Background
The GEF Small Grants Program has been a fundamental part of the GEF’s support to the production of global environmental benefits and the implementation of the UNFCCC, UNCBD, UNCCD and other multilateral environmental agreements in countries around the world beginning in 1992. Following the Upgrading Policy approved by GEF Council in November 2009, nine SGP Country Programs (Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, and Philippines) were upgraded at the start of GEF 5 through separate GEF Full-Size Projects (FSPs). Another six SGP Country Programs (Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) were upgraded during GEF-6. Together, the 15 Upgraded Country Programs (UCPs) represent a dynamic portfolio in which new strategies to build the social and ecological resilience of working landscapes are in active participatory development and implementation, building on a strong foundation of previous grant experience as part of the SGP Global Program. AN additional SGP Country Programme (Malaysia) is expected to upgrade during GEF 7.
The term “upgrading” refers to the graduation of the oldest and most mature of SGP’s Country Programs to a new funding regime allowing higher funding levels and more budgetary control by the Country Programs. The goals of upgrading were threefold: allow the SGP Global Program to continue to grow and serve low-income nations without concomitant growth in core funds, make better use of the capacities of mature Country Programs to enrich the younger, less experienced Programs, and enable mature Programs to access greater financial resources and exercise more programmatic freedom in light of their greater internal capacity.
During SGP’s Seventh Operational Phases (OP-7), Upgraded Country Programs offer a fertile laboratory to refine and broadly apply the community-based landscape approach, taking advantage of these countries’ SGP experience in certain sectors and geographic regions, their well-developed civil society and market networks, and their access to Full-Size Project funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
For each Upgraded Country Program, a PIF for a Full-Size Project must be approved by GEF Council (the Upgraded Country Program in Ecuador will be funded through a GEF Medium Size Project). The process of formulation and approval of the 16 Upgraded Country Program PIFs is complex and detailed, and must occur within a reduced window of opportunity in order to achieve financing and effective implementation of the small grants projects within the current GEF Operational Phase. This process is coordinated by the UCP Global Coordinator.
UNDP is seeking the services of an international Advisory and Project Preparation Support Consultant to assist the Global Coordinator in providing the guidance and advice required to ensure production of PIFs are up to UNDP-GEF standards, as well as, support monitoring and oversight for the implementation of the UCP portfolio.
Duties and Responsibilities
The scope of work will vary depending on the individual assignments but would include one or various of the below tasks:
- Provide support and technical assistance, as needed, to the preparation by country-specific project preparation teams of up to fifteen Upgraded Country Program PIFs;
- Liaise with and support, as requested, the respective SGP National Coordinators of the Upgraded Country Program projects;
- Advise on the PIF preparation process in each country so that the country-specific project preparation team is prepared to follow the agreed methodology to produce participatory landscape management plans as indicated in the GEF SGP Implementation Arrangements for GEF-7;
- Complete project submission package submitted to PTA for technical clearance within specific milestones;
- Provide support and technical assistance to the SGP Ecuador Country Program staff, as needed, on the preparation of a GEF Medium Size Project for submission to the GEF Sec;
- Liaise with the National Coordinator of the SGP Ecuador Country Program to finalize and submit the MSP approval request to the GEF Sec;
- Participation in Inception Workshops for UCPs;
- Coordination with SGP KM focal point for communication and knowledge exchange between the UCPs and the SGP Global Programme;
- Provide advice and orientation to SGP Country Programmes and UNDP Country Offices on their annual project reports (GEF PIRs);
- Review Budget revisions submitted by SGP Country Programmes, and liaise with UNOPS and the UCP Global PA for final approval through Atlas/PIMS+;
- Draft TORs for UCPs Mid-Term Reviews and Terminal Evaluations and assist the UNDP-GEF Global Coordinator of the SGP Upgrading Country Programs to review the final evaluations;
- Oversee the development of community-based landscape management approach case studies for each UCP Country Programme;
- Monitor the implementation of project activities and assume responsibility, when needed, for the smooth functioning of all operational activities related to project implementation;
In carrying out these tasks, the consultant will work under the guidance and supervision of the SGP UCP Global Coordinator, the respective National Coordinators, and the UNDP Country Office staff. The consultant will be directly supervised by the UCP Global Coordinator.
