Background

The Information Technology & Management (ITM) unit plays an active role in provision of green energy solutions and services to UNDP Country Offices and other external partners. The green energy services on offer have seen an increasing demand from both within the organization and from external entities, including other UN agencies, NGOs, and government departments in countries with UNDP presence. Lately, there has been an expansion of services to cover energy efficiency, safe disposal of equipment, IoT, and e-Mobility.

As part of efforts to strengthen the e-Mobility service to its clients, ITM has come up with an initial rollout procedure to carter for the diverse needs of the clients. Based on the more mature 7-Step process for solar PV implementation, the e-Mobility process seeks to ensure efficient and high-quality project implementation for sustainable service provision to the beneficiaries. It is crucial to make sure that e-Mobility be part of Smart Facilities and included Vehicle-Grid-Integration (VGI).  The process is meant to be an end-to-end process which allows a turn-key solution for the end users. The full process in its latest state is as briefly elaborated below:

Step 1: Vehicle Utilization & Assessment – entails identifying, and collecting all pertinent data used to determine a suitable electric vehicle (EV) and charging station that meet end user requirements. Such information includes, but not limited to, EV driving range, EV usage, VGI, emergency power, local availability of support, etcetera.

Step2: Business Case – entails detailed analysis of technical, financial, and environmental data related to both EVs and chargers. The data collected from Step 1 is consolidated and synthesized to provide decision-making information such as, but not limited to EV battery capacity, charger capacity, charger type, required CapEX, annual savings, savings in CO2e, etcetera. The business case is then presented for decision by the relevant stakeholders.

Step 3: Procurement – currently, in the absence of long-term agreements (LTAs), procurement is largely carried out through the local office. Technical requirements that meet client needs are drafted and incorporated into the solicitation documents which are published by the local office to international and/or local vendors. Where deemed necessary, a bidder’s conference is conducted before bids are submitted. This is followed by evaluation of offers before finally awarding the project to the winning vendor.

Step 4: Site Survey – where deemed necessary, the selected vendor carries out a site survey for installation of the EV charger, ensuring all aspects required for proper integration are taken into consideration. Additionally, this activity helps to draw up a site survey report which is overseen by the  ITM focal point.

Step 5: Design – production of final design for charger integration into existing building electrical wiring system.

Step 6: Installation – this step entails actual installation of the EV chargers, user acceptance testing for both the EV and the charger, and training of both users and technical contact persons on the ground.

Step 7: Operation & Maintenance – entails operation, EV service maintenance, charger corrective/preventive maintenance, remote monitoring, and production of regular reports. Opportunities for improvement are identified and implemented where and when feasible.

Project scope is envisaged to cover above 100 offices across the organization and a number of other UN agencies, project offices, and host government departments. Given the need to enhance technical capacity within the ITM Green Energy team to meet rollout requirements, ITM seeks to engage services of an Individual Contractor (IC) to build capacity and create templates aimed at enhancing and standardization of e-Mobility and VGI services offered by the team.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

The contractor is required to play a lead role in achieving the following tasks:

• e-Mobility Service Definition: draft and finalize definition of the e-Mobility service in the context of UNDP fleet management and other external engagements, focusing on clarifying ITM value-adding services and inputs to the corporate strategy. Related documentation should include the development of a comprehensive assessment and baseline for implementation of electric mobility, including legal, financial, technological, commercial aspects, as well as environmental (e.g. air quality and public health) and social  (including skills, labor and gender perspectives) collateral benefits.
• Capacity Building Plan: identify required technical capacities for the team, draft/collect training content, and draft training schedule for both online and self-paced material, as may be applicable, for final approval
• Training and Presentations: conduct training sessions for the Green Energy team as per approved training schedule and content
• Documentation: provide documentation of the service, including applicable templates, and rollout procedures.

Important: UNDP has made commitment to reduce CO2 emissions from its operations by 25% by the year 2025 and by 50% by the year 2030. Converting the organization’s vehicle fleet from internal combustion engine (ICE) to EVs is key in achieving this corporate goal. Success can be guaranteed by availability of adequate technical capacity, which underlines the importance of this consultancy.

Expected Outputs and Deliverable

Note: Deliverables listed are not necessarily carried out in sequential order but spread over the duration.

Duration of the Work

The duration of the contract is 65 days spread over a 6-month period.

Duty Station

Home-based consultancy and duties will be carried out on parttime basis following an agreed schedule.

Competencies

Technical Knowledge: good technical knowledge of Vehicle-Grid Integration, with exposure to different charging methods and standards.

Knowledge of Industry: conversant with developments in the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry and knowledgeable in different types of EVs.

Capacity Building: ability to conduct technical training effectively and impart technical skills to non-EV engineers.

Knowledge Management: Ability to generate and efficiently handle and share technical information and knowledge

Operational Efficiency: Ability to identify and execute opportunities to improve operational efficiency

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

• Master’s Degree (plus 4 years of work experience) or BSc Degree (plus 6 years of work experience) in electrical engineering or related engineering fields. Required

Experience:

• At least 4 years of experience for Masters and 6 years of experience for BSC in the Electric Vehicle Industry Required.
• Experience in training and capacity building: Desirable

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

• A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment.
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references; and
•  A one to two-page methodology on how the Offeror will conduct the work including the approach in delivering the required outputs within the assignment period with clear description of mode of delivering the training.  Required

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around the specific and measurable deliverables of the TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR, and deliverables accepted and certified by the technical manager. 
• The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
• This consultancy is a home-based assignment, therefore, there is no envisaged travel cost to join duty station/repatriation travel. 
• In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
• If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

• Criteria 1. Relevance of the experience in the Electrical Vehicle  Industry Weight = 40%; Maximum Points: 40;
• Criteria 2. Quality and relevance of the methodology presented Weight = 20 %; Maximum Points: 20;
• Criteria 3. Experience in training and capacity building Weight = 10 %; Maximum Points: 10;

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional Arrangement

• On a day to day basis, the Contractor will be working with the Global ICT Specialist

• The Global ICT Advisor has the overall responsibility to direct provision of Green Energy services

• Progress reporting will be done on a weekly basis and in monthly PSU/Green Energy Meetings.

The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop.

Payment modality

• Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified above and deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager. 

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org 

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.