UNDP GEF Jobs - 91937- UNDP-GEF Project Development for Eswatini National

UNDP-GEF Project Development for Eswatini National Child Project under the Africa Mini-grids Program

Advertised on behalf of

UNDP GEF

Location :

Mbabane, SWAZILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

22-Jun-2020

Application Deadline :

12-Jun-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

60 working days spreadout

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

60 working days spreadout

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

GEF Africa Mini-grids Program:

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council recently approved the Program Framework Document (PFD) for the Africa Mini-grids Program (AMP). The overall program objective of AMP is to support African countries to increase energy access by reducing the cost and increasing commercial viability of renewable energy mini grids. The program has two main elements:

A cohort of National ‘Child’ Projects, each with a set of tailored activities in line with the program’s three thematic areas of: i) policy and regulations; ii) business model innovation and private sector; and iii) innovative finance.
A Regional Project, to support the program’s national child projects, and the Africa mini-grids market more generally, offering three core sets of activities: i) knowledge tools for both public and private actors; ii) tailored technical assistance to countries; and iii) convening, dissemination, and tracking of progress.

The specific objective of activities under this component of AMP is that appropriate national policies and regulations are in place that address policy, institutional, regulatory and technical barriers to facilitate investment in mini grids in the relevant countries.

UNDP is now commencing a detailed project preparation phase (PPG phase) expected to last 9-12 months. The PFD was approved by the GEF Council on 20 December 2019. At the end of the preparation phase, UNDP will finalize nine (9) project documents and CEO endorsement requests for approval/endorsement by the GEF CEO for the national child projects allocated GEF resources and one (1) project document and CEO endorsement request for the regional project supported by the GEF.

Eswatini Child Project under the GEF Africa Mini-grids Program:

The Kingdom of Eswatini (Eswatini) is a landlocked, small open economy in Southern Africa with a land area of 17,364 km2 and a population of 1.2 million with approximately 76% of the population living in rural areas. With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of approximately US$3,000, Eswatini is classified as a lower middle-income country.

GEF Africa Mini-grids Program:

A cohort of National ‘Child’ Projects, each with a set of tailored activities in line with the program’s three thematic areas of: i) policy and regulations; ii) business model innovation and private sector; and iii) innovative finance.
A Regional Project, to support the program’s national child projects, and the Africa mini-grids market more generally, offering three core sets of activities: i) knowledge tools for both public and private actors; ii) tailored technical assistance to countries; and iii) convening, dissemination, and tracking of progress.

Eswatini Child Project under the GEF Africa Mini-grids Program:

Eswatini is a net importer of electricity through the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) network. In 2018, Eswatini installed and operating power capacity stood at 70 MW and 60.4 MW, respectively. The operating electricity generation capacity is from hydro-electric sources. In terms of Independent Power Producers (IPP), RSSC has generation capacity of 65MW, Illovo at 40 MW and Distillers at 2.2 MW which is generated for their own load requirements. However, peak demand was 236 MW, implying that Eswatini imported 1020 GWh mainly from South Africa where power generation is dominated by coal. This represented an emission of ~710 MtCO2. According to SAPP, Eswatini’s electricity demand is expected to grow from 1,283 GWh to 1,863 GWh between 2018 and 2025. Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) is working on expanding generation capacity through an ongoing construction of 10 MW Solar plant and has plans to commence construction of a 13.6 MW Lower Maguduza Hydro Power Project. It is projected that during the same period, peak demand is expected to increase by 72 MW, revealing that dependence on imported electricity will continue to grow in the foreseeable future despite generation capacity additions. The average electricity tariff applied by EEC was ~8.6 USc/kWh.

Another salient feature of Eswatini’s energy consumption patterns relates to rural fuel sources. On-grid vs. off-grid consumers are roughly divided along urban vs. rural population lines. The rural population of Eswatini represents 79% of the total. More than 70% of rural dwellers have access to grid energy, in contrast to 80% of the nation overall. Despite these high electricity access rates, a majority of rural dwellers use traditional fuels, especially wood and paraffin.

Eswatini has made significant progress in increasing the electrification rate and the goal is to reach universal access by 2022. In 2003, only 5% of the population had access to electricity and by 2017 this had risen to 75% and now stands at 80% (2019). Despite this achievement, however, several barriers are expected to keep Eswatini from fully achieving their low-emission energy goals.

The UNDP Country Office, in collaboration with the Government of Eswatini, seeks to engage a qualified National Consultant for UNDP-GEF Project Development to support the PPG team (see attached TOR) contributing to the delivery of various PPG tasks (see below) and to support the development of a funding proposal and project document (ProDoc) for the Eswatini Child Project, and the corresponding CEO endorsement request (CEO ER) to be submitted to the GEF Secretariat for approval.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Assignment

The following lists key responsibilities and deliverables of this contract.

