UNDP Jobs - 70058- Re-advertisement - Addressing Barriers to Adoptio

Re-advertisement - Addressing Barriers to Adoption of Improved Charcoal Production Technologies and Sustainable Land Practices through an Integrated Approach – Green Charcoal Project - (Open to Ugandan Nationals Only)

Location :

Kampala, UGANDA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

13-Apr-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

60 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

60 working days spread over 6 months

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

Uganda’s energy sector is characterized by over 90% of the population relying on use of biomass, with wood fuel being the main source of heating and cooking in rural and urban areas (GIZ, 2011).Firewood and charcoal contribute 88% and 6% respectively to the country’s total energy consumption.

At present 18% of the population in Uganda depend on charcoal for cooking (MEMD 2014). A close relationship exists between the growth of charcoal consumption and urbanization. Of the total charcoal produced 23% is consumed by commercial establishments and 67% is consumed by the households. The potential to use charcoal in industrial establishments has not been explored fully in Uganda but preliminary studies have suggested that the potential exists.

The recommended level of national forest cover for Uganda to have a stable ecological system is 30 per cent. The national forest cover as of 2005 was at 18 per cent, having dropped from 24 per cent in 1990. This decline which is estimated at 1.8 per cent per annum is largely attributed to increasing demand for agricultural land and fuel wood by the rapidly growing population. Between 1990 and 2005 alone, a total of 1,329,570ha (27 per cent of original forest cover) was lost. Recent spatial analyses (2010 images) indicate that the current forest cover is now 10per cent and major loss is found on private lands due to unsustainable extraction of forests for charcoal and fuel wood production, timber and agricultural expansion.

Since forestry sector reform that took place between 1998 and 2004, there has been no deliberate effort to guide systematic production and trade in charcoal. Key institutions involved in administration and management of the harvesting, production and trade along the value chain have been poorly coordinated and as a result, there has been un harmonized implementation of their operations. Although, the forestry law (NFTPA, 2003) recognizes charcoal as one of the forestry products that is regulated in the same manner like other products, there is evidence that charcoal trade has many unique attributes that require further guidance that will be elaborated through the national guidelines. The guidelines will enhance sustainable production, handling, transportation and trade, therefore, improve efficiency of the actors and formalize the various processes and activities along the value chain.

Objectives of the assignment:

The main objective of this assignment is to develop national guidelines for sustainable production, transportation and trade in charcoal in Uganda. Specifically the consultant will:

Identify stakeholders and institutions involved in administration and management of various aspects of the trade along the entire value chain;
Review relevant policies and laws that govern production of and trade in charcoal;
Identify gaps, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths that need to be address for effective regulation and efficiency in the trade along the entire value chain;
Conduct stakeholder consultations to come up with draft and final guidelines on Sustainable production and trade in charcoal.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work:

Tasks to be performed:

Preparation of these guidelines will be undertaken through a series of consultations at national and subnational levels. It is expected that stakeholders that will be consulted will include but not limited to managers of forest resources, National Forestry Authority, District Local Governments, Uganda Wildlife Authority, traders in charcoal, land owners in areas where charcoal is produced and traded, Projects like the Saw log Production Grant Scheme, the REDD+, Civil Society Organizations, Associations of charcoal burners and traders, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Academia, The Ministry of Water and Environment, Forestry Sector Support Department. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development through the Green Charcoal project shall facilitate preparation of the guidelines while Ministry of Water and Environment will coordinate the preparation of the guidelines. The specific tasks shall include:

Inception:

Preparation of inception report that will detail the approach, tasks, timeframe and road map for the assignment.

Literature Review:

Review existing policy, legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks relevant to sustainable production, transportation and trade in charcoal (including but not limited to the National Biomass Energy Strategy (2014), Renewable Energy Policy for Uganda (2007), National Forestry and Tree planting Act, 2003 and the regulations.

