Background

The Development Policy Bureau (DPB) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  DPB staff provide technical advice to Country Offices; advocate for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  DPB works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response.  DPB ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. DPB assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  DPB supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP provides technical support to developing countries to deliver on, and contribute to, sustainable development and resilience-building in the context of the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Action.  In the area of climate change, UNDP’s services to countries focus on implementation of the Paris Agreement, and specifically implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which outline countries’ self-defined targets to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, as a critical contribution to the 2030 Agenda. UNDP is currently finalizing a UNDP NDC Strategy which analyzes countries’ critical barriers to achieving the Paris Agreement and identifies key support areas that UNDP can provide to address these barriers.  This Strategy will be a direct contribution to the UN Joint Approach on NDCs, endorsed by the Secretary General.  Under this one-UN approach, UNDP has been tasked to lead implementation of NDCs at the country level, helping to facilitate coordination among UN Agencies and other partners. 

UNDP’s support on climate change build on an extensive portfolio of mitigation and adaptation projects and programmes for which UNDP provides oversight, quality assurance, and global and regional policy and technical advisory services.  One of these flagship programmes is the NDC Support Programme, providing direct financial and technical support to 31 countries on NDC implementation in the context of national development priorities.  This Programme seeks to enhance the capacities of public- and private-sector actors to deliver on NDC targets through strengthened climate governance; implementation of mitigation actions and mid-century low-emission development strategies (LEDS); engagement of private sector; and improved investment environments.  It provides support for development of NDC implementation plans, strengthening of monitoring systems, and mainstreaming of gender-responsive approaches.  The Programme also collects and disseminations best practices and lessons learned to advance global progress on NDC implementation, including through its global NDC Hub. This support builds on its predecessor, UNDP's Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme, which had provided support to countries on LEDS, mitigation actions, monitoring systems, and related areas from 2011-2017.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED WORK

UNDP seeks to recruit a NDC Technical Specialist who will support the organization of NDC events at the regional and global level to help the Programme deliver high-quality discussions while ensuring the necessary visibility of UNDP, donors and key partners. He/she will contribute to event organization, knowledge reports, communication materials and carry out analytical work on targeted areas of interest for the Programme. Reporting to the Programme Manager of the NDC Support Programme, the consultant will:

1. Support the organization of NDC meetings and conferences at the global and regional level (60%)

  • Support the planning and execution of NDC meetings (e.g., prepare and send invitations, track registrations, collect participant documents, etc.) (March 2019 to March 2020);
  • Oversee the logistic-related activities of the NDC events (e.g., visa support, budget tracking, etc.) (March 2019 to March 2020);
  • Track, consolidate and analyze data of participants and maintain databases (March 2019 to March 2020);
  • Support the design of NDC meeting format to optimize peer-to-peer learning and south-south exchange (March 2019 to March 2020);
  • Support the planning of breakout sessions for targeted discussions (March 2019 to March 2020);
  • Consolidate and analyze national experiences from NDC meetings (May 2019 to March 2020).

2. Support knowledge sharing and learning development (30%)

  • Contribute to the development of knowledge products (e.g., summary documents, blogs, etc.) (April 2019 to January 2020);
  • Support the preparation of case studies and lessons learned based on the NDC work carried out at country level (July 2019 to March 2020);
  • Prepare briefing materials, presentations, and contributions to Programme materials related to NDC implementation (March 2019 to March 2020).

3. Carry out analytical work on targeted areas to provide inputs to the NDC Support Programme (10%)

  • Consolidate and analyze country challenges, needs, current status and planned efforts on NDC implementation based on NDC regional and global events (March 2019 to February 2020);
  • Compile and analyze country information to support Programme team with the preparation of reports to donors, which will include a summary of progress, findings and challenges (March 2019 to March 2020);
  • Develop a mechanism(s) to foster key stakeholder partnerships for continued collaboration post-NDC events (March 2019 to January 2020).

Competencies

Functional

  • Good understanding of thematic areas of climate change, as well as of climate change groundwork in countries (in particular, countries under the NDC Support Programme);
  • Good understanding of UNDP rules and regulations, particularly as they relate to project development and implementation;
  • Demonstrated experience working with UNDP and/or other multilateral, bilateral and civil society development partners is an asset;
  • Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with key stakeholders involved in climate change;
  • Excellent analytical, writing, and communications skills; and
  • Demonstrated ability to take initiative, work in an independent manner and across time-zones.

Corporate Competencies

  • Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP's values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN/UNDP; and
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

  • Master’s degree in sustainable development, environment, climate change or related fields is required.

Experience:

  • At least 3 years of work experience in relevant areas (climate change, NDCs, sustainable development) is required;
  • Demonstrated experience in organizing at least 5 large international workshops with numerous partners on NDCs or related climate change topics is required;
  • At least 2 years of experience developing knowledge products and communication materials on NDCs or related climate change topics is required;
  • At least 2 years of experience in financial and procurement processes is required;
  • Experience working with international institutions including UN agencies on NDCs is an asset;
  • Knowledge of UNDP/UN regulations, policies, procedures and practices, including knowledge in Atlas, is an asset.

Language:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
  • French and/or Spanish is highly desired.

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

  • Online application with brief description of why the Offeror considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment; and
  • Personal CV indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

  • The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
  • The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
  • Any unforeseeable travel agreed between UNDP and Individual Consultant, will be supported by the project travel fund and will be arranged according to UNDP entitlements and travel policy.Costs for airfares, terminal expenses, and living allowances should not be included in financial proposal.
  • If the 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 a 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.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
  • Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation (desk review plus interview) - Total 70% (70 points):

  • Criteria 1. Demonstrated experience in planning and organizing large-scale international events on NDCs or related climate change topics. Maximum Points: 20;
  • Criteria 2. Demonstrated expertise managing complex set of financial and organizational matters and knowledge of Atlas procedures. Maximum Points: 10;
  • Criteria 3. Demonstrated experience facilitating knowledge exchanges and production of knowledge and communication materials on NDCs or related climate change topics. Maximum Points: 10;
  • Criteria 4. Experience working with international institutions including UN agencies on NDCs Maximum Points: 10;
  • Working proficiency of French and Spanish.Maximum Points: 5

  • Criteria 5. Interview. Maximum Points: 15.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of at least 38.5 points out of 55 points in the desk review will be considered for interview.

The candidate with a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

  • p = y (µ/z), where
  • p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
  • y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
  • µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
  • z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award

The candidate obtaining the highest combined scores of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into a contract with UNDP.

Institutional arrangements

  • The consultant will be home-based;
  • The consultant will be supervised by and report directly to the NDC Support Programme Manager;
  • Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked and outputs delivered;
  • The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
  • The consultant will be responsible for providing her/his laptop;
  • Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the NDC Support Programme Manager; 
  • Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;  
  • The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
  • The selected candidate is responsible for ensuring that s/he has the necessary vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
  • The selected candidate is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
  • All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be arranged according to UNDP entitlements and travel policy. 

Payment modality

  • Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked and deliverables accepted, and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
  • The workweek will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):