UNDP Jobs - 70754- International Consultant for Capacity Development

International Consultant for Capacity Development and Project Design Specialist

Location :

Bissau, GUINEA-BISSAU

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

03-Apr-2017

Application Deadline :

15-Mar-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

25 working days (excluding travel) over 6 monthis April - October 2017

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 working days

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), acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is providing assistance to the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Guinea-Bissau in the preparation of the GEF Medium Size Project (MSP) “Strengthening natural resource valuation capacities for improved planning and decision-making to conserve the global environment.”

In accordance with UNDP/GEF procedures, UNDP is hiring a team of consultants to develop the MSP proposal for ‘Strengthening natural resource valuation capacities for improved planning and decision-making to conserve the global environment’ for submission to the GEF Secretariat fully compliant with the enforced GEF rules and standards as part of the GEF Project Preparation Grant (PPG). The consultants will report to the Head of the Sustainable Development Cluster at UNDP Guinea-Bissau and work closely with UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub Regional Technical Advisor.

The purpose of the PPG is to fully design the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the ‘Strengthening natural resource valuation capacities for improved planning and decision-making to conserve the global environment’ medium size project and to fully develop a full set of project documentation for submission to the GEF Secretariat and approval. Normal rules for development of medium-sized GEF projects apply. Copies of the GEF templates and guidelines can be found at: http://www.thegef.org/gef/guidelines_templates.

Project Description

Among Guinea Bissau’s human/intangible, produced capital and natural capital, the proportion of natural capital is exceptionally high (close to 50% by World Bank estimate). The country has also preserved a large portion of its nature while its economic activities give the ranking as one the poorest in the world, making the conventional accounting particularly unfit for national planning.

While the country has elaborated various plans and reports to safeguard the environment and promote sustainable development, including the National Adaptation Programme of Action (2006) and Second National Communication on Climate Change (2011), much difficulty remains in mainstreaming the subject of the environment and in taking stock of the country’s wealth. No systematic efforts have been made to evaluate the natural capital or the ecosystemic functions that the country enjoys or provides to the outside world. An environmental accounting system – that incorporates environmental dimensions to traditional national accounting – would require cooperation among various agencies and actors across fields, but there is little coordination and cooperation as of date. In fact, the evaluation conducted in 2011 on the national capacity for environmental management cites as major drawbacks the following: (i) the lack of integrated information system on the environment on a national scale; (ii) the insufficiency of indicators on sustainable environmental management; and (iii) the lack of recognition of the link between degradation of the environment (including national resources) and the national economy. Finally, participatory approach is not well understood among the government technicians and political decision makers as a sine qua non in project formulation and implementation. Incidentally Guinea-Bissau has recently launched REDD+ readiness programme, which require the capacities to make monetary evaluations of natural resources.

In sum, the country will greatly benefit from acquiring sound capacities for natural resources valuation which allow presentation of the state of the environment in terms understandable to political decision makers, both national and international, and regular updating of such valuation. The project will aid the country in strengthening the capacity to plan its future for sustainable development by first assisting in acquisition of capacities to value natural resources.

The project will consist of following four components: (1) Strengthening targeted policy and legislative instruments for effective monitoring and decision-making on the global environment; (2) Strengthening effective monitoring and decision-making mechanisms for the global environment; (3) Development of natural resource valuation tools for improved decision-making on the global environment; and (4) Improving awareness of global environmental values through the use of natural resource valuation.

It will be implemented in line with the established Government of Guinea-Bissau and UNDP procedures in Guinea-Bissau. The Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development will take overall responsibility for implementation of the project, and for the project success. It will establish the necessary planning and management mechanisms to oversee project inputs, activities and outputs. The UNDP CO will support the Ministry as requested and as necessary. The PPG process will be used to further define the management, coordination and consultation mechanisms.

