Background

The steep and steady rise of the urban population in Turkmenistan poses new and growing concerns about environmental impacts.  The sources of these impacts are varied – rising use of motor vehicles, expansion of public lighting, consumption of resources by new residential and tourist zones, and even increases in ambient temperature from the urban heat island effect.  Likewise, the impacts themselves range from local pollution and congestion, to depletion of scarce national water resources, to increases in greenhouse gas emissions and contributions to global climate change.  There is ample potential for introduction of sustainable urban development to Turkmenistan, but institutional and economic barriers that favor growth and consumption without regard to sustainability, as well as insufficient technical know-how regarding sustainable urban best practices, need to be addressed.  The proposed UNDP/GEF full-sized project (FSP) seeks to remove these barriers through an integrated program of activities in Turkmenistan’s two most visible, rapidly developing cities, Ashgabat and Awaza, thereby unlocking this technical potential and achieving significant GHG reductions and other environmental benefits.

 The project will result in a nationwide transformation of urban planning, investment, and management practices in Turkmenistan, from its current mode focusing on the speed, magnitude, and impressiveness of urban growth characterized by high resource inefficiency and negative environmental impacts towards new paths to integrated, low-carbon sustainable urban development. This transformation will be ensured via a combination of bottom-up interventions demonstrating integrated approaches to sustainable urban development in two key cities, Ashgabat and Awaza, and the nation-wide work to introduce enabling policy framework and raise awareness about urban sustainability among city authorities, residents and visitors.

 Ashgabat and Awaza

 The most notable recent urban growth in Turkmenistan has taken place in two distinct locales – the capital city of Ashgabat and the new resort zone of Awaza on the Caspian Sea.  Ashgabat’s population has increased by about 40 percent in the last 15 years, from about 524,000 in the year 2000 to more than 735,000 in 2014.  This population growth has triggered the creation of several wholly new developed areas, many major new public and residential building projects, and expansion of associated infrastructure.  Notably, the city is currently hard at work creating facilities and upgrading infrastructure in preparation for hosting the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017.

Just eight years ago, Awaza was a modest little beach town with minimal infrastructure or services beyond rest and recreation for local residents.  Then, in 2007, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedow articulated his vision for creation of a world-class tourist resort at Awaza.  Since then, the area has undergone rapid development, with the construction of several hotels, parks, recreation facilities, and accompanying infrastructure, including roads and a full renovation of the airport at the city of Turkmenbashi, about 15 kilometers away.  The Government has invested over $1.5 billion in construction at Awaza so far, with plans for further construction of many more luxury hotels, a full-scale recreation complex, casinos, and shopping centers by 2020.  Further infrastructure improvements will include construction of a new gas-fired power plant, a desalination plant on the Caspian Sea, sewage treatment plants, and water supply networks, as well as upgrades to the port of Turkmenbashi to accommodate tourists arriving by boat.    Awaza is also promoted as a potential future spot for headquarters for corporations seeking to establish economic bases on the eastern shore of the Caspian.

Sustainable urban development in Turkmenistan

In Turkmenistan as in all countries worldwide, the development of cities has led to increased negative environmental impact – consumption of natural resources, generation of waste, local air and water pollution, and emissions of greenhouse gases.  These problems call for integrated strategies for sustainable urban development, to measurably reduce all of these impacts via a combination of planning, investment, technical solutions, policy, capacity-building, and outreach, without compromising social and economic development goals.

The government of Turkmenistan has begun to recognize the importance of sustainable urban development in Ashgabat and Awaza, not only for mitigation of local and global environmental harm, but also for creation of increased comfort, reduced traffic and travel times, and beautification of public spaces.  These social benefits, in turn, should lead to greater happiness among citizens and enhanced demand for tourism and other economic activity.

