Background

UNDP’s Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) is based in UNDP’s Bureau of Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and is responsible for providing leadership and technical support to delivery of the Environment and Sustainable Development pillar of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  Its main focus is on helping countries develop the capacity to fully incorporate environmental sustainability into development at national and local, but also global and regional, levels.  The principal areas of work are in environmental mainstreaming, environmental finance, adaptation to climate change, and local governance of resources, including energy.

UNDP-GEF is responsible for providing detailed knowledge related to sources of funds for environment work, and assisting partners to obtain, use, and report on, such funding. Currently the main sources of funds include: the Global Environment Facility (GEF); the GEF managed Adaptation Funds (LDCF, SCCF); the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund; voluntary carbon markets; and various bilateral, multilateral, and sub-national donors and partners including country governments and the private sector. The main category of financing for the UNDP’s Ecosystems and Biodiversity (EBD) portfolio is the Global Environment Facility, with distinct project development steps that need to be undertaken to access the financing and start implementation of the project. 

With its technical focus, UNDP-GEF is organized into substantive technical teams based in regional service centers from where they support UNDP’s country offices and partners in their region. Support to countries in project cycle management is coordinated through the UNDP-GEF Directorate at UNDP Headquarters in New York, with Regional Coordination Units (RCU) – in Istanbul (for Arab States and Europe & CIS), Addis Ababa (for Africa), Panama (for Latin America and the Caribbean) and Bangkok (for Asia Pacific) - that work with the Regional Bureaux to provide support to countries. A team of Regional Technical Advisors (RTA) in each RCU provides technical advice and support, and assistance with project development and implementation, in a number of interrelated GEF focal areas including Ecosystems and Biodiversity. The RTA and consultants work under the overall supervision of the Principal Technical Advisor and in close collaboration with other technical specialists at both global and regional levels.  

The UNDP/GEF Project: Strengthening human resources, legal frameworks, and institutional capacities to implement the Nagoya Protocol (“Global ABS project”, GEF ID 5731; 2016-2019), is a 3-year project that specifically aims at assisting countries in the development and strengthening of their national ABS frameworks, human resources, and administrative capabilities to implement the Nagoya Protocol.

The overall objective of the project is to assist countries in the development and strengthening of their national ABS frameworks, human resources and administrative capabilities to implement the Nagoya Protocol. The expected outcomes of the project are:

• Strengthening the legal, policy and institutional capacity to develop national ABS frameworks;
• Building trust between users and providers of genetic resources to facilitate the identification of bio-discovery efforts;
• Strengthening the capacity of indigenous and local communities to contribute to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol;
• Implementing a community of practices on ABS and South-South Cooperation mechanisms.

UNDP-GEF is seeking one individual consultant to provide technical advisory services to project implementation partners, primarily UNDP country offices, provide quality assurance for the efficient, effective and high quality delivery of project development and implementation. The Consultant will be responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the Global ABS project activities at the regional level in 4 countries in Asia-Pacific region (India, Mongolia, Myanmar and Samoa). S/he will liaise directly with designated officials of the Participating Countries, UNDP Country Offices, RCU staff and existing and potential additional project donors and stakeholders. In addition, the individual consultant will be available to provide technical expertise to other ABS projects implemented by UNDP in the Asia-Pacific region. The consultant will report to the Global Project Manager (GPM).

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and supervision of Global Project Manager based in Panama, and in close collaboration with other technical specialists at both global and regional levels, the consultant will be responsible for providing technical advisory services and quality assurance to project implementation partners, primarily working with UNDP country offices.  

The consultant will undertake the following duties:

Providing expert knowledge to lead and contribute to the consolidation and positioning of outcomes and outputs of the global ABS project:

• Contribute relevant ABS input to UNDP publications, presentations, websites, newsletters, and other outreach products as required;
• Participate in national and international fora and disseminate lessons learned and state of the art approaches for implementation of the Nagoya Protocol;
• Regularly liaise with the project coordinators of UNDP ABS projects, the ABS Capacity Development Initiative, UNEP, IUCN and other agencies implementing ABS projects to identify cooperation opportunities and ensure the exchange of successes and lessons learned.

Provide advisory services to the coordination, the technical and operational work carried out at national levels:

• Provide substantial guidance on the implementation of operational and technical activities in the four participating countries of the project;
• Provide technical assistance on issues related to access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing required by the four participating countries, the project itself and any other ABS project implemented by UNDP in the Asia/Pacific region;
• Provide quality assurance and input to the activities described in the Work Plan for the four participating countries;
• Review together with the project coordinators of the four participating countries all UNDP/GEF monitoring and evaluation reports, including Project Implementation Reviews and Work Plans; 
• Collect and analyze lessons learned and best practices, and design replication strategies within the region/countries of work;
• Ensure consistency between the various project elements and related activities provided or funded by other donor organizations within the region/countries of work;
• Draft in coordination with the communication specialist stories on the achievements and lessons learned of national projects.

