Over the last decades, Cambodia has experienced rapid growth in its population and economy, which led to the surge in plastic waste. In Phnom Penh, plastic waste now amounts to more than 20% of the total volume of municipal waste (3,600 tons) generated per day, adding immense pressure on waste management and the natural environment.

Plastic waste pollution is highly damaging in terms of environmental, economic, and public health impacts. In urban areas, illegally dumped plastic waste blocks waterways clogs sewage and drainage systems and elevates flood risks. In areas without waste collection services, plastic waste is often burned in the open or disposed of on streets, or into local waterways, which carry it to the sea. The burning of plastics releases harmful chemicals which pose risk to public health. In coastal areas, the impact of plastic waste on the tourism industry is particularly significant. Plastic waste (e.g. cigarettes, plastic food wrappers, and bags) makes up 80% of the debris found on its beaches (FFI 2020), deteriorating coastal areas’ natural environment, marine ecosystems, and scenery.

According to the MoE (2015), out of the 4 million tons of solid waste generated, 63 % is collected while 29 % is illegally dumped or burned.  Around 8 % is collected informally by informal waste pickers who gather the waste from landfills or streets and sell recovered valuables to intermediary persons, usually exported to Thailand or Vietnam for recycling (recently, these countries announced that they would soon ban plastic waste imports). At present, less than 1 % of plastic waste is formally recycled due to limited infrastructure, technology, or finances. Thus, there is an urgent need to reduce the volume of plastic waste and to create an environment where waste is properly managed, recycled, and recovered. 

Tackling plastic waste requires systematic changes covering the entire lifecycle of plastic from import to production, use, disposal, and recycling. Cambodia is not a major producer of plastic products and most plastic items are imported. One of the priorities is therefore to regulate the import and sales of single-use plastic. Major industries using single-use plastic like plastic bottles need to create product designs that are easily recyclable and actively support recycling, for example through an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. Businesses and people need to significantly cut down the use of single-use plastic and adopt sustainable alternatives. Moreover, plastic waste needs to be sorted from other waste to enable reuse, recycling, or energy recovery.

To this end, since 2018, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has promoted the 4Rs – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – a framework to prevent and minimize plastic waste pollution on land and in the ocean.

Thus far, as part of regulatory measures, in 2018, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) developed sub-decree 168 to introduce a levy on plastic bags. The MoE is currently drafting a new regulation on plastic management, covering the entire life cycle of all types of plastic. The MoE is also considering the introduction of favorable measures for plastic recycling. Moreover, the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) also plans to propose an EPR scheme for Cambodia to promote the effective collection and recycling of plastic waste.

The National Consultant (Cambodia Expert/Specialist) is expected to work with the Marine Plastic project team and provide technical assistance to project partners to deliver the following tasks:

Task 1: Review and complete the project M & E framework based on a review of project M&E documents, indicators:

• Propose/make adjustments to the project M&E framework including indicators, measurement, and data collection methods in close consultation with UNDP and the PMU team.
• Provide (or propose amendments for) definitions of the project indicators to ensure clarity and practicality.
• For output 2 of the project, propose measures to assess the impacts of communication activities on behavioral changes. This may include but not be limited to the development of the questionnaires (surveys), criteria and tools for data collection while making sure them to be gender sensitive.

• Based on the results of collected information, analyses and finalize project M & E framework and annual report in close consultation with UNDP and the PMU team.

Task 2: To provide technical guidance to the project teams to produce results-based annual report 2022 and the final project completion report (2021-2023):

• Based on the improved M&E framework in Task #1 above, monitor and review the information, and data collected by the project team and implementing and responsible partners, and provide comments and feedback to ensure the accuracy of data collection methods, data sets, and data analysis to inform the result framework.
• Facilitate meeting(s) with relevant project partners to collect additional inputs to inform the report development in collaboration with UNDP and PMU team.
• Support the project team to produce an annual report 2022 and a final project report (2021-2023) based on the collected data and generated information.
• Finalize the annual report 2022 and final project report (2021-2023) in close consultation with UNDP and the PMU team. The report should capture key results rather than inputs and include clear explanations of how the project has contributed to attaining key outputs and objectives of the project and Country Programme Development (CPD)/United Nations Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and UNDP strategic objectives. 

Task 3: Provide Capacity Building training(s) to the Project Team and Implementing and Responsible Partners:

• Develop training materials and provide capacity building to project team and implementing and responsible partners by focusing on the following points:

• The concept of project management,
• Project Life Cycle,
• Theory of Change,
• Results Based  Monitoring and Evaluation
• Result-Oriented Report Writing

• Provide mentoring and coaching to the project team and implementing and responsible partners (MoE, MoI, Phnom Penh Department of Environment, Siem Reap, Koh Kong, Kampot, and Kep Provincial Department of Environment.

Interested offeror must read the Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice, which can be viewed at https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=97010 for more detail information about term of reference, instructions to offeror, and to download the documents to be submitted in the offer through online.

• Excellent communication skills (facilitation, spoken, written, and presentational);
• Independent, collaborative, and initiative working;
• Good report writing skills;
• Ability to work with a tight deadline;

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Project Management, Business Development Management, Development Studies, or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in project management, result-based management, monitoring, and evaluation; and report writing;
• Experiences in designing M&E framework and tools, and conducting fielding monitoring, research or survey as well as result-oriented report writing;
• Experience in providing skills training/mentorship and coaching related to M&E and report writing;
• Experience in working with UN agencies and government institutions,
• Familiar with environmental sector is an asset;

Language Requirement:

• Fluency in English & Khmer language (spoken and written)

Please be informed that we don’t accept application submitted via email.

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

Proposal: Letter of explaining why they are most suitable for the work

Financial proposal (Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP)

Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references

Interested Offerors are required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system as the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Any request for clarification/additional information on this procurement notice shall be communicated in writing to UNDP office or send to email chanpisey.ky@undp.org and cc procurement.kh@undp.org . While the Procurement Unit would endeavor to provide information expeditiously, only requests receiving at least 5 working days prior to the submission deadline will be entertained. Any delay in providing such information will not be considered as a reason for extending the submission deadline. The UNDP's response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) will be posted in Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice page as provided above. Therefore, all prospective Offerors are advised to visit the page regularly to make obtain update related to this Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice