UNDP Jobs - 73190- Environmental and Water Resources Economist Expert

Environmental and Water Resources Economist Expert

Location :

Home-based with missions to Baku, Azerbaijan and Tbilisi, Georgia

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

28-Jul-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated 1st August 2017 – 30 April 2018

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 68 days

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 Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) (www.thegef.org) unites 183 member governments—in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector—to address global environment issues. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, the GEF has provided US$12.5 billion in grants and leveraged US$58 billion in co-financing for 3,690 projects in 165 developing countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP) the GEF has made more than 20,000 grants totaling about US$1 billion to civil society and community-based organizations.

The GEF International Waters (IW) focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. The IW portfolio comprises 242 projects to date and some US$1.4 billion of GEF grants invested in 149 different countries. This investment has leveraged about US$8.4 billion in co-financing.

UNDP GEF Kura Project “Advancing Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) across the Kura river basin through implementation of the transboundary agreed actions and national plans” will be implementing the Strategic Action Program for the Kura River Basin in partnership with the Governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The SAP is framed around four agreed Ecosystem Quality Objectives (EQO) which are:

To achieve sustainable utilization of water resources to ensure access to water and preserve ecosystem services;
To achieve water quality such that it would ensure access to clean water for present and future generations and sustain ecosystem functions in the Kura river basin;
To achieve and maintain ecosystem status whereby they provide essential environmental and socio-economic services in a sustainable manner in the Kura River Basin; and,
To achieve mitigation of adverse impacts of flooding and climate change on infrastructures, riparian ecosystems and communities.

The GEF will support priority activities towards these objectives. The GEF funded SAP implementation Project has the objective “to integrate water resources management in the Kura river basin to address water-energy-food-ecosystem security nexus through the implementation of agreed actions in the SAP”.
There will be five components to support the countries to achieve this objective. These are:

Project Component 1: Establishment of effective cross sectoral IWRM governance protocols at the local, national and transboundary levels in the Kura Basin;
Project Component 2: Strengthening national capacities to implement multi-sectoral IWRM in the Kura basin;
Project Component 3: Stress reduction in critical areas and pre-feasibility studies to identify investment opportunities for improving river system health;
Project Component 4: Targeted education and involvement projects to empower stakeholders in implementing local / national / regional actions in support of SAP implementation;
Project Component 5: Enhancing science for governance by strengthening monitoring, information management and data analysis systems for IWRM.

Duties and Responsibilities

Across the water nexus approach there are four main sectors that are represented for water/energy/food/environment security – municipal water, hydropower, agriculture and environment. These are interdependent and closely linked as use by one sector will impact available resources for other sectors at any given time. The “water nexus” functions as a tool to assist decision makers to best balance water uses at any given time through integrated flow management in support of overall IWRM. The objective is to maximize sustainable benefits of available water resources in the wider socio-economic context necessary for sustainable development.

In cases where there are trade-offs between sectors, the integrated flow management seeks to mitigate negative impacts and enhance positive benefits wherever possible, including supporting regional integration. In the Kura Basin these sectors are all present and growing. The economic and social development of both Azerbaijan and Georgia are closely linked to these sectors and require balanced use of water among different sectors, especially in light of climate change impacts. Therefore, the economic dimension is essential in the planning for water resources management in a sustainable manner. The net benefit of the unit of water in each sector should be calculated taking into account the social and environmental impacts of such use.

The water sector infrastructure in both Azerbaijan and Georgia is suffering from lack of financial resources to cover the investment costs needed for expanding the water distribution networks and build new infrastructures that will lead to a better management to the available resources. This lack of financial resources impact the operation and maintenance of the existing water infrastructure and in many cases lead to deterioration of them. There is a need to introduce new mechanisms for cost recovery of the water services. These new mechanisms will allow the governments in both countries to secure financial resources that can cover part of the operation and maintenance costs of the water infrastructure. This will have positive impact on the operation and maintenance of the water supply systems, increase efficiency of water use, reduce losses, and allow more water for new development plans.

The services of a qualified and highly competent consultant will be required to assist the Project Management unit in introducing the new economic tools in water management, train the countries representatives on water NEXUS approach, develop technical reports on the net economic benefit per unit of water in the different water use sectors, develop technical report on the economic cost of environmental degradation, and assess the economic benefits of using the green technologies in the water sector.

Scope of Work
The Environmental and Water Resources Economist Expert will work closely with both Ministry of Ecology and Natural Protection in Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection in Georgia, and other sectoral stakeholders to develop training curriculum on the environmental economics and the use of the economic tools in water resources management. He/She will train the countries representatives in the water NEXUS approach and the use of economic tools to support the water management decision makers. The consultant will support the two countries in developing 3 technical reports: the first one on the net economic benefit per unit of water in the different water use sectors, the second one on the economic cost of environmental degradation, and the third one on assessment of the economic benefits of using the green technologies in the water sector.

