UNDP Jobs - 63457- International Advisor on Marine and Coastal Protec

International Advisor on Marine and Coastal Protected Areas Strategy

Location :

Home-based with two missions

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 days over a 5 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 has developed the Business Plan for Karaburun-Sazani MCPA.

Duties and Responsibilities

The advisor support the implementation of the MCPAs for the remaining period of the project, including the review the results achieved so far, recommendations for the remaining steps and drafting of a final report presenting the results and observations. In addition, the consultant will support the project in finalizing the business plan process and conceptualization of a supporting financing scheme for the sustainable management of the MPA Karaburun-Sazani, in particular, the financial aspects.

Specifically, the expected tasks will include the following:

Conduct consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders such as government authorities, partners, communities, elaborating the current barriers and challenges in the management of the MCPAs coming up with a policy pathway with actions’ checklist for its implementation;
Review the overall progress and results of the project so far and provide recommendations for the eventually remaining tasks (including drafting ToRs as needed);
Assess the appropriateness of the project-end results and development structures and make recommendations to replicate this project to other areas;
Develop a Strategic Concept Note on Marine and Coastal Protected Areas which should be in line the Strategy for Protected Areas and considers economic and environmental national priorities in the country;
In consultation with the national experts and the project management, identify 3-5 pilot projects to be developed/implemented further as per the requirements of the EU;
Support other tasks, as agreed with the project management.

Deliverables:

Report on project results and recommendations for the future;
Development of a Strategic Concept Note on MCPAs;
Development of 3-5 pilot projects.

Duration of assignment:

The assignment is expected for a maximum of 25 (twenty five) working days and should be completed in a period of five months.

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; and
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/Academic Qualification:

Advanced university degree in resource management or related field.

Work experience:

At least 10 years of working experience in similar assignments;
Previous experience in strong technical report writing, data acquisition and analysis skills;
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 requirement:

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.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs) - Download here
Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs), Financial Proposal and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”
Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

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.