Anticipated Key Deliverables:
An indicative list of deliverables includes:
- Three PIFs (Costa Rica, India, Philippines) to be submitted to GEF Sec by 15 October 2018;
- An MSP for the Ecuador Country Program project to be submitted by GEF Sec by 15 November 2018;
- Two PIFs (Brazil, Malaysia) to be submitted to GEF Sec by 15 December 2018
- Two MTRs (Bolivia and Peru) reviewed and finalized by December 2018
- Three MTRs (Egypt, Indonesia and Sri Lanka) reviewed and finalized by January 2019
- Three PIFs (Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Peru) to be submitted to GEF Sec by March 2019
- Two TEs (Ecuador and Costa Rica) reviewed and finalized by April 2019
- One TE (Pakistan) reviewed and finalized by June 2019
- Eight PIFs (Bolivia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Sri Lanka), to be submitted to GEF Sec by July 2019
- Eight PIRs (Bolivia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka) reviewed and finalized by September 2019
- One PIF (Thailand) to be submitted to GEF Sec by March 2020
- Three TEs (Kazakhstan and Kenya, Indonesia) reviewed and finalized by March 2020
- Four TEs (Bolivia, Egypt, Mexico, Sri Lanka) reviewed and finalized by May 2020
- Seven PIRs (Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand) reviewed and finalized by September 2020
All deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the SGP UCP Global Coordinator.
Working arrangements:
- The overall objective of this Framework Agreement is to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNDP can hire the services of an Advisory and Project Preparation Support Consultant once there are specific assignments over the next 3 years;
- The consultant will work from home with mission travel;
- Estimated level of effort: Maximum working days over 3 years would be 320 days;
- UNDP does not warrant that any quantity of services will be purchased during the term of the Framework Agreement as this will depend on forthcoming needs;
- The Framework Agreement to be signed will be for a fixed all-inclusive daily fee;
- Once the Framework Agreement is signed, if there is a specific assignment, the focal person at UNDP-GEF would contact the Consultant by email informing him/her of the specific deliverables and timeline;
- The consultant must advise within 48 hours whether s/he is available to deliver the requested service;
- Thereafter a Purchase Order will be raised. Financial commitments will only be established each time the services are requested within the scope of the Framework Agreement through the transmitted email and purchase order;
- IC as a Framework agreement is non-exclusive (i.e. it does not prohibit UNDP from entering into another such framework agreement with another individuals or entities);
- 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 working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
- Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;
- Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked (with a “day” calculated as 8 hours of work) and outputs delivered.
Travel:
- International travel may be required to attend relevant meetings, which will likely not exceed 15 days per year. Expected travel includes Thailand, Malaysia in 2019, and potentially Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Philippines in 2020;
- Any necessary mission travel must be approved in advance and in writing by the Supervisor;
- The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
- 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 https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;
- Consultants are responsible for obtaining security clearances and any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
- The consultant will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies;
- All travel expenses related to mission travels will be supported by the project travel fund and will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations for consultants.
Competencies
Corporate:
- Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s vision, mission and values;
- 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:
Development and Operational Effectiveness
- Results-driven and initiative-taking;
- Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines;
- Ability to plan and organize work and establish priorities;
- Remains calm and in control even under pressure, and consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
- Informed, sound, and transparent decision-making;
- Thoroughly and methodically collects, verifies and records data, demonstrating attention to detail and identifying and correcting errors on own initiative.
Client Orientation and Communication:
- Effective written and oral communication skills;
- Good interpersonal and networking skills;
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations;
- Supports and encourages open communication in the team and facilitates team work;
- Ability to work under minimum supervision;
- Ability to work with multiple stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines and fields, from both developed and developing countries, and having diverse and competing worldviews and interests.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s degree in environmental, ecosystem or landscape management, rural sociology, rural development planning and management, or a closely related field. (Max 10 points)
Experience:
- At least 10 years’ relevant work experience with community-based rural development and conservation programs (max 10 points);
- Experience developing PIFs for submission to, and approval by, GEF Sec is highly desirable (max 10 points);
- Demonstrated experience in project development, implementation, and management (max 10 points);
- Knowledge of GEF policies, procedures, processes and terminology is highly desirable (max 10 points);
- Experience working and collaborating with governments will be an asset (max 5 points);
- Experience working in climate change adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development in developing countries will be an asset (max 5 points).
Languages:
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (max 3 points);
- Fluency in Spanish would be an asset (max 2 points).
Evaluation method:
- Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated;
- Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer (based on a quoted all-inclusive daily fee) will be weighted at 30%;
- The technical criteria (education, experience, language [max. 65 points] and interview [max. 35 points]) will be based on a maximum 100 points;.
- Only the top 3 candidates scoring 45.5 points or higher from the review of education, experience and language will be considered for the interview;
- Candidates obtaining 24.5 points or higher from the interview will be deemed technically qualified and considered for financial evaluation;
- Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP;
- The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive daily fee. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of this daily fee (including all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment);
- Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and that has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the Framework Agreement.
Documentation to be submitted
- Applicants must submit a CV shall including Education/Qualification, Processional Certification, Employment Records /Experience;
- Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application;
- Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment to be downloaded from the UNDP procurement site.
General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:
Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment:
http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=49033