UNDP Jobs - 66808- Vetted Roster of Experts: Water and Ocean Governan

Vetted Roster of Experts: Water and Ocean Governance

Location :

Home-Based and/or UNDP Country Office

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

13-Jul-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

To be determined on case by case basis and needs of individual assignments

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 3 years dependent on demand for services and satisfactory performance

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 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is an Implementing Agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). As such, UNDP supports developing countries in accessing funds from the GEF to finance agreed incremental activities that enhance their efforts to address global environment issues. In doing this, it provides countries highly specialized technical services for GEF eligibility assessment, formulation, design and development of GEF projects in the Water and Oceans Governance sector, identification and mobilization of required project co-financing, project implementation, project results management and evaluation, and knowledge management.

To facilitate the identification, allocation and designation of the appropriate expertise for the design, management, and monitoring & evaluation (M&E) requirements of the client countries in their efforts on water and oceans related projects, UNDP-GEF’s Water & Oceans Team is developing a roster of experts that would comprise of vetted capable and qualified individuals who can be called upon and provide specific project design, management or M&E support to the W&O portfolio. A screening procedure will be applied to select the prospective applicants that will be registered in the UNDP-GEF W&O Vetted Experts Roster. This roster will be maintained for a period of 3 years. Retention in the roster of selected experts will be contingent on continuous delivery of satisfactory services.

Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent will work under the overall technical supervision of the Regional Technical Advisor, Country Office focal point, and/or the direct supervision of the specific UNDP-GEF Project Manager.

The scope of work will vary depending on the assignment but would include one or various of the below deliverables within GEF W&O Projects:

Project design:

Data gathering;
Support in the discussions and negotiation with potential project partners and project co-financers;
Conduct logical framework analysis (LFA) exercises for project framework formulation;
Project framework formulation, which is the basis of the initial project design (i.e., preparation of the project information form or PIF, draft project PPG, draft project document, review comments on all project documents, etc.);
Identification, assessment, and basic design of demonstrations/pilot activities (where required);
Detailed design of priority project components and activities, estimation of quantitative and qualitative project baselines, beneficiaries and estimated impacts, proposed activities, budgets, scheduling, and delineation of responsibilities for activities implementation and monitoring and evaluation;
Economics and cost-benefit analysis;
Conduct technical evaluation and design of proposed water or ocean infrastructure investments.

Project management and implementation:

Serve as resource person in assisting project implementation by conducting capacity development activities planned for technical personnel of project partners and stakeholders;
Network with and engage key stakeholders during the project implementation;
Provide technical input in preparing and implementing project activities during project implementation, in line with Government, UNDP, and GEF technical and operational standards/guidelines;
Identify potential co-financing contributions from potential partners of the project and in particular, advise on steps required for securing such co-financing contributions;
Ensure timely and quality implementation of project activities, outputs and results;
Creating and maintaining tools and systems to facilitate knowledge creation, building, and communication with/to key stakeholders and beneficiaries.

Monitoring and Evaluation/ Knowledge Management:

Carry out required independent monitoring and evaluation of UNDP-GEF W&O projects (excluding evaluation of projects where the consultant played a role in designing);
Preparation of knowledge and communications products, such as featured articles and case studies in publications of the UNDP and other pertinent organizations, video productions, press-releases, etc.;
Support the development of literature on good practices and case studies for dissemination to exchange knowledge;
Knowledge management and monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness of national and sub-national policies and strategies;
Preparation and dissemination of knowledge and communications products.

The prospective experts that will apply for the W&O Experts Roster should indicate if they have experience and expertise in all or a combination of the above areas of expertise, as related to one or more of the following subject areas. Specific expertise must be demonstrated in one or more of the subject areas below:

Biodiversity and land degradation;
Integrated Coastal Management and adaptation;
Integrated Water Resource Management;
River Basin Management;
Disaster Risk Management and/or Early warning systems;
Drought;
Large Marine Ecosystems;
Transboundary Waters Management;
Environmental Economics and Policies;
Environmental Impact;
Fisheries and Aquaculture;
Flood Risk Management;
Groundwater;
Hydrology and Hydrogeology;
Water & Oceans-related Knowledge Management
Marine and/or Freshwater Pollution;
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene;
Community-based Marine / Ecosystem Protected Areas;
Water Challenges particular to small island developing states;
Water / Civil Engineering (i.e. in areas of water filtration / desalination technologies, rainwater harvesting, ground water management, etc);
Innovative technologies and tools for water and/or fisheries data collection, management and monitoring, and evaluation;

The prospective experts who apply for the Water and Ocean Governance Vetted Experts Roster should also indicate which of the 6 UNDP locations they have experience in AND would like to work in:

Latin America & Caribbean;
Africa;
Arab States;
Eastern Europe & CIS;
Asia & Pacific;
Global.

In summary, candidates should indicate (see details below):

Which of the 3 areas of expertise they have experience in;
Which of the 21 subject areas they have expertise in;
Which of the 6 locations they have experience in and would like to work in.

