Background

Please note!

Your Proposal (max 10 MB) preferably to be submitted by email to: procurement.kz@undp.org with the indication of Ref.2018-0021 in the subject line not later than July 10, 2018.

For detailed information on the position, please refer to the Procurement Notice and Terms of Reference.

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing to the following e-mail: zhanetta.babasheva@undp.org copying meruyert.bolyssayeva@undp.org

Background:

The government's commitment to mainstreaming the green economy agenda into national development is reflected in the adoption of a Green Economy Concept in May 2013 in response to the 2012 Rio+20 'Earth Summit', the subsequent launching of a Green Bridge initiative and the planned establishment of the Green Technology Center at the EXPO site in 2017. Still, important questions remain on the integrated and sustainable management of the environment.

Kazakhstan suffers from serious legacy effects on the environment dating back to the former Soviet Union, including pollution and contamination associated with industrial waste from the hydrocarbon sector, overuse of pesticides in agriculture, and radioactive contamination of soil stemming from 456 nuclear tests conducted at Semipalatinsk from 1949 through 1989.

According to the IEA (International Energy Agency) Report, CO2 outlook (2015), Energy sector of Kazakhstan is the 25th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. CO2 emissions per capita continue to rise, with fuel combustion accounting for 82.04 per cent of total emissions (National GHG Inventory Report, 2015). The current policy environment, notably the lack of post-tax carbon prices that reflect the full social and environmental costs of producing and burning fossil fuels (and a similar gap in pricing water) poses an important obstacle to environmental sustainability and more efficient use of natural resources. As a result, energy efficiency is 2.4 times below the world average.

FAO estimates the total area of degraded lands in Kazakhstan to encompass roughly three quarters of the country, it is about 180 mln. hectares of the lands. A significant share of the population of about 46% is living on such land (UNDP & GEF, Economy of Degraded Lands in Kazakhstan, 2015). The main zones of ecological stress and land degradation are in the Aral and Caspian regions in western parts and the abandoned cereal growing areas in the northern region of the country. The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth largest inland water body, but it has in recent decades shrunk to less than one-third of its former size and broke into the Large and Small Aral Seas, with the latter located within Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has recently made progress in developing its institutional framework for sustainable development. The concept of Green Economy enjoys substantial political support, with the President leading the Green Economy Council. The government is keenly promoting several flagship policy areas, notably increasing renewable energy supply, improving water efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

UNDP Kazakhstan’s contribution in the field of environment and energy efficiency is provided through Country Programme Outcome 1.3 “Ecosystems and natural resources are protected and sustainably used, and human settlements are resilient to natural and human-induced disasters and climate change”. The proposed evaluation will assess the country programme outcome in this practice area and related outputs.

UNDP in Kazakhstan aims to evaluate its contribution during CPD 2016-2020 cycle to the achievement of the Outcome on International Cooperation and take stock of previous efforts and lessons learnt. An outcome evaluation assesses how and why an outcome is or is not being achieved in Kazakhstan’s context and the role UNDP has played. It is also intended to clarify underlying factors affecting the development situation, identify unintended consequences (positive and negative), generate lessons learned and recommend actions to improve performance in future programming and partnership development. Outcome evaluation also should be able to answer whether UNDP supported the Government of Kazakhstan in meeting the National Strategy of Kazakhstan 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The outcome evaluation will be conducted in 2018 with a view to contributing to the preparation of the new UNDP country programme starting from 2021.

The overall purpose of the outcome evaluation will be to assess how UNDP’s programme results contributed, together with the assistance of partners, to a change in development conditions. The purpose of the proposed evaluation is to measure UNDP’s contribution to the outcome outlined above with a view to fine-tune the current UNDP programme, providing the most optimal portfolio balance and structure for the rest of the CPD 2016-2020 as well as informing the next programming cycle.

Duties and Responsibilities

The evaluation will cover UNDP CPD Outcomes 1.3 under current UN PFD in Kazakhstan for 2016-2020. This outcome evaluation will assess progress towards the outcome, the factors affecting the outcome, key UNDP contributions to outcomes and assess the partnership strategy. The evaluation will also assess the portfolio alignment and its relevance to the UN PFD in Kazakhstan for 2016-2020.

Projects implemented during the period 2016 – 2018 to be evaluated within the CPD Outcome “Ecosystems and natural resources are protected, and sustainably used, and human settlements are resilient to natural and man-made disasters and climate change”.

There are 13 projects contributed to the achievement of the Outcome in the following environmental areas:

Area of natural resources management:

  • Improving sustainability of the PA system in desert ecosystems through promotion of   biodiversity-compatible livelihoods in and around PAs (2013-2017)
  • FSP Improvement of the decision-making process in Kazakhstan through introduction of mechanisms of economic assessment of fulfilling national obligations under global environmental agreements (2014-2017)
  • Supporting Kazakhstan's transition to a "Green Economy" model" (2015-2018)
  • Supporting sustainable land management in steppe and semi-arid zones through integrated territorial planning and agro-environmental incentives (2015-2020)
  • Providing Assistance to the Government of Republic of Kazakhstan to Implement the Green Economy Transition Concept of Republic of Kazakhstan and Institutionalize the Green Bridge Partnership Programme (2015-2017)

Area of climate change and chemicals:

  • Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions for Low-carbon Urban Development (2015-2019)
  • Energy Efficiency Lighting (2012-2017)
  • City of Almaty Sustainable Transport (2011-2017)
  • Improvement of the system of housing relations to increase the investment attractiveness and development of small and medium business in the sphere of housing and public utilities (2017-2019)
  • Leapfrogging markets to high efficiency products (appliances, including lighting, and electrical equipment) (2017-2022)
  • NIP update, integration of POPs into national planning and promoting sound healthcare waste management in Kazakhstan (2013-2017)
  • Minamata Initial Assessment for Kazakhstan (2017-2019)
  • Development of Kazakhstan’s National Communication to the UNFCCC and Biennial Report (2014-2018)

For detailed Scope of Work, please refer to the Terms of Refernce.

Competencies

Professionalism

  • Good knowledge of the UNDP system and UNDP country programming processes (CPD/CPAP);
  • Specialized experience and/or methodological/technical knowledge, including data collection and analytical skills, mainstreaming HRBA and gender to programming;
  • Results Based Management (RBM) principles, logic modelling/logical framework analysis, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, and participatory approaches.

Communications

  • Good communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to write reports, conduct studies and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in social science, economics, or related field.

Experience

  • 7 years of the relevant professional experience; previous experience with CPD/CPAP evaluations and/or reviews including previous substantive research experience and involvement in monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, result-based management (preferably in environmental);
  • Practical experience in Eastern Europe and CIS region and/or knowledge of the development issues in Middle Income Countries is an asset.

Language Requirements

  • Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of Russian is an asset; 
  • Excellent report writing skills as well as communication skills. 

The candidates must submit proposal, including the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  • Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
  • Personal CV and/or UNDP P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
  • Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
  • Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  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.

and send to procurement.kz@undp.org, indicating Ref.2018-0021 in the email subject not later than July10th 2018.

Application Procedure: Only full submitted application will be considered!!! GTC can be found here.