UNDP Jobs - 73496- Sustainable Energy Research Consultant, BPPS / Cli

Sustainable Energy Research Consultant, BPPS / Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Unit

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

07-Aug-2017

Application Deadline :

31-Jul-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

225 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

225 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

Sustainable energy is an engine of poverty eradication, social progress, gender equality, enhanced resilience, economic growth and environmental sustainability with direct impacts on people, communities and countries. Unsustainable patterns of energy production and consumption threaten not only human health and quality of life but also affect ecosystems and contribute to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions which accelerate climate change.

In September 2015, the United Nations Special Summit on Sustainable Development in New York adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the goals, SDG No. 7, aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Thus, the upcoming sustainable development agenda recognises that energy is a primary ingredient of transforming societies and boosting human development. Without access to sustainable energy services, other development goals cannot be achieved. UNDP’s work with countries and partners will be guided by its Sustainable Energy Framework which is strongly aligned to SDG No. 7 through its three thematic areas of energy access, renewable energy and energy efficiency linking to sustainable development, and consistent with the UN SG’s Global Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL).

With a presence in more than 170 countries and territories, and over 20 years of experience in supporting efforts to increase the utilisation of sustainable energy, UNDP is uniquely positioned to offer expertise in development thinking and practice.

Within UNDP, the Global Energy Team’s main responsibilities are (1) representing UNDP on a corporate level in global policy dialogues, global events and meetings related to energy; (2) providing advocacy services related to energy to partner organizations and UNDP country offices; (3) developing and disseminating knowledge products on UNDP’s global work on energy; (4) engaging with and establishing partnerships on sustainable energy; and (5) ensuring UNDP’s contribution to achieve SDG No 7 on energy in accordance with UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Framework and UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

The Sustainable Energy Research Analyst will be part of the Global Energy Team within the Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction Cluster of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) in New York, United States. The Sustainable Energy Consultant responsibilities include the following expected outputs and deliverables:

Expected outputs and deliverables:

OUTPUT 1: Verification, improvement and update of UNDP’s Global Energy Portfolio Database

Task 1: The consultant will be responsible for coordinating and conducting the verification, improvement and maintenance of UNDP’s Global Energy Portfolio Database. Specific topics and tasks will involve the following:

Communicate with UNDP country offices globally to verify the data and, if possible, expand it with additional information and data

Maintain the database and conduct a database update on a half yearly basis
Other assistance related to the database, as required.

OUTPUT 2: Conducting research, analysis, and results reporting

Task 1: The consultant will be responsible for producing knowledge and communication products, including infographics, blogs, analyses, case studies, fact sheets, etc. on UNDP’s sustainable energy activities around the world. Specific topics and tasks will involve the following:

Preparing reports and analyses on UNDP’s sustainable energy portfolio and its contribution to achieving SDG 7 as well as other SDGs (such as poverty alleviation, health, employment, climate change and gender).
Preparing ten impact stories on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy
Updating draft UNDP Sustainable Energy Portfolio (SEP) Infographic Report
Preparing and executing an advocacy and dissemination plan of the SEP Infographic Report
Other assistance related to UNDP global energy work, as required.

OUTPUT 3: Support to UNDP’s Global SE4ALL activities and other global processes

Task 1: The consultant will play a role in assisting UNDP to support UNDP’s SE4ALL activities globally. Specific tasks will involve, inter alia, the following:

Supporting UNDP Regional Hubs and country offices in drafting and implementing UNDP SE4ALL activities
Support and assistance related to liaising with the SE4ALL initiative
Assistance with the communication of UNDP’s SE4ALL activities globally
Prepare necessary background research and analysis for UNDP’s participation in major energy related events and global fora
Other assistance related to UNDP SE4ALL activities, as requested

Output 4: Support coordination and provision of inputs for corporate policies, strategies, and briefs

Task 1: The consultant will be responsible for supporting the policy advisory and advocacy work of the UNDP Head of Energy and the Global Energy Policy Advisor in BPPS, New York by undertaking appropriate research and analysis on energy. Specific task will also involve, inter alia, the following:

Drafting concept notes and other strategy papers on issues related to sustainable energy programming
Organizing conferences, workshops, roundtables, training etc.
Coordinating and providing inputs to briefs and preparatory materials for senior management

Other tasks related to UNDP’s Global Energy work, as required

Competencies

Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
Ability to plan and organize his/her work, efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities
Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PPT and email communication software

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

At least a Master’s degree in energy, finance, economics, engineering, environmental science, business administration or a related field.( Required)

Years of experience:

At least 3 years of technical experience related to sustainable energy Required
At least 3 years of experience in project portfolio tracking and analyses. Experience in populating and analysing energy related project databases is an advantage (Required)
Experience in sustainable energy development programming
Hands-on experience with renewable energy finance is desirable and considered an advantage
Experience in analysing quantitative data and translating it to fact sheets, analyses and other information products is an asset
Work experience in drafting concept notes and other strategy papers on issues related to sustainable energy is an advantage
Experience in organising conferences, meetings and training
Prior working experience with international organisations (including UNDP) is an advantage.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
Working knowledge of another UN language would be an asset

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

Online application with brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment; and
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned into one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.

In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below. Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Being 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 where technical criteria weigh 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (700 points):

Criteria 1. Experience related to sustainable energy including analyses and tracking of project portfolios and related project databases. (Maximum Points:150 )
Criteria 2 Proven expertise in technical writing, communication, and knowledge management in sustainable energy and/or climate change. Maximum Points: (100);
Criteria 3. Proven expertise in analysing quantitative data and translating it to fact sheets, analyses and other information products, Maximum Points: 150) and
Criteria 4. Proven expertise in organising conferences, meetings and training Maximum Points: 100; and
Criteria 5 Working experience with international organisations(Including UNDP) maximum Points 75
Criteria 6 Relevance of Education to the Position (Maximum Points: 125)

The technical evaluation will be conducted by a desk review which may include a short interview with the top three shortlisted candidates.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (490 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (700 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (300 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into a contract with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Head of Energy and Global Energy Policy Advisor who will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

The consultant will work closely with the Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Unit. S/he will also liaise with UNDP country office counterparts in partner countries; the consultant will be based in NY.

The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop.

Payment modality

Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7 hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.