UNDP Jobs - 88605- Technical Assistance to Investment Development Fun

Technical Assistance to Investment Development Fund (IDF) to Enhance Green Business Finance

Location :

Home-based and Montenegro, MONTENEGRO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

16-Dec-2019

Application Deadline :

24-Nov-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

16 December 2019 - 30 June 2020

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

45 consultancy days

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

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is supporting the Government of Montenegro, specifically the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism (MSDT), to implement project “Growing Green business in Montenegro”. The project is jointly financed by the GEF, MSDT, Investment Development Fund and municipalities. The objective of the project is to promote low emission business initiatives and decarbonization of Montenegrin economy.

All activities and measures undertaken by the project will need to result in tangible greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions reduction and are to be considered from the perspective of climate smart planning. Project provides assistance in the establishment of “Eco Fund” and further development of Green Business incubator in Cetinje as well as performance based payment schemes with the goal to provide initial capital for relevant stakeholders (including public and private companies, municipalities, research-scientific institutions, civil society organizations, individuals) for initiation, development and testing of the most innovative project ideas, including the opportunity for further co-financing of the most successful solutions.

Within this context, the project should focus on understanding and recognition of policy incentive options for green businesses in agricultural, tourism and energy sectors. The goal is to enable the development of a roadmap for its further adoption and implementation in the Montenegrin policy framework and thereby contribute to a better investment environment.

In parallel project should provide support and technical assistance to enhance green business finance. The goal of this assignment is to provide technical assistance to support Investment Development Fund to align and enhance its products related to green business financing. The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical assistance to IDF in marketing, sourcing, and appraising green loan applications, to design and introduce new financial products, as well as internal policies mainstreaming green business finance in IDF’s overall portfolio.

This is especially important as part of the Montenegro EU accession efforts as the European Union is pursuing a leadership strategy on green and sustainable finance. The EU published its Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, setting out a strategy for a financial system that supports the EU’s climate and sustainable development agenda. The Action Plan lists a number of important initiatives based on the published recommendations of the High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Sustainable Finance and includes reforms that will become relevant to the Montenegro’s own ambitions on clean growth.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the assignment:

Provide technical assistance to enhance green business finance resulting in strengthened capacities within IDF to implement/enhance green business financing.

Job content:

The consultant will support improvement of the IDF’s green financing portfolio (i.e., programme for financing environmental protection, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects); and increasing their capacity to review loan offerings, update associated policies and procedures, and produce marketing to make it more attractive to end-users. Moreover, assistance will be provided to support the IDF with aligning its internal policies and regulations on mainstreaming green business finance (e.g. targets for green financing in portfolio, etc.).

The consultant will provide training to IDF’s staff to implement and market green business financing options. This activity will include tailored training seminars and on-the-job training for IDF staff on topics such as green business benefits, green business financing risks and opportunities and IDF’s green business financing portfolio. This capacity development will support and incentivize loan officers to proactively identify relevant potential projects in their respective portfolios. Loan officers receiving training in identifying and assessing CC and EE projects will be empowered to pro-actively look for such projects; this will help them to meet their targets and achieve higher annual performance. At least 10 IDF staff (and other relevant institutions) will gain skills and experience with implementation of IDF’s green financing portfolio and receive support to market it effectively.

The service provider will be expected to:

Provide technical assistance to enhance green business finance. Technical assistance will be provided to support IDF to align and enhance its products to related to green business financing.

Expected results:

Review the IDF strategy and current program in the context of green business financing, and suggest areas for improvement, if warranted, also in the context of tasks outlined below;
Assist with development of new products and propose measures (e.g, incentive schemes) to attract green initiatives to register, identify & enter in the formal economy;
Undergo a “training needs” assessment with management and staff to identify the training needs for strengthening the entire transaction cycle.
Design and conduct training for all those areas where training needs have been identified.
Design and conduct an ongoing programme of classroom seminars, workshops and on-the-job training for IDF officers, branch managers and other staff members on all relevant aspects of green financing (trainings to be provided in English and in local language on a needs basis). The trainings should include technical, organisation and soft skill knowledge.
Design and implement the “training-of-trainers” programme in order to ensure the successful delivery and sustainability of the programme; prepare a full range of staff training materials based the IDF’s products, policies and procedures, and train internal trainers in the development, use and teaching of the materials.
Design a strategy for marketing and sales and building-up the portfolio, attracting customers in new geographic and product areas;
Conduct training for relationship managers on sales and marketing tools to address green financing.

Deliverables:

1. Prepare Work Plan and Inception Report:

Conduct inception meetings with the Contracting Authority and partners upon commencement of the project
Review the process for conducting all activities within the project;
Determine roles and responsibilities;
Discuss the basis on which this work will be implemented
Finalize the work plan and timetable to include measures for demonstrating enhanced capacity among key stakeholders.A draft work plan and report on the outcome of the inception meeting will be prepared and submitted to the client no later than 2 weeks from signing of contract.
Submit Final Inception Report with comments included within 1 week of receipt of comments.

2. Prepare training program and Design a strategy for marketing and sales and building-up the portfolio:

Undertake a rapid needs assessment and designed appropriate training programme and training materials;

3. Deliver training program:

In line with ToR requirements deliver training programe;

4. Final Report and verification workshop:

The service provider is required to submit Final Report. This report will be prepared to highlight the full scope of work undertaken, noting the level of success and constraints in the methodologies used, the nature and quality of stakeholder participation, limitations in the scope of the consultations and meetings, any potential constraints which are anticipated in the deliverables’ effective application and any other lessons learnt during the process.
Final version of the all developed material.

Time duration: The Consultant will be engaged during the period 15 December 2019 – 30 June 2020.
The selected consultant should have at least 25 working days in country, during which interactive trainings will be organized for selected personnel. Remaining working days will be allocated for training material preparation and online training and support. All travel costs and DSA should be included in the lump sum of the contract.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Builds strong 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;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Degree in Economic Science, Accounting, Financial planning, and management.
At least MSc as advanced degree in area relevant for the published ToR.

Experience:

At Least 7 years of working experience in the field of financial analysis, accounting or financial planning and reporting.
Experience with the usage of various systems analysis methods and techniques.

Language:

Fluency in local language and intermediate English level knowledge is required.

Other:

Capability to work effectively under deadline pressure and to take on a range of responsibilities;
Ability to work in a team, good decision-making skills, communication and writing skills.

Criteria for selection:

Combined Scoring method will be used. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: (i) responsive, compliant, acceptable, and (ii) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria weight - 70% (Background and education 10%; Relevant previous experience 20%; Substantial knowledge/Required competencies 30%; Required language 10%);
Financial criteria weight - 30%.

Only offerors obtaining a minimum 490 points for technical criteria will be considered for the financial evaluation. For more information on procurement methodology for Individual Contractors, please refer to Procurement Notice.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications by November 24, 2019 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain CV or P11 that can be downloaded at http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.

Only the short-listed applicants will be contacted and requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work envisaged in the section "Description of Responsibilities".