Stakeholder Analysis:

A detailed stakeholder analysis will be undertaken to identify the various actors, roles, responsibilities, interests with regard to administration and management of charcoal trade along the value chain.

SWOT Analysis:

The consultant will carry out an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the entire system of production, marketing, transportation, and handling of charcoal to come up acceptable guidelines that will promote efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability in production and the charcoal trade.

Preparation of Documents:

The consultant with inputs from stakeholders will prepare the draft and final copies of the guidelines. In addition, he or she will prepare a completion report for the assignment. The consultant will facilitate national and sub-national stakeholder consultations on the guidelines to review he draft and validate the guidelines.

Key Deliverables:

The Consultant shall produce and submit the following deliverables:

An Inception report including a detailed methodology to be employed;
Draft guidelines;
Final national guidelines on Charcoal production and trade;
Workshop reports:
Consultancy completion report detailing how the activity was executed.

Competencies

Functional:

Ability to conduct research, analysis of legal issues and strong synthesis skills;
Consensus-oriented; ability to builds strong relationships with national stakeholders focus on impact and results and responds positively to critical feedback;
Highly developed inter-personal, negotiation and teamwork skills;
Regional and national knowledge of environmental issues in various parts of Uganda is highly desirable (especially around charcoal).

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Understands more advanced aspects of legal provisions as well as the fundamental concepts of law;
Continues to seeks new/improved methods and systems for accomplishing work;
Clearly demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices in law;
Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current gaps within the regulatory frameworks of the biomass sub-sector/charcoal industry nationally and at sub national levels;
Knowledge of environmental law is an added advantage;
Familiar with the governance and administration in local governments and devolved structures.

Client Orientation:

Ability to works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service providers;
Open to client’s needs and understanding of client’s perspectives;
Ability to use discretion and flexibility in interpreting rules in order to meet client needs and achieve organizational goals;
Ability to solicit feedback on service provision and quality.

Core Competencies:

Values promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
Ability to create an environment for creativity and innovation;
Ability to create and promote enabling environment for open dialogue and consensus building;
Ability to builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Fair and transparent in decision-making.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

Master's degree in Environmental Law or related discipline.

Experience:

Experience in legal practice and handling related assignments- not less than 10 years;
Clear understanding of legislative and governance issues around biomass sub-sector in Uganda;
Good skills in facilitating community based participatory initiatives, dialogues and multi-stakeholder processes;
Proven and extensive experience in institutional/policy analysis/ arrangements and environmental law in Uganda, including public administration and governance in Uganda.

Language skills:

Proficient in spoken and written English.

Evaluation:

The combined scoring method shall be applied where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted to a maximum of 70 marks and the combined price offer a maximum weight of 30 marks. The criteria for rating the qualification and methodology will be as follows:

Education: 10 marks;
Experience in conducting similar assignments: 30 marks;
presentation of appropriate methodology :25 marks;
coverage of important task in sufficient detail: 25 marks;
Logical, Realistic and Effective plan: 10 marks.

In total the Technical proposal weighs 70marks; whereas the financial evaluation weighs 30 marks.

Candidates scoring 50 or above will be short-listed and may be called for an interview.

Payments:

30% upon validation of inception report and validation of Synopsis report;
40% upon Submission of draft guidelines;
20% Submission of Final guidelines and assignment completion report.

Application Procedure:

The candidate is required to submit an electronic application directly uploaded on the UNDP jobs website with all the requirements as listed here below. Annexes and further information may be downloaded on http://procurement-notices.undp.org/. (Reference #34999).

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document to this website - http://jobs.undp.org (Ref no.70058).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II);
Annexes 1 and II - may be downloaded from the UNDP Procurement Notices Website -http://procurement-notices.undp.org/ - under reference #34999. For further clarifications, please contact; janet.anyango@undp.org; moses.lutwama@undp.org;

Interested applicants should submit applications through uploading of all their required documentation in one single pdf document on this website only.