Background

The UNDP GEF “ESCO Moldova project - Transforming the market for Urban Energy Efficiency in Moldova by introducing Energy Service Companies”, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and co-financed and implemented by the United Nations Development Program has an implementation timeframe of 4 years with a total  budget of 1.45 million USD of which $1.3 million USD comes from the GEF and $150,000 USD from UNDP.

The project objective is to create a functioning, sustainable and effective ESCO market in Moldova by converting existing energy service provider companies into ESCO companies, as the basis for scaling up mitigation efforts in the whole municipal building sector in Moldova, leading to CO2 emission reductions by implementing energy performance contracts. The project will work on the largely untapped energy efficiency market in the municipal sector, especially in facilities owned and operated by municipalities, in the Chisinau area for the first stage and then to other parts of Moldova.

The main barriers that the project is trying to address are related to:

• Energy efficiency project financing;
• The eagerness of existing Energy Service Providers to embark on the ESCO business model;
• Institutional barriers at the local level;
• Energy efficiency awareness in the municipal sector.

The ESCO Moldova Project intends to eliminate/address these impediments through the following project outputs:

• Green Urban Development Plan adopted by city of Chisinau;
• ESCO Business model in Moldova is operational;
• Financial mechanism and financial support available to ESCOs;
• EPC projects replicated in other municipalities and information disseminated.

The main targets to be achieved by the end of the project are:

• A functional ESCO market with a functional LGF in place;
• ESCO companies created and consolidated; creation of new investments in EE measures that will lead to long term energy consumption savings and 20 EE projects implemented;
• Better conditions in public and residential buildings and overall Chisinau will advance in its sustainable green development.

Project activities were designed to respond all the outlined challenges and consequently offer feasible solutions to the requirements of the energy efficiency financing market needs. Also they envisaged the opportunity of creating synergies with local stakeholders as well as offer incentives for the ESCO market to start developing. A specific attention will be offered to development of capacities of local energy service providers (potential ESCOs), local authority as well as the banking sector. The overall project activities will also develop amendments to the legal framework for energy services and green procurement, will facilitate the improvement of the Urban Development Plan by adding energy efficiency elements, and ultimately will incentivise the implementation of the first 20 projects using the guaranties of a fund established to secure the participation of all stakeholders in the financing scheme.

The inception phase of this project began in January 2015 and the project is due to finish at the end of 2018 after a duration of 4 years. The project is implemented by UNDP Moldova. It is being implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Energy Efficiency Agency, Energy Efficiency Fund and the Municipality of Chisinau. Specific emphasis will be placed on capacity building of all involved stakeholders to adopt the new financing modality and understand their roles and responsibilities, improvement of urban planning and energy efficiency measures to be implemented in Chisinau as well as financial incentives required to give a push to energy services market development. The best practices and lessons learned of the pilot projects implemented in Chisinau will offer an additional argument for replicating them all over the country.  

Duties and Responsibilities

The MTR must provide evidence based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The MTR international consultant will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Environmental & Social Safeguard Policy, the Project Document, project reports including Annual Project Review/PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based review). The MTR international consultant will review the baseline GEF focal area Tracking Tool submitted to the GEF at CEO endorsement, and the midterm GEF focal area Tracking Tool that must be completed before the MTR field mission begins. 

The international energy efficiency MTR consultant is expected to follow a collaborative and participatory approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), the UNDP Country Office(s), UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisers, and other key stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful MTR. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to Ministry of Environment, Energy Efficiency Agency, Energy Efficiency Fund and Municipality of Chisinau, UNDP Moldova staff, UNDP Istanbul Regional Technical Advisor on Climate Change Mitigation, executing agencies, senior officials and task team/ component leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area, Project Board, project stakeholders, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the MTR consultant is expected to conduct a field mission to Chisinau which will consist of a minimum of 5 working days (not including weekend or travel days). While in Moldova, the international consultant will meet with all key stakeholders and assess the results of the project and the extent that it is on track to meet its overall objective and outcomes. Skype interviews will also be carried out with all other key stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of the project.

The final MTR report should describe the full MTR approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the review.

The International consultant will assess the following four categories of project progress. See the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for extended descriptions.

Project design:

• Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying assumptions.  Review the effect of any incorrect assumptions or changes to the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project Document.
• Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results.  Were lessons from other relevant projects properly incorporated into the project design?
• Review how the project addresses country priorities. Review country ownership. Was the project concept in line with the national sector development priorities and plans of the country (or of participating countries in the case of multi-country projects)?
• Review decision-making processes: were perspectives of those who would be affected by project decisions, those who could affect the outcomes, and those who could contribute information or other resources to the process, taken into account during project design processes?
• Review the extent to which relevant gender issues were raised in the project design. See Annex 9 of Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects for further guidelines.
• If there are major areas of concern, recommend areas for improvement.

Results Framework/Logframe:

• Undertake a critical analysis of the project’s logframe indicators and targets, assess how “SMART” the midterm and end-of-project targets are (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound), and suggest specific amendments/revisions to the targets and indicators as necessary.
• Are the project’s objectives and outcomes or components clear, practical, and feasible within the project's time frame?
• Examine if progress so far has led to, or could in the future catalyse beneficial development effects (i.e. income generation, gender equality and women’s empowerment, improved governance etc...) that should be included in the project results framework and monitored on an annual basis.
• Ensure broader development and gender aspects of the project are being monitored effectively.  Develop and recommend SMART ‘development’ indicators, including sex-disaggregated indicators and indicators that capture development benefits. 

For detailed information regarding the responsibilities and  deliverables please refer to the Terms of Reference published on: http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent proven skills in analysis, leadership and overall diplomatic skills;
• Good organizational, time management and facilitation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Energy, Environment, Business Administration, Economics, Engineering, or other closely related field. PhD is an asset; (max. 30 pts).

Experience:

• At least 5 (five) years work experience in providing advice to energy-efficiency projects funded by international donors including UNDP or other donors; (max. 40 pts).
• At least 7 (seven) years work experience and proven track record with policy advice and/or project development/implementation in energy efficiency in transition economies; (max. 40 pts).
• Experience in working with the UNDP or another GEF agency or GEF project evaluations, including experience with SMART based indicators (Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system will be considered an asset); (max. 30 pts).
• Experience in evaluating performance based energy efficiency projects. Proven knowledge of energy performance contracting, ESCO mechanism; (max. 50 pts).
• Experience in working with international technical assistance projects in the Europe and CIS region with international organizations; (max. 30 pts).
• Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender; experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis; (max. 20 pts).
• Proven experience in preparation of written reports in an accurate and concise manner in English; (max. 30 pts).

Language requirements:

• Writing and verbal skills in English, knowledge of Romanian or Russian would be an asset. (max. 30 pts).

Application instructions:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications (Incomplete applications will not be considered):

1. Personal information (Perosnal History Form/P11) including past experience in similar projects.
2. Financial proposal (in USD, specifying the total lump sum amount as well as the requested amount of the fee per day).
3. The most recent reports delivered in a similar position.

Important notice

The applicant who has the statute of Government Official / Public Servant, prior to appointment will be asked to submit the following documentation:

• a no-objection letter in respect of the applicant received from the government, and;
• the applicant is certified in writing by the government to be on official leave without pay for the duration of the Individual Contract.

A retired government official is not considered in this case a government official, and as such, may be contracted. 

The detailed Terms of Reference and Procurement Notice can be found at:   http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs