Background

The Biodiversity Focal Area programming of the Global Environment Facility in its 7th replenishment (GEF-7), responds directly to the GEF7 Four-year Framework of Program Priorities agreed by countries at CBD COP-13, as well as the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, 2011-2020. Specifically, the proposed Biodiversity Focal Area is built around achieving the Four-year Program’s three objectives: (i) Mainstream Biodiversity Across sectors as Well as Within Production Landscapes and Seascapes, (ii) Reduce Direct Drivers of Biodiversity Loss, and (iii) Strengthen Biodiversity Policy and Institutional Frameworks.

In line with the GEF-7 strategic programming for Biodiversity, the project “Enhancing Biodiversity Considerations and Effective Protected Area Management to Safeguard the Cook Islands Integrated Ecosystems and Species” aims to bring about a paradigm shift towards delivering effective and scalable solutions at key target sites through enhanced ridge-to-reef, land/seascape and catchment scale approaches that bring together relevant sectors and other interested parties in an integrated, coordinated manner that will foster the necessary enabling conditions for achieving long-term environmental sustainability across entire islands, lagoons and coastal waters

The expected Global Environmental Benefits that will result from an integrated sustainable management from ridge to reef safeguarding the integrity and functioning of ecosystems and production systems include:

• Some 400 ha of terrestrial and 2,400 ha of coastal marine protected areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use.  

•     A 118 ha of new protected area established, conserving key ecosystems that contain threatened endemic species and valuable fresh water sources. It features among the best remaining examples of primary montane rain and (Metrosideros) cloud forest in Eastern Polynesia, as cited in WWF’s Global 200[1].

•     2,411 ha of landscape will be under improved practices (excluding protected areas)

•     788,236 tCO2eq emission avoided during a 20-year period.

•     The investment will directly benefit an estimated 11,428 community members (5,627 female and 5,801 male) representing about 75% of the Cook Islands resident population.

•     US$ 26.5 million of co-financing leveraged and invested in this integrated catchment approach to safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services; and effectively managing protected areas.

•     Improved management (i.e., community-based co-management) of selected priority catchments, as well as specific priority protected areas that are habitat to key threatened and endemic species.

•     Raised awareness and understanding of biodiversity considerations and mainstreaming safeguards across key development sectors (tourism, agriculture and infrastructure), as well as increased technical capacity within relevant government sectors and communities to apply sustainable control measures.

Table 1. brief description of the Project’s objectives, grant amounts, components, project location and the PPG team composition

UNDP, in collaboration with the Government of Cook Islands, seeks to engage a qualified National Safeguards, Gender and Community Engagement Specialist to support the PPG Team Leader and work with the International Social and Environmental Safeguards Specialist. The consultant will be contributing to the delivery of PPG tasks as specified below.

The National Safeguards, Gender and Community Engagement Specialist will support all the preparatory work required to develop all the documentation required by the GEF for CEO Endorsement, specifically on tasks related to gender analysis and action plan, environmental and social risks assessments and developing management plans associated with the project. The PPG phase will be underpinned by a participatory approach, with regular consultation and working meetings with all key PPG stakeholders throughout the PPG phase. Specific attention will be given to gender issues by undertaking a gender analysis to ensure optimal involvement of women in, and beneficiation from project interventions.

[1] Olson, D. M., Dinnerstein, E. 2002. The Global 200: Priority ecoregions for global conservation. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89(2):199-224.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the PPG Team Leader, the National Safeguards, Gender and Community Engagement Specialist will work closely with the International Social and Environmental Safeguards Specialist to prepare mandatory project and project specific annexes on gender, social and environmental safeguards requirements, including preparing the SESP; preparing Indigenous Peoples (IP) Plan, FPIC, livelihoods analysis, gender analysis and action plan as well as supporting adherence of project development to UNDP’s SESP. The consultant will be social and environmental safeguards expert with experience in UNDP SESP requirements for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project development, community engagement, and gender mainstreaming.

