Historique

N.B.

Applications through UNDP jobs will not be accepted, only to the procurement.cv@cv.jo.un.org email address.

Interested candidates are required to read the Procurement Notice for Individual Consultants and its related documents, which are available in the following websites:

Background and Project Description

The consultancy will be developed in the framework of the project “Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into the tourism sector in synergy with a further strengthened protected areas system in Cabo Verde”, executed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAA), through the National Directorate of the Environment (DNA), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Transport, and co-funded by the UNDP and the GEF.

The project’s main objective is to safeguard globally significant biodiversity in Cabo Verde from current and emerging threats, by enhancing the enabling and regulatory frameworks in the tourism sector and activating a critical further subset of the national protected areas (PAs) system.

The proposed alternative scenario, supported by the project, will create enabling conditions to mitigate the adverse impacts on biodiversity by the tourism sector in Cabo Verde. The frameworks will be developed at national level and tentatively rolled out in four priority islands – Santiago, Sal, Boa Vista and Maio – where immediate pressure is greatest and urgent action is required that can be replicated more widely in the future. This urgent action includes at the local level the pending operationalization of a number of critical terrestrial and marine/coastal PAs and the piloting of marine biodiversity and artisanal fisheries management together with communities in two selected sites. At the same time the project will harness the opportunities to establish more sustainable tools for PA financing, protected area management and local community development, contributing to the consolidation and diversification of Cabo Verde tourism product, and the sustainability of the destination and the sector. This will be achieved through the following two project components:

  • Under Component 1, the project will develop and put in place coherent and effective enabling frameworks (i.e. legal, policy, regulatory and institutional) for enhanced multi-sectoral strategic land-use planning at the landscape level, to focus on the tourism and associated real estate/construction sectors. This will involve: (1) strengthening the capacity at the institutional/governmental level for integrating biodiversity into the tourism sector, including through Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and related regulations in tourism planning and permitting, and for compliance monitoring and enforcement; (2) the setup of policy mainstreaming committees overseeing policy and planning coherence between tourism development and environmental/biodiversity management, at the national level and on the targeted islands with significant local tourism developments (i.e. Santiago, Sal, Boa Vista and Maio); (3) the development and revision of land-use planning regulations (i.e. SEA, EIA, Special Touristic Zones (ZTEs), Zones of Integral Tourism Development (ZDTIs), Zones of Touristic Reserve and Protection (ZRPT), etc.) so they fully integrate biodiversity concerns, and to ensure their recommendations are implemented and monitored; (4) implementation of SEAs to inform tourism development plans, where there are gaps in destinations where significant tourism development pressure is predicted; (5) the revision of financial tax incentives and licensing processes to integrate biodiversity criteria; (6) the establishment and piloting of best-practice standards for sustainable tourism and voluntary certification for enterprises and destinations; and (7) the design and piloting of innovative PAs financing mechanism, through biodiversity offsets.
  • Under Component 2, the project will support: (1) the operationalization of PAs through the development of management plans, ecotourism plans and supporting regulations for 7 in-operational PAs (i.e. one on Santiago, four on Boa Vista and two on Sal) to address existing and emerging threats to biodiversity; (2) identification of new potential Marine PAs (MPAs) sites for inclusion in the national PAs system, through a systematic assessment of biodiversity resources on the marine shelf, and contributing to the development of key missing marine species/habitat management plans; (3) the definition of and implementation of PAs governance, including co-management and conflict resolution mechanisms; (4) agreements on the regulation, management and enforcement of the use of land and natural resources by local communities/resource users; (5) the introduction of biodiversity-friendly and sustainable artisanal fishing in two pilot sites through the promotion and adoption of suitable gear and best practices, the designation of community-enforced no-take zones and seasonal fishing bans, etc.; (6) develop and pilot island-specific, cost-effective PAs revenue generation mechanisms in conjunction with tourism sector stakeholders – these will potentially include, inter alia, gate fees, tourism operator concession fees, ecotourism taxes, and biodiversity offset and reinvestment schemes; (7) installation of a tracking and environmental monitoring program and plan to track the impacts of tourism and fishing in PAs, using participatory approaches; and (8) the preparation and implementation of Informational Education and Communication (ICE) campaigns to promote the role of PAs and sustainable tourism.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

The International Consultant will have the following functions and responsibilities:

