Background

Due to their small size and narrow resource bases, Small Island Development States (SIDS) are import-dependent economies. On a per capita basis, waste generation in SIDS is rising. In 2014 it was slightly lower than in OECD countries (1.29 kg/capita/day, compared to 1.35 kg/capita/day), but as of 2019 is 2.3 kg/capita/day, 48% higher than that of OECD countries.

As SIDS progress import-dependent development pathways, the quantities and variety of products that are being imported (ranging from mercury containing thermometers to plastic [food] packaging, from second hand electronic products to motor vehicles, from agricultural chemicals to industrial chemicals) is rapidly increasing. This is leading to the generation of a large variety of different types of hazardous and toxic wastes which SIDS do not have the technical capacity or required treatment facilities to address alone. Waste volumes are also increasing due to changing consumption patterns, and the disposal of these growing levels of imports of non-biodegradable materials. The disposal of non-biodegradable materials, and industrial and agricultural chemicals pose an increasing challenge. 

The remoteness of the Indian Ocean SIDS makes the export and logistics of recyclables and hazardous wastes challenging and costly. The tourism sector and related job opportunities are important to the Indian Ocean SIDS economies but come with the challenges of increased waste volumes (in particular plastics), especially during tourism peak seasons. Waste management and recycling systems currently in place often cannot deal with the increase in supply/demand. In addition, the agricultural sector and health care sector also come with their challenges, as a significant number of products used in these sectors end up generating hazardous wastes and/or lead to chemical emissions to air, water and soil. 

Priorities that are common among Indian Ocean SIDS and that will be addressed through the ISLANDS programme applying national and regional approaches, include:

• Improving import and export control of hazardous chemicals and products containing them;
• Implementing integrated national and regional waste management systems focusing on Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM), Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) and hazardous wastes (including PCBs, POPs containing products like e-waste, end-of-life vehicles, etc.);
• Building capacity for the assessment and introduction of safer/greener alternatives in supply chains (agriculture, tourism, health care);
• Reducing marine litter by reducing waste generation and improving waste management systems;
• Phasing-out Hg/POPs-containing products.

The main systematic challenges and associated drivers that pose environmental threats in the Indian Ocean SIDS from hazardous chemicals and their wastes, are the following: 

• The import control of products, materials and chemicals of concern (including unregulated pesticides, single-use plastics, and POPs/Hg-containing products) needs to be strengthened through improved regional/national regulatory/policy frameworks and improved capacity of customs and enforcement agencies which monitor imports/exports of products. 
• Hazardous waste generation rates need to be reduced in priority economic sectors (tourism, agriculture, health, manufacturing and electricity generation especially); and the management, treatment and/or disposal of such wastes need to be improved at all levels through engagement of private sector, island communities (especially women in the agricultural sector) introducing feasible BEP/BAT solutions and unlocking national, regional and international financing for required infrastructure and its sustainable operation. Addressing these challenges would lead to the safe management and disposal of existing chemicals, products and materials of concern. 
• Development of appropriate fiscal tools and incentives is required to a) generate revenues to support long-term implementation of sustainable chemicals’ control and management policies, b) trigger private finance and investment to support sustainable chemicals’ use and management, and to support prevention of build-up of chemicals in the environment, c) enhance access to finance through engagement of the private and public investment community, and d) support Regional/ National green procurement fiscal systems for priority economic sectors.
• Market-based opportunities for the cost-effective and efficient national and/or regional recovery, disposal and export of selected hazardous waste streams need to be identified and implemented in partnerships with private sector operators, investors and government partners. An enabling fiscal environment is required in combination with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanisms for priority products to financially sustain long-term disposal/treatment mechanisms. Addressing these challenges would enable the safe management of products entering Indian Ocean SIDS and closing material and product loops for products.
• Under the ISLANDS programme five (5) Child projects are planned, which includes the Indian Ocean Child project.  These Child projects will be coordinated by a global Child project (implemented by UNEP) on Coordination, Knowledge Management and Communication. The Indian Ocean child project consists of  one  (1)  regional  component  and  four  (4)  NIM  sub-projects (Union of Comoros – hereinafter Comoros – Maldives,  Mauritius  and  Seychelles)  which  will  be  implemented  by  the  respective  national  governments  using  in-country  UNDP  CO  support.  Regional activities and coordination between the Indian Ocean SIDS will be ensured through a regional component, which will be coordinated from a South-South cooperation hub (its location will be decided at the PPG phase). The hub will receive technical backstopping from the UNDP Montreal Protocol Unit/Chemicals based in Bangkok (Asia-Pacific Regional Centre) and Istanbul (Regional Hub).

