Background

The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries. The Programme was launched in 2008 and builds on the convening role and technical expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The UN-REDD Programme supports nationally-led REDD+ processes and promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples and other forest-dependent communities, in national and international REDD+ implementation.

The Programme supports national REDD+ readiness efforts in 56 partner countries, spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, in two ways:

• (i) Direct support to the design and implementation of UN-REDD National Programmes; and
• (ii) Complementary support to national REDD+ action through common approaches, analyses, methodologies, tools, data and best practices developed through the UN-REDD Global Programme.

Uganda became a Participant of FCPF in 2008 and in 2009 received a first US$200,000 Grant through the World Bank to prepare a REDD+ Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP). Uganda embarked on R-PP preparation phase in March 2010 which was approved during the ninth Participants’ Committee meeting in Oslo in June, 2011 with comments. Uganda submitted an acceptable and updated R-PP in May 2012 after which a second US$3,634,000 Readiness Preparation Grant Agreement was signed on July 10, 2013 between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD/World Bank). Additional support has been received from the Grant Agreement with Austrian Development Agency (ADA – US$ 870,000) and UN-REDD Targeted Support (US$ 75,000) and GoU contribution (US$ 472,000 in kind).

The approved R-PP comprises the following 4 key component including:

• (a) Readiness Organization and Consultation including setting up national REDD+ management arrangements and advancing consultation, participation and outreach;
• (b) REDD+ Strategy Preparation, including assessment of land use, land use change drivers, forest law, policy and governance, REDD+ strategy options, implementation framework and social and environmental impacts;
• (c) Reference Emissions Level/Reference Levels, and; (d) Monitoring Systems for Forests and Safeguards, including NFMS and information system for multiple benefits other impacts, governance and safeguards.

Uganda was furthermore retained by the UN-REDD Policy Board as priority country from Africa, and requested to express interest in National Programme (NP) support, to which Uganda responded favourably. Uganda’s UN-REDD NP was approved by the UN-REDD Programme 13th Policy Board in November 2014 in Arusha, Tanzania (US$ 1,798,670 until January 2017).

The overall NP goal is to enable Uganda to be ready for REDD+ implementation, including development of necessary institutions, policies, instruments and capacities, in a collaborative and leveraging way with other REDD+ readiness partners. The NP has three major outcomes - led by UNDP, FAO and UNEP, respectively:

• Outcome 1 – A transformational national REDD+ strategy is designed through substantial multi-sectorial technical and policy dialogue, including robust policy options and measures, mainstreamed and anchored in national development vision, planning and framework;
• Outcome 2  – A National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) is designed and set up, with appropriate Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) functions; and
• Outcome 3  – Subnational implementation of the REDD+ national strategy is prepared and facilitated through an “integrated landscape management” approach, building on a comprehensive set of analytical work, engagement and capacity building of stakeholders, and early actions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The National Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Familiarize with and understand the Uganda national REDD+ process including its activities, roadmap, stakeholders and political economy;
• Provide technical advice and support for REDD+ analysis and policy dialogue;
• Provide robust and comprehensive analytical input to the national strategy on structural and macro-economic challenges and options for forests.

The consultancy shall include the following specific tasks:

• Assessing issues and options for REDD+ in private and community forested lands (including both policy options and local forest management arrangements such as typologies of land tenure / activities / owner profile);
• Analyzing community-based approaches to REDD+ implementation;
• Analyzing practices, challenges, potential and opportunities for forest protection and reforestation;
• Analyzing and synthesizing updated and in-depth information of drivers of deforestation and potential policies and measures to address them (strategic options);
• Supporting field missions and consultations;
• Formulating, appraising and validating a policy report summarizing the results of the desktop reviews and field surveys.

Institutional Arrangement

The national consultant will be under the direct guidance of the Chief Technical Advisor and overall guidance of the Climate Change Policy Committee, which is co-chaired by Permanent Secretary of MoWE and UN Resident Coordinator, under the close supervision of Country Director of UNDP Country Office in Uganda and the National REDD+ Focal Point, and work in close collaboration with other consultants recruited to support the various elements of the National REDD+ Strategy, specifically the Lead Technical Advisor.

The project will be able to provide support personnel, support service, or logistical support in terms of phone and transport while on duty outside Kampala Duty station, when needed and requested for during the course of the assignment. Costs to arrange workshop venues, field visits, etc. shall be paid by UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Environment.

Duration of the Work:

• Expected duration of this assignment is 120 working days on full time basis;
• The target date for the start of work is June 1st 2015 and expected completion date end of December 2015;
• The estimated lead time to be given by the Consultant for the REDD+ Secretariat and UNDP to review outputs, given comments, certify approval/ acceptance of outputs should be 15 working days.

Duty Station

The Contractor’s duty station shall be Kampala located within the REDD+ National Secretariat but with possible duty travel to other parts of Uganda in pursuit of relevant activities.

