UNDP Jobs - 62060- Consultant for the Development of Measurement, Rep

Consultant for the Development of Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) System Framework for NAMAS and LEDS

Location :

PHILIPPINES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

16-Dec-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 months

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

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed in the Bali Action Plan to consider a set of “measurable, reportable, and verifiable” (MRV) responsibilities: NAMAs by all developed and developing country parties; and technology, finance, and capacity-building support for those actions. These commitments, actions, and support would form the core of parties’ mitigation responsibilities under a post-2012 international climate change agreement. The requirement that these responsibilities be undertaken in a measurable, reportable, and verifiable manner suggests a level of specificity and significance beyond previous obligations under the UNFCCC. Taken together, measurability, reportability, and verifiability have implications for how obligations are defined, how they are financed and implemented, and how parties evaluate each other’s delivery on those obligations, making the concept of MRV a critical source of credibility and effectiveness in a post-2012 agreement.

The Cancun Conference of Parties (COP) in 2010 and Durban COP in 2011 have progressively clarified the mitigation framework for developing countries and distinguished between internationally supported actions and domestic supported actions depending on whether they are implemented with or without international support. The decision at Cancun also clarified that ‘internationally supported mitigation actions will be measured, reported and verified domestically and will be subject to international measurement, reporting and verification in accordance with guidelines to be developed under the Convention.’ Further, ‘domestically supported mitigation actions will be measured, reported and verified domestically in accordance with general guidelines to be developed under the Convention’. Another of MRV purposes is to help generate information for reporting to the UNFCCC – through National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) – on NAMAs either planned or implemented.

The main challenge therefore when implementing NAMAs is the requirement for Measuring, Reporting and Verifying (MRV) in ways that are consistent, transparent, comparable, complete and accurate. MRV is not a new concept and has been widely used in many contexts at national and international levels to ensure transparency and help in effective implementation of a given activity.

In simple terms with regards to the implementation of NAMAs, MRV is defined as:

Measurement - collects relevant information on progress and impacts;
Reporting - presents the measured information in a transparent and standardised manner; and
Verification - assesses the completeness, consistency and reliability of the reported information through an independent process.

MRV is applied in 3 areas: (1) MRV of emissions (estimation of emissions at national, regional, sectoral levels); (2) MRV of NAMAs (MRV of the impacts of mitigation policies and actions); and (3) MRV of support (MRV of financial flows/technology transfer/capacity building and their impacts).

MRV frameworks provide assurance to stakeholders that projects and programs meet clear standards; that their implementation is carefully monitored, and that progress is reported and the results are verified. It will be the task of the MRV system to keep track of the overall performance of the NAMAs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The LECB PHL Project requires the services of an Individual Contractor referred to herein as “Consultant” that shall undertake the following tasks:

Conduct of a Scoping Study.

While the scope of work under this TOR is focused on MRV of NAMAs, the Contractor is expected to collect, review and categorize relevant documents and data on MRV systems in general that provide country context, including a description of the socio-economic context, information on GHG emissions, government priorities and climate change-relevant actions in the AWIT-FE sectors.

The following NAMAs-related documents or studies conducted by the CCC and other government agencies and private institutions may be considered in the conduct of this activity:

Development of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs): First Interim Report conducted by the CCC-LECB PHL Project through Berkman International, Inc.;
Results of Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) conducted by the CCC-LECB PHL Project in the selection and prioritization of NAMAs options for the solid waste, transport, energy, wastewater and forestry sectors;
Philippines Mitigation Cost-Benefit Analysis conducted by the CCC through the USAID/B-LEADERS Project;
Study on Low Carbon Scenario and Development Pathways for the Philippines conducted by the Asian Development Bank;
Result of the Workshop on the Development of MRV System Framework which was conducted by the CCC thru the LECB PHL Project with the assistance or in cooperation with UNEP, SEAN-CC and DTU Partnership;
Develop the MRV System framework/roadmap for NAMAs/LEDS based on international accepted good practice including the corresponding activities, timelines and milestones.

Design MRV plan for NAMAs, including processes, arrangements, methodologies and expertise needed to facilitate reporting on their impacts. The plan should be able to address the following major aspects of MRV of NAMAs:

Indicators as basis for MRV. Individual activities of the NAMA should have their own indicators, whether they seek to measure GHG reductions or other benefits. The indicators will determine what gets reported and verified. The MCA conducted by CCC-LECB PHL Project identified multi-level criteria as well as indicators in the selection and prioritization of the sectoral mitigation options. These criteria and indicators may be considered in this activity?
Methodologies to measure the progress or impacts of NAMAs. The following concerns/elements may be considered: How will benefits be measured (methodologies used)? How accurate must measurement be? Can measurement be conducted “on-site” or will official data sources be used to measure results? How will results be compiled and stored, and through which channels will they be reported? Is on-site verification required?
Frequency of MRV. How often will particular activities of the NAMA be “MRV’d”? E.g. Performance monitoring annually? Reporting Biennially? Verification of reported information?
Institutional arrangements/structures for implementation. Who should MRV? The person /institution responsible for the M, R and V of the NAMA need to be identified during the design phase.

Create knowledge products on the final output for dissemination to stakeholders.

Assist in the conduct of necessary fora and workshops to raise awareness and build capacity on the Program.

Serve as resource person for the presentation of the output.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional/Technical Competencies:

Strong knowledge of the latest theories and concepts in urban development and sustainable cities in the Philippines and broader region;
Strong analytical and research skills;
Familiarity with current actors working on urban development challenges in the Philippines;
Strong communication skills and ability to communicate with different stakeholders;
Excellent in oral and written communication; have skills to write independent reports, documents, maintain systems and procedures in administering programs.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Degree in agriculture, industrial engineering, energy engineering, environmental planning, environmental science, or related field. Advance or graduate degrees are preferable.

Experience:

At least 5 years work experiences on climate change mitigation, GHG inventory, CDM and/or related projects;
Strong familiarity with environmental laws and regulations, planning processes and regulations at the national, subnational and local levels;
Strong familiarity with 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Familiarity with international climate change negotiations issues would be an advantage; and
Strong communication skills, including demonstrated written and presentation skills and the capacity to relate to both internal and external constituencies of the project.

Languages:

Fluent in English.

Please submit your CV and financial proposal on or before 11 November 2015 to:

The Procurement Team

United Nations Development Programme

30th Floor, Yuchengco Towe, RCBC PLaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City

procurement.ph@undp.org/registry.ph@undp.org

The financial proposal template, the UNDP General Conditions for Individual Consultant, and the complete Terms of Reference can be viewed in the link below.

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=27052.