Furthermore, the Government recognizes that Ashgabat and Awaza, as the nation’s primary destinations for foreigners, are very important in terms of the country’s global image.  To date, development of these two cities has emphasized a grandeur consistent with the nation’s rapid rise to prosperity and its high aspirations for future growth.  But the Government also recognizes that these two showcase cities could win the respect and good will of the international community (as well as tourism revenue and investment) by demonstrating Turkmenistan’s responsible citizenship in the global community of nations, as well as its readiness to implement smart, technically sound best practices in urban planning and management.

The project will consist of three components, each with multiple activities and planned outputs

Component 1 seeks to reduce environmental impacts associated with public spaces and infrastructure in Ashgabat.  It will seek to increase the energy efficiency of public lighting and transportation through planning, technical measures, and investment.  The component also includes activity to quantify and mitigate the urban heat island effect in Ashgabat.

Component 2 seeks to institutionalize sustainability in the emerging tourism sector in Awaza. It will support the design and implementation of green building design in a new hotel.  Green practices will also be introduced to existing hotels via operational standards.  Finally, as in Ashgabat, the project will also seek to enhance lighting and transportation efficiency, with solutions specific to Awaza’s economic directions and character.

Component 3 will support the scale-up of results from the first two components via monitoring, documentation, knowledge-sharing, and development of national policy.  This component will include efforts toward the adoption of national standards for fuel efficiency of imported vehicles and other relevant national policies and regulations.

Component 1.  Integrated solutions for low-carbon and climate-resilient public space in Ashgabat

Project’s first component will improve capacities and enabling conditions in Ashgabat to identify, design and implement integrated low-carbon and climate resilient solutions in the public space leading to GHG emission reductions and other social and environmental benefits for Ashgabat’s residents and visitors

Activity 1.1.  Demonstration and replication of energy-efficient and solar-powered public lighting.  The project will provide technical assistance and a share of incremental costs for the installation of energy-efficient street lighting (or other outdoor lighting of public spaces) along one or more major streets in Ashgabat.  Newly installed lighting will include LEDs and solar electricity supply, with expected reduction of fossil energy consumption of 50-100 percent per fixture relative to baseline.  Application of smart grid technology, where possible, will reduce energy consumption further in lighting networks, with targeted reduction of grid losses by 20 percent.  This activity will also involve the promotion of LEDs in indoor lighting of public buildings, with a target of increasing their share of overall lighting in these buildings by at least 30 percent by the end of the project period.  Results will be compiled and presented to the Ministry of Energy as justification and technical guidance for replication elsewhere in the city/country.  The project will provide technical and management support for implementation and evaluation of replication efforts.

Activity 1.2.  Promoting sustainable urban transport solutions.   The project will develop an integrated plan for management of growing private motor vehicle traffic in Ashgabat, including designation of special lanes for buses and bicycles (at least 20 km in total), special lane restrictions during peak hours, and/or new incentives for bus ridership leading to a reduction of at least 10 percent in projected vehicle-hours of driving private cars in the city.  This component will also include technical and investment support for assessment, incremental purchase cost, and use of efficient hybrid buses, which would be expected to have at least 30 percent greater fuel economy than diesel-powered buses.

Activity 1.3.  Reduction of the urban heat island effect via greening of open space and installation of cool roofs.  This activity will begin with a quantitative assessment and modelling of the heat island effect in Ashgabat, as well as associated cooling loads in buildings.  Based on the results, a combination of measures will be identified to reduce this effect – most likely, high-albedo roofs and planting of trees (at least 120 hectares).  The target is to achieve a documented reduction in ambient temperature of 1 degree Celsius, with commensurate reduction in cooling degree days. A comprehensive program will then be developed to apply these measures as widely as possible in both existing and new neighborhoods.  Quantitative assessment of reductions in temperature and energy consumption will be repeated after the mitigation measures are applied.

Activity 1.4.  Development of city-wide sustainability plans.  The project will assist officials from the city administration of Ashgabat, as well as any responsible velayat and national officials, in developing integrated sustainability plans for the city.  This work will include assistance in preparing the actual plans, including capital and operational budgets, agency assignments, timetables, performance metrics, and so on.  The component will also deliver training and capacity-building of the officials to ensure that they can integrate sustainability into their own work during and after the project period.

