UNDP Jobs - 65519- International Consultant in National Greenhouse Ga

International Consultant in National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories – Land Use, Land- Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Sector

Location :

Home based with 2 Missions in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

09-May-2016

Application Deadline :

25-Apr-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 May - 30 September 2016

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Around 30 working 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 UNDP Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Global Programme has two overall objectives:

to build public sector capacity on developing greenhouse gas (GHG) national inventory systems, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, low-emissions development strategies, and monitoring, verification, and reporting procedures; and
to build private sector capacity for mitigation actions in selected sectors.

The Global Programme, which is funded by the European Commission and the governments of Germany and Australia, is under implementation in 25 countries around the world, inclusive in the Republic of Moldova.

UNDP Moldova together with the Climate Change Office of the Ministry of Environment (MoEN) is implementing the LECB Project – Republic of Moldova.

In the Republic of Moldova, the scope of the LECB project is to increase institutional capacities to provide appropriate mechanisms of support and coordination when addressing climate risks, to strengthen the technical knowledge in order to better understand and make use of climate information, and increasing relevant data and access to data for planning and decision-making.

The main project objectives are:

to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of the Republic of Moldova to develop a National Inventory System to support the development of national GHG inventory on a regular basis;
to identify and formulate Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in the context of the national Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS); and
to measure/monitor, verify and report (MRV) progress on NAMAs and LEDS implementation.

Under the first project objective the following four main outputs have been set:

The National Inventory System institutionalized through a legislative/normative act;
A ‘National Inventory System Report’ developed following the U.S. EPA’s Template Workbook ‘Developing a National GHG Inventory System’ (available on the U.S. EPA’s website: www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghginventorycapacitybuilding);
Level of knowledge of the national experts and partner institutions involved in the development of GHG Inventory for Energy, Industrial Processes and product Use (IPPU), Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) and Waste Sectors enhanced;
A data management system for tracking and archiving the inventory information used in each inventory cycle in place.

The implementation of project objectives will support the Republic of Moldova to prepare high quality National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) to be submitted to the UNFCCC timely (i.e. once in four years in case of NCs and once in two years in case of BURs).

As GHG inventories are a key component of both the NCs and BURs, there are opportunities under the LECB Project for enhancing the professional capacities and the level of knowledge of the national experts and partner institutions involved in the development of national GHG Inventory, specifically in the light of the transition to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories in all sectors while developing the Fourth National Communication (to be submitted by July 2017) and the Second Biennial Update Report (to be submitted by March 2018) of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC.

In this regard, UNDP is seeking the expertise of an GHG inventory international consultant to ensure a technical coordination and practical guidance to the LULUCF sector inventory working group in the creation and development of a database and land use matrix afferent to LULUCF sector inventory reporting according to the international reporting commitments of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC.

The consultant will submit the final report to UNDP Moldova and work under direct supervision of the LECB Project Manager and the Coordinator of the GHG Inventory Working Group.

SCOPE OF WORK

The focus of this assignment is to ensure a technical coordination, consultation and practical guidance of the LULUCF sector inventory working group in:

support identifying the most appropriate national data, designing and development of the database and a land use matrix afferent to LULUCF inventory reporting requirements according to the international commitments of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC, in accordance with IPCC 2006 methodological guidance;
conduct analysis on definitions and representation of land use with clear guidance on how to implement the land use categories classification and provide solutions for activity data gap filling, if the case, in accordance with IPCC methodologies;
elaborating the list of data needed for being subject of regular collection for the development GHG inventory, covering the reporting period to be included in the Fourth National Communication of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC (to be submitted by July 2017);
drafting the survey and questionnaire forms by institutions, referring to the data and information to be collected for developing the database and the land use matrix for the period 1970-2015;
hand on a land use matrix to be used for reporting emissions from sources and removals by sinks from land use within the LULUCF sector of the national GHG inventory, covering the period 1970-2015;
clarifying the methodological concerns (tiers, approaches, methodologies, coefficients, etc.) and issues related to the conversion of land use categories from one category to another in the spirit of Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), as defined in the Volume 4 of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement).

Duties and Responsibilities

The focus of this assignment is to ensure a technical coordination, consultation and practical guidance of the LULUCF sector inventory working group in:
support identifying the most appropriate national data, designing and development of the database and a land use matrix afferent to LULUCF inventory reporting requirements according to the international commitments of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC, in accordance with IPCC 2006 methodological guidance;
conduct analysis on definitions and representation of land use with clear guidance on how to implement the land use categories classification and provide solutions for activity data gap filling, if the case, in accordance with IPCC methodologies;
elaborating the list of data needed for being subject of regular collection for the development GHG inventory, covering the reporting period to be included in the Fourth National Communication of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC (to be submitted by July 2017);
drafting the survey and questionnaire forms by institutions, referring to the data and information to be collected for developing the database and the land use matrix for the period 1970-2015;
hand on a land use matrix to be used for reporting emissions from sources and removals by sinks from land use within the LULUCF sector of the national GHG inventory, covering the period 1970-2015;
clarifying the methodological concerns (tiers, approaches, methodologies, coefficients, etc.) and issues related to the conversion of land use categories from one category to another in the spirit of Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), as defined in the Volume 4 of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement).

