UNDP Jobs - 89787- Consultant for supporting the Intergovernmental Pa

Consultant for supporting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) software

Location :

Home based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

06-Feb-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

estimated 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

app. 220 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 UNDP/UNEP Global Support Programme (GSP) provides support to developing countries in order to prepare National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) that are submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Further, the GSP works with key counterparts to provide technical guidance and assistance for the development of the NCs and BURs, as well as in the identification of priority areas of support for the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The IPCC’S Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) was established by the IPCC, at its 14th session, to oversee the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme (IPCC-NGGIP).

The objectives of the TFI are:

to develop and refine an internationally-agreed methodology and software for the calculation and reporting of national GHG emissions and removals; and
to encourage the widespread use of this methodology by countries participating in the IPCC and by signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Technical Support Unit (TSU) set up at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan provides scientific, technical and organizational support to the TFI under the overall supervision of the Task Force Bureau (TFB).

National GHG inventories form the core part of the information communicated under the Convention and will continue so under the enhanced transparency framework for action and support, as they keep track of GHG emissions and progress towards achieving the purpose of the Convention and its Paris Agreement. Developing countries, however, continue to face challenges at each step of the GHG inventory development process, including collecting activity data and developing emissions factors, selecting and applying appropriate methods, reporting the results and documenting and archiving all relevant data and procedures.

The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006 IPCC Guidelines) provide methodologies for estimating national inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines were prepared in response to an invitation by the Parties to the UNFCCC. They may assist Parties in fulfilling their commitments under the UNFCCC on reporting on inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, as agreed by the Parties.

The IPCC Inventory Software implements the simplest Tier 1 methods in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and as such is useful to users of all versions of the IPCC Guidelines. From Version 2.69, the Software implements Tier 2 methods in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for most categories under Energy, IPPU, Agriculture and Waste Sectors, and work is undergoing to complete capacity for Tier 2 reporting for all missing categories within the year 2020.

Duties and Responsibilities

In this regard, the GSP in collaboration of the TSU is seeking the expertise of consultant that can support the development of the IPCC software by:

Preparing a collection of MS excel spreadsheets, one for each of the worksheets contained in each of the sectors of the IPCC software version 2.69 and subsequent versions released within the year 2020.
Compiling each MS excel spreadsheet (mentioned above) with a set of data for two years
Performing tests of beta version of the Inventory Software prepared by an IT company within the year 2020, as needed according to TSU instructions
Supporting TSU, where required in dealing with requests from Inventory Software users
Supporting TSU, where required in preparing technical specifications for the planned upgrades of the Inventory Software

Deliverables:

At the end of each trimester:

A sectoral package of all MS excel spreadsheets (covering across the entire consultancy period the 4 sectors: Energy, IPPU, AFOLU and Waste), as compiled with inventory data for 2 years in the dates: 31st of May, 31st of August, 30th November and 28th February of 2021.
Payments will be done in four equal installments (25% of the total amount each) as soon as the sectoral package is submitted and approved by the head of the TFU.

Institutional Arrangements

The Consultant will report to and be directly supervised by the GSP coordinator and the head of the TFU.
The estimated level of effort is a total of 220 working days from February 2020 to February 2021 spread across the four deliverables (sectoral package submitted at the end of each trimester).
The contract will be for a fixed all-inclusive lump-sum fee
No travel will be required
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 own work station (i.e. Laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrated comprehensive technical knowledge related to estimation of national GHG inventories;
Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Excellent human relations, coordination, planning and team work skills;
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 adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities
Exceptional communication and organizational skills
Proven ability to manage projects in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

Master’s degree in climate change, statistics, engineering, environmental science and/or energy related fields.
A PhD degree on the same field is an advantage but not a requirement.

Experience:

At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience in developing GHG inventories is a requirement;
Experience of at least five (5) years in applying the 2006 guidelines and IPCC Inventory Software is a requirement, ideally in developing countries;
Demonstrated experience working with advance MS Excel skills is a requirement;
Experience working in an international environment on climate change, particularly with non-Annex I Parties to UNFCCC or any other UN agency is highly valued.

Language skills:

Fluency in English
Fluency in other UN language is a distinct asset.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Individual contract applicants 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, and 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 will get at least 70% in technical evaluation (Criteria A-H) will be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria: 70% of total evaluation (max. 70 points):

Criteria A: Master’s degree in climate change, statistics, engineering, environmental science and/or energy related fields (maximum 10 points);
Criteria B: At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in developing GHG inventories (maximum 15 points);
Criteria C: Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in applying the 2006 IPCC guidelines and Inventory software, ideally in developing countries (maximum 10 points);
Criteria D: Demonstrated experience/ knowledge of advance MS Excel skills (maximum 10 points);
Criteria E: Experience working in an international environment on climate change, particularly with non-Annex I Parties to UNFCCC or any other UN agency (maximum 10 points);
Criteria F: Fluent in English (maximum 3 points.);
Criteria G: Fluency in any other UN language (maximum 2 points.);
Criteria H: Quality of methodology on how the consultant see his/her role in supporting the IPCC software (maximum 10 points)

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation (max. 30 points) .

Application procedure:

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 advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work.
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); please mention past experience in at similar projects

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.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process