UNDP Jobs - 68999- National consultant to support the terminal evalua

National consultant to support the terminal evaluation of UNDP GEF energy efficiency standards and labels project in Russian Federation

Location :

Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Nov-2016

Application Deadline :

23-Oct-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

November 2016 - February 2017

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 working days over the contract 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

This terminal evaluation will be conducted according to the guidance, rules and procedures established by UNDP and GEF as reflected in the UNDP evaluation guidance for GEF financed projects.

The objectives of the evaluation are to assess the achievement of project results, and to draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming.

The terminal evaluation will be carried out by an international consultant supported by a national consultant.

Project goal: The project objective is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the residential, commercial and public sector in the Russian Federation through the implementation of energy efficiency standards and labeling for key household appliances and technical building equipment, along with complementary measures. The stated targets of the project is that it is expected to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions by 29.9 Mt until 2020 and by 123.6 Mt until 2030.

Project objective: market transformation in Russia towards energy efficient household appliances and engineering equipment of buildings.

The project started in June 2010 and was scheduled to finish in June 2015. However, the project was extended by two years and is now scheduled to finish no later than June 2017. The total project budget is $7.81 million USD.

The Project was designed with four outcomes, as follows:

Outcome 1: An institutional, legal and regulatory basis established and the capacity of the national authorities built to facilitate introduction and wide-spread application of energy efficiency S&L schemes and their testing at least in one pilot region during the implementation of the project.

Outcome 2: National S&L schemes for selected power consuming products designed and proposed and the required verification and enforcement capacity for their implementation in place based on international best practices.

Outcome 3: Enhanced interest and strengthened capacity of the local manufacturers and, as applicable, other supply chain stakeholders to comply with the new EE standards and to bring energy efficient models into the market at competitive and for the majority of the population affordable prices.

Outcome 4: Enhanced awareness and improved access to non-partial information of residential and commercial clients concerning energy efficiency and other relevant characteristics of the targeted appliances and equipment from the life-cycle costs and environmental perspective.

Duties and Responsibilities

The national consultant will be supporting the international consultant with the terminal evaluation. The national consultant will provide supportive roles in terms of professional inputs, knowledge of local policies, local navigation, translation / language support, etc. The national consultant will work with the project manager to organize the 10 working days field mission of the international consultant to the Russian Federation which is expected to take place at the end of November 2016 and shortly after this mission the national consultant will prepare a report (max 25 - 30 pages) on the baseline analysis and situation report in Russia. The breakdown of the national consultant’s working time (total of 20 working days) is estimated as follows:

Preparation for evaluation mission, organization of programme, meetings etc. (3 days) by the mid November 2016;
Participation in terminal evaluation mission of the international consultant and presentation of initial findings (10 days) by the end of November 2016;
Baseline report (max 10-15 pages) on energy-efficiency in appliances in Russian Federation (4 days) by mid December 2016;
Inputs and contribution to draft and final terminal evaluation reports of the international consultant (3 days) by the end of February 2017.

The national consultant is expected to support the preparation and provide written inputs into the terminal report while specifically including the following aspects:

Inception report/work plan of the international consultant prior to the mission to Russia;
Adequacy of the overall project concept, design, implementation methodology, institutional structure, timelines, budgetary allocation or any other aspect of the project design that the evaluation team may want to comment upon;
Baseline analysis and situation report;
Analysis of the impact of the project activities on the various government institutions responsible for S&L in Russia and in particular the extent to which the monitoring, testing, and compliance framework has been improved as a result of project activities;
Performance in terms of in-time achievement of individual project activities as well as overall project in terms of adherence to planned timelines;
Relevance and adequacy of mid-course changes in implementation strategy with PSC approval, if any and the consequent variations in achievements, if any;
Extent of effectiveness of awareness generation activities by way of quality of promotional packages / awareness material, number of awareness programmes, trainings undertaken and level of awareness created. Quality of documentation, if any, produced under the project like, brochure, etc. should also be considered;
Complete the GEF tracking tool.