In order to support the development of detailed country projects in partnership with the Governments of the Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles as well as the design and planning of regional joint Indian Ocean SIDS activities, UNDP requires the support of a PPG Phase International Technical Coordinator to support the Project Preparation Grant (PPG) phase of the Indian Islands Child project of the GEF ISLANDS Programme. 

By providing technical guidance to four (4) national PPG phase coordinators and national PPG teams in Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles, the objective of this assignment is to coordinate the process of programme/project design and ensure the preparation and finalization of the UNDP/GEF Project Documents (ProDocs) for each of the four (4) SIDS as well as regional activities, the GEF CEO endorsement documents and other supporting documents (GEF Indicators, RIO makers, Social and Environmental Screening Procedures (SESP/ESMF), gender action plans among others) required for approval by the GEF, the Governments of Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles and UNDP.

Environmental Safeguards Management Frameworks (ESMFs) will be country-specific and formulated by national specialist teams, with the requirement of coordinating summary inputs in order to fulfill GEF’s SESP requirements.

Since the work in the Indian Ocean is closely interlinked with the global ISLANDS parent programme, appropriate coordination and information exchange will take place under this assignment with the parent programme as well as regional projects in two other regions (Pacific and Caribbean). This will require fulfilling requirements from the lead authors of the ISLANDS parent programme and the GEF in terms of information inputs to the parent programme.

The International Coordinator will be supervised by the Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles UNDP Country Offices and the UNDP MPU/Chemicals Regional Technical Advisors to facilitate the implementation of the PPG programme. He/she should carry out his/her tasks in accordance with the rules and procedures of UNDP and those of the Governments of Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will carry out the following tasks:

• Throughout the PPG phase, provide guidance to the four (4) national PPG coordinators and their national teams consisting of SESP, gender and economic instruments’ experts.
• Maintain regular communication with the four (4) national PPG team members and one (1) regional coordination component via phone/skype/email/whatsapp, etc., when needed and for the required duration.
• Conduct one mission of 5 days to each of the 4 project countries (Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles) to participate in PPG workshops, to meet with national project counterparts and visit priority project sites in each of the countries.
• Prepare mission reports and make recommendations that will inform the development of the Project Documents. 
• Provide overall guidance to the 4 PPG Coordinators and their national teams on the methodologies to be used for data collection, the type of information/data to be collected, the type of reports to be provided, etc. Provide similar guidance to the regional UNDP team based in Istanbul on the design and information requirements for the regional coordination component.
• Prepare five (5) annotated outlines (preliminary documents) of the Project Documents with a clear indication of the information that is required for each of the sections and the information that is to be provided by the project team members (national and international consultants).
• Draft five (5) UNDP/GEF Project Documents in English based on input received from the 4 PPG national coordinators and their specialist teams, and from a team responsible for the regional coordination component.
• Draft one (1) regional CEO endorsement document for the Indian Ocean child programme in line with the GEF requirements and in coordination with the lead agency (UN Environment) of the parent programme and other partner agencies.
• Complete one (1) regional CEO endorsement document, and five (5) final UNDP/GEF Project Documents, and associated annexes (SESPs, GEF Indicators Tools, RIO markers, Management Arrangements, Budget, Gender Action Plans etc.) taking into account the feedback/comments from the validation workshop/s and from UNDP’s internal review. All documents must be prepared in English.
• Prepare draft responses and adjust the GEF document submission package and its annexes in response to questions/comments received from the GEF Secretariat, GEF Council Members and the STAP.

Duration

The contract will enter into effect upon signature by both parties and is expected to span over a duration of 15 (fifteen) months. The consultant is expected to start in September 2019.

Travel requirements

The consultant shall overall perform his/her functions remotely but will be in regular contact with the four (4) national PPG coordinators and other national and international consultants by electronic and other means. 

