UNDP Jobs - 81514- Chief Technical Advisor (CTA)

Chief Technical Advisor (CTA)

Location :

Home Based with visits to Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

24-Oct-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

November 1, 2018 – October 31, 2019 (up to 60 man/days and 3 missions)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 330 man/days during 7 years 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

In April 2018, GCF board secretariat approved a 7-year (August 2018- July 2025) project for Georgia entitled: “Scaling-up Multi-Hazard Early Warning System and the Use of Climate Information in Georgia” (hereafter GCF project). The project will be implemented under National Implementation Modality (NIM) with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MoEPA playing) an executing entity’s/implementing partner’s role for it.

An overall objective of the project is to reduce exposure of Georgia’s communities, livelihoods and infrastructure to climate-induced natural hazards through a well-functioning nation-wide multi-hazard early warning system and risk-informed local action. The GCF project will provide critical climate risk information that would enable the Government of Georgia to implement a number of nation-wide transformative policies and actions for reducing exposure and vulnerability of the population to climate-induced hazards. The project will thus catalyze a paradigm shift in the national climate risk management, climate-proofed disaster risk reduction and early warning approaches. The project innovation and transformative change will also include (a) participatory “Last Mile” communication solutions tailored to the needs of local communities, including CBEWSs; (b) increasing implementation capacities for carrying out cost-effective risk reduction and community resilience measures through such innovative approaches as watershed/floodplain restoration, agroforestry, etc., and combination of structural and non-structural protection measures aimed at reducing exposure and increasing effectiveness of the early warning; (c) combining best available science and local knowledge for vulnerability assessment, hazard and risk mapping, disaster modelling and forecasting; (d) (e) carrying out a comprehensive community, municipal and national-wide awareness raising, education and capacity development activities on multi-hazard risk reduction, including preparedness, response and EWSs. Furthermore, the project will benefit from SDC funded project to be implemented by UNDP in parallel with the project with major objective of developing the nation-wide hazard and risk mapping. More specifically, the project will assist national government in developing capacities and regulatory/legal frameworks for multi-hazard mapping and risk assessment and contribute to establishment of effective multi-hazard early warning, through: 1. Development of unified multi-hazard mapping and risk assessment methodology; 2. Setting up institutional and regulatory frameworks for hazard and risk assessments, 3. Nation-wide multi-hazard mapping and risk assessment with relevant capacity building and 4. Enhancing municipal capacities for multi-hazard risk informed preparedness and response planning.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) will be responsible for providing overall technical backstopping to the Projects funded by GCF and SDC. He/She will render technical support to the National Project Coordinators, project staff, Project Executive Board and government counterparts. The Chief Technical Advisor will work under the overall guidance of and direct supervision from Environment and Energy Team Leader of the UNDP CO.

With support of the National Project Coordinators, the CTA will ensure all necessary advisory support in order to smoothly implement the project and also provide guidance on the implementation of the Projects activities as well as for the parallel co-financing initiatives.

The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) will provide the following services:

Provide advice on managerial issues to project team, e.g. development of annual work plans, procurement plan, major project revisions, identifying project risks and elaborating relevant management responses;
Provide technical expertise/advice and strategic guidance for all project components/activities, including multi-hazard mapping, risk assessment, hydrometric monitoring, MHEWS, capacity development and setting of national institutions, development of community-based early warning systems and implementing risk reduction processes, etc.
In collaboration with the National Project Coordinators develop inception, annual progress and terminal reports;
Assume quality control of interventions, and support the Project Managers in the coordination of the implementation of planned activities under the project as stipulated in the project document/work plan;
Support development and implementation of alternative livelihood options and land rehabilitation activities in Gishwati ecosystem;
Provide technical expertise in undertaking project impact and risk/vulnerability assessment of target communities
Ensure that technical contracts meet the highest standards - provide input into development of Terms of Reference for sub-contracts, assist with selection process, recommend best approaches, provide technical peer function to sub-contractors; provide training and backstopping where necessary
Assist the Project Managers and other monitoring team in monitoring of project indicators and targets against Results and Resources Framework (RRF) and adjusting it
Provide on-demand advice to the UNDP management and Environment and Energy Team Leader, National Project Director and relevant government counterparts on project related issues and in strategic areas of CCA/CRM, MHEWS, etc.
Contribute to mid-term and terminal evaluation of the projects
Assist the NPC in adjusting the project Results Framework, as required and in line with corporate requirements;
Assist the project in learning and knowledge management;
Document lessons from project implementation and make recommendations to the Project Board for more effective implementation and coordination of project activities.

