UNDP Jobs - 55453- P-CBA Program Coordination Consultant for the Inte

P-CBA Program Coordination Consultant for the Integration of Cost-Benefit Analysis for Climate Resilient Development in the Pacific

Location :

Suva, Fiji and participating countries in the Pacific Region.

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

24-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 May 2015 – 30 March 2016 (up to 208 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 Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder for including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.

As the UN system's development program and a GEF Implementing Agency since 1991, UNDP also supports countries in addressing development, climate, and ecosystem sustainability in an integrated manner. UNDP-GEF offers countries highly specialized technical services for eligibility assessment, program/project formulation, due diligence, mobilization of required co-financing, project implementation oversight, results management and evaluation, performance-based payments and knowledge management.

With financing from the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund, Adaptation Fund, Government of Germany, Japan and other donors, UNDP, together with a number of partners is providing assistance to countries to integrate climate change into their national and sectoral planning and budgeting processes, in line with existing UNFCCC endorsed framework for NAPs. This assistance responds to FCCC/SBI/2013/L.10/Add.1 and FCCC/SBI/2014/L.19 inviting UN Agencies to enhance and continue its work supporting developing countries with their NAP process. It is also consistent with SBSTA/2014/L.14. The support provided to countries will harvest lessons from UNDP’s work on adaptation practices, analytical work on assessing economic benefits of adaptation options and monitoring and reporting on evidence based results. Ultimately, UNDP’s assistance will contribute to (i) the national adaptation agenda setting in particular regarding the agriculture sectors and other sectors; and (ii) enhance regional and global dialogue and cooperation on scaling up adaptation action while integrating it into national budget and accessing international climate finance.

As part of this assistance, UNDP is delivering capacity development support on the Economics of Climate Change Adaptation (ECCA). Targeting countries in Africa, Asia and Pacific, UNDP and its partners are working towards strengthening the capacity of technical officers in Ministries of Planning/Finance, as well as line Ministries (Environment, Agriculture, Water, Public Works, and others) to assess economic costs and benefits when evaluating different adaptation alternatives, as they relate to medium- and long-term national, sub-national and sectoral development plans. In the Pacific, UNDP together with a US-AID financed Adapt-Asia Pacific Programme, and the active engagement of the University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) are working to institutionalize a training program, called Pacific- Cost Benefit Analyisis (P-CBA), to support Pacific countries over the long-term. The initiative is being carried out through the application of concrete CBA case studies relevant to on-gong initiatives in PICs. CBA training has been delivered to date in the 4 PICs of Fiji, FSM, Vanuatu, and Samoa principally through in-country activities and mentoring opportunities.

Within this overall background, UNDP is seeking the support of a specialist on the economics of adaptation. The specialist will support the rolling out of the P-CBA programme, as part of UNDP’s overall support to counties on building capacity on the economics of adaptation, as well as assist UNDP Staff at the regional and country office level with delivery of support to countries on NAPs and associated follow up programming of resources.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective:

The incumbent will be responsible for supporting UNDP’s work in the Pacific in three specific areas: (a) assisting the P-CBA Technical Working Group, the national P-CBA Focal Points, and other project partners to implement the initiative, as described in the Program Design Document and in alignment with the P-CBA 2015 work plan and the PIC country work plans. In 2015 the P-CBA initiative will aim at much closer coordination and integration with broader CC policy and programming processes in PICs; (b) support UNDP staff implementing the NAP Global Support Programme activities in the Pacific region. Given that economic and cost-benefit analysis and related budgetary planning processes are key parts of NAP related processes, the P-CBA initiative will be closely linked with actions indicated by countries at the UNFCCC Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) NAP workshop organized in November 2014, Port Villa, Vanuatu, and related climate change adaptation programming work of UNDP in the Pacific. (c) Provide UNDP staff at the Regional and CO level with programming support in the context of follow up to NAP related work in the region.

