Background

The Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) (www.thegef.org) unites 183 member governments—in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector—to address global environment issues. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, the GEF has provided US$12.5 billion in grants and leveraged US$58 billion in co-financing for 3,690 projects in 165 developing countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP) the GEF has made more than 20,000 grants totaling about US$1 billion to civil society and community-based organizations.

The GEF International Waters (IW) focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. The IW portfolio comprises 242 projects to date and some US$1.4 billion of GEF grants invested in 149 different countries. This investment has leveraged about US$8.4 billion in co-financing. 

UNDP GEF Kura Project “Advancing Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)  across the Kura river basin through implementation of the transboundary agreed actions and national plans” will be implementing the Strategic Action Program for the Kura River Basin in partnership with the Governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The SAP is framed around four agreed Ecosystem Quality Objectives (EQO) which are:

• To achieve sustainable utilization of water resources to ensure access to water and preserve ecosystem services;
• To achieve water quality such that it would ensure access to clean water for present and future generations and sustain ecosystem functions in the Kura river basin;
• To achieve and maintain ecosystem status whereby they provide essential environmental and socio-economic services in a sustainable manner in the Kura River Basin; and,
• To achieve mitigation of adverse impacts of flooding and climate change on infrastructures, riparian ecosystems and communities.

The GEF will support priority activities towards these objectives. The GEF funded SAP implementation Project has the objective “to integrate water resources management in the Kura river basin to address water-energy-food-ecosystem security nexus through the implementation of agreed actions in the SAP”.
There will be five components to support the countries to achieve this objective. These are:

• Project Component 1: Establishment of effective cross sectoral IWRM governance protocols at the local, national and transboundary levels in the Kura Basin;
• Project Component 2: Strengthening national capacities to implement multi-sectoral IWRM in the Kura basin;
• Project Component 3: Stress reduction in critical areas and pre-feasibility studies to identify investment opportunities for improving river system health;
• Project Component 4: Targeted education and involvement projects to empower stakeholders in implementing local / national / regional actions in support of SAP implementation;
• Project Component 5: Enhancing science for governance by strengthening monitoring, information management and data analysis systems for IWRM.

Duties and Responsibilities

Protecting the river basin from pollution starts from pollution sources. Enforcement of the water laws and regulations on all facilities that dump its wastewater to the river basin will reduce the pollution load released to the river basin. Industrial discharges of metals, oil and grease, and other pollutants can interfere with the operation of local sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment plants, leading to the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated pollutants into the river basin. Therefore, Capacity for enforcement of water laws and regulations was included in the project document under output 2.3. This output will provide the two countries with a staged capacity building strategy for water laws and regulation enforcement. These approaches must align with the EU Water Framework Directive and appropriate Daughter Directives. 

Enforcing the law is an important aspect to reduce pollution from different sources. However, in many cases the polluting sources may need support on how to make a compliance action plan to comply with the laws and regulations. They may need to build their capacities on how to diagnose their production processes and identify the needed actions to mitigate pollution. Therefore, the project document included in component 1, and aligned with output 2.3 specific training on how to prepare pollution abatement plans for polluting sources.

The services of a qualified and highly competent consultant will be required to assist the Project Management unit in developing the above-mentioned capacity building strategy and support its implementation in the two countries. 

Scope of Work
The water laws and regulations enforcement and pollution abatement expert will work closely with the environmental inspection units in both Azerbaijan and Georgia to assess the current capacities in preforming environmental inspections on the polluting facilities to ensure their compliance with the existing laws and regulations. The focus of the consultant will be to develop the capacities of the current inspection units on inspecting the liquid discharges from different sources to the Kura river basin. He/she will develop a 3-staged training program on how to develop pollution abatement plan for point sources of pollution. This training will focus on building the capacities of the representatives from the polluting sources and the consulting firms working in the field of pollution abatement in the two countries. This training should be aligned with the EU WFD and appropriate daughter directives. 

The consultant, in collaboration and close coordination with the Project Management Unit and the National Focal Points, shall carry out the following activities:

For water Laws and Regulation Capacity Building in line with the EU WFD

• Review the current organization structure for water laws and regulations enforcement in both Azerbaijan and Georgia, working with national experts
• Meet the two countries NFPs to discuss main concerns and issues related to water laws and regulation enforcement and the mechanisms for inspection and compliance with water laws and regulations.
• Field visits to water laws & regulations Inspection and Enforcement units in AZ (Project Office to assist with scheduling and translation as needed)
• Field visits to water laws & regulations inspection and Enforcement units in GE (Project Office to assist with scheduling and translation as needed)
• Assessment of needs, current capacity, and gaps of the current environmental inspection units in both countries in the enforcement of the water laws & regulations 
• Develop a 3-staged capacity building strategy working with water laws & regulations enforcement bodies, to address water laws & regulations enforcement priorities
• Consultations with PCU about gaps, needs and recommended approaches for water laws & regulations enforcement draft strategies 
• Consultations with countries representatives on the water laws & regulations enforcement draft strategy. (Project Team will assess the consultant in conducting skype conference in each country with all stakeholders’ representatives) 
• Develop budget for water laws & regulations enforcement needs and staged budget allocation strategy with enforcement responsibilities matrix
• Define the list of equipment and specifications for enforcement units in each country
• Budget estimations for all equipment needed
• Make priority list of equipment in consultations with the enforcement units in both countries
• Develop a staged procurement plan for the needed equipment and the needed budget for each stage

For Pollution Abatement Plans Development 

• Develop and conduct training course on how to conduct emission inventory for liquid emissions from industrial and municipal point sources in both Azerbaijan and Georgia
• Develop and prepare all the materials for the 3-staged training program on how to develop pollution abatement plan for industrial and municipal point sources aligned to the EU WFD and appropriate daughter directives.

