UNDP Jobs - 70667- International Senior Mercury Inventory Expert

International Senior Mercury Inventory Expert

Location :

home based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Mar-2017

Application Deadline :

27-Feb-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months with a maximum of 30 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

As one of the Implementing Agencies of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UNDP is supporting developing countries and countries with economies in transition to develop and implement projects aimed at the elimination and/or sustainable management of mercury to meet their obligations under the newly established Minamata Convention on Mercury.

UNDP supports countries in their efforts to prepare for and meet their future commitments under the Minamata Convention. Efforts supported by UNDP mainly focus on:

Conducting national mercury inventories as well as assessing national capacity and regulatory frameworks for the management of mercury as part of Minamata Initiatial Assessment (MIA) projects.
Reduction of mercury releases from artisanal and small-scale gold mining;
Reduction of mercury emissions to the atmosphere from point sources;
Phase out of mercury-containing products in the healthcare sector; and
Lifecycle management of mercury-containing products and wastes (including treatment and storage

With funding provided by the GEF, UNDP is supporting the implementation of 18 MIA projects in 22 countries. The MIA reports consist of 3 main components:

Results of a national mercury inventory (mercury emissions and releases as well as their sources, uses, stockpiles, supply and trade, etc.);
Major findings of the policy, regulatory and institutional assessments to manage mercury;
Summary of the measures the country has prioritized in order to implement the Minamata Convention (a.k.a. Implementation Plan).

These MIA projects are implemented nationally by UNDP Country Offices located in each of the project countries. UNDP is looking to hire an international senior mercury expert to conduct quality assurance of the national mercury inventories developed as part of the MIA projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the MPU Programme Analyst (based in New York City), in coordination with the relevant Regional Technical Advisors (based in Panama, Bangkok, and Istanbul). He/she will use the UNDP Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA) Guidance Document as a guide:

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/environment-energy/chemicals_management/undp-minamata-initial-assessment-guidance-.html

He/she will support the development of mercury inventories in UNDP supported MIA project countries:

Provide ad-hoc technical advice on the application of the UNEP Inventory Toolkit (Level 1 and Level 2) to the international and national experts conducting the national mercury inventories.
Review the national mercury inventories developed by the project countries and provide an expert opinion on the assumptions and calculations made as part of the mercury inventory, and verify calculated mercury releases, emissions, stocks, imports/exports, etc. to ensure that results fit the situation of the country.

Expected outputs:

Reviewed mercury inventories containing suggestions and recommendations for their improvement.

Institutional Arrangement:

The consultant will be home-based;
The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
The consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop and mobile phone with active calling and data plan;
The consultant will report to, seek approval/acceptance of outputs from the task team leaders (MPU/Chemicals Programme Analyst and Regional Technical Advisors).

Fees:

The consultant is expected to quote his/her fee based on a daily rate in USD, the daily rate must be all inclusive i.e inclusive of all foreseeable expenses

Payment terms:

Payments will be made based on upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating deliverables achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.

Duration of the Work:

Up to 6 months; a maximum of 30 working days

Travel

No travel is anticipated. Should unforeseen travel arise it will be paid in accordance with UNDP travel policy and rules.

Competencies

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP's values and ethical standards;
Highly organized with strong analytical, synthesis, and research skills;
Strong communication skills and speaks and writes clearly and effectively
Good teamwork and works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals
Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies
Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering or Environmental chemistry

Experience

At least 10 years of direct work experience on mercury issues (required)
Knowledge of and experience in the application of the UNEP Mercury Toolkit (Level 1 and 2) in calculating national mercury assessments (required)
Experience and/or familiarity with GEF, UNDP or other international organizations will be considered an advantage
Must demonstrate in application that he/she is fully versant with the use of MS Excel (required)

Language Requirements

Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (required)

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

Only those candidates that meet the minimum level of education and relevant years of experience requirements will be considered for the technical evaluation. The technical evaluation will include a desk review to select the shortlisted candidates. The technical evaluation may also include interviews with shortlisted candidate(s);
The selection of the best offer from the shortlisted candidates will be based on a Combined Scoring method – where the technical evaluation (desk review) will be weighted a maximum of 70 points, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a maximum of 30 points.

The technical evaluation will be based on the following criteria with the corresponding points (out of a total 70 points):

Criteria 1: Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering or Environmental chemistry (5 points) (required);
Criteria 2: At least 10 years direct work experience on mercury issues (20 points) (required);
Criteria 3: Knowledge of and experience in the application of the UNEP Mercury Toolkit (Level 1 and 2) in calculating national mercury assessments (15 points) (required);
Criteria 4: Experience and/or familiarity with GEF, UNDP or other international organizations will be considered an advantage (10 points) (desired);
Criteria 5: Must demonstrate in application that he/she is fully versant with the use of MS Excel; (15 points) (required);
Criteria 6: Fluency in written and spoken English (5 points) (required).

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical evaluation will be considered technically compliant.

Financial evaluation (maximum 30 points):