Component 2.  Sustainable Tourism Infrastructure and Management Practices in Awaza

The defining outcome of project’s second component will be institutionalization of sustainable, low-carbon tourism in Awaza:

Activity 2.1.  Design, construction, and operation of a green and energy-efficient hotel.  UNDP will support the Balkan velayat authorities and their selected contractors in design of a hotel in Awaza, with state-of-the-art measures for energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy supply, and environmentally friendly materials.  The legitimacy of this building as the first “green” hotel in Turkmenistan will be certified by one or both of the LEED and BREEAM rating systems.  The goal will be for this hotel to earn either a LEED Platinum or BREEAM Outstanding certification, or both.  Energy savings from this hotel will be targeted at no less than 65 percent per square meter relative to other hotels in Awaza.

The hotel will enter into operation during the project period.  During operation, not only will it provide comfortable rest and services to guests, but it will also serve as an educational platform for designers and operators of other hotels, and a vehicle for publicity for Awaza and green tourism.

Activity 2.2.  Implementation of city-wide green standards for management of energy, water, and waste in hotel operations.  The project will develop green standards for operation of existing hotels in Awaza, and then will promote their implementation throughout the tourist zone (among 15 existing hotels and the new ones), leading to a reduction of both carbon intensity and water consumption by 10 percent. These standards may include a combination of required actions, including energy audit to identify conservation opportunities in rooms, kitchens, and other facilities such as saunas and swimming pools; ongoing energy management to ensure optimal performance of energy-using systems and controls; water-conservation audit; installation of low-water toilets and shower fixtures; elimination of daily laundering of sheets and towels; reduction of waste in packaging and other disposable items; and so on.  Results will be measured at all participating and non-participating hotels.  As with Output 2.1, the technical content of this activity will be accompanied by promotional efforts to draw attention to the green practices and their importance to the hotels of Awaza.

Activity 2.3.  Demonstration and replication of energy-efficient and solar-powered public lighting.  As in Ashgabat, the project will design one or more upgrades of public lighting in Awaza, and will cover a portion of incremental costs with GEF funds.  These upgrades could involve simple street lighting or more complex, visually creative installations in parks or other recreation sites, including those involving color, and could involve efficiency, renewable energy supply, or both.  The design process and installed performance of the new lighting system will be documented and used as justification and technical guidance for replication throughout the tourism zone. The target is to achieve by the end of the project the deployment of LEDs and/or other efficient or renewable-energy-powered light sources in 100 percent of newly lit areas and 50 percent of areas currently lit with inefficient lamps and fixtures along streets and other public areas of Awaza.

Activity 2.4.  Optimally efficient surface transportation.  Tourism in Awaza is still at a rather moderate level.  Therefore, there is no pressing need at present for traffic management plans.  Furthermore, an emphasis on public bus transport would seem inconsistent with the character of the site as a luxury travel destination.  There is, however, some opportunity to increase energy efficiency in transport in Awaza by promoting the use of hybrid and/or electric vehicles – taxis, tour buses and vans, and shuttles to and from the airport in Turkmenbashi.  The project will assist local authorities in designing programs to encourage their use, either via mandates for state entities, or incentives for private transportation providers with the aim of increasing fuel efficiency of at least 50 percent of the existing fleets of taxis, tour buses, and/or airport shuttles in Awaza, by 30 percent compared to baseline.

Activity 2.5.  Capacity-building of planners, officials, and managers of tourist facilities in Awaza.  In order to support the effective implementation of all the other activities under this component, the project will deliver technical and managerial training to a wide array of responsible parties in Awaza – urban planners, administrators, hotel managers, maintenance personnel, and others.  This training will provide technical guidance on planning, operation, monitoring, and maintenance of new systems in building, lighting, and transport.  More broadly, it will also clarify the concept and the advantages of sustainability in order to help ensure ownership of new practices.

