Antecedentes

The project aims to support the adoption of solar PV technology for water pumping for irrigation in agriculture in Sudan, particularly in the North State. Adoption of renewable energies has been identified as a priority in Sudan, as is reduction of dependence on fossil fuels which are imported. The application of solar PV to pumping has been on a relatively limited scale globally, but is seeing increased commercial interest in the past years. Solar PV technology in general is not widespread in Sudan.

The project includes four components: the development of pilot projects as a demonstration of the viability of the technology and an accompanying financing mechanism for continued finance of projects; development of standards and guidelines to promote quality and sustainability of water pumping; development of a NAMA to support solar water pumping; and developing a supporting environment to encourage scaling up and further replication.

The project aims to help Sudan and Sudanese farmers reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, reduce their cost of production (via decreased diesel expenditures), increase the sustainability of water use, and increase their income. Give that agriculture is a main component of the economy in Sudan, the project will help increase Sudan’s energy security and decouple its GDP from fluctuations in fossil fuel prices and availability. The project has been designed to play a catalytic role in the transformational scaling up of solar power for productive use in Sudan’s agricultural sector.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The MTR will assess progress towards the achievement of the project objectives and outcomes as specified in the Project Document, and assess early signs of project success or failure with the goal of identifying the necessary changes to be made in order to set the project on-track to achieve its intended results. The MTR will also review the project’s strategy, its risks to sustainability.

The MTR must provide evidence based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The MTR team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Environmental & Social Safeguard Policy, the Project Document, project reports including Annual Project Review/PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based review). The MTR team will review the baseline GEF focal area Tracking Tool submitted to the GEF at CEO endorsement, and the midterm GEF focal area Tracking Tool that must be completed before the MTR field mission begins.

The MTR team is expected to follow a collaborative and participatory approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), the UNDP Country Office(s), UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisers, and other key stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful MTR. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to:

• Ministry of Environment, Forestry & Natural Resources;
• Affairs - Ministry of Petroleum;
• Higher Council for Environment & Natural Resources;
• National Energy Research Centre – Ministry of Sciences and Communications;
• General Directorate of Renewable and Alternative Energy;
• Project Board members;
• Universities and energy related institutions.

Competencias

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;
• Ability to work with a multi-cultural and diverse team.

Functional Competencies:

• Experience working in the Arab Region;
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios;
• Excellent communication skills with various partners including donors in English;
• Project evaluation/review experiences;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Demonstrable analytical skills.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in energy, environment, climate or other closely related field.

Experience

• Recent experience with result-based management evaluation methodologies;
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios;
• Competence in adaptive management, as applied to Climate Change Mitigation;
• Experience working with the GEF or GEF-evaluations;
• Experience working in Arab region;
• Work experience in relevant technical areas for at least ;
• Demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and Climate Change Mitigation; experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Demonstrable analytical skills;
• Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system will be considered an asset.

Language

• English.