The Contractor will be required to be present full time at the National REDD+ Secretariat offices during the work and shall report on a monthly basis .

Competencies

Corporate Competences:

• Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents;
• Building support and political acumen;
• Building staff competence,  Creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Building and promoting effective teams;
• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
• Leveraging conflict & setting standards;
• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
• Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Functional Competencies:

• Advocacy / Advancing Policy Oriented Agenda: analysis and creation of messages and strategies;
• Creates effective advocacy strategies;
• Contributes to the elaboration of advocacy strategies by identifying and prioritizing audiences and communication means;
• Performs analysis of political situations and scenarios, and contributes to the formulation of institutional responses;
• Uses the opportunity to bring forward and disseminate materials for advocacy work.

Building Strategic Partnerships: Identifying and building partnerships:

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to the UN’s mandate and strategic agenda related to REDD+;
• Sensitizes UN Partners, donors and other international organizations to UN-REDD’s strategic agenda, identifying areas for joint efforts;
• Develops positive ties with civil society to build/strengthen UN-REDD’s mandate;
• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;
• Displays initiative, sets challenging outputs for him/herself and willingly accepts new work assignments;
• Takes responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved.

Innovation and Marketing new Approaches: Developing new approaches:

• Seeks a broad range of perspectives in developing project proposals;
• Generates for regional and innovative ideas and effective solutions to problems;
• Looks at experience critically, drawing lessons, and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
• Documents successes and uses them to project a positive image;
• Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
• Makes the case for innovative ideas from the team with own supervisor.

Promoting Organizational learning and Knowledge Sharing: Developing tools and mechanisms:

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
• Develops and/or participates in the development of tools and mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies.

Job Knowledge and Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of REDD+:

• Understands more advanced aspects of REDD+ as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;
• Continues to seeks new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the Secretariat;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and REDD+ knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
• Strong communication, facilitation and coordination skills.

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UN-REDD’s Goals: Analysis and creation of messages and strategies:

• Creates effective global advocacy messages/strategies;
• Contributes to the elaboration of a global advocacy strategy by identifying and prioritizing audiences and messages;
• Performs analysis of political situations and scenarios, and contributes to the formulation of institutional responses;
• Uses the opportunity to bring forward and disseminate materials for global advocacy work and adapts it for use at country level.

Client Orientation: Contributing to positive outcomes for the REDD+ Secretariat:

• Anticipates the REDD+ Secretariat and GoU needs;
• Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the GoU and stakeholders
• Demonstrates understanding of GoU’s perspective;
• Keeps the REDD+ Secretariat informed of problems or delays in the provision of services;
• Uses discretion and flexibility in interpreting rules in order to meet GoU needs and achieve organizational goals more effectively,
• Solicits feedback on service provision and quality.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in Management, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Economics, Geography or Social Sciences, Forestry or similar.

Experience:

• At least 4 years of working experience on REDD+, conservation, resource management, forest economic policy and community development livelihoods, with experience in Uganda or East Africa preferable;
• Experience of working in multinational teams to implement programmes involving different funding and implementing agencies;
• Experience of implementing programmes across the UN agencies and across Government are definite advantages;
• Experience the REDD+ developments at international, national and local levels;
• Knowledge on the UNFCCC negotiations, COP-decisions related to REDD and guidelines for national systems in the context of REDD+, as well as national and international best practices within REDD+ and other natural resource management initiatives.

Langauge:

• Excellent written and spoken english.

Payment Schedule

Payment will be made in four installments as follows;

• Accepted inception report describing scope of work, methodology, timeline, field visits, output, and deliverables - 10%;
• Acceptable draft synthesis report for issues and options for REDD+ in private and community forested lands, including experiences with community-based approaches to REDD+ implementation and strategic options to address drivers of deforestation – 30%;
• Final draft synthesis report for issues and options for REDD+ in private and community forested lands – 30%;
• A proposal/concept note on “REDD+ strategic options in Uganda Preparing the basis for policy dialogue on REDD+” – 30%

Notes:

• The Consultant should submit an all-inclusive price financial proposal;
• The term “All inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Example 70%-30%.

Technical Criteria weight; 70%

Financial Criteria weight; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria –70 points:

• Criteria A. Relevant Education based on qualification requirements above - 5  points
• Criteria B  . Special skills, Language - 5 Points;
• Criteria C. Relevance of experience - 30 points;
• Criteria D. Description of approach/methodology  to assignment.(if applicable) - 20 Points + 10 Points if Interview is not applicable;
• Criteria E Interview (if applicable) –10 points - This may be applicable.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document uploaded on this website:

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
• Personal CV or 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.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
• Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II).

Annexes (to be downloaded from UNDP Uganda Website, procurement notices section: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=22330): Reference No. 22330

• Annex I - Individual Contractor General Terms and Conditions.
• Annex II – Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor Assignment.