The consultant, in collaboration and close coordination with the Project Management Unit and the two National Focal Points in both countries, shall carry out the following activities:

Development of 3-staged training curriculum on environmental and water resources economics and how to calculate the costs of environmental degradation focusing on water resources;
Conduct the 3-staged training on Environmental economics for the countries representatives (The project PCU will assist in the logistics of the training)
Evaluate the responses of the trainees after each training course and upgrade the training curriculum in light of these responses.
Develop methodology to calculate the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs of water services on each sector
Identify the required data and information needed to apply this methodology
Supervise the National Coordinators and national experts in the two countries in collecting the available data and information needed for calculating the O&M cost for water services in environmental, agriculture, municipal and hydropower sectors
Analysis of the collected data and develop a technical report of the cost of water services on each sector
Supervise the project team to develop Report on Economic benefits of green technology for water use, including the national efforts and international best practices for economic benefits of green technology for water use
Develop training materials on integrated nexus approaches for: water pricing, cost recovery, and polluter pays principal, and recommend additional if needed.
Conduct the training for the representatives of the concerned stakeholders in both countries
Update the course martials based on the evaluations of participants
Prepare a draft note on the use of economic instruments to valuate water quality degradation
Test the economic methodology used and document the results
Develop national reports identifying the costs of water quality degradation to national GDP and promote financial mechanisms
Present the results to the countries representatives;

Timeframe for key deliverables and payment arrangements

Submit detailed work plan for implementation of activities
Start date: 15 Aug. 2017
End date: 31 Aug. 2017
Payment due: 10% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Development of 3-staged training curriculum on Environmental and Water Resources Economics and how to calculate the costs of environmental degradation.
Start date: 1st Sep. 2017
End date: 15 Sep. 2017
Payment due: 15% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Conduct the 3-staged training on Environmental economics for the countries representatives
Start date: 15 Sep. 2017
End date: 15 April 2018
Payment due: 15% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Develop a technical report of the cost of water services on each sector
Start date: 1st Nov. 2017
End date: 15 Dec. 2017
Payment due: 15% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Develop Report on economic benefits of green technology for water use
Start date: 1st March 2018
End date: 31 March 2018
Payment due: 10% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Develop training materials on integrated nexus approaches for: Water pricing, cost recovery, and polluter pays principal
Start date: 1st Feb. 2018
End date: 28 Feb. 2018

Conduct the training for the representatives of the concerned stakeholders in both countries
Start date: 1st April 2018
End date: 15 April 2018
Payment due: 15% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Develop national reports identifying the costs of water quality degradation to national GDP and promote financial mechanisms
Start date: 1st Jan. 2018
End date: 30 April 2018
Payment due: 20% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Information on Working Arrangements:

The international Environmental Laboratory Quality Management Expert will report to the Project Chief Technical Advisor / Regional Project Coordinator (CTA/RPC). Deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the CTA/RPC.

Competencies

Functional competencies

Strong communication and management skills and demonstrable capacity to work with a multi-national team and to work with government institutions;
Demonstrated ability in developing and implementing environmental and water resource economics trainings for professionals;
Ability to use the economic tools for cost recovery of water services;
Ability to prepare training materials and conduct training courses;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities.

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

Masters degree in natural resources economics, or related fields required; Masters degree focusing on the applied use of economic tools in water resources management or environmental management and/or Ph.D. in natural resources economics is an asset (Criteria A - Max. 10 Pts)

Experience

At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in applied environmental economics in research institutions or international organization is required. (Criteria B – Max. 5 Pts)
Demonstrated expertise on the applied use of economic tools in water resources management or environmental management, with focus on the economic methodologies for cost recovery of water use services. (Criteria C – Max. 15 Pts)
Proven knowledge, and required experience in developing applied cost benefit analysis studies, the economic valuation of environmental degradation, and the economic benefit per unit of water in main water use sectors. (Criteria D – Max. 15 Pts)
Proven experience in water NEXUS or integrated flow management approaches and the use of economic models in managing the competing sectoral demands; (Criteria E – Max. 5 Pts)
Experience in working with UNDP and GEF through multiple sectors/ministries or work experience in GEF International Waters and/or experience in former Soviet States is an asset (Criteria F - Max. 5 Pts);

Language:

English is the working language for this assignment, therefore excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required. Ability to communicate in Russian is an advantage (Criteria G – max. 15 Pts.)

Evaluation of Applicants

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 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 P-11 desk reviews and interviews and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates who receive min. 70% of points in desk review will be invited for an interview.

Evaluation Criteria:
Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points:

Criteria A – Academic qualification / education – max points 10;
Criteria B – Experience – max points 5;
Criteria C – Experience– max points 15;
Criteria D – Experience– max points 15;
Criteria E – Experience – max points 5;
Criteria F – Experience – max points 5;
Criteria G – Interview (communication and technical skills) – max points 15

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

Time Frame
The expected time frame for the Consultant to complete these activities is 9 months starting from August 1, 2017. The expected level of effort during this period is approximately 68 days (43 days home based plus 5 field missions to the region with 5 days per mission (each mission will have 3 days in Azerbaijan + 2 days in Georgia)).

Financial Arrangements
Payments as percentage of lump sum will be made monthly on the following based on approval and timely completion of above all deliverables described above.
Any delay of deliverable must be approved by the CTA in writing.

Procedures for Applying
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
A proposal for the workplan and methodology indicating the work to be done for achieving the task, main points to be discussed with the countries and to also be addressed in your report, plan for visiting countries, the structure of your final report.
Financial Proposal in USD* - specifying a) total amount for the tasks specified in this announcement and b) mission related costs (i) travel costs and ii) per diem) for 5 field missions to the region with 5 days per mission (each mission will have 3 days in Azerbaijan + 2 days in Georgia)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
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.