UNDP Jobs - 63889- Consultant - Legal Expert (Specialization in Energ

Consultant - Legal Expert (Specialization in Energy and Municipal Law)

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

10-Mar-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 United Nations Development Programme, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Water, has initiated the fourth phase of the CEDRO (Community Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Demonstration Project for Lebanon) Programme (CEDRO 4) funded by the European Union. The CEDRO 4 project includes several sustainable energy projects that are designed to promote related renewable and energy efficiency systems and policies.

The UNDP CEDRO 4 is working on a possible village-scale renewable energy initiative, and is collaborating with the Ministry of Energy and Water and LCEC. The initiative, should it prove successful, could pave the way for community led renewable energy systems for electricity demand.

There are two main obstacles for the realization of this initiative. The first is technical and the UNDP CEDRO team, with full support from the Ministry of Energy and Water and EDL, are in the process of alleviating these barriers. The other is legal.

The legal challenges are in how to establish a legal cooperative (or other scheme and/or organization) that may pave the way for communities to get together and join resources for a common objective in the energy sector. The second challenge is to draft an acceptable legal contract that is clear, simple, and yet contains all the necessary clauses that will define and bind the relationship between the community and EDL, using existing EDL mechanisms, such as the net metering.

To this end, a legal energy expert is needed to draft all the necessary agreements between the involved parties.

Duties and Responsibilities

The tasks that are to be expected from the consultant are:

Task 1. Review of current laws and regulations with regard to electric power in the Lebanese context and shed light between the roles and responsibilities of municipalities and the National Utility (EDL);
Task 2. Assessment, review, and initiation of possible legal establishments or other legal modalities that can be recognized by the Government of Lebanon, that may play the role pooling community resources in one body for a pre-defined objective (here being investment in a RE plant);
Task 3. Drafting of legal contract that will bind the established institution (identified in Task 2) with the national utility, in agreement with the National Utility, the Ministry of Energy and Water, and other relevant government agencies;
Task 4., the review of available mechanisms or the creation of a new mechanism to create a maintenance fund for renewable energy systems for municipalities. The key to this fund must be that any grants or other financing means delivered to this fund can be used when needed in the future. Liaison with the Central Bank of Lebanon, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy and Water is expected in this task.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Strong analytical and report-writing skills;
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
Commitment to team and cross-disciplinary work;
Emphasis on delivery of results and reacts well to constructive criticism.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelors degree in in Law & Master degree is a plus.
Member of the Bar Association is a must.

Experience:

Relevant experience of not less than 10 years;
Experience in the consultancy of energy legislations (regulations and laws), as well as experience in the legal frameworks on potential energy initiatives;
Experience with Lebanese municipal laws and regulations is a plus.

Languages:

Advanced level of communication skills including proficiency in Arabic and English.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.