Historique

The Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) (www.thegef.org) unites 183-member governments—in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector—to address global environment issues. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, the GEF has provided US$12.5 billion in grants and leveraged US$58 billion in co-financing for 3,690 projects in 165 developing countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP) the GEF has made more than 20,000 grants totaling about US$1 billion to civil society and community-based organizations.

The GEF International Waters (IW) focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. The IW portfolio comprises 242 projects to date and some US$1.4 billion of GEF grants invested in 149 different countries. This investment has leveraged about US$8.4 billion in co-financing. 

UNDP GEF Kura Project “Advancing Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) across the Kura river basin through implementation of the transboundary agreed actions and national plans” will be implementing the Strategic Action Program for the Kura River Basin in partnership with the Governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia. The SAP is framed around four agreed Ecosystem Quality Objectives (EQO) which are:

  • To achieve sustainable utilization of water resources to ensure access to water and preserve ecosystem services;
  • To achieve water quality such that it would ensure access to clean water for present and future generations and sustain ecosystem functions in the Kura river basin;
  • To achieve and maintain ecosystem status whereby they provide essential environmental and socio-economic services in a sustainable manner in the Kura River Basin; and,
  • To achieve mitigation of adverse impacts of flooding and climate change on infrastructures, riparian ecosystems and communities.

The GEF will support priority activities towards these objectives. The GEF funded SAP implementation Project has the objective “to integrate water resources management in the Kura river basin to address water-energy-food-ecosystem security nexus through the implementation of agreed actions in the SAP”.
There will be five components to support the countries to achieve this objective. These are:

  • Project Component 1: Establishment of effective cross sectoral IWRM governance protocols at the local, national and transboundary levels in the Kura Basin;
  • Project Component 2: Strengthening national capacities to implement multi-sectoral IWRM in the Kura basin;
  • Project Component 3: Stress reduction in critical areas and pre-feasibility studies to identify investment opportunities for improving river system health;
  • Project Component 4: Targeted education and involvement projects to empower stakeholders in implementing local / national / regional actions in support of SAP implementation;
  • Project Component 5: Enhancing science for governance by strengthening monitoring, information management and data analysis systems for IWRM.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The responsibility of this expert is to provide overall junior level input to the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project related to involvement of stakeholders in IWRM in Georgia, preparing visibility materials related to the project activities in both countries and supporting Regional Communications Manager, International Stakeholder Engagement Expert as well as International Senior Capacity Building Expert. The Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert will provide a series of inputs over the course of the year, as assigned and agreed, based on the growing expertise in integrated water management issues, as assigned by the Regional Project Analyst. The Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert inputs will be based on the weekly assessed needs of the project pertaining to integrated water management inputs needed. S/he will be responsible for professionally presenting the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project to all interactions with the project team, project national and international experts, and project stakeholders.

The services of a qualified and highly motivated The Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert will be required to assist the Project Coordination Unit and Georgia Office in developing the below-mentioned tasks.

Scope of Work:

The work of the Georgia Junior Environmental Communication and Public Affairs Expert will include increasing the public profile of the project in Georgia through drafting press releases and translating the them into Georgian and English, creating and updating social media accounts specific to the project work, developing content and graphic design materials related to the project work, regularly contributing to the project web page and actively supporting the Online IWRM Academy platform. Providing support to project reports, including formatting and translation as needed, supporting trainings, workshops, and conferences held by the project, supporting national and international experts in the field trips and conducting trainings for stakeholders on as needed basis. Additionally, inputs will be expected to transfer project trainings to on-line video trainings by translating the training materials, working with project stakeholders, and other communications related work, depending on the scope of the project needs. 

The work of the Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert will vary based on the specific needs of the PCU and Georgia Office over the scope of the year. The Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert will be assigned specific inputs, with specific deliverables as the needs arise as assessed on a weekly review of project progress, under the guidance and authorization of the Regional Project Analyst. All deliverables will include a clear number of days needed to complete the assignment, timeframe for completion, and guidelines pertaining to the deliverable quality and acceptability. These will be agreed by the Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert, upon acceptance of the assignment. 

