project management. Approximate due date: 30th April.
Presentation: Initial Findings presented to project management and the Commissioning Unit at the end of the MTR mission. Approximate due date: 13th May.
Draft Final Report: Full report with annexes within 10 days of the MTR mission. Approximate due date: 22nd May
Final Report*: Revised report with annexed audit trail detailing how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final MTR report. To be sent to the Commissioning Unit within 1 week of receiving UNDP comments on draft. Approximate due date: 12th June.
The final MTR report must be in English. If applicable, the Commissioning Unit may choose to arrange for a translation of the report into a language more widely shared by national stakeholders.

Institutional Arrangement:

The principal responsibility for managing this MTR resides with the Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project’s MTR is UNDP Country Office Mauritius and Seychelles.
The commissioning unit will contract the consultants and ensure the timely provision of per diems and travel arrangements within Seychelles for the MTR consultant. The Project Manager will be responsible for liaising with the MTR consultant to provide all relevant documents (see also the project website at www.pcusey.sc/index.php/pcu-projects/repository/Photovoltaic-Systems-(PV)-Project), set up stake-holder interviews, and arrange field visits.

Duration of the Work:

The total duration of the MTR will be 20 days over a period of 8 weeks starting 13th April 2015 and shall not exceed five months from when the consultant(s) are hired. The tentative MTR timeframe is as follows:

31st March 2015 Application closes;
10th April 2015: Selection of MTR consultant;
13th April 2015: Prep the MTR consultant (handover of project documents);
25th April 2015, 3 days: Document review and preparing MTR Inception Report;
2nd May 2015: Finalization and Validation of MTR Inception Report- latest start of MTR mission;
3rd – 11th May 2015, 10 days: MTR mission: stakeholder meetings, interviews, field visits;
13th May 2015: Mission wrap-up meeting & presentation of initial findings- earliest end of MTR mission;
18th – 22nd May 2015, 5 days: Preparing draft report;
10th – 12th June 2015: Incorporating audit trail on draft report/Finalization of MTR report;
By 30th June 2015: Preparation & Issue of Management Response;
By 30th June 2015: Expected date of full MTR completion.

Duty Station:

Seychelles: Mahe, with possible travel to other inner islands (Praslin and La Digue).

Travel

International travel will be required to Seychelles during the MTR mission.
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 related travel expenses will be covered and will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UNs values and ethical standards;
Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Operational effectiveness;
Solid knowledge of financial and human resources management, contract, asset and procurement, information and communication technology, general administration;
Ability to lead business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems (business Management and Leadership;
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 excellent oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

The selection of consultant will be aimed at maximizing experience in the following areas:

Education:

Master’s degree in Environment, Renewable Energy, or other closely related field.

Experience:

Work experience in relevant technical areas for at least 10 years;
Recent experience with result-based management evaluation methodologies; experience working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations; experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios;
Competence in adaptive management, as applied to renewable energy and CCM projects;
Experience working in Small Island Developing States;
Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and renewable energy; experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis;
Excellent communication skills; demonstrable analytical skills;
Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system will be considered an asset.

Language:

Excellent spoken, written English required.

Consultant Independence:

The consultants cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation, and/or implementation (including the writing of the Project Document) and should not have a conflict of interest with project’s related activities.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Applicants are requested to apply online http://jobs.undp.org. Individual consultants are invited to submit applications as per below requirements by 31st March 2015. Incomplete applications will be excluded from further consideration.

Completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
Personal CV or a P11 Personal History form, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
Brief description of approach to work/technical proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a proposed methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment; (max 1 page)
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an applicant is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the applicant must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. See Letter of Confirmation of Interest template for financial proposal template.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Financial Proposal:

Financial proposals must be “all inclusive” and expressed in a lump-sum for the total duration of the contract. The term “all inclusive” implies all cost (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances etc.);
For duty travels, the UN’s Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate for Seychelles, Mahe, is US$ 333 (any travel to other islands will be day trips and not involve an overnight stay), which should provide indication of the cost of living in a duty station/destination (Note: Individuals on this contract are not UN staff and are therefore not entitled to DSAs. All living allowances required to perform the demands of the ToR must be incorporated in the financial proposal, whether the fees are expressed as daily fees or lump sum amount).
The lump sum is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components.

Schedule of Payments:

10% of payment upon approval of the MTR Inception Report.
30% upon submission of the draft MTR Report.
60% upon finalization of the MTR Report.

Or, as otherwise agreed between the Commissioning Unit and the MTR consultant.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer;

The award of the contract will be made to the Individual Consultant who has obtained the highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions. Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The offers will be evaluated using the “Combined Scoring method” where:

The educational background and experience on similar assignments will be weighted a max. of 70%; The price proposal will weigh as 30% of the total scoring.

A Master’s degree in Environment, Renewable Energy, or other closely related field; work experience in relevant technical areas for at least 10 years (30 points);
Recent experience with result-based management evaluation methodologies; experience working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations; experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios (20 points);
Competence in adaptive management, as applied to renewable energy and CCM projects (15 points);
Experience working in Small Island Developing States (15 points);
Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and renewable energy; experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis (10 points);
Excellent communication skills; demonstrable analytical skills (10 points);
Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system will be considered an asset.

Important Note:

Interested offeror is strongly advised to view the detailed Terms of Reference on the UNDP Mauritius website, general terms and conditions of IC and templates to be included when submitting offer from the CO website at http://www.mu.undp.org/content/mauritius_and_seychelles/en/home/operations/procurement/;
Interested offerors above the age of 62: UNDP regulations require, at their own cost, to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical evaluation documentation does not need to be submitted with the other requested documents listed above, but will be requested should the candidate be chosen;
Interested offeror is required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system, because the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system;
Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document ie at the time of the request to upload CV, so please make sure that you merge all your documents - CV, Covering Letter, P11, Technical and Financial submission - into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.