UNDP Jobs - 78862- International Consultant for establishing the foun

International Consultant for establishing the foundation of GEF-SGP in Kosovo

Location :

Home based and Prishtina, Kosovo, UNSCR 1244 (1999)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

04-Jun-2018

Application Deadline :

23-May-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

04 June 2018 - 30 November 2019 (70 working days within this period)

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

04 June 2018 - 30 November 2019 (70 working days within this period)

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 development of Civil Society (Organizations, CSO) in Kosovo remains low and poor, in spite of several years of experience as activism. Out of 8,500 registered CSOs and a few other unregistered initiatives, the number of active CSOs is estimated to be around 1,500. Only less than 1,000 CSOs had financial activities or employees in 2015. Most of the sector is comprised of small CSOs considering the size of funding and staff members. Furthermore, CSOs based in Pristina and other regional centers in Kosovo dominate the sector. The trend of registration of new CSOs has been stage for the past six years, with around 500 newly registered CSOs every year.

Until now, many Kosovar CSOs have reached a solid level of work and demonstrated a sustainable and professional organizational approach toward fulfilling their mission. They created different sectorial networks and platforms. Among others, environmental CSOs (ECSO) are very important players in tackling Kosovo’s environmental problems. Not only they can complement government’s work in the implementation of the National Environmental Action Plan, but also, they can slow down and reverse the current trends of environmental degradation by engaging all stakeholders, including central government, local authorities, private sector, and other CSOs.
In 2010, Kosovo became a member of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to address national and regional environmental issues such as climate change, land and biodiversity degradation, unsustainable uses of natural resources, and pollution from chemical and waste. In 2015, Kosovo received the first grant of $1 million and started its first GEF MSPproject in the focal area of international waters (“Enabling Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the White Drin and the Extended Drin Basin”) .
However, Kosovo is still not benefiting from the GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), the dedicated GEF funding for the civil society. As Kosovo has not obtain the official membership of the United Nations yet, access to not only the relevant UN Conventions but also vertical funds in environment, such as GEF and Global Climate Fund has become barriers for Kosovar ECSOs. In this regard, a dedicated and medium-term funding mechanism is necessary to effectively engage Kosovo’s CSOs in addressing the issues of a poor management of natural resources and environmental degradation, including through behavioral change and local action. This would also ensure sustainability and growth of CSOs.
Built upon the point aforementioned, through the project ‘Sustainable Environmental Civil Society (SPECIES) with Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) support, implemented jointly by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) and UNDP Kosovo, we aim to establish the foundation of GEF-SGP in Kosovo, through capacity building workshops and trainings and the opportunities of networking and establishing partnerships for Kosovar ESCOs. This work will be done together with Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Ministry for European Integration, and responsible local authorities.

[1] This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Objectives of Assignment

The overall objective of this assignment is to contribute to empower environmental civil society actors in Kosovo in accordance with required knowledge and principles on access to Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Program (GEF - SGP), by establishing the National Steering Committee (NSC), and developing outlined framework national strategy for GEF-SGP in Kosovo.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct guidance of the Environment, Climate and Disaster Resilience programme team, the International Consultant will:

Review all the relevant publications, laws, reports/policy papers with regard to civil society development, international environmental funding mechanisms, the UN conventions, general and specific environmental situations in Kosovo;
Provide guidance for data collection related to project planning related to GEF-SGP funds
Present currently available data on GEF-7 Processes and facilitate discussion and mapping of priorities and possible interventions financed by GEF-7.
Prepares and submit the GEF Guidelines and relevant documents to be sent for translation and printing into local languages.
Design, organize and conducts 4 trainings on the key UN Conventions relevant for the GEF Small Grant Programme (Biodiversity, Climate Change, Persistent Organic Pollutants, and Desertification);
Organize and conducts 7 workshops on GEF-SGP with the National Steering Committee and ECSOs.
Develop the outlined the framework National Strategy for the new country SGP with the local consultant and the National Steering Committee.
During the entire process work closely and guide the Local Consultant.

Expected Deliverables/ Outputs

Establishment of the National Steering Committee.
4 trainings on UN Conventions and the GEF-SGP organized;
7 workshops organized for outlining the framework National Strategy for SGP;
Framework of the National Strategy for the GEF-SGP.

Scope of price proposal and schedule of payments

Required Presentation of Offer

The following documents must be submitted:
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs. Please note that the contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. If an 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 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.
Technical Proposal, a maximum 2-page document that briefly explain the approach and method to be utilized for delivering the expected results within the indicated timeframe.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:
Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Competencies

Corporate:

Integrity and fairness to embody UN values and promote the well-being of all individuals regardless of gender, religion, race, nationality, or age.

Technical/Functional:

Ability to work as a team
Ability to lead strategic planning, result-based management and reporting

Managerial:

Ability to build strong relationships with external actors - cultivate productive relationships with donors, partners and other important institutions and individuals.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Excellent presentation skills.
Ability to anticipate and understand client needs, formulate clear strategic plans, prioritize interventions, and allocate resources according to priorities.
Ability to develop innovative solutions – encourage and contribute creative solutions to address challenging situations
Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment.

Behavior:

Cultural sensitivity and adaptability: communicate effectively with and relate to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from others’ perspectives.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in Environmental fields, Environmental Economics, Business Administration or similar field.

Experience:

At least 8-10 years of relevant experience in development work, which should include programme management, preferably with an extended specialized experience in any of the GEF-SGP focal areas at the national level.
A track record in autonomously writing policy/national papers or reports in a concise, clear and adequate manner.
In-depth knowledge on environment vertical funds, global funding mechanism as well as relevant UN conventions, in addition to Sustainable Development Goals (Goals 6, 11, 12, and 15).
Broader understanding of the development of environment civil society/ and organizations in Kosovo and in the region is considered an advantage.

Language requirements:

Fluency in English with excellent written and oral communications skills.

Application Instructions:

Click on the "Apply now" button;
Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation; you can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box;
Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload your Resume;
System will only allow one attachment. All docs (CV; P11; financial offer; list of similar profiles should be included as one attachment).
Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.