Scope of Work:

P-CBA delivery support

Facilitating the delivery of in-country activities, including the delivery of training courses, preparation of CBA case studies, and the provision of continuing mentoring support (in coordination with USAID’s Adapt-Asia Programme). This will include the following activities:

Working with the P-CBA Country Focal Points to ensure that the timing and contents of trainings are in line with PIC needs and initiatives, as well as the overall P-CBA process, using the modules developed by the regional expert team;
Facilitating logistical arrangements for trainers and experts in the delivery of courses, as well as providing technical support for the CBA case studies, and coordinating follow-up mentoring. This will aim at harnessing available experts and capacity support processes provided by USP (PICPA, PACE-SD, and FBE), member organizations of the TWG, and other partners. External consultants may also be engaged, if deemed necessary;
Providing backstop support to partners and National Focal Points in the supervision of external consultants; and
Preparing periodic and summary evaluation reports on the training, CBA case study reports, and other technical assistance provided.

Facilitate in-country and regional arrangements to implement the sustainability strategy. This will include the following activities and outputs:

Supporting National Focal Points and country teams to integrate CBA into national institutional frameworks and processes;
Coordinating the out-sourcing of any technical expertise needed for the “train-the-trainers” approach and the South-South exchange of knowledge and experience;
Assisting USP counterparts toward the inclusion of P-CBA training and materials into USP’s core curricula, with the intention of eventually certifying and accrediting such courses; and
Supporting the continuation of regional partnership arrangements, as described in the Program Design Document and the Partners’ Agreement.

Oversee the Operation of the M&E System, Knowledge Management, and Communications:

Ensure the timely collection and compilation of training reports, CBA case studies, and other materials gathered from National Focal Points and others involved in program implementation;
Regularly update the P-CBA website (on a quarterly basis) with documents produced by PICs and partner organizations to ensure linkages with other related climate change adaptation web-sites and platforms.
Produce educational and outreach materials to communicate the results of the P-CBA Initiative to policy-makers and the general public;
Develop and maintain a publicly accessible database that will house information and reference documents collected and generated during the program;
Track progress and analyze the results of training courses, per the regional and national targets set in the M&E sections of the Project Design Document and country work plans;
Prepare quarterly interim progress reports and a final self-evaluation report of the P-CBA Initiative, as well as a synthesis report of the CBA case studies; and
Facilitate linkages and synergies with related initiatives within the region and in other regions (such as ECCA Asia).

Support the two consultants contracted to develop a 10-credit module based on existing materials at university standards ready for integration and delivery through USP’s Faculty of Business and Economics accreditation process with existing or new USP short courses and/or certificate programs.

Assist the NAP GSP in supporting countries with targeted technical assistance to support National Adaptation Planning processes in synergy with P-CBA activities.

A key area of support under the NAP-GSP is to assist countries with tailored technical assistance to advance the NAP process through country missions and virtual support.

The following tasks will particularly focus on aspects related to NAP related support particularly concerning investment and budgetary planning and related economic analysis capacity needs of PIC governments in support of appraising adaptation options and related decision making processes of development planning (as per UNFCCC LEG guidelines):

Review the needs expressed by countries in the NAP Pacific training held in November 2014, and support the NAP lead follow-up via email and skype to shape technical assistance;
Support the development of tailored agendas and organizing the delivery of NAP-GSP tailored in-country trainings, based on country specific requests. These will take place as much as possible back-to-back, and in coordination with P-CBA in-country and follow-up training and mentoring activities, synergizing on opportunities of broader outreach and engagement of government agencies and departments;
Provide overview/introductory info and sessions on NAP process during P-CBA trainings and during focused NAP trainings facilitate and conduct sessions on economics of climate change adaptation, appraisal of adaptation options, and project formulation;
Support the production of technical learning material on economics of adaptation, supervised by NAP GSP, based on and aligned with P-CBA training and knowledge materials developed. Identify NAP entry points for countries and draft Terms of Reference for stock- takings, road-maps and other assessments;
Prepare short concept notes for project development related to NAPs based on country missions;
Undertake stocktaking exercises of existing institutional mechanisms, planning processes and other initiatives relevant to the NAP process based upon country requests;
When requested, support NAP GSP Technical Lead and team in drafting a road-map of key institutional and multi-sector steps for the short and medium term (at least a 5 year period) that the country will review and finalize to guide their NAP process, with particular focus on NAP Essential Function n. 6 and related areas;
In coordination with the Knowledge Management consultant, produce material for the NAP GSP newsletter.

Assist in UNDP’s project formulation and implementation support for initiatives financed by the GEF-family of funds

The following tasks will have particular focus on assisting UNDP RTAs with project formulation tasks as follow up to NAP and P-CBA programme related support.