Under the supervision of the LECB Project Manager and GHG Inventory Coordinator, and in close cooperation with the LULUCF sector lead and national consultants, the international consultant will lead the process of developing a database and a land use matrix covering the 1970-2015 period, to be used for developing the national GHG inventory for 1990-2015 period, to be included in the ‘National Inventory Report: 1990-2015, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’, a technical annex of the Fourth National Communication of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC (to be submitted by July 2017).

Deliverables

Designing the structure and content of the database, as well as of the land use matrix afferent to the LULUCF sector, in accordance with the reporting requirements defined in the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement) - by 23 May 2016;
Defining and developing a detailed representation of land use categories with clear explanation on how to implement the land use categories classification in the Republic of Moldova, by considering the national circumstances and existing statistical system in place - by 15 June 2016;
Elaborating the list of data needed for being collected for the development of the database and land use matrix, covering the reporting period to be included in the Fourth National Communication of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC (to be submitted by July 2017) - by 17 June 2016;
Drafting the survey and questionnaire forms, by institutions, referring to the data and information to be collected for developing the database and the land use matrix for the period 1970-2015 - by 30 June 2016;
Clarifying the methodological concerns (tiers, approaches, methodologies, coefficients, etc.) and issues related to the conversion of land use categories from one category to another in the spirit of AFOLU, as defined in Volume 4 of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement) - by 31 July 2016;
Developing a database and a land use matrix to be used within the LULUCF sector, covering the period 1970-2015 - by 9 September 2016;
Providing the final report on undertaking activities, including practical recommendations and guidance on managing, maintaining and regular updating of the LULUCF sector database and land use matrix - by 23 September 2016.

The detailed Terms of Reference and Procurement Notice can be found http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs/.

Competencies

Demonstrated comprehensive technical knowledge related to estimation, QA&QC and verification of the national GHG inventories;
Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Excellent human relations, coordination, planning and team work skills;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in forestry, agriculture and climate change related fields.

Experience

Minimum 7 years of demonstrated working experience with 2003 GPG for LULUCF and 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – with focus on LULUCF, with particular emphasis on database development for activity data and preparation of land use matrixes;
At least 7 years of demonstrated experience in preparation of national GHG inventories and reports for LULUCF sector and implementing QA/QC to the national GHG inventories (LULUCF sector);
At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in providing professional trainings for the GHG Inventory staff;
Proven experience in working with international or local organizations on similar assignments (successful experience in working with UN agencies) is an asset.

Language

Proficient in written and spoken English;
Knowledge of Romanian is a distinct asset.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Technical Proposal - explaining how applicant responds to each of the qualification requirements and why s/he is the most suitable for the work (particularly providing details on the previously implemented similar assignments and previous experience in the fields related to this consultancy as described in the terms of reference).
Personal information (CV and/or Personal History Form / P11) including records of past experience in similar assignments and concrete outputs obtained with three references.
Financial proposal (in USD, specifying a total lump sum amount).

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables.

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in agriculture, forestry, environment protection and other climate change related fields;
Minimum 7 years of demonstrated working experience with 2003 GPG for LULUCF and 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – with focus on LULUCF, with particular emphasis on database development for activity data and preparation of land use matrixes;
At least 7 years of demonstrated experience in preparation of national GHG inventories and reports for LULUCF sector and implementing QA/QC to the national GHG inventories (LULUCF sector);
At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in providing professional trainings for the GHG Inventory staff.

The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall 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.
Technical Criteria Weight (max 300 pts) – 60%;
Financial Criteria Weight (max 200 pts) – 40%.

Technical evaluation will be based on a thorough desk review of applications and interviews with the shortlisted candidates.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 210 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical evaluation scoring:

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in agriculture, forestry, environment protection and other climate change related fields - up to 40 pts.;
Minimum 7 years of demonstrated working experience with 2003 GPG for LULUCF and 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – with focus on LULUCF, with particular emphasis on database development for activity data and preparation of land use matrixes - up to 60 pts.;
At least 7 years of demonstrated experience in preparation of national GHG inventories and reports for LULUCF sector and implementing QA/QC to the national GHG inventories (LULUCF and Agriculture sectors) - up to 60 pts.;
At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in designing and/or providing professional trainings for the GHG Inventory staff - up to 30 pts.;
Proven experience in working with international or local organizations on similar assignments (successful experience in working with UN agencies) is an asset - up to 20 pts.;
Fluency in English. Knowledge of Romanian is an asset - English – 10 pts., Romanian – 10 pts.;
Interview - up to 70 pts.

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.