Provide technical input to the GPM in the implementation and management of the project:

• Assist the GPM in organizing all technical reporting activities to UNDP and the GEF, Implementing and Executing agencies, ensuring adherence to the Agencies’ technical reporting requirements;
• Assist the GPM in the preparation of an Operational Work Plan for the duration of the project and corresponding Annual Work Plans based on the Project Document and Inception Report, under the general supervision of the Project Steering Committee and in close consultation and coordination with related Projects, National Focal Points, GEF Partners, and relevant donors;
• Promote the Project and seek opportunities to leverage additional co-funding;
• Participate in project and other project related meetings within the region and globally to ensure technical inputs are represented, as required.

Key deliverables
Throughout the whole assignment duration, the consultant shall deliver, at least:

• Monthly activity reports, including project outcomes, status of project risks and the application relevant social and environmental safeguards, etc.
• Annual Project Implementation Reports (PIR) for each of the four countries covered by the Global ABS project, as inputs to the Global Project PIR;
• Annual Operational Plans per Country;
• Communications products (two products per year);
• Monthly activity reports on technical assistance provided to countries not included under the Global ABS project.

Management and organizational arrangements 

• The consultant will work under guidance and technical supervision of the Global Project Manager; 
• The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• The consultant will work from home with limited mission travel; 
• The consultant 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;
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;
• Specific timeline for completion of tasks and submission of deliverables will be agreed with the supervisor in line with the ToR at the end of each month;
• The consultant will be in permanent contact with the Global Project Manager in the development and submission of the requested products and deliverables Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet, a progress report on outputs delivered and acceptance and confirmation by the Global Project Manager on days worked (with a “day” calculated as 8 hours of work).

Travel arrangements:

• Travel will be required to the 4 Asia-Pacific countries (at least three per country per year) participating in the Global ABS Project and may also be required in order to provide technical expertise to other ABS projects implemented by UNDP in the Asia-Pacific region;
• Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the Global Project Manager and the UNDP-GEF Global Adviser on ABS;
• 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 responsible for obtaining any visas and security clearances needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP; 
• Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;   
• The consultant’s travel will be arranged separately according UNDP travel policies;
• All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be arranged as per UNDP rules and regulations for consultants. Costs for airfares, terminal expenses, and living allowances should not be included in financial proposal.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP.

Technical competencies: 

• Ability to provide guidance on implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS), including design and implementation of ABS and traditional knowledge policy and bioprospecting projects;
• Knowledge of environmental issues, environmental law and policy concept and principles and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations;
• Knowledge of NRM concepts, principles and policies and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations;
• Ability to work with multiple stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines.

Functional competencies:

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to contribute to strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Demonstrates practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP. 

Client Orientation:

• Maintains relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude; 
• Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education: 

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in environmental law or policy, conservation of biodiversity, natural resources management or other closely related field. 

Experience: 

• 5 years of relevant experience in environmental law or policy, biodiversity, or natural resources management, including experience in Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing at national or international levels;
• Experience in planning, management, and coordination of multi-disciplinary projects is required, and of bi-national or regional scope is an asset;
• Previous work experience in one or more of the participating countries or regions on issues related to Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing;
• Working experience in an international organization is an asset;
• Knowledge of UNDP policies, procedures and practices is an asset;
• Experience working in developing countries is an asset;
• Full computer literacy; Mastery in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, as a minimum).

Language skills: 

• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English;
• Knowledge of other UN languages would be an advantage.

Evaluation of Applicants:

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 should 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 weighted technical (P11 desk reviews and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 

Only those candidates who obtained at least 70% of points in each of the steps of the process will be considered for financial proposal evaluation. 

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 100 points:

• Criteria A (relevant education background) – max points: 10;
• Criteria B – (5 years of relevant experience in environmental law or policy, biodiversity, or natural resources management, including experience in Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing at national or international levels) - max points: 20;
• Criteria C – (Experience in planning, management, and coordination of multi-disciplinary projects)- max points: 15;
• Criteria D – (Knowledge of UNDP policies, procedures and practices) – max. points: 10;
• Criteria E – (Previous work experience in one or more of the participating countries or regions on issues related to Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing) – max. points: 5;
• Criteria F – (Experience working in developing countries) – max. points: 5;
• Criteria G – (Full computer literacy) -max. points: 5;
• Criteria H – (Excellent knowledge of the English language) - max. points: 5;
• Criteria I – (Knowledge of other UN languages would be an advantage) - max. points: 5; 
• Criteria J – Written test (professionalism, good written communication skills and capacity to synthesise and ABS expertise) – max. points: 10;
• Criteria K - Interviews (experience and knowledge of the region, good oral communications skills and ABS expertise) – max. points: 10.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 43 points.

Application procedures:

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 also 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 instead of your CV. 
• Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, any other possible costs).
• Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*Please note that the financial proposal 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, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). 

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://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

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.