1) Preparatory Technical Studies and Reviews (Component A of the PPG phase):

Lead national stakeholder engagements and consultations
Submit a detailed methodology and work plan in consultation with the PPG team;
Assist in organizing and carrying out gender responsive stakeholder consultations sessions and coordinate inputs from national stakeholders;
Support the identification of project sites, as applicable;
Collect and compile gender responsive baseline/situational analysis for the child project. This will include a precise definition of baseline projects, activities, budgets, goals and co-financing links to GEF outcomes;
Assist in establishing the “baseline scenario”— what will be the expected rural electrification scenario in Eswatini in the absence of the GEF project;
Assist in mapping what other stakeholders and initiatives are doing to address the development challenge that the mini-grid project is also addressing;
Provide inputs for the preparation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan, the gender analysis and assist in ensuring the findings are adequately integrated into the project’s strategy, theory of change and results framework; and contribute to the preparation of a Gender Action Plan;
Provide inputs to the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure including assessing potential negative impacts of the project on gender equality and specific activities to mitigate and/or minimize them;
Assist in finalizing the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) through reviewing the pre-screening (SESP) of the Child Project Concept Note; and preparation of legal and institutional framework for the national project;
Contribute to outlining the existing policy and regulatory framework in Eswatini with regard to rural electrification in general and solar mini-grids in particular;
Assist with capacity building and other aspects of project preparation to ensure gender considerations are mainstreamed into the project document;
Contribute to the project-specific safeguards approach, workplan and mission schedule (as needed) with the PPG Team International Social and Environmental Safeguards Consultants and Gender and Energy Specialist Consultant, UNDP Country Office and the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Specialist (RTS);

2) Formulation of the ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Requests and all Mandatory and Project Specific Annexes (Component B of the PPG phase):

Assist in updating /formulating the project’s theory of change (in line with the AMP regional project ‘theory of change’), including problem and solution trees developed in consultation with project stakeholders;
Assist in developing the Results Framework of the project in line with UNDP-GEF policy;
Assist preparation of the project’s GEF core indicators worksheet;
Support development of a detailed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan and Budget;
Assist in the preparation of a socially inclusive and gender responsive comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement Plan for the project;
Support in the preparation of a Gender Action Plan and Budget;
Assist in the preparation of a knowledge management strategy;
Assist in the preparatory work for the communication strategy (in liaison with the CO);
Assist in updating the SESP based on assessments undertaken during Component A;
Secure and present agreements on project management arrangements
Assist in the preparation of the Total Budget and Work Plan (TBWP) and an indicative Procurement Plan to be confirmed by the UNDP Country Office;
Assist, in consultation with the UNDP Country Office, in selection of an indicator for one of the outcomes of the UNDP Strategic Plan Integrated Results and Resources Framework (IRRF);
Assist in the preparation of a partnership plan, learning plan and impact monitoring;
Ensure that the required official endorsement and co-financing letters are ready;
Support synthesis of all analyses, studies, etc. that are prepared under Components A and B to produce the draft UNDP-GEF Child Project Document, GEF CEO Approval Request, and all mandatory and project-specific Annexes, using the required templates (to be verified with the UNDP-GEF team to ensure that the correct templates are being used).

3) Validation Workshop (Component C of the PPG phase):

Coordinate and contribute to the organisation of the validation workshop in the country to present, discuss and validate the final draft of the ProDoc and mandatory and project-specific annexes, with a special focus on the SESP and any management plans;
Support all necessary revisions that arise during the workshop, as appropriate and;
Assist in finalizing the Validation Workshop Report.

Outputs and Key Deliverables:

In addition to the above responsibilities and deliverables, the following are key deliverables that underpin the assignment:

Baseline report on the state of the mini-grids market in Eswatini, outlining existing policies and regulations, ongoing and planned rural electrification initiatives, and key data on the mini-grids sector in the country;
Stakeholder engagement and consultation report indicating entities consulted and key points that emerged from those consultations
Appropriate inputs to the comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement Plan including on gender-responsive consultation and consultations with local communities and any Indigenous Peoples or Ethnic Minorities present within the demonstration landscape;
Appropriate inputs to the final UNDP-GEF project document based on guidance from the PPG Team Leader.

Competencies

Corporate:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional:

Able to communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner.
Capable of working in a high- pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
Excellent analytical and organizational skills;
Exercises the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.
Works well in a team;
Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
Focuses on results for the client;
Welcomes constructive feedback.
Fluent English language (both oral and written) and excellent communication and presentation skills, particularly in the preparation of written documents

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or higher in a relevant field, such as Energy, Engineering, Renewable Energy, Environmental Sciences, or a related discipline;

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of demonstrable experience in the technical area of climate change mitigation, renewable energy, or a closely related area with specific experience in decentralized renewable energy such as mini-grids or similar, an asset;
Demonstrable experience in the technical area of climate change mitigation, renewable energy, or closely related area. Specific experience in decentralized renewable energy such as mini-grids or similar, an asset;
Demonstrable experience with GEF project development, implementation and/or evaluation, including formulation of climate change mitigation projects with private sector engagement and innovative elements;
Demonstrated leadership, facilitation and coordination skills, with ability to manage technical teams, engage with stakeholders, design participatory processes and form strategic partnerships and alliances;
Demonstrated ability to work independently and deliver high quality outputs in a timely manner;
Previous working experience with GEF project agencies and familiarity with GEF and UNDP policies, procedures and practices are assets.

Language:

Fluent English language (both oral and written) and excellent communication and presentation skills, particularly in the preparation and review of written documents.