Responsibilities and Deliverables

The list below outlines key responsibilities and deliverables of this contract. The PPG Initiation Plan for these projects provides further and more detailed guidance regarding the responsibilities of the prospective PPG team and must be consulted accordingly.

1. Preparatory Technical Studies and Reviews (Component A): Prepare inputs and support the required analyses/studies, as agreed with the GEF PPG Team Leader, including:

• Review the SESP pre-screening of the PIF; together with the International Safeguards Expert, conduct a comprehensive screening of SES risks using the 2021 SESP template;
• Conduct a participatory stakeholder analysis, using a combination of semi-structured interviews, desktop analysis and other consultations to identify all interested and affected parties, determine their roles and mandates, interests and influences, and gather baseline data on the social, economic, cultural and political conditions that affect them, as a basis for developing the stakeholder engagement plan;
• Work in support of the International Safeguards Expert to identify and document presence of Indigenous Peoples communities within project landscapes and their interests. If present, assess potential impacts of the project on rights and interests, lands, territories, resources, and traditional livelihoods and determine when Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) applies in accordance with national contexts and preferences. Carry out consultations with communities at demonstration landscape to assess level of understanding and capacity to give consent and identify community preferences for FPIC process. Based on these assessments, and if relevant, integrate relevant matters as needed including FPIC into project design and into the comprehensive Indigenous Peoples Plan;
• Conduct a detailed gender analysis and work closely with the International Safeguards Expert and the Team Leader to develop gender-disaggregated targets for inclusion in the Strategic Results Framework and M&E Plan;
• Contribute to data collection to support action points and contribute to environmental and social safeguard risk assessments;
• Assist with all community-engagement and gender-related data and studies required for completion of the ProDoc, the CEO ER and the mandatory and project-specific annexes;
• Identify an appropriate design of a grievance redress mechanism (GRM) for the project based on the existing government and UNDP mechanisms;
• Identify appropriate Results Framework indicators (specifically GEF Core Indicator 11 along gender disaggregated targets) and targets related to alternative financing outputs and outcomes; collect baseline data for the relevant indicators; choose the means of measurement, define targets, key risks, and assumptions linked to these indicators; and
• Support the completion of any additional studies that are determined to be needed for the preparation of the ProDoc and all other final outputs as guided by the PPG Team Leader.

2. Formulation of the ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request and Mandatory Annexes as well as project specific annexes (Component B):

• Update the SESP and complete the Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) -if assessed as required- or targeted management, based on assessments undertaken during Component A and detailed development of project interventions, and identify management measures to mitigate risks to be incorporated into the ProDoc;
• Prepare an Indigenous Peoples Plan (If applicable), which includes FPIC as applicable in accordance with national contexts and preferences and ensure it is socially Inclusive and gender responsive;
• Outline the project’s grievance mechanism based on the existing government and UNDP mechanisms;
• Prepare the Gender Action Plan, with appropriate budget and identification of appropriate project interventions to ensure gender mainstreaming including at project demonstration sites;
• Using the findings from the gender analysis, provide inputs to the project’s results framework and theory of change; ensure gender considerations are integrated into the project’s theory of change;
• Prepare the Stakeholder Engagement Plan and ensure it is socially Inclusive and gender responsive;
• Support the agreements on project management arrangements and ensure that gender and appropriate stakeholders are adequately incorporated into these arrangements.

3. Validation Workshop (Component C):

• Fully support the PPG Team Leader with the validation workshop;
• Lead community engagements as necessary during the PPG phase and in consultation with the PPG Team Lead; and
• Support all necessary revisions that arise during the workshop, as appropriate.