The team should also focus its assessments on project impacts as listed:

Perceptions on the “Situation at the end of the project” as it seems to the review team at the terminal review stage;
Nature and scale of the policy impact made by the project on policy related to energy-efficiency and standards and labels, if any, on relevant line departments of the government or other policy making bodies;
Extent of effectiveness of capacity building initiatives undertaken under the aegis of the project;
Appropriateness and effectiveness of the institutional arrangement deployed in the project with alternative scenarios, if any;
Details of co-funding, if any, leveraged by the project and its impact on the project achievements;
The effectiveness of monitoring and overseeing systems such as project steering committee and suggestion on improvements if any and consideration of how well the project has done adaptive management.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Comments to the inception report of the international consultant and organization of meetings for the mission. No later than 1 week before the evaluation mission (3 days).
Presentation of initial findings (together with the international consultant). End of evaluation mission (10 days).
Baseline analysis and situation report of maximum 10-15 pages, which examines the assumptions of the project, the CO2 analysis calculations report, and the extent to which improvements in energy-efficiency in RF related to standards and labels can be attributed to the project and the extent to which they would be happening anyways (4 days).
Inputs to the draft final full terminal evaluation report of the international consultant. Within 3 weeks of the evaluation mission (2 days).
Inputs to the final evaluation report of the international consultant. Revised report within 1 week of receiving UNDP comments on the draft (1 day).

Baseline analysis and situation report: The baseline analysis report is expected to analyze the extent to which energy efficiency improvements that came about are a result of project activities as opposed to improvements which would have happened anyway.

Payment for Satisfactory Delivery of Outputs:

The national consultant shall be paid in two installments as follows:

65% - upon completion of the international consultant’s mission to the Russian Federation and presentation of initial findings;

35% - upon completion of the baseline analysis and situation report and contribution to the draft final evaluation report and the final version of the evaluation report.

Institutional Arrangements

The consultant will report directly to UNDP project support office (PSO) in the Russian Federation, as well as to the international consultant leading the final evaluation. All reports are to be written in English. The national consultant will focus on the baseline analysis section of the final evaluation, outlining clearly what other donors are doing and making a clear distinction to what has happened as a result of the project and what has happened from business as usual situation. The national consultant should provide an electronic version of all the required deliverables.

The consultant is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with government counterparts, in particular, the GEF operational focal point, national project director, UNDP project support office, the UNDP independent evaluation office, the project manager and his project team, UNDP GEF regional technical adviser and all key stakeholders including all advisors, consultants, and sub-contractors to the project.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Creative and innovative;
Sound analytic capacities;
Ability to address complex concepts and to gather written materials in a clear, concise and meaningful manner with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail;
Highly organized, able to effectively develop and manage projects, ensuring that deadlines are met.

Functional Competencies

Excellent writing, analytical and research skills;
Showing strong attention to details;
Excellent interpersonal skills;
Ability to work in a multicultural and international environment;
Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in an environmental-related or international development field such as environmental science, energy efficiency, international development or other relevant field.

Work Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant professional experience related to energy-efficiency in the Russian Federation, experience related to energy efficiency in S&L area is an advantage;
Experience with the related international and national official bodies, responsible for energy efficiency legislation, and key stakeholders is an advantage;
Experience with technical assistance projects in the field of energy and/or energy-efficiency in the Russian Federation is an advantage;
Knowledge of GEF and UNDP monitoring and evaluation policies procedures is an advantage.

Languages:

Excellent spoken and written Russian and English.

Evaluation procedure

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive, compliant, acceptable;
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria - 70% of the total evaluation (max 70 points):

Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in an environmental-related or international development field such as environmental science, energy efficiency, international development or other relevant field (6 points).

At least 5 years of relevant professional experience related to energy-efficiency in the Russian Federation (max 5 points);
Experience related to energy efficiency in S&L area is an advantage (max 10 points);
Experience with the related international and national official bodies, responsible for energy efficiency legislation, and key stakeholders is an advantage (max 5 points);
Experience with technical assistance projects in the field of energy and/or energy-efficiency in the Russian Federation is an advantage (max 5 points);
Knowledge of GEF and UNDP monitoring and evaluation policies procedures is an advantage (max 5 points);
Excellent spoken and written Russian and English (max 4 points);
Interview (max 30 points)

Financial criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max 30 points.

Only candidates passing the 70% threshold for the technical proposal will be considered for the financial evaluation.

The candidate with the highest score from technical criteria + financial criteria will be selected with the maximum score possible being 100 points.

Application process