UNDP Jobs - 90225- Ref.2020-013_International Consultant on Renewable

Ref.2020-013_International Consultant on Renewable Energy for Mid-Term Review of UNDP GEF De-risking Renewable Energy Investment project

Location :

Home based with mission to Kazakhstan, KAZAKHSTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

25 working days (May-August 2020)

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

Important notice to the Applicants!

Only those applications would be considered that have been submitted to the following e-mail address: procurement.kz@undp.org with the indication of Ref.2020-013 in the subject line. The application deadline is 3 PM (Nur-Sultan time) 28 February 2020. For detailed information on the position, required documents to be sent and evaluation procedure please refer to the Terms of Reference.

Background:

The objective of the project is to promote private sector investment in renewable energy in Kazakhstan to achieve Kazakhstan’s 2030 and 2050 targets for renewable energy. The project targets both large-scale and small-scale renewable energy. The goal of this project is to achieve energy market transformation in Kazakhstan by significantly scaling-up the deployment of renewable energy in electricity generation, from a 0.77% share of renewable energy to a 10% share by 2030, which makes for 10-fold increase in renewable energy-based energy generation to be facilitated by the project. In large-scale renewable energy, the project will promote Kazakhstan as a prime destination for international investment. Technologies will include wind energy and solar photovoltaic (PV). In small-scale renewable energy, the project will promote investment in “RES for urban life”, on-grid small-scale renewable energy applications, targeting urban households and businesses; and “RES for rural life”, both on-grid and off-grid small-scale renewable energy applications, targeting farms and rural SMEs. Technologies may include solar PV (roof-top), solar water heating and small-scale wind. The project will promote the latest business and finance models for small-scale RES developers (for example, third-party ownership models). The design and implementation of this project make use of the ‘Derisking Renewable Energy Investment’ (DREI) methodology developed by UNDP, which is a model for quantitative and qualitative comparison of the cost-effectiveness of different public instruments in promoting renewable energy investment.

There are three components to achieve this objective. These are:

· Project Component 1: Large-Scale Renewable Energy: Policy and Financial Derisking Measures;

· Project Component 2: Renewable Energy for Life: Policy Derisking;

· Project Component 3: Renewable Energy for Life: Financial Derisking and Incentives

The UNDP-GEF DREI Project team is located in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. There are 3 full time and 1 part time project staff in Nur-Sultan. The primary beneficiaries are the, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The GEF Grant for the Project budget is $4,510,000 with over 50,910,000 in co-financing from national partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

The MTR will assess progress towards the achievement of the project objectives and outcomes as specified in the Project Document and assess early signs of project success or failure with the goal of identifying the necessary changes to be made in order to set the project on-track to achieve its intended results. The MTR consultant will also review the project’s strategy, its risks to sustainability.

Scope of work*:

The MTR must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The MTR team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Environmental & Social Safeguard Policy, the Project Document, project reports including Annual Project Review/PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the project team considers useful for this evidence-based review). The MTR team will review the baseline GEF focal area Tracking Tool submitted to the GEF at CEO endorsement, and the midterm GEF focal area Tracking Tool that must be completed before the MTR field mission begins.

The MTR team is expected to follow a collaborative and participatory approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), the UNDP Country Office(s), UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisers, and other key stakeholders.

Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful MTR Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to: the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Renewable Energy trading platform KOREM JSC, RE Association, entrepreneurs development Fund Damu, senior officials and task team/ component leaders, key experts and consultants in the subject area and the Project Board.

The final MTR report should describe the full MTR approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the review.

*Details are in the TOR.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

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:

Excellent communication skills
Demonstrable analytical skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s degree in economics, energy management, policies in the area of environmental protection or other closely related field.

Experience:

Recent experience (within 5 years) with result-based management evaluation methodologies required
Experience applying SMART targets and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios required
Experience in adaptive management
Experience working with the GEF evaluations required
Experience working in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Caucasus in renewable energy and energy efficiency field required, in evaluation of project implementation
Work experience in renewable energy and energy efficiency field for at least 5 years required
Experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis and demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender
Project evaluation experience in international organizations. Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system will be considered as an asset.

Language skills:

English is the working language of the UNDP-GEF Project and required. The ability to communicate in Russian is an advantage.

Recommended Presentation of application:

The following documents only in PDF should be attached to the application (proposal) and sent by e-mail to the following address: procurement.kz@undp.org indicating Ref.2020-013 in the e-mail subject no later than 15.00 (Nur-Sultan time zone) 28 February, 2020:

- Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per UNDP template provided;

- Detailed personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) and other supporting information confirming that the Candidate meets the qualification requirements;

- Brief Description of Approach to Work.

- Copies of higher education diplomas and other relevant documents.

Due to the technical features of e-mail, the size of the file/s should not exceed 9 Mb per e-message.

Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. ONLY fully submitted applications would be considered!!!

The type of Contract to be signed and the applicable UNDP Contract General Terms and Conditions, as specified in TOR, can be accessed at http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/procurement/business/how-we-buy.html

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.