UNDP Jobs - 51088- Evaluation Consultant for Environmental Governance

Evaluation Consultant for Environmental Governance

Location :

Bissau, GUINEA-BISSAU

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

11-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

25 working days

Languages Required :

English French Portuguese

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 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

Natural resources are not only the basis of livelihoods for the vast majority of the population in Guinea-Bissau but also constitute the key elements in food security. Despite such importance of the resources, formal agreements on concessions of natural resources are negotiated by the national government in a rather hasty manner; the existing accords do not reflect the true value of the resources and the benefits are of short-term. As a consequence, they do not bring benefits to the population at large, and instead pose threats to their daily lives.

The UNDP project, “Strengthening the Capacity and Civil and Political Engagement in Natural Resources Management,” aims to improve this situation by developing sound environmental governance, its goal is to enhance the capacity and engagement in the area of natural resources management, based on the premise that policies, laws, and scientific studies and equipment are worth much less if a decision-making structure does not allow effective use of these tools or if the decision-makers and the citizens are unaware of the power and the utility that these tools provide. The project plans to help establish a national and inter-sectorial coordination mechanism, in addition to a national platform for environmental issues. Several workshops will also be organized to meet the needs of various stakeholders: government technicians, national and regional political decision-makers, and local communities in the regions. Three regions have been selected for this purpose:

Bafatá;
Quinara; and
Tombali.

These Terms of Reference concern a consultant who analyses the current state of environmental governance in Guinea-Bissau. S/he is expected to:

Evaluate the decision-making mechanisms of the country at national and regional levels in the area of environment;
Identify the precise needs for improvement in terms of structure, communication, knowledge, etc. for reaching sound decisions in the area of environment; and
Formulate a roadmap for environmental and sustainable development policy elaboration in detail, in particular, strategies to disseminate neutral information, involve all stakeholders at every step, and allowing them to make well-informed and independent decisions. This evaluation precedes the workshops as well as the activities that aid establishing a coordination mechanism and a platform so that the results of the evaluation may be used to enhance the effectiveness of the project;
The evaluation is expected to be completed in 20 working days in November – December 2014, of which 8 days will be spent in Bissau, 10 days in the regions mentioned above and 2 days to finalize the evaluation report.

Duties and Responsibilities

Products

The Evaluation Consultant for Environmental Governance will be responsible for producing:

A comprehensible report on environmental governance in Guinea-Bissau;
A policy brief on environmental governance in Guinea-Bissau, including options as regard to environmental and sustainable development policies;
An informational brief on the restructuring of environmental governance for the Council of Ministers of Guinea-Bissau (to be developed with the collaboration of Secretariat de Estado do Ambiente), and
Detailed roadmaps for elaboration of each of the policy option identified in the policy brief above.

All documents must be in Portuguese, French or English. The details of the required contents are given below in the description of tasks.

Tasks

The Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks whose aim is to yield the products mentioned above:

Conducting literature research (including laws, regulations, national plans and strategies in the field of environment and agriculture of Guinea-Bissau) and interviews to collect information on environmental governance in Guinea-Bissau;
Traveling to Bissau, as well as regions of Bafatá, Quinara and Tombali for gathering information on environmental governance;
Documenting the formal decision-making structure in the field of environment at national and regional levels, with emphasis on agriculture, natural resources, economic planning and Primatura;
Documenting the decision-making structure in the field of environment at national and regional levels in practice, if different from the formal and analyzing the cause of the difference;
Analyzing and documenting the strengths and weaknesses of the existing environmental governance, including detailed institutional analyses;

Proposing concrete and practical recommendations to improve the current environmental governance, including:

(i) techincal capcity needs, with particular emphasis on the collective competencies of the personnel at: Secretariat de Estado do Ambiente, Célula de Avaliação do Impacto Ambiental, Direcção Geral das Florestas e Fauna (under Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Desenvolvimento Rural), Direcção Geral da Geologia e Minas (under Ministério da Energia e Recursos Naturais), Primatura and Assembleia Nacional Popular;
(ii) budgeted programme to meet the needs identified; and
(iii) institutional reorganization for the entire government;
Formulating concrete and practical strategies with timelines on how to elaborate an environmental and sustainable development policy that is scientifically sound, inclusive at every stage, linked to sustainable socio-economic development, reflective of socio-political and economic situations of the country that are in constant flux.

Organizing the information above into:

(i) a comprehensible report;
(ii) a policy brief;
(iii) an informational brief on the restructuring of environmental governance for the Council of Ministers (to be developed with the collaboration of Secretariat de Estado do Ambiente); (iv) detailed roadmaps for elaboration of each of the policy option identified in the policy brief above; and
Presenting the comprehensive report above at a validation workshop attended by key stakeholders.

The target groups include, but not restricted to:

Secretariat de Estado do Ambiente;
Célula de Avaliação do Impacto Ambiental;
Ministério da Administração Interna;
Ministério da Presidência do Conselho de Ministros;
Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Desenvolvimento Rural;
Ministério de Equipamento Social;
Ministério das Finanças;
Ministério da Energia e Recursos Naturais;
Ministério da Economia e Crescimento;
Ministério das Pescas e Economia Marítima;
Primatura;
Assembleia Nacional Popular;
Grupode Trabalho sobre o Petróleo e Outras Industrias Extractivas;
Provinsias-alvo de Bafatá, Quinara e Tombali; and
various community-based organizations.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Engaging and effective teaching and training skills;
Excellent technical, analytical and editing skills in Portuguese, French or English;
Excellent communication skills in Portuguese or Creole;
Strong strategic planning, results-based management and reporting capabilities;
Excellent team player with good interpersonal skills;
Ability to manage workload with minimum supervision;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Ability to accommodate additional demands at short notice;
Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and to adapt;
Sensibility in culture, gender, religion, nationality and age and adaptability;
Skills in achieving results through persuading, influencing, and working with others;
Skills in negotiating effectively in sensitive situations; and
Skills in facilitating meetings effectively and efficiently and to resolve conflicts as they arise.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree(s) in the field of environmental science, ecology, public administration, social science, education, law or any other relevant discipline.

Experiences:

More than three years of experience in application of environmental science in a wide spectrum of areas, in particular public policy;
Knowledge of public administration, public policy, and public service;
Knowledge of environment and development issues in Guinea-Bissau or the wider region;
Working experience in Guinea-Bissau or in the wider region; and
Experience in working and collaborating with governments in developing countries, and preferably with the UN and other international agencies.

Languages:

Excellent knowledge of Portuguese or Creole (both writing and communication skills in case of Portuguese);
Working knowledge of French and/or English is required in case the candidate possesses excellent knowledge of Portuguese.
Excellent knowledge of French and/or English is required in all other cases.