Background

Myanmar has embarked on a major transition towards democracy, market style economy and peace. Myanmar has low middle-income status (LMIC) and is committed to lifting itself out of Least Developed Country (LDC) status within the next seven years. Following the implementation of the first ever UNDP Country Programme during 2013-2017 and as a key development partner of the government of Myanmar, UNDP will implement a new UNDP Country Programme for the period 2018-2022, striving to deliver on a large and relevant programme portfolio that is responsive to the main development challenges facing the country. 

The UNDP Myanmar Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Team anchors UNDP’s programme portfolio in these areas of sustainable and inclusive growth issues (including economic growth, environment, climate change and disaster risk reduction) and provides thought leadership on cross-cutting development issues in Myanmar, and globally, to ensure that UNDP’s mandate of convening development partners in support of the national development agenda, informed by a commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, is amplified by internal knowledge, research, and stand-out policy advice.

Given the importance of enhancing the local resilience through thematic and practical integration of DRR and CCA in a wider development context of Myanmar, UNDP developed a project concept (PIF) “Reducing Climate Vulnerability of Coastal Communities of Myanmar through an Ecosystem-based approach” in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) and in consultations with the relevant line ministries/departments and Rakhine State Government. The PIF, approved by GEF secretariat, focuses on mainstreaming Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EBA) into local planning processes to foster sustainability transitions.

A Project Preparation Grant (PPG) has been obtained to carry out necessary analyses and prepare the full-fledge project proposal. In order to ensure the results of the project preparation work, UNDP is seeking an international specialist for project development as a PPG Team Leader to produce a project document along with a set of relevant evidence based analyses for submission to the GEF. The approved PIF will be the basis for developing a fully formulated project proposal. The proposed project anticipates activities to;

1. Mainstream EBA into sub-national and national development policies, laws, and institutional functions;

2. Strengthen the capacities and knowledge of broad stakeholder groups required for employing effective and participatory EBA to enhance the local social and ecological resilience; and

3. Link EBA activities to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) efforts such as community-based DRR and people-centered Early Warning Systems (EWS) and lessons documentation to be shared with the wider public and stakeholders.

In doing so, the project will introduce EBA as an integral component in the country’s approach to climate change adaptation, thereby strengthening recognition of the importance of natural ecosystems for climate change risk management, as well as maintenance of socio-economic benefits and conservation of biodiversity.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Chief of Unit (Sustainable and Inclusive Growth) and technical support of the UNDP-GEF Technical Advisor, the GEF Project Design Specialist will be the GEF PPG Team Leader and will be responsible for quality assurance and timely preparation of all reports and documentation, including the finalized UNDP Project Document (ProDoc) and CEO Endorsement Request, with all mandatory and project specific Annexes and supporting documentation. S/he will be responsible for coordinating the GEF PPG Team’s work and managing all consultants, working closely with M&E and Project Technical Coordinator. S/he will take a lead role in designing project activities that promote EBA drawing on technical analyses of biodiversity threats and conservation needs as well as a quick institutional mapping. The International Project Design Specialist will carry out the following tasks;

1. Overall management of the GEF PPG Team
2. Preparatory Technical Studies and Reviews (Component A): With inputs from the other national and international consultants, as detailed in their respective TORs:
3. Formulation of the ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request and Mandatory and Project Specific Annexes (Component B): With inputs from the other national and international consultants, as detailed in their respective TORs, and based on international best practice:
4. Validation Workshp (Component-C)
5. Final Deliverables;

Preparation of this key deliverable will include quality control and final formulation of the following indicative sections of a UNDP/GEF compliant project document:

• Theory of Change (The detailed theory of change (ToC), based on the studies and data collection undertaken in Component A, will be developed.)

• Results Framework

• Monitoirng and Evaluation (M&E) Plan and Budget

• Stakeholder Engagement Plan

• Gender Action Plan and Budget

• Social and Environmental Standards

• GEF Tracking Tool(s)

• Project Management Arrangements

• Completion of the required official endorsement letters (including the official letters on co-financing guarantee(s) from participating government institutions, bilateral development partners, multilateral development partners, NGOs, private sector, or others who wish to provide cash or in-kind contributions to the project)

Please find detail as following Procurement Notice Link: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=51171

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP.

Functional competencies:

• Development and Operational Effectiveness:
• Ability to contribute to strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Demonstrates practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP. 

Client Orientation:

• Maintains relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude; 
• Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure.
• Excellent reporting skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education: 

• Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field, such as natural resources management, environmental economics, environmental governance, environmental science or conservation or related field;

Experience: 

• Minimum 10 years of demonstrable experience in designing and developing high quality UNDP and GEF biodiversity conservation/Climate Change Adaptation projects (direct project formulation and management is preferable).

• Knowledge of GEF, UNDP policies, procedures and practices (including Social and Environmental Screening and Gender Analysis) and working experience with international organizations or GEF funded projects is a must;

• Work experience in Myanmar is an asset;

• Demonstrated strategic technical and intellectual skills in the substantive area;

• Demonstrated leadership, facilitation and coordination skills, ability to manage technical team and long term strategic partnership;

• Proven ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.

• Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills

• Past track record/Ability to work independently, deliver timely and quality products, and

• Computer proficiency, especially related to professional office software packages (Microsoft Office)

Language skills: 

• Excellent English language skills with strong technical writing skills, effective oral and communication skills