4. Final Deliverables:

• Written inputs to the updated Social and Environmental Screening (SESP)
• Written inputs to the Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) or Targeted Assessments as determined during the PPG phase through a comprehensive SES procedure.
• Gender Analysis and Gender Action Plan including budget;
• Stakeholder Analysis and Engagement Plan including budget;
• Stakeholder Consultation Report, including written inputs to the FPIC consultation report;
• Written inputs to the COVID-19 Risk and Opportunity Risk Analysis and report;
• Appropriate inputs to the final UNDP-GEF project document based as requested by the PPG Team Leader

Table 2. PPG Milestones, dates, fee disbursement percentage and required approvals

Information on Working Arrangements:

• The Consultant will be home-based within the Cook Islands and will report to, and be directly supervised by UNDP MCO in Samoa and the corresponding Ecosystems and Biodiversity Regional Technical Advisor based in Bangkok;
• The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own workstation (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection; and
• The consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones.
• Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion and acceptance by UNDP of outputs listed in Table 2.

Travel:

• All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the NC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources; and
• In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed based on provision of supporting documentation.

Duration of the Work:

Maximum 60 days over 16 months.

Payment Method:

Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the NC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract).

[1] Note that Travel bans, restrictions and requirements will likely affect the dates and structure of the missions. The above table provides tentative information for mission budgeting/ICs financial proposal purposes only. Flexibility is expected from the selected candidate in terms of the possibility of having alternative mission and consultation arrangements (i.e. online consultations and online inception/validation workshops. Having one single consultation/truth-grounding mission when travel restrictions are lifted, etc.).

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; and
• Knowledge of GEF project development, implementation and/or evaluation with capacity development elements.

Functional Competencies

• Able to communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner;
• Capable of working in a high- pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills;
• Exercises the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Works well in a team;
• Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
• Focuses on results for the client;
• Welcomes constructive feedback; and
• Fluent in both English and Cook Islands Maori languages (both oral and written) and excellent communication and presentation skills, particularly in the preparation of written documents

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Qualifications (Maximum Evaluation Weight: 70%):

• Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field, such as Social and Environmental Assessment, Gender Studies; Human Ecology, Sociology, or Anthropology;
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrable experience in conducting UNDP Social and Environmental Procedure (SESP) or with development partners (the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Food and Agricultural Organization, etc.);
• Prior experience in the stakeholder analysis and engagement processes of with development partners;
• Experience preparing UNDP SESP, Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) or targeted stand-alone social and environmental risk management plans;
• Experience carrying out participatory gender analysis; experience collecting and formulating gender responsive indicators and sex-disaggregated data and preparing gender responsive project analysis; developing gender action plans;
• Demonstrated understanding of the links between sustainable development, social and gender issues;
• Demonstrated experience working on policy and programmatic issues with national and local governments and civil society organizations including community organizations;
• Demonstrated experience in carrying out stakeholder consultations, community engagement, and livelihood development is highly desired;
• Demonstrated experience in carrying out consultations with Indigenous People related to Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC), protection of cultural heritage etc. is highly desired;
• Experience working in the Pacific on related projects highly desired;
• Knowledge of and experience in UNDP and GEF policies on social and environmental safeguards and gender mainstreaming; and
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, including analytical, writing, advocacy, presentation, and communications skills are required.

Evaluation Method:

• Only those applications that are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. Incomplete applications will not be considered;
• Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the technical criteria will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer will be weighted at 30%;
• The technical criteria (education, experience, language) will be based on a maximum 70 points. Only the top 4 candidates that have achieved a minimum of 49 points from the review of education, experience and language will be deemed technically compliant and considered for financial evaluation;
• Financial score (max 30 points) will be computed based on the formula “(Lowest Price Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x 30”.
• The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive lump sum fee in US dollars. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of this daily fee (including all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment).
• Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score (max 100 points) and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.

Documentation to be submitted:

• Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) and/or CV including Education/Qualification, Professional Certification, Employment Records /Experience;
• Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.
• Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed Annex “Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment”;
• Applicants must submit a Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price in US dollars. in order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, living expenses, and number of anticipated working days), as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.  

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the NC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using his/her own resources.

Kindly note you can upload only ONE document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

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