The consultant will be required to undertake at least five (5) missions planned as follows: 

• One mission of 5 days each to the capitals of each project country – Moroni/Comoros, Male/Maldives, Port Louis/Mauritius, and Victoria/Seychelles, with additional visits to projects sites as deemed necessary in each country (5 working days for each country in total).
• One mission of 3 days to Port Louis/Mauritius to participate in a sub-regional PPG validation workshop.
• Additional duty travel/s to participate in project meetings may be requested by the UNDP IRH over the duration of the assignment within the estimated workload. 

Schedule of payments and expected outputs

The total number of days of work is estimated at approximately 120 working days. The breakdown below corresponds to expected outputs and schedule of payments as follows:

10% of payment upon submission of the inception report including the following activities/documents (approx. 10 working days; due date – 30 September 2019):

• Prepare a PPG work plan for each of the 4 projects laying out all the activities to be undertaken by National Coordinators and their expert teams for the full duration of the assignment. 
• Based on the UNDP-GEF template, prepare a draft outline of the Project Document for each of the five (5) projects with indicative sections that contain clear indications of the type of information required for each of the sections of the project document that will be obtained by the project team during the PPG period.

50% of payment upon submission of the interim report including the following activities/documents (approx. 80 working days; due date – 12 March 2020):

• One five (5) day mission to each of the participating countries and submission of brief mission reports.
• Drafts of five (5) UNDP/GEF Project Documents and one (1) regional CEO Endorsement document and associated annexes (SESPs, GEF Indicators, Management Arrangements, Budget, RIO Markers, Gender Action Plans etc.) in English based on inputs obtained from national expert teams. 

40% of payment upon submission of the final report including the following activities/documents (approx. 30 working days; due date – 15 December 2020):

• One mission of three (3) days to Port Louis/Mauritius to participate in a sub-regional PPG validation workshop.
• Final version of the five (5) UNDP/GEF Project Documents, one (1) regional CEO endorsement document and associated annexes (SESPs, GEF Indicators, Management Arrangements, Budget, RIO Markers, Gender Action Plans etc.) taking into account the feedback/comments from the validation workshop/s and from UNDP’s internal review. Regional component will be designed to coordinate all national components and interact with the global ISLANDS parent programme. All documents prepared in English.
• All required matrices addressing comments/specific technical issues and questions raised by the GEF Secretariat, STAP and GEF Council members for each of the countries’ submissions.

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; 
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment. 

Functional competencies:

• Ability to analyze policy documents and make constructive policy suggestions;
• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team;
• Capacity building skills and flexibility depending on the public;
• Demonstration of commitment to the Project’s mission, vision and values;
• Good writing and reporting skills;
• Good presentation skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations, and to meet tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in chemistry, engineering, environment, hazardous waste management or similar. 

Experience:

• At least 8 (eight) years of experience in the design or implementation of projects related to chemicals and/or hazardous waste management and circular economy principles in product design, recycling and waste disposal, preferably in Asia and Africa.
• At least 5 (five) years of experience in the development (management of a logical framework or similar methodologies) of environmental projects, including monitoring and evaluation activities, preferably with GEF financed projects.
• Experience and/or familiarity with UNDP, GEF and/or other GEF agencies’ projects, processes, guidelines and structure will be considered an advantage.

Languages:

• Excellent writing and oral communication skills in English.
• Fluency in French will be considered an advantage.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: 

• Responsive/ compliant/acceptable; 
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11/CV desk reviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates who receive min 70% of points in technical evaluation (Criteria A-E) will be considered for the financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points:

• Criteria A Educational background – max points: 10;
• Criteria B At least 8 years of experience in the design or implementation of projects related to chemical and/or hazardous waste management and circular economy principles in product design, recycling and waste disposal, preferably in Asia and Africa – max points: 25;
• Criteria C At least 5 years of experience in the development (management of a logical framework or similar methodologies), execution, support and management of environmental projects, including monitoring and evaluation activities, preferably with GEF financed projects – max points: 20;
• Criteria D Experience and/or familiarity with GEF and UNDP or other UN organizations’ projects, processes, guidelines and structure will be considered an advantage – max points: 10;
• Criteria E Excellent writing and oral communication skills in French – max points: 5;

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

Application procedures

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications.

Step 1: Interested candidates must include the following documents when submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document):

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the assignment 
• Three (3) samples of previous work similar to the assignment (links can be shared as well)
• Filled P11 form or CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc);

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal - Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and requested to provide a financial offer.
Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. 

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.