Component 3.  Monitoring, Knowledge-Sharing, and Municipal and National Policy

The intended outcome of the project’s third component is the nation-wide replication and scale-up of results of the first two components via information dissemination, enhancement of capacity of agencies and managers, and adoption of supportive policies and regulation:

Activity 3.1.  Monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).  The project will document all of the technical design and performance results of its activities in lighting, transport, hotel design and management, and reduction of ambient temperatures and cooling loads.  Furthermore, at the level of the whole project, progress, quantitative results, and lessons learned will be regularly compiled and reported to UNDP and GEF in accordance with established requirements for monitoring, reporting, and verification of project activity.  This work will feed substantially into the Midterm and Terminal Evaluations, and will also result in a final report on project results and lessons learned, as well as numerous smaller reports on specific subjects.  This activity will also include the establishment of procedures and responsibilities for MRV efforts by Turkmen agencies in assessing sustainability programs in both Ashgabat and Awaza.  These procedures will remain in place after the end of the project, thus helping to assure effective and responsive management of future sustainability efforts.

Activity 3.2.  Knowledge-sharing and public-relations outreach throughout Turkmenistan and among similar projects in the region. The project will seek to maximize knowledge-sharing, both among the cities of Turkmenistan and among the countries of the region.  Knowledge-sharing will flow both to and from the project.  Modes of information exchange will vary widely, depending on intended audiences.  Reports on results and lessons learned from all project activities, as compiled in Activity 3.1, will be made available via UNDP’s website and will be presented at conferences and other forums as appropriate.  Project staff will invite interested visitors to the two cities, with field visits to demonstration sites.

The project will also conduct broader-themed public-relations activity to the general public within and outside Turkmenistan.  It will seek to tell success stories from the two cities in the national and international mass media, as well as social media where accessible.  This work will be designed for synergy with the government’s PR efforts among citizens and the public to promote the two cities as examples of sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility.

Activity 3.3.  National policies in support of integrated and scaled-up green urban practices.  National policies are needed to set clear mandates for sustainable urban development, to define specific action steps and agency roles, to ensure integration and mutual consistency among goals of social and economic development and sustainability, and to provide a basis for needed state investment and nationwide scale-up.  The project will support such policies, possibly as stand-alone documents (such as Ministry orders or action plans) or possibly as part of the National Low-Emission Development Plan.

Activity 3.4.  National standards for fuel efficiency of imported cars.  Finally, and not least, the project will conduct analysis and develop standards or regulations for fuel efficiency of imported cars.  By the end of the project, these standards would result in an increase by 15 percent in the fuel efficiency of cars imported for sale in the country.  The exact form of these standards or regulations (required average efficiency over a whole vendor fleet, or overall limits or tariffs on the worst “gas-guzzlers,” or other approaches) will be more closely assessed during project preparation and implementation.

Objective of the assignment

The objective of the PPG is to develop a full-sized project that aims to promote and implement integrated low-carbon urban systems in Turkmenistan’s two most visible, rapidly developing cities, Ashgabat and Awaza, thereby reducing GHG emissions and other negative environmental impacts, while also promoting the economic and social well-being of citizens and increasing the attractiveness of both cities to visitors.

 Outcome of the assignment

The end result of assignment will be completed Request for CEO Endorsement and Project Document for the UNDP-GEF FSP “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan:  Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza”.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

The task of the International Consultant will be to ensure that essential steps in the process of scoping the UNDP-GEF FSP “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan:  Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza” and development of the relevant Project Document to be submitted for CEO Endorsement are undertaken in line with respective GEF guidance.

To this end, the International Consultant will be responsible for mobilizing and leading the team of national and international experts for planning and effectively undertaking the required surveys and preparatory field work, establishing dialogue and a working relationship with stakeholders (funding partners, national counterparts and local communities), and the timely delivery of the agreed documents.