Key Deliverables of the consultancy:

• Preparation of detailed work plan for implementation of activities
• Review the current laws and regulations governing the environmental protection of water resources in Azerbaijan and Georgia; 
• Review the current institutional structure for environmental law enforcement and recommend changes to strengthen law enforcement in the two countries in line with EU WFD guidance;
• Develop the current responsibilities matrix for environmental law enforcement in each country and identify the strengthen and weakness of that matrix;
• Development a technical report on needs assessment and gaps in enforcement capacity in the two countries;
• Develop a 3-staged capacity building strategy for law enforcement working with enforcement unites to address enforcement priorities;
• Develop budget for enforcement needs and staged budget allocation strategy;
• Develop the training curriculum and training materials based on the 3-staged capacity building strategy;
• Develop and conduct the training course on EU WFD compliant methodology for emission inventory for liquid emissions from industrial and municipal point sources;
• Develop the training curriculum and training material for 3-staged capacity building and training program on how to develop pollution abatement plan for industrial and municipal point sources to be compliant with the EU WFD approaches.

Timeframe for Deliverables and financial arrangements:
Submit detailed work plan for implementation of activities
Start Date: 1st of August 2017
End Date: 15 August 2017
Payment due: 10% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Development a technical report on needs assessment and gaps in enforcement capacity in the two countries including the current responsibilities matrix for environmental law enforcement. 
Start Date: 16 August 2017
End Date: 31 Oct. 2017
Payment due: 20% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Conducting training course on emission inventory for liquid emissions from industrial and municipal sources for the representatives of the two countries including the preparation of the training materials.
Start Date: 1 Oct. 2017
End Date: 15 Nov. 2017
Payment due: 15% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Develop 3-staged capacity building strategy for law enforcement working with enforcement units to address enforcement priorities including the budget allocation needed for implementation of each stage.
Start Date: 15 Nov. 2017
End Date: 31 Dec. 2017
Payment due: 20% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Develop of the training curriculum and the training materials needed for the 3-staged training on development of the pollution abatement plans
Start Date: 1 Dec. 2017
End Date: 28 Feb. 2018
Payment due: 20% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Development of the training curriculum and the training materials needed for the 3-staged capacity building strategy for water laws and regulations enforcement
Start Date: 1 Jan. 2018
End Date: 28 Feb. 2018
Payment due: 15% of the total lumpsum on delivery and approval by the CTA

Information on Working Arrangements: 

The international environmental law enforcement Expert will report to the Project Chief Technical Advisor / Regional Project Coordinator (CTA/RPC). Deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the project team and ultimately by the CTA/RPC.

Competencies

Functional competencies:

• Strong communication and management skills and demonstrable capacity to work with a multi-national team and to work with government institutions;
• Ability to work in the field and conduct field measurements;  
• Demonstrated ability to prepare training materials and conduct training courses for multi stakeholders;
• Ability to conduct needs assessment studies and develop capacity needs strategies;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities.

Corporate competencies:

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

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters degree in environmental management, or related fields required;  Masters degree focusing on Environmental Law Enforcement a strong advantage. 

Experience:

• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in development and oversight of Environmental Law Enforcement required; 
• Proven experience in development of environmental law enforcement plans and capacity building plans for Environmental inspectors, conducting onsite environmental inspection focusing on liquid water discharges, and legal reporting on the environmental violations required;
• Experience in multi-sector governmental settings including application of technical enforcement and compliance approaches and developing pollution abatement plans for major polluting sources required. Experience in implementing enforcement of the EUWFD will be a strong asset;
• Experience in working with UNDP and GEF through multiple sectors/ministries or work experience in GEF International Waters, experience in former Soviet States, and with EU river basins main polluting hotspots and in the application of EU WFD methodologies is an asset;

Language: 

• English is the working language for this assignment, therefore excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required;
• Ability to communicate in Russian is 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 candidates who will get min. 70% of points in desk review will be invited for an interview.

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

• Criteria A – Academic qualification / education – max points 10;
• Criteria B – Experience – max points 10;
• Criteria C – Experience– max points 15;
• Criteria D – Experience– max points 15;
• Criteria E – Experience – max points 5;
• Criteria F – Interview (technical, communication and language skills) – max points 15.

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

Time Frame:

The expected time frame for the Consultant to complete these activities is 7 months starting from approximately August 1, 2017 with approximately 40 working days during this period (30 days home based and 2 missions to the region with 5 working days per mission (3 days in Azerbaijan+2 days in Georgia)).  

Financial Arrangements:

Payments as percentage of lump sum will be made monthly on the following based on approval and timely completion of above all deliverables described above.
Any delay of deliverable must be approved by the CTA in writing.

Application procedure:

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 and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work. 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 (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. 
•  A proposal for the expert’s workplan for achieving the above-mentioned tasks, main points to be discussed with the countries and to also be addressed in your report, plan for visiting countries, the structure of your final report. 
• Financial Proposal in USD* - specifying a) total for the tasks specified in this announcement and b) mission related costs (including i) travel costs and ii) per diem) for 2 missions to the region with 5 working days per mission (3 days in Azerbaijan+2 days in Georgia)).   

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...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.  

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.