Duties and Responsibilities

Within the framework of the Terms of Reference, Capacity Development and Project Design Specialist is expected to perform the following tasks and duties:

Work together with the local consultants (LC), UNDP and national counterparts on setting PPG implementation strategy;
Finalize PPG work plan and design consultation and validation workshops;
Oversee completion of background studies, ensuring they are appropriate in scope and provide required analyses;
Facilitate and guide consultations to determine project strategy, priorities, key partners, and key barriers to success;
Provide technical and professional support to the LC and national stakeholders;
Develop the project strategy, detailed budget, work plan and logical framework, develop a replication strategy;
Assume main responsibility for finalizing the project document, with significant input from all local consultants.

Another key role of the project development expert should be to look for other key partners that the project might partner with and seek co-financing from, working closely with the UNDP Country Office and UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub.

Besides a desk review of the relevant documents the consultant will undertake two missions to the country (3 working days each), in full collaboration with the UNDP Country Office and team of consultants. The missions will include:

Consultations with key partners in National Government, responsible for environmental management as well as relevant sectorial ministries, and key non-governmental stakeholders;
Facilitation of project validation workshop.

The responsibility of the international Capacity Development and Project Design Specialist is to work on development and preparation of a Medium Size Project document for submission to GEF Secretariat.

For further details, please see Annex I (Terms of Reference).

Competencies

Strong expertise in Environmental Management.
Familiarity with GEF policies, templates and requirements for MSP. In particular, proven expert knowledge in the GEF CCCD/CB2 Project Cycle.
Familiarity with multilateral environmental agreements and their implementation.
Proven experience in developing/implementing similar projects – preferably in the region;
Previous successful experience in development and approval of the GEF project documents;
Previous experience with UNDP is a great advantage;
Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily;
Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior members of national institutions;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Excellent coordination skills and result oriented collaboration with colleagues;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Excellent written communication skills in English, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of quality analysis for the project proposal.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Master’s degree in law, political science, development studies or a Bachelor’s degree ;
Certification in evaluation is desirable.

Years of experience:

Proven 10 years’ experience in managing or/and evaluating development programs/projects, especially with UNDP;
Knowledge and demonstrable experience in the field of reform of public service; including with UNDP is an asset;
Technical knowledge and experience in UNDP thematic areas, specifically in public service reform, and cross-cutting issues such as gender, capacity development; and rights-based approaches to programming is an asset;
Proven knowledge of Guinea-Bissau general country context and public service sector is strongly desirable;
Excellent writing, research, analysis and presentation skills;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages as well as web based management systems.

Language Requirements:

Excellent written communication skills in English, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of quality analysis for the project proposal;
Knowledge of Portuguese/French/Spanish would be an asset.

Required documents:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online by 15 March 2017 .

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (if applicable). Please 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, please upload the P11 instead of your CV (a template can be downloaded from http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc);
Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days – in home office and on mission, travel – international and local, per diems and any other possible costs), preferably according to the following template.

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, office costs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).
All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.
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 can be found under: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf
Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to a large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight; [70%]

Financial Criteria weight; [30%]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 point would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Evaluation criteria:

Criteria A: Advanced degree (Master or PhD) in the fields of environmental management, economics, public administration or relevant related fields -5 pts;
Criteria B: At least 7 years of relevant professional experience - 5 pts;
Criteria C: Strong expertise in Environmental Management - 5 pts;
Criteria D: Familiarity with GEF policies, templates and requirements for MSP. In particular, proven expert knowledge in the GEF CCCD/CB2 Project Cycle - 8 pts;
Criteria E: Familiarity with multilateral environmental agreements and their implementation - 10 pts;
Criteria F: Proven experience in developing/ implementing similar projects – preferably in the region - 5 pts;
Criteria G: Previous successful experience in development and approval of the GEF project documents - 10 pts;
Criteria H: Previous experience with UNDP is a great advantage - 2 pts;
Criteria I: Excellent written communication skills in English, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of quality analysis for the project proposal - 10 pts;
Criteria J: Knowledge of Portuguese/French/ Spanish would be an asset - 10 pts.