Promote linkages with UNDP-supported projects, as subjects of case study applications for in-country P-CBA trainings and follow up learning-by-doing CBA exercises and mentoring processes, identified by PICs as priority initiatives;

Support technical backstopping on CBA related applications in project formulation and implementation processes, such as:

Assist in defining/reviewing ToRs for CBA and cost-effectiveness analysis consultancies/assignments;
Assists in identifying and sourcing quality expertise and experts relevant to UNDP-GEF work in the Pacific;
Review CBA reports as result of consultancy assignments, and advise on their application for project formulation and implementation processes;
Assist in the formulation and review of cost effectiveness sections/arguments of project concepts and documents;
Assist in the development of a regional publication capturing experience and lessons from UNDP-GEF work in the Pacific, with focus on CBA and related processes and government capacities strengthened (synergizing with P-CBA knowledge management tasks and materials).

Provide programmatic assistance to the MCO and GEF RTAs based in Suva and Bangkok during the implementation of projects financed by the GEF Family of Funds.

Assist RTAs and MCO staff with collecting relevant information including through stakeholder consultations and research to develop project concepts for submission for funding.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The above tasks are expected to be completed through a combination of (a) home-based preparatory work; (b) participating in country level consultations (together with NAP-GSP partners) in selected countries and; (c) post-mission drafting of stock-taking report and/or road-map, (based on the outcomes of the in-country consultations) to guide the NAP process in visited country (d) submission of drafting short project concept notes/briefs based on country missions or virtual support.

P-CBA delivery support

P-CBA work plans finalized and adjusted, as needed;
Successful delivery of 3 additional in-country trainings;
CBA Case Study Reports finalized with a case study synthesis report;
Report/Minutes from the Final Regional Workshop (at closing);
Regular updates of the P-CBA, website including a publicly accessible database housing reference documents collected and generated during the program;
Public education and outreach (PEO) materials, such as success stories, newsletter blurbs, and other communication materials, prepared on a continual basis; and
P-CBA bi-monthly/quarterly progress reports and a final summary/evaluation report.

NAP GSP support

Review the needs expressed by countries in the NAP Pacific training held in November 2014, and support the NAP lead follow-up via email and skype to shape technical assistance;
Based on this follow up, draft succinct Terms of reference for 2-3 countries for NAP support in consultation with the UNFCCC focal points under the supervision of the NAP GSP lead;
Develop agenda and support organisation of 4-5 national training sessions on NAPs;
Based on requests for countries, undertake 2-3 country missions for NAP support, leading the mission if other mission members drawn from NAP GSP partners are part of the mission. These missions may be focused on training sessions on the NAP process or stock-taking exercises or a combination of both and can be done back to back with CBA missions;
2-3 completed country reports from the missions undertaken which include project concepts to support the advancement of the NAP process in-country or in the region;
Using the CBA short modules prepared for the NAP training, customise and finalise modules with interactive exercises customised to the Pacific context, and deliver in 2-3 countries as part of NAP training;
Support NAP GSP lead in on the ground coordination with development partners for successful delivery of country support;
Prepare short write-ups for e-newsletter and web-page every two months or around major global events related to the climate adaptation policy.

UNDP GEF programming support

Support RTAs in the development of 2 LDCF/SCCF or GCF proposals:

Target due date : May, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 22 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

Review the needs expressed by countries in the NAP Pacific training held in November 2014, and support the NAP lead follow-up via email and skype to shape technical assistance;
Succinct Terms of reference for 3 countries for NAP support;
Update of the P-CBA website;
2 Public education and outreach (PEO) materials on P-CBA;
3 additional in-country trainings;
3 CBA Case Study Reports finalized with a case study synthesis report;
Prepare 3 short write-ups for e-newsletter and web-page on NAPs;
Customise and finalise 3 modules with interactive exercises customised to the Pacific context, and deliver in a country as part of NAP training;
1 P-CBA work plan finalized and adjusted;
Develop a training agenda for NAPs.

Target due date: June,2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 22 days)

Deliverables/Outputs:

1 P-CBA progress report;
Support organisation of 2 national training sessions on NAPs;
Support NAP GSP lead in on the ground coordination with development partners for successful delivery of country support;
Support RTAs in the development of 1 LDCF/SCCF or GCF proposal.