Under the overall guidance of UNDP Programme Specialist on Environment, UNDP CO and in coordination with the national consultants and as informed by guidance from the UNDP/GEF Regional Technical Advisor, the International Consultant/Climate Change/GEF Expert (acting in his/her individual capacity) will be tasked with the following duties and responsibilities.

Activity 1. Baseline data collection and analysis of barriers and information gaps:

  • Draft and finalize TORs for a team of local and international consultants to be hired under the PPG;
  • Prepare process plan and timetable for fulfillment and coordination of all assignments of project team members;
  • Prepare checklist of data and information to be collected by the local team;
  • Review baseline information and data collected and delivered by the local experts, including, but not necessarily limited to:
  • Energy production capacities and supply characteristics for Turkmenistan, including Ashgabat and Awaza specifically;
  • GHG emissions from various urban sectors in Turkmenistan, including buildings, transport, lighting, and commercial activity in support of tourism;
  • Legal, political, and institutional conditions affecting urban development in Turkmenistan;
  • Baseline activities in urban planning and development, including planned government development of the sector; estimates of regional distribution of planned development; projected trends in financial investments, pricing and other financial mechanisms and projected changes in the profile of urban development and related energy aspects during and subsequent to the project period.
  • Assess the capacity of the relevant Ministries in conducting GHG inventories.  Prepare analysis of current issues regarding data collection, aggregation, analysis, and quality control related to end-use energy consumption statistics and associated CO2 emissions in Ashgabat and Awaza. Provide recommendations to enhance capacity, for inclusion into the  FSP/Project Document;
  • Draft the situation analysis;
  • Review and analyze the description of barriers, as set forth in the PIF, to the effective promotion of energy efficiency and integrated green urban development in Asggabat and Awaza in Turkmenistan.

Activity 2. Institutional capacity assessment for promotion of integrated green urban development in Ashgabat and Awaza:

  • Analyze information collected by local experts on existing practices of energy use in Ashgabat and Awaza, plans and prototype designs, energy management and metering practices, and materials and technologies used in urban planning and development of Ashgabat and Awaza;
  • Prepare a gap analysis of institutional, legal and policy framework for integrated green urban development. Analyze current and proposed legal arrangements for norms and regulations to promote integrated urban development. Analyze current practices for modernizing urban infrastructure and technologies (review, approval, oversight and monitoring procedures), including estimates of enforcement levels.  Analyze other current and potential institutional conditions, including public-private partnerships;
  • Provide expertise and analyze information provided by other project team members on energy efficient and low-carbon practices and technologies, including those already in place in Turkmenistan and those with potential to be newly applied;
  • Analyze international best practices, institutional models, and lessons learnt in the design and implementation of energy efficiency and low-carbon end-use policies, programmes, and projects.  Provide briefings to project team members stakeholders, and collaborators on these best practices and lessons learnt;
  • Provide assessment of the current system of professional education and training in the area of urban planning and development in Turkmenistan;
  • Define capacity needs for realizing energy efficiency gains in urban development.  Prepare an institutional capacity scorecard to form the baseline and recommendations for capacity strengthening activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on defining the proposed partnership between the project and relevant ministries and institutions;
  • Take lead in drafting of institutional arrangements for effective promotion and incorporation of norms and regulations and mechanisms on integrated urban development;
  • Formulate the project strategy and corresponding activities to be carried out under the proposed project;
  • Define plans to replicate project results and to ensure sustainability of suggested project outcomes and outputs;
  • Prepare Project Results Framework defining measurable indicators, baseline conditions, targets, means of verification, and risks, as well as a M&E plan;
  • Assess estimated CO2 emissions and potential for reductions from the urban sector (Ashgabat and Awaza) in Turkmenistan.

