Background

NOTE: Signed Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability - http://www.ba.undp.org/content/dam/bosnia_and_herzegovina/docs/Operations/Jobs/Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability.docx - to be sent to e-mail ba.shared.hr@undp.org with Subject: Job ID 88833.

Food waste is one of the biggest waste streams in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the amount of food waste generated continues to grow over the last years. Like in other countries globally, food waste in Bosnia and Herzegovina contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions, while a significant volume of agricultural water and land are used for producing food that ultimately goes uneaten. At the same time, more than 20% of the population are estimated to be living at or below the absolute poverty line. There is no exact data on the volume of food waste from various sources, while the overall strategic and regulatory framework does not provide enabling environment for systemically addressing this challenge. There are significant volumes of food waste along the entire food chain, starting from agriculture producers and food processing companies to supermarkets, restaurants and hotels, as well as households. Food and other types of organic waste are picked up by regular waste collection trucks as separate collectors and recycling facilities are still not available in the country. As wasted food and other organic matter rots in landfills, it produces methane - one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and environmental footprint. The need to prevent and reduce food waste, while ensuring the safety of the food and feed chain, is a subject of growing societal, economic and environmental interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with direct linkage to achieving the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.

Against this background, UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina is interested in assessing more in-depth this issue, looking into successful system solutions deployed in the Czech Republic as a member of the European Union and potentially setting in place the tools to measure food waste in Bosnia and Herzegovina and identify feasible approaches for the way forward in tackling reduction of food waste and better management of different types of organic waste.

The consultancy will be supported from the Czech-UNDP Partnership for SDGs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Food Waste Expert is expected to support the initial efforts aiming to reduce food waste in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with specific focus on designing a methodology to measure food waste in a selected waste-source category and subsequently propose feasible actions towards systemic improvements in this domain.

More specifically, the Consultant is expected to deliver the following tasks:

Task 1: Food waste situation analysis

As a starting point, the Consultant is expected to analyse the state of play in relation to food waste in Bosnia and Herzegovina vis-a-vis the set of standards and requirements set by the European Union in this domain, including (but not limited to) basic policy/regulatory/operational frameworks, behavioural aspects, technical infrastructure and emerging practical solutions that comprise a food waste management system. In conducting the assessment, the Consultant will use as a reference framework the specific policy/regulatory and food/organic waste management models in the Czech Republic. The analysis will include emerging good practices in the country, with focus on social and environmental benefits and impact. This analysis will serve as foundation for further concrete work in this area. UNDP will share relevant materials and information, as needed. The output from this task is a concise situation analysis report that presents the state of play regarding food waste in the country.

This task will be delivered by 10th January 2020 and will not exceed 10 expert days (home-based).

Task 2: Design a food waste measurement methodology

As a next step, the Consultant is expected to review existing methodologies for food waste measurement in the Czech Republic as well as from other countries in Europe and develop a methodology for Bosnia and Herzegovina to enable measurement of food waste from various categories of food-waste generators. As necessary, in that process, the Consultant may organise on-line discussions or surveys to obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (public, private, non-governmental sector, as necessary). UNDP will share relevant materials and information, as needed and will facilitate connection with stakeholders. The output from this task is a practical methodology, abreast with EU standards, to enable measuring food waste generated by various sources. The methodology will be developed in consultations with respective authorities and stakeholders and subsequently handed over to respective public and private stakeholders interested to perform food waste monitoring in the long-term. This task will be delivered by 03rd February 2020 and will not exceed 20 expert days (potential visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina to consult the draft).

Task 3: Assess the volumes of food waste outputs from a selected sector (source)

The Consultant is going to apply the methodology for one selected food waste generator with assumed high contribution to the food waste in the country. The process will entail on-site visits, data collection, meetings with relevant stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily in Sarajevo. An important segment of the assessment will be a collection of observations and findings regarding the behavioural patterns contributing to food waste. The output from this task is an assessment of the food waste volumes generated by a selected sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with reliable data sources to help understand the magnitude of the challenge and design a portfolio of possible experiments to tackle the challenge effectively. This task will be delivered by 13th March 2020 and will not exceed 30 expert days (potential visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina to consult the draft).

Task 4: Prepare a strategic note with recommendations on the feasible way forward

Considering the findings of the situation analysis and the results from the assessment of the food waste volumes in a selected sector, the Consultant is expected to prepare a strategic note with recommendations on the feasible way forward, including immediate actions and experiments that can be undertaken to improve public information and lower food waste generation, as well as mid-term actions towards systemic improvement of the food waste management system in the country based on positive experiences and working models in the Czech Republic. The strategic note will be shared with relevant institutional partners (such as line ministries at state and entity government levels, specialised agencies, etc.), private sector (associations of hotels, restaurants, agricultural producers, etc.) for their information and potential action. This paper will also inform UNDP future efforts in this domain. This task will be delivered by  10th April 2020 and will not exceed 15 expert days (home-based).

Deliverables/outputs:

Competencies

Corporate Responsibility and Teamwork:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Plans, prioritizes and delivers tasks on time;
• Strives for and promotes excellence in performance continually;
• Participates effectively in a team-based, information-sharing environment, collaborating and cooperating with others;

People Skills:

• Demonstrates ability to work harmoniously with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Recognizes and responds appropriately to the ideas, interests, and concerns of others;
• Builds trust and engenders morale by displaying open, transparent and credible behaviour;
• Respects individual/cultural differences; utilizes diversity to foster teamwork;
• Ensures others’ understanding of, involvement in, and adaptation to a change process.

Partnering and Networking:

• Communicates sensitively and effectively across different constituencies;
• Ability to work as a member of a team as well as work autonomously.

Results-Orientation:

• Plans and procedures quality results to meet established goals.

Communication:

• Technical writing skills, formulates written information clearly and persuasively;
• Strong communication skills;
• Presents information in a clear and articulate manner.

Job Knowledge and Expertise:

• Strong analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environment, environmental engineering, technical science, economics or related field.
• BA in combination with 2 additional years of working experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of professional experience in the field of waste management, with particular focus on food waste management in the Czech Republic and/or the European Union. Previous experience in the Western Balkans region is an asset.
• Demonstrable experience of assessments, analyses and policy frameworks in the areas of waste management and/or specifically food waste management within the Czech Republic and/or European Union. Direct experience working in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a distinct asset.
• Proven experience in working and coordinating with government institutions, private sector, international organizations and UNDP.

Languages Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English language is required for this assignment.

Technical Criteria

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 60 points would be considered for an interview.

Long Shortlisting Criteria

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points would be considered for the Final Evaluation.

EVALUATION

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

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:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) 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%
• * Financial Criteria weight- 30%

Applicants are required to submit an application including:

• Proposal:
  • Motivation letter with reference to relevant past experience;

• Personal CV including relevant experience and contact details of at least 3 references;

Please scan all above mentioned documents and upload as one attachment only online through this website.

Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.