UNDP Jobs - 62103- International Consultant on Environmental Economy/

International Consultant on Environmental Economy/Services

Location :

Home Based with Mission in Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

22 working days over 4 months period

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

Albania has declared in 2010 its first marine protected area, as a result of an UNDP assisted project. In order to ensure the proper management of this area and to expand the marine protected areas, a new project has been designed and is currently under implementation in incipient stage.

The goal of the new project is to secure the long-term protection of Albania’s unique coastal and marine biodiversity. The immediate objective is to improve the coverage and management effectiveness of Albania’s network of marine and coastal protected areas as an essential complement to its network of terrestrial protected areas.

The project aims at removing existing systemic, regulatory and knowledge barriers.

The objective will be achieved through two outcomes:

Improved bio-geographical representation of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPA); and
Improved management arrangements for MCPAs, clarifying institutional settings and capacity building.

The project has already addressed some of the key drivers of the loss of marine and coastal biodiversity and ecosystem services such as coastal degradation, over-exploitation of marine and coastal resources, and pollution of coastal and marine waters, brought on by economic activities, degradation of coastal areas, uncontrolled harvest of coastal and marine resources, pollution of marine and coastal waters, climate change, etc.

Management Plan for Karaburun-Sazani MCPA has been developed throughout 2014, with the professional assistance and expertise from WWF MedPO. The plan addresses main descriptive elements of the area, followed by an evaluation of the protected area and assessment of institutional framework, more insight into the values, threats and current institutional framework, the vision of the MPA and then stating the management themes and management zones. Following this process, the project is under preparation of the Business Plan for Karaburun-Sazani MCPA. The current assessment tool that MCPA project is undertaking intends to complete the stakeholders analysis and socio-economic valuation with a view towards improving oversight of marine resources to meet commitments made to increase coverage and effective management.

Duties and Responsibilities

The international consultant will develop relevant studies focusing on rapid economic valuation of ES, beneficiary identification and financing instruments for the Marine Protected Areas.

The main objective of the study is to assess the current economic valuation of critical marine ecosystems and determine the potential for long-term financing of the Albania MPA network of MPAs. The information provided should serve as a baseline for feeding into financial sustainability plans for the areas under consideration and should be able to feed into future business plans.

Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for accomplishment of the following tasks:

Review similar assessments for other areas in the Mediterranean Region promoting the available and suitable institutional arrangements on ecosystem services;
Design methodologies and approaches for the Assessment. The methodologies include the process for participation, tools and indicators;
Field visits to the marine protected area to conduct interviews, working meetings and public consultation. Based on the results obtained, develop the first draft Assessment;
Examine the range of goods and services within the K-S MPA and conduct an Ecosystem Value Transfer to identify the value of the ecosystem services;
Present the results at one-day workshop;
Assess potential alternative or “new” sources of income based on the current financial situation and provide realistic projections regarding the potential sources of income for the park management organizations;
explore options for multi-criteria valuation of ecosystem services provided by the marine areas and assess the equity and efficiency of the payments and compensation schemes;
Conduct relevant training on analysis of cost recovery mechanisms which include but are not limited to tourist docks, user fees, mooring fee, head tax on divers;
Conduct and deliver the Economical Assessment of the K-S MPA including a SWOT analysis on benefit sharing mechanism within PES schemes;
Provide suggestions to ensure equitable contribution to the livelihoods of the marine disadvantaged communities;
Provide realistic projections regarding the potential funding abilities of this as a source of income for the park management organizations.

Deliverables:

Report on rapid economic valuation of coastal ecosystem services and beneficiary/ stakeholders identification, including a report on financing instruments - cost recovery mechanisms for the MPA Karaburun – Sazan;
Training/ workshop economic assessment.

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected for a maximum of 22 (twenty two) working days and should be completed in a period of 4 months from January to April 2016.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Good skills for efficient facilitation during meetings between various stakeholders (government, NGOs, CBOs, and communal levels);
Ability to produce high quality reports, summaries, training materials, etc. within the specified deadlines.
Demonstrated capacity and expertise in doing policy research;
Ability to work under pressure;
Effectively coordinate and advise a research team;
Meet tight deadlines without compromising on the quality of work, and being flexible;
Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communications skills;
Excellent presentation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Graduate degree in environmental or development economics, resource management or related field.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years of experience in strong technical report writing, data acquisition and analysis skills;
Proven experience in undertaking socio-economic-environmental assessments for protected areas (especially in the Mediterranean) and in developing and delivering high quality training programmes and modules at national and local levels:
Previous experience with UNDP and/or GEF projects is an added plus, but not mandatory;
Experience and knowledge in proposal writing, project management, project monitoring and evaluation systems.

Language:

Excellent communication and writing skills in English.

Evaluation of applications

Individual consultant(s) will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants and financial proposal.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points - Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points

Criteria A: In undertaking socio-economic-environmental assessments for protected areas (especially in the Mediterranean) and in developing and delivering high quality training programmes and modules at national and local level - max points - 30.

Criteria B: Educational background - max points - 15

Criteria C: Strong technical report writing, data acquisition and analysis skills - max points - 25.

The award of the contract should 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.

Only the highest ranked consultants, who would be found qualified for the job, will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Completed Personal History Form (P11 form) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs) including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/jobs.html . Please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
Financial Proposal - lump sum amount in USD (including the breakdown of consultancy daily fee; travel /per diems or other possible costs related to the assignment if any). Please attach the Financial Proposal with your P11 form in one file document as only one upload is allowed in the site.

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their financial proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores. UNDP retains the right to contact references directly.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.