Working arrangements:

Successful candidates will be included in the UNDP-GEF W&O Vetted Experts Roster for a period of up to 3 years;
Estimated level of effort: 5-50 days per year depending on nature of assignment (including whether or not travel is required);
UNDP does not warrant that any quantity of services will be purchased during the term of entry into the Roster as this will depend on forthcoming needs and performance appraisals;
Entry into the Roster is non-exclusive (i.e. it does not prohibit UNDP from sourcing expertise from other rosters, individuals, or entities);
Specifics regarding the final nature and scope of each assignment will vary somewhat from this general Terms of Reference (TOR) and such details will be included in a separate TOR for each specific assignment;
If an expert has been involved in design of a project or programme, s/he will not be considered for implementation or evaluation of said same project as this poses a conflict of interest as per UNDP guidelines;
The financial proposal will specify only the all-inclusive daily fee and payments will be made to the consultant based on number of days worked payable against assigned deliverables. Such fee would be the ceiling amount;
The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under each particular assignment;
The Consultants will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;
Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked and outputs delivered.

Travel:

Specific mission travel will depend on arrangements with the contracting unit and must be approved in advance and in writing by the Supervisor;
The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/ inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives, set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/ ;
Consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
The consultants will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies;
All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be reimbursed as per UNDP travel rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents.

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 favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Results-driven, initiative-taking;
Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines;
Ability to plan and organise work and establish priorities;
Remains calm and in control even under pressure, and consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Client Orientation and Communication:

Good interpersonal and networking skills, ability to establish and maintain effective working relations, supports and encourages open communication in the team, and facilitates team work;
Ability to work under minimum supervision.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master´s degree or higher in a discipline relevant to natural resources management, international development, economics, environment/civil engineering, social sciences or closely related fields (max. 10 points).

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years experience in one or more of the following areas: Biodiversity and land degradation; Integrated Coastal Management and adaptation; Integrated Water Resource Management; River Basin Management; Disaster Risk Management and/or Early warning systems; Drought; Large Marine Ecosystems; Transboundary Waters Management; Environmental Economics and Policies; Environmental Impact; Fisheries and Aquaculture; Flood Risk Management; Ground Water; Hydrology and Hydrogeology; Water & Oceans-related Knowledge Management; Pollution; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene; Community-based Marine / Ecosystem Protected Areas; Water Challenges particular to small island developing states; Water / Civil Engineering (i.e. in areas of water filtration / desalination technologies, rainwater harvesting, ground water management, etc); Innovative technologies and tools for water and/or fisheries data collection, management and monitoring, and evaluation (max. 20 points);
At least 5 years of experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise: a) Project design and development, b) Project management and implementation support, c) Monitoring and evaluation/ knowledge management (max. 15 points);
At least 2 years of experience in the formulation of GEF projects and programmes (max. 10 points);
Experience working with international institutions, civil societies and/or governmental authorities (max. 5 points);
Working experience with developing countries (max. 5 points);
Knowledge and experience with GEF IW projects is an advantage (max. 5 points);
At least 5 years of work experience in one or more of the following UNDP locations: Latin America & Caribbean; Africa; Arab States; Eastern Europe & CIS; Asia & Pacific; global (max. 5 points).

Language:

Excellent written and oral skills in English (max. 10 points);
Proficiency in other UN languages is an advantage (max. 5 points).

Evaluation method and inclusion in the Roster:

Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated;
The technical criteria (education, experience, language) will be based on maximum 90 points;
Candidates obtaining a minimum of 63 points or higher from the review of the technical criteria will be considered for evaluation of writing sample, which will be assessed against maximum 20 points;
Candidates obtaining a minimum of 77 points or higher from the review of the technical criteria and writing sample, and have accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be deemed technically qualified and included in the roster.

Documentation to be submitted:

Candidates must clearly indicate in a cover/motivation letter the following:

SUBJECT AREA(S) the candidate has experience in (select between one and 21 areas): a) Biodiversity and land degradation; b) Integrated Coastal Management and adaptation; c) Integrated Water Resource Management; d) River Basin Management; e) Disaster Risk Management and/or Early warning systems; f) Drought; g) Large Marine Ecosystems; h) Transboundary Waters Management; i) Environmental Economics and Policies; j) Environmental Impact; k) Fisheries and Aquaculture; l) Flood Risk Management; m) GroundWater; n) Hydrology and Hydrogeology; o) Water & Oceans-related Knowledge Management; p) Pollution; q) Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene; r) Community-based Marine / Ecosystem Protected Areas; s) Water Challenges particular to small island developing states; t) Water / Civil Engineering (i.e. in areas of water filtration / desalination technologies, rainwater harvesting, ground water management, etc); u) Innovative technologies and tools for water and/or fisheries data collection, management and monitoring, and evaluation.

EXPERTISE AREA(S) the candidate has expertise in (select between one and three areas): a) Project design and development; b) Project management and implementation support; c) Monitoring and evaluation/ knowledge management.

UNDP LOCATION(S) the candidate has experience in and is seeking to work in (select between one and six locations): A) Latin America & Caribbean; B) Africa; C) Arab States; D) Eastern Europe & CIS; E) Asia & Pacific; F) Global.

Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the below link;
Please attach or provide one writing sample/link to the sample of previous work relevant to this TOR in your application;
Financial proposal: The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive maximum daily fee in US Dollars. Such fee would be the ceiling amount.
Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.

Kindly note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach). Incomplete applications will not be considered.

UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.