Target due date : July, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 22 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

Updates of the P-CBA website;
3 national training sessions on NAPs;
2 short write-ups for e-newsletter and web-page on NAPs;
Customise and finalise modules with interactive exercises customised to the Pacific context, and deliver in a country as part of NAP training.

Target due date : August, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 22 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

1 P-CBA progress report;
2 Public education and outreach (PEO) materials;
1 country mission for NAP support;
1 country reports from the mission undertaken;
Customise and finalise modules with interactive exercises customised to the Pacific context, and deliver in a country as part of NAP training.

Target due date : September, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 20 days)

Deliverables/Outputs:

Updates of the P-CBA website;
1 country mission for NAP support;
1 country reports from the mission undertaken;
2 short write-ups for e-newsletter and web-page on NAPs.

Target due date : October, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 20 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

1 P-CBA progress report;
1 country mission for NAP support;
1 country reports from the mission undertaken.

Target due date : November, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 20 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

Updates of the P-CBA website;
2 Public education and outreach (PEO) materials;
2 short write-ups for e-newsletter and web-page on NAPs.

Target due date : December, 2015 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 20 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

1 P-CBA progress report;
Support RTAs in the development of 1 LDCF/SCCF or GCF proposals.

Target due date : January, 2016 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 20 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

Updates of the P-CBA website;
2 short write-ups for e-newsletter and web-page on NAPs.

Target due date : February, 2016 (Estimated Duration to Complete - 20 days).

Deliverables/Outputs:

Report/Minutes from the Final Regional Workshop on P-CBA;
1 P-CBA final summary/evaluation report;
3 Public education and outreach (PEO) materials.

All deliverables will be reviewed by UNDP Technical Lead on NAPs and approval is required.

Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant will report to UNDP Regional Technical Advisor on Climate Resilient Development in the Pacific and the UNDP Lead Technical Specialist for National Adaptation Plan - Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP). The Consultant will also coordinate with other members of the TWG, and especially with the USP focal point for P-CBA.

Review time required

The review and approval of payments will be made by the assigned supervisor(s) within 14 days.

Competencies

Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
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;
Comprehensiveness knowledge of Cost-Benefit Analysis for Climate Resilient Development in the Pacific;
Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research;
Outstanding communication, project management and organizational skills;
Excellent presentation and facilitation skills;
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

The P-CBA Program Coordination Consultant for the Integration of Cost- Benefit Analysis for Climate Resilient Development in the Pacific shall have the following qualifications:

Education:

Master’s degree in development studies, environmental studies, economics, climate change or a related subject.

Professional Experience:

At least 2 years’ experience in economic analysis, training and project management activities;
Familiarity with economic and cost-benefit analysis;
Experience in SIDS regions, particularly in the Pacific;
Sound understanding on climate change implications on development efforts in SIDS;
Work experience with UN, other multilateral organizations, and governments of PICs.

Language requirements:

Fluency in English is essential.

Contract duration:

4 May 2015 – 30 March 2016 (up to 208 days).

Duty Station:

The consultant will be based in the Fiji MCO.

Expected places of travel:

The consultancy will involve travel throughout the region to provide coordination and technical support. Approximately 3-4 missions are expected during this contract period for that purpose. Destination shall be assigned and approved prior to travel.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The contract will be based on daily fee

Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal. If applicable, travel or daily allowance cost (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) should be identified separately. Payments shall be done on a monthly basis based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the IC’s supervisor of a Time Sheet indicating the days worked in the period.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial criteria (30%) specific to the solicitation.

Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 350 technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 500 points)

Criteria 1 : Education - Max 75 points;
Criteria 2 : Proficiency in English - Max 50 points;
Criteria 3 : Years of experience in economic analysis, training and project mgm’t activities - Max 125 points;
Criteria 4 : Experience in economic and cost-benefit analysis - Max 75 points;
Criteria 5 : Experience in climate change implications on development efforts in SIDS, Particularly in the Pacific - Max 75 points;
Criteria 6 : Work experience with UN, other multilateral organizations, and governments of PICs - Max 50 points;
Criteria 7 : Availability - Max 50 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 350 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex 2;
Personal CV and P11, 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;
Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex 2;
Technical proposal, including a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annexes :

Annex 1 - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions;
Annex 2 – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Templatehttp://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_21625_708025418.docx;
Annex 3 - Detailed Terms of Reference http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_21625_635055206.pdf.

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to brh.gef.procurement@undp.org.