Deliverables:

CTA should provide the following reports according to the UNDP format:

Vision of the assignment to be prepared in cooperation with the National Project Coordinators; The CTA will prepare an inception report which details his/her understanding of the consultancy work and how he/she will deliver on the assignment. The report should include the scope of work, workplan and a timeframe (10- 15 pages) and is expected after one week of his/her first mission;
Progress reports after every mission or major activity undertaken by the CTA;
Terminal compiled report, including lessons learned which incorporates the comments (30-50 pages)

Payments will be authorized and processed based on completed time sheets and his/her mission reports prepared on a bi-monthly basis.

Duration of the assignment:

The consultancy is expected to allocate up to 330 working days, that will be distributed throughout the project duration (approximately 7 years). The contract will be renewed on an annual basis, upon satisfactory performance by the CTA and certification by the UNDP Georgia Environment and Energy Team Leader. In average CTA will allocate 5 man/days monthly and be available for missions to Georgia.

Initial contract will be signed for the period of 1 calendar year, starting from November 1, 2018 and ending on October 31, 2019. The first year will cover 60man/days and 3 missions to Georgia.

Payment Modality:

The CTA will be paid (occurring every two months) the consultancy fee based on the actual days worked (average 5 man/days per month), upon submission of completed and signed timesheets and consultants’ mission reports and clearance of these documents by the UNDP Georgia through the Environment and Energy Team Leader.

Documents to be included when submitting the applications:

Interested individuals must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Motivation Letter
Detailed Curriculum Vitae including details of past experience in similar projects/fields.
1-2 technical reports/assessments/studies developed by the candidate in English

NOTE: While submitting your application, please be aware that program enables to upload ONLY one document, therefore please unite both required documents (CV and 1-2 technical reports/assessments/studies) and upload as one file.

Competencies

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

Functional Competencies:

Good knowledge technical area;
Excellent report writing skills;
Actively generates creative, practical approaches and solutions to overcome challenging situations;
Ability to work effectively within strict timeframe;
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (at least M. Sc. or equivalent – Minimum Qualification Criterion: 5 points) in the area of Environmental Science, Climatology, Hydrometeorology or other relevant field relevant university degree

Experience:

At least 10 years of professional experience of which at least 5 years at international level in the fields of Climate Risk Mitigation (CRM), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), climatology, hydrology, meteorology, EWS (Minimum Qualification Criterion: 10 points)
At least 5 years of experience in project development and implementation (Minimum Qualification Criterion: 10 points)
Proven experience in drafting technical reports or scientific papers (Minimum Qualification Criterion: 10 points)
Proven experience in provision of consultancy and drafting TORs/scope of works in either of the following fields: CCA, CRM, including EWS, hydrometeorology (8 points)
Experience of advisory work for Georgia but at least in CIS countries is a strong advantage (7 points)
Demonstrated monitoring and evaluation skills

Language Requirement:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

Evaluation:

Offerors will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method, against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum total obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria (desk review and interview) equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet any of the Minimum Requirements will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. Technical evaluation will comprise of desk review and interview stages. Candidates who collect 70% (35 points) of points obtainable as a result of the desk review will form up short list and be invited to the interview. Offerors passing 70% threshold as a result of the interview (i.e. obtain minimum of 14 points) will be recommended for financial evaluation.

Financial Proposal:

Financial proposal should include all assignment-related costs, such as consultancy fees, travel, etc. that will formulate the total amount of the Contract. Financial proposal should include clear breakdown of the mentioned costs, with indication of the total amount at the end.