 Activity 3. Stakeholder engagement and ownership/endorsement:

  • Oversee and guide stakeholder analysis among national and provincial government agencies, industrial and private sector, civil society and academic institutions to be made by local experts;
  • Identify stakeholders’ interests and current and potential roles in energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy management activities in urban planning and development;
  • Assess and tailor stakeholder capacities for implementing low-carbon policies in Ashgabat and Awaza;
  • Assess opportunities for public-private partnerships;
  • Propose capacity building and awareness raising measures;
  • Facilitate stakeholder consultations to ensure local and national ownership of the proposed project;
  • Develop stakeholders’ involvement strategy with a particular focus on the application and monitoring of low-carbon practices in Ashgabat and Awaza, including, stakeholder matrix; stakeholder involvement plan; stakeholder capacity building needs and plan; recommendations for the full-sized project on the stakeholder involvement in promoting energy efficiency in urban development.
  • Discuss and confirm all recommendations and implementation plan with project partners and stakeholders;
  • The International Consultant will be supported by the national expert to facilitate stakeholder consultations and communication throughout the FSP development, in addition to co-ordination and support provided by UNDP CO.

 Activity 4. Scoping and design of demonstration projects:

  • Propose criteria for demonstration project selection and prioritization;
  • Analyze baseline information on potential demonstration sites and preliminary GHG emission reduction assessment for demonstration projects (provided by local and/or other international experts) to establish a measurable monitoring and evaluation framework for the project;
  • In consultation with relevant stakeholders and partners, identify most demonstration projects, including required policy institutional and financial mechanisms to support their implementation;
  • Supervise identification of feasible technical solutions, with support of international and local experts, involving increased energy efficiency or renewable energy based on international best practices and availability of relevant technologies in Turkmenistan, with assessment of technical potential for energy savings;
  • Assess average investment costs and initial and net life-cycle costs of feasible energy efficiency and/or renewable energy measures;
  • Develop a project learning strategy:  The full project learning strategy and plan will be developed, including identification of potential lessons and knowledge products, as well as the institutional channels by which these lessons and products will be delivered.

 Activity 5. Project scoping and preparation of full UNDP/GEF Project Document:

Define the full Project Document based on the results of baseline analysis and approved PIF, including:

  • Situation analysis;
  • Description of barriers to low-carbon policies in development of Ashgabat and Awaza;
  • Elaboration of activities that constitute the most effective response to the identified barriers, including demonstration projects;
  • Definition of outcomes and outputs associated with these activities;
  • Explanation of social, economic and financial sustainability of proposed project activities;
  • Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of demonstration projects and the project on the whole;
  • Analysis of environmental benefits to be achieved by the project, beyond baseline conditions) to justify GEF support, including calculation methodology;
  • Preparation of “incremental reasoning” section of Project Document based on this analysis of environmental benefits;
  • Project budget, with entries arranged by item, year, and component, as well as a separate category for project management, within GEF guidelines;
  • Elaboration of co-financing sources and co-financing commitments in compliance with the GEF incrementality principle;
  • Project M&E plan, including a set of indicators for climate change mitigation and other benefits;
  • Project Results Framework defining indicators, baseline conditions, targets, means of verification, and risks for the project on the whole and for each intended project outcome;
  • Learning and replication strategy;
  • Completed GEF Climate Change Mitigation Tracking Tool;
  • Terms of Reference for key project staff.
  • Revise the submitted Project Document to address the comments/suggestions made by GEFSec, STAP and other reviewers;
  • Finalize and submit to UNDP the Request for CEO Endorsement/Approval document and Project Document for the UNDP-GEF FSP “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan:  Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza”.

Deliverables and timeframe

Installment 1 (15% of the contract cost):

Deliverable 1a: Terms of Reference for key international and national consultancies and process plan. To be done in December 2015;

Deliverable 1b: Completion of first mission to Ashgabat, including meetings with project team, stakeholders and collaborators. To be done in January 2016.

Installment 2 (15% of the contract cost):

Deliverable 2: Analysis of baseline conditions and barriers,elaboration of proposed project activities and draft Project Results Framework. To be done in the end of March-April 2016.

Installment 3 (40% of the contract cost):

Deliverable 3a: Draft UNDP/GEF FSP Project Document. To be done in the end of July 2016;

Deliverable 3b: Completion of second mission to Ashgabat, including presentation of the draft Project Document.

