UNDP Jobs - 59739- International Consultant Technical Reviewer of Nat

International Consultant Technical Reviewer of National Greenhouse Gas Inventories – Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Sector

Location :

Home Based with Two Mission to Chisinau, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Oct-2015

Application Deadline :

18-Sep-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

October - December 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 working days

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 Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Global Programme has two overall objectives:

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
to build private sector capacity for mitigation actions in selected sectors.

The Global Programme, which is funded by the European Commission and the governments of Germany and Australia, is under implementation in 25 countries around the world, inclusive in the Republic of Moldova.

UNDP Moldova together with the Climate Change Office of the Ministry of Environment (MoEN) is implementing the LECB Project – Republic of Moldova.

In the Republic of Moldova the scope of the LECB project is to increase institutional capacities to provide appropriate mechanisms of support and coordination when addressing climate risks, to strengthen the technical knowledge in order to better understand and make use of climate information, and increasing relevant data and access to data for planning and decision-making.

The main project objectives are:

To strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of the Republic of Moldova to develop a National Inventory System to support the development of national GHG inventory on a regular basis;
To identify and formulate Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in the context of the national Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS); and
To measure/monitor, verify and report (MRV) progress on NAMAs and LEDS implementation.

Under the first project objective the following four main outputs have been set:

The National Inventory System institutionalized through a legislative/normative act;
A ‘National Inventory System Report’ developed following the U.S. EPA’s Template Workbook ‘Developing a National GHG Inventory System’ (available on the U.S. EPA’s website: www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghginventorycapacitybuilding);
Level of knowledge of the national experts and partner institutions involved in the development of GHG Inventory for Energy and Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Sectors (LULUCF) enhanced;
A data management system for tracking and archiving the inventory information used in each inventory cycle in place.

The implementation of project objectives will support the Republic of Moldova to prepare high quality National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) to be submitted to the UNFCCC timely (i.e. once in four years in case of NCs and once in two years in case of BURs).

As GHG inventories are a key component of both the NCs and BURs, there are opportunities under the LECB Project, on the one hand - for peer reviewing the most relevant chapters of the last available draft National Inventory Report (NIR) before its submission to the UNFCCC as an Annex of the Initial Biennial Update Report (BUR1) and its review by the ICA; and on the other hand – for enhancing the level of knowledge of the national experts and partner institutions involved in the development of national GHG Inventory, specifically in the light of the findings of the peer review exercise to be undertaken and of the recommendations for inventory improvements to be considered in the process of developing the Fourth NC of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC.

Duties and Responsibilities

The focus of this assignment is to:

Perform a peer review of the national GHG inventory – LULUCF Sector and of Chapter 7 ‘LULUCF Sector’ of the draft ‘National Inventory Report: 1990-2013, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’ before its submission to the UNFCCC; and
Perform a 3-day training of the national experts and institutions involved in the development of GHG Inventory for LULUCF Sector.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards.

Functional 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;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Excellent human relations, coordination, planning and team work skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in forestry, agriculture and climate change related fields.

Experience:

At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in application of IPCC methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – LULUCF sector;
At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in providing technical review services of national GHG inventories (LULUCF sector) and inventory system products, including national inventory reports, national communications and biennial reports;
At least 3 years of demonstrated experience in designing and/or providing professional trainings for the GHG Inventory staff;
Proven experience in working with international or local organizations on similar assignments (successful experience in working with UN agencies) is an asset.

Language:

Proficient in written and spoken English;
Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is a distinct asset.

Important notice

The applicant who has the statute of Government Official / Public Servant, prior to appointment will be asked to submit the following documentation:

A no-objection letter in respect of the applicant received from the government; and
The applicant is certified in writing by the government to be on official leave without pay for the duration of the Individual Contract.

A retired government official is not considered in this case a government official, and as such, may be contracted.

The detailed Terms of Reference and Procurement Notice can be found at http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs.

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in forestry, agriculture and climate change related fields;
At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in application of IPCC methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – LULUCF sector;
At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in providing technical review services of national GHG inventories (LULUCF sector) and inventory system products, including national inventory reports, national communications and biennial reports.

The short-listed individual consultants will be further 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:

a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
Technical Criteria weight – 70% (350 pts);
Financial Criteria weight – 30% (150 pts).

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 245 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical evaluation scoring:

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in forestry, agriculture and climate change related fields - maximum 40 points;
At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in application of IPCC methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – LULUCF sector - maximum 70 points;
At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in providing technical review services of national GHG inventories (LULUCF sector) and inventory system products, including national inventory reports, national communications and biennial reports - maximum 50 points;
Proven experience in working with international or local organizations on similar assignments (successful experience in working with UN agencies) is an asset - maximum 15 points;
Fluency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian languages is an asset - maximum 25 points;
Interview - maximum 150 points.