UNDP Jobs - 65776- International Technical Adviser on Sustainable Tra

International Technical Adviser on Sustainable Transport

Location :

Home based with 3 missions (5 days each) to Russia, RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jun-2016

Application Deadline :

11-Jan-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

February 2017 – November 2017

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

February 2017 – November 2017, max 60 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/GEF Project “Reducing GHG emission from road transport in Russia’s medium-sized cities” (hereinafter referred to as the RUST project) is aimed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere from the road transport through improved planning and management of the public transport by creation of efficient monitoring systems and promotion of eco-friendly vehicles.

The objective of the RUST project is to reduce GHG emissions from the road transport sector by piloting low carbon modes of transport systems in medium-sized Russian cities. The pilots will form federal and local level policies towards the development of sustainable transport in Russia, and provide examples to other secondary cities of Russia to replicate. The main outcomes of the project will be the pilot projects in the two demonstration cities, supportive federal policies and legislative framework for sustainable transport in the Russian Federation, successful information dissemination and replication of the pilot activities.

The pilot cities selected for demonstration activities are Kazan and Kaliningrad but the project also seeks to replicate successful pilots on sustainable urban transport (SUT) projects in other cities. Based on the demonstration activities in Kazan and Kaliningrad, the project will support development of federal and regional legislation and regulations enabling and promoting the use of low-emission vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and electric vehicles.

The Project aims to achieve its objective by meeting four major outcomes:

Outcome 1 Work out supportive federal policies, regulations, institutional arrangements to increase the use of low-emission vehicles and development of SUT projects in Russia;
Outcome 2 Sustainable urban transportation system development. Increased use of low-carbon modes of transport and improved urban mobility in Kazan;
Outcome 3 Development of sustainable urban transit system, increased use of low-carbon modes of transport and improved urban mobility in Kaliningrad;
Outcome 4 Successful pilots of SUT projects and low-emission vehicles replicated in other medium-sized cities in Russia.

The major results of the project are demonstration activities in two pilot cities of the Russian Federation and their replication to other pilot cities (to be worked out under outcome 4), agreement and adoption of federal programs and legal and regulatory framework in support of SUT development in Russia.

Objectives

In order to strengthen the international dimension of the project and make the top-notch international expertise available at hand to support strategic decisions for the project management, as well as to support the project manager in quality assurance of the project deliverables, the project is seeking to engage an international technical advisor, as recommended by the project mid-term review.

The international technical advisor will provide technical support to the project manager and the project team to go through the final implementation phase of the project and to ensure that the overall technical direction of the project in this phase is maintained and flexibly adapted to meet the practical challenges and risks faced during final stage of implementation. The international technical advisor reports to the project manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide strategic advice on the overall project implementation strategy to the project manager and the project steering committee;
Support the project team with implementation of the project mid-term review recommendations, with special attention to project replication activities and sustainability of project results;
Propose revisions to the project results and resources framework as recommended in the project mid-term review, and lead the process of its review and appraisal before the 2017 PIR reporting exercise;
Propose a revised risk assessment for the project;
Support the project team with annual reporting to the GEF;
Identify relevant sources of information and support the project team with collection and analysis of best practices for relevant components of the project workplan, such as legal and regulatory enabling environment improving conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists, low-emission vehicles promotion taking into account the current investment climate, transport planning tools, innovative practical solutions for medium-city traffic management, parking enforcement etc.;
Provide advice on technical issues to the project manager in preparation of the TORs and quality assurance for the key project deliverables as per the 2016-2017 workplan;
Support the adaptive management of the project on a regular basis, in line with UNDP and GEF rules on adaptive management;
Support the project team with formulation and implementation of the sustainability and replication strategy;
Provide regular analysis of lessons learnt and ensure international dimension to the result dissemination activities;
Provide guidance and knowledge on the best international practices for planning and development of integrated sustainable urban transport plans, measures and strategies;
Provide input for the programme events, including presentations at the international workshops/trainings in the area of competence.

Expected deliverables and payment schedule:

20% payment upon submission/approval of the 1st interim report with the revised project results and resources framework, risk assessment, summary review of best practices. Expected by 31 March 2017.
40% payment upon submission/approval of the 3rd interim report with key results of projects products reviewed and recommendations, draft sustainability and replication strategy for the project, technical input to 2017 PIR. Expected by 30 June 2017.
40% payment upon submission/approval of the final report with analysis of key project results versus declared objectives and outcomes, sustainability assessment, analysis of lessons learned, response to the final evaluation findings. Expected by 30 November 2017.

Based on the 2016 results and amendments to project strategy and workplans, the deliverables may be subject to additional clarifications/amendment.

Competencies

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.

Functional competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills, communication skills and ability to work in a team;
Ability to plan and organize work, efficiency in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
Strong analytical, research, reporting and writing abilities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s or equivalent degree in urban planning and development, urban transport planning and development or civil engineering, PhD will be an asset.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in urban planning and development, urban transport planning and development;
At least 5 years of practical field experience in providing project management or consultancy services in the field of urban planning and development, sustainable urban transport, green urban development, civil engineering will be a strong asset;
Provision of technical expertise to the GEF climate change mitigation projects for UNDP or another GEF implementing agency in the area of sustainable urban transport will be a strong advantage;
Work experience in environmental issues in the Europe and CIS region during the past 5 years; knowledge of urban transport planning and management pattern in Russia will be a strong advantage;
Experience of working with or for government institutions as well as civil society organizations is preferred.

Language Requirement:

Fluent English. Excellent writing skills in English. Proficiency in Russian is considered as a strong advantage.

Evaluation procedure:

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 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 technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who will be found qualified for the job will be considered for the financial evaluation.

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

Master’s or equivalent degree in urban planning and development, urban transport planning and development or civil engineering, PhD will be an asset (max 4 points).
Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in urban planning and development, urban transport planning and development (max 7 points);
At least 5 years of practical field experience in providing project management or consultancy services in the field of urban planning and development, sustainable urban transport, green urban development, civil engineering will be a strong asset (max 8 points);
Provision of technical expertise to the GEF climate change mitigation projects for UNDP or another GEF implementing agency in the area of sustainable urban transport will be a strong advantage (max 4 points);
Work experience in environmental issues in the Europe and CIS region during the past 5 years; knowledge of urban transport planning and management pattern in Russia will be a strong advantage (max 4 points);
Experience of working with or for government institutions as well as civil society organizations is preferred (max 4 points);
Fluent English. Excellent writing skills in English. Proficiency in Russian is considered as a strong advantage (max 4 points).

Interview – max 35 points.

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

The candidate with the highest score from technical criteria + financial criteria will be selected with the maximum score possible being 100 points.

Application Procedure:

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. 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://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 in addition to your CV;
Financial Proposal - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for tasks specified in this announcement including breakdown. The breakdown must be provided in the following structure: a) professional fee for home-based work (number of working days), b) professional fee for work on mission (number of working days), c) travel costs (international and local travel and per diems related to three missions to Moscow, Russia (five working days each). Per diems cannot exceed maximum UN daily allowance rates and consultants are encouraged to bid lower amount to make their offers more competitive.

Please note that the professional fee 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 and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of service, etc.). All envisaged international travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.

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

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://europeandcis.undp.org/home/jobs

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.