Installment 4 (30% of the contract cost):

Deliverable 4: Final Request for CEO Endorsement and UNDP/GEF FSP Project Document. To be done in the end of October 2016. To be paid tentatively in November-December 2016.

Detailed list of deliverables and milestones will be agreed upon in consultation with UNDP. The reports shall be submitted in English.

Reporting

The International Consultant must ensure timely preparation and submission of the Request for CEO Endorsement/Approval and comprehensive Project Document for UNDP-GEF FSP “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan:  Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza”. All reports must be submitted in English to the UNDP CO in Turkmenistan and made in accordance with GEF-UNDP’s templates and requirements to reporting (available at www.thegef.org).

Travel

In the course of the assignment, the consultant will be expected to undertake 2 missions to Turkmenistan (including in-country travel to Awaza), with one in January 2016 and the second one tentatively in June-July 2016.  Cumulatively missions will tentatively last for 15 days (each mission-one week).  The dates for this mission will be agreed upon between the consultant and UNDP-Turkmenistan.
For travel information, Awaza is located in the western part of the country on the Caspian seashore and is about 5 hours away from Ashgabat by car and 1 hour by plane.

The assignment will be a combination of in-country and out-of-country work

The consultant should undertake two missions to Turkmenistan, including in-country travel to Awaza, for 15 days in total. He/She will report to UNDP CO Turkmenistan. The payment will be a lump-sum payment inclusive of consultancy fee, DSAs for 15 in-country full consultancy days, and two round-trip tickets and concomitant terminal expenses. Interested candidates, along with their technical proposal, will have to submit their financial proposal by taking into account those expected 2 travels to Turkmenistan (including in-country travel to Awaza), and showing in their financial proposals breakdown of financial expenses for consultancy fee, DSA (currently, DSA for Ashgabat stands at 249 USD per day), round-trip tickets and concomitant terminal expenses.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

  • Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
  • 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;
  • Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills;
  • Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent academic background in energy/environment or related field.

Experience:

  • At least ten (10) years of working experience in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy:
  • Experience with preparation and supporting implementation of GEF-funded climate change mitigation projects;
  • Practical experience with design and assessment of investment projects involving low-carbon technologies;
  • Practical experience in financial and economic analysis and incremental cost analysis in accordance with requirements and based on criteria applied by the GEF;
  • Previous experience of working in CIS countries for climate change mitigation and/or low-carbon technologies will be an asset.

Language:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English, including excellent writing skills on relevant technical subject matter:
  • Good knowledge of written and spoken Russian.

Submission of applications

Interested candidates must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Methodology

All applicants shall submit a detailed methodology indicating phases, tasks, methods, techniques, time, resources, accessibility and tools to be applied for successful completion of assignment.

All applicants shall submit a detailed, carefully considered and justified financial statement in the form of Offeror's letter, based on a lump sum, which should include: a consultancy fee, administrative expenses (if applicable), travel expenses (if applicable), and/or any other expenses the applicants deem necessary to incur during assignment. Interested candidates should take into account those expected seven travels to Turkmenistan, and showing in their financial proposals breakdown of financial expenses for consultancy fee, DSA (currently, DSA for Ashgabat stands at 249 USD per day), round-trip tickets and concomitant terminal expenses.

Updated P11 form. P11 Form can be downloaded from the website at http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc). Please use the P11 form, and not a self-designed resume.

CV.

Evaluation

The Individual will be evaluated using best value for money approach, which takes into account  a combination of the Offerors’ qualifications and financial proposal:

Technical criteria -70%, which includes:

  • Appropriate education -25;
  • Relevant experience – 25;
  • Methodology - 10;
  • Additional skills (language, etc.) - 10.

Financial proposal – 30%

Additional requirements for recommended contractor

Recommended contractors aged 62 and older, and if the travel is required, shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians, and shall be paid by the consultant.