  • Define, propose and agree with the UNDP Country Office (CO), DNA/PMU, and DGTT a method (and associated workplan) for training needs assessment (TNA) on sustainable tourism development and management for the staff of the PMU, DNA, DGTT, PAs teams at project intervention sites, and other selected project stakeholders.
  • Implement the TNA work plan according to agreed method.
  • Prepare, present and discuss during specific meetings key inception results and findings of the TNA with/to the UNDP-CO, DNA/PMU, and DGTT, and prepare proposals to be incorporated into the consultancy reports according to feedbacks they will provide.
  • Inventory the current structure of higher education system in the country (i.e. bachelors, masters and PhDs courses) related to the training of professionals and technicians in the fields of tourism and environmental management, with focus on issues related to sustainable tourism development and management. The PMU will facilitate meetings with managers and professors of the higher education Institutions in the country and the staff of the General-Directorate of Higher Education (DGES), according to the proposal of agenda prepared and agreed by the consultant with the PMU and the DGES.
  • Identify the gaps in the current structure of higher education system in the country related to the training of professionals and technicians in the fields of tourism and environmental management a in order to be capacitated on sustainable tourism development and management.
  • Present and discuss with the UNDP-CO, the DNA/PMU, DGTT and the DGES, identified gaps and the proposals to fill those gaps, and finalise the proposals into the consultancy reports according to feedbacks they will provide.
  • Submit to the UNDP-CO and DNA/PMU the first draft of the consultancy technical report that will include at least:
    • The full TNA data analysis, results and related feedbacks;
    • Based on the TNA results, a full training program on sustainable tourism development and management for involved staff/actors.
    • The logic on which is based the identification of the required training(s).
    • Identified appropriate institutional ‘homes’ for the trainings (e.g. national universities and the School of Hotel and Tourism); and where possible, the courses will be designed as modules to slot into existing accredited courses in order to enhance sustainability, rather than as individual stand-alone courses.
    • As a part of the training program, will be defined four training courses to be implemented by the project at each target island (Santiago, Sal, Boavista and Maio). Each short training course program will include:
    • a. Between five and ten days training.
    • b. The training schedule indicating the target subject for each hour of the course and the required format (field activity, exercises, etc.). The subjects will be grouped in homogeneous training modules of half, one, or more days of training.
    • c. The group of trainees that will have to attend each training module, at each project site.
    • d. The ToR for each trainer to be recruited to implement each training module.
    • The baseline analysis on the current structure of higher education system in the country related to the training of professionals and technicians in the fields of tourism and environmental management with focus on issues related to sustainable tourism development and management. This will include the description of related identified gaps in the current structure of higher education system in the country.
    • Identified and agreed practical proposals to fill identified gaps in the current structure of higher education system. This will include proposals for new vocational and graduate courses to be submitted for recognition by the DGES.
  •  Submit to the UNDP-CO and DNA/PMU the first draft of the consultancy implementation report that will include at least:
    • A brief description of the activities carried out during the field mission;
    • A list of persons met and brief results from these meetings;
    • The results from the workshops and other public presentations of the consultant work;
    • Overall findings from the in-country mission, including i) constrains and limitations occurred during the implementation of the consultancy, ii) lessons learned, and iii) final recommendations.
  • Review and finalise the consultancy technical and implementation reports, based on the final feedbacks provided by UNDP-CO, DNA/PMU, DGTT and the DGES.

Compétences

Required Competencies and Expertise

Corporate Competencies

  • 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 and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies

Knowledge Management and Learning

  • Ability to provide top quality policy advice services on environmental issues;
  • In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

  • Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing in order to communicate complex, technical information to technical and general audiences;
  • Skill in negotiating effectively in sensitive situations;
  • Skill in achieving results through persuading, influencing and working with others;
  • Skill in facilitating meetings effectively and efficiently and to resolve conflicts as they arise.

Management and Leadership

  • Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback;
  • Encourages risk-taking in the pursuit of creativity and innovation;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

  • Hold an advanced degree (Master or PhD) with expertise in the area of tourism; or hold a combination of degrees in tourism, and environmental management, or related fields;
  • Additional relevant professional trainings and courses are an asset.

Experience and Skills

  • At least 10 years experience in sustainable tourism planning and management with hands-on experiences in developing and strengthening human capacities in a multi stakeholder context.
  • Experience as curriculum developer, or manager, in high education institutes (e.g. universities, colleges, etc.), or previous relevant experience in developing training curricula are considered as assets.
  • Good knowledge of and a good record of practical experiences with participatory training and facilitation approaches and methods.
  • Good knowledge of and a good record of practical experiences with concepts and practices of networking for learning, dissemination and replication.
  • Relevant professional experience in the development of standards for sustainable tourism, and/or in the development of certification systems for sustainable tourism, and/or in tourism planning and management into protected areas.
  • Previous working experience on sustainable tourism development in sub-Saharan African countries, or SIDS is also an asset.
  • Work experience with projects funded by international donors, ideally also the GEF.
  • Demonstrated track record of production of relevant publications and technical documents on sustainable tourism planning and management, and/or tourism planning and management into protected areas, and/or standards for sustainable tourism (papers, project proposals, guidelines, manuals, etc.).

Language:

  • It is required the working knowledge of at least one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese;
  • Working knowledge of spoken and written Portuguese is considered as a strong asset.