Key Deliverables and payments of the consultancy: 

The deliverables will include: 

  • Doing translations of the IWRM Academy training presentations into Georgian language
  • Preparing the online version of the IWRM Academy trainings’ video version supporting the Senior Capacity Building Expert and Regional Project Analyst
  • Provide the video transcription of the trainings conducted within the IWRM academy related to Environmental Communications and Public Affairs and prepare the Georgian version of those trainings by using the training presentations and video transcriptions;
  • Participation in data collection, surveys, and analysis conducted by the project national and international efforts that are related to integrated water resources management, environmental communications and public affairs;
  • Contributions to project outreach and communication efforts to build awareness of environmental communications and public affairs issues among stakeholders as needed; 
  • Contributions to the social media efforts of the project that highlight the importance and approaches of integrated water resources management efforts, and draw from national, regional, and global examples, and challenges;
  • Preparing visibility materials as requested by Chief Technical Advisor, Regional Communications Manager and International Stakeholder Engagement Expert as needed;
  • Updating the social media accounts and website of the project regularly, on a daily basis;
  • Providing inputs to the review and finalization of project reports under the guidance of the PCU team, and National Coordinators related to environmental communications and public affairs; 
  • Develop Youth Water Network for IWRM in Georgia 
  • Provide co-facilitation to trainings, workshops and academic conferences and evaluations of the trainings as they pertain to the application of environmental communications and public affairs curriculum;
  • Translation of project materials specifically related to environmental communications and public affairs approaches, and providing critical inputs into the materials for use in future curriculum development;
  • Provide assistance to international and national experts as needed in field missions as it pertains to environmental communications as well as accompany them during the field trips as needed; 
  • Provide environmental communications approaches to targeted recruitment for IWRM Trainings for stakeholder groups, and the work of the Public Private Partnership outputs;
  • Conduct initial meetings with stakeholders in the Aragvi Basin and other regions over the Basin to determine priorities in advance of the Environmental Flow Stakeholder Meeting with support of the International Stakeholder Engagement Expert;
  • Deliver trainings for the stakeholders in the field of IWRM and Environmental Communication in Georgian;
  • Additional tasks related to the listed deliverable as appropriate and assigned under the authorization of the Chief Technical Advisor/Project Coordinator (CTA/RPC). 

Tasks and specific deliverables for the Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert will be assigned by the Regional Project Analyst on weekly basis with anticipated time inputs for each assignment to be discussed and agreed. These will be reflected in “assignment notes” kept by the Regional Project Analyst.  Payments will be made monthly for approved task completion and accepted deliverables based on daily rate (or portion of daily rate) as per UNDP IRH Consultant Timesheet approved by the certifying officer. It is expected the workload will vary based on project needs and availability of the Georgia Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert.

Information on Working Arrangements: 

The Junior Communication and Public Affairs Expert will report to the Regional Project Analyst. Deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the project team and ultimately by the CTA/RPC.

Compétences

Functional competencies

  • Excellent communication and management skills and demonstrable capacity to work with a multi-national team and to work with government institutions;
  • Demonstrated aptitude for communications and public affairs in Georgia; 
  • Ability to take responsibility for data collection, and work with multiple water use sectors within Georgia;
  • Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
  • Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
  • Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities.

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;
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree in philology, social sciences, environmental studies, developmental studies, water management or other relevant field required. 
  • Graduate training in environmental or water management related fields a strong asset; 
  • Enrolment in professional programs & trainings for environmental, water policy or water resources management is a strong asset;

Experience

  • At least 2 year of demonstrated experience in water resource management or environmental management related work required; 
  • Proven experience in developing social media networks and communications on water resources is required;
  • Experience with the water nexus, transboundary water management, or approaches related to building capacity for transboundary IWRM is a strong asset;
  • Experience with water management issues across Georgia is a requirement; 

Language: 

  • Ability to communicate clearly and write professionally in Georgian and English languages is a requirement for this position;
  • Ability to communicate in Russian is an additional advantage.


Evaluation of Applicants
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11/CV, and cover letter desk review, samples evaluation and interview) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

  • Criteria A – (desk review) education and additional trainings – 5 points
  • Criteria B - (desk review) experience in water resource management or environmental management related work – 10 points
  • Criteria C - (desk review) experience with the water nexus, transboundary water management, or approaches related to building capacity for transboundary IWRM - max 5 point.
  • Criteria D – (samples evaluation) evaluation of communications and visibility samples prepared by the candidate - max points: 5.
  • Criteria E – (samples evaluation) language skills - max points: 5.
  •  Criteria F – (interview) experience with water management issues across Georgia - max points: 5.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation (max points 15).

Only candidates who will get at least 70% of points in Criteria A-E will be considered for the interview; and only candidates who will get at least 70% of points in the technical evaluation (A-F) will be considered for financial evaluation.

Application procedures
The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications.

Step 1: Interested candidates must include the following documents when submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document):

  • Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application. 
  • Min. 2 samples of previous work (relevant visibility materials are required)
  • Filled P11 form or CVs including past experience in similar projects, and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); 

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal - Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and requested to provide a financial offer.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). 

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

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 dss.un.org

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.