Antecedentes

In accordance with UNDP and GEF procedures, a team of four consultants is being hired to develop the ESCO Moldova full project. The project is intended to support the development of the first commercial ESCO (Energy Service Company) in Moldova, a public-private partnership between the City of Chisinau and selected investor(s). The ESCO is intended to be launched as a tool to help promote additional investments in the field of energy-efficiency in the municipal sector in Moldova. The purpose of the project preparation grant is to fully design the activities, outputs, and outcomes of ESCO Moldova project in close cooperation with a team of 3 other consultants (1 international, 2 national), UNDP Moldova office and the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre.

An international ESCO expert is being hired to prepare and finalize the package of documentation to the GEF Secretariat before the end of the year (UNDP project document, GEF Request for CEO Endorsement and GEF Tracking Tool). As part of this work, it is essential to further define and elaborate the mandate of ESCO Moldova and identify investors and shareholders who will participate in the company once the project is fully operational. In order to be successful, an operational ESCO requires a business plan which indicates the route to profitability, a shareholders agreement, and a strong management team in place.

For this reason, an international corporate finance expert will be hired to take the lead role in identifying potential investor(s) in ESCO Moldova and helping to define the structure under which ESCO Moldova will operate once it is operational.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The responsibility of the international corporate finance expert is to attract an investor or investors into ESCO Moldova and to help define the structure of the company once it is operational.

• A Detailed Project Workplan detailing all the project outputs and when they will be delivered and which includes a long list of all potential investors/partners for ESCO Moldova who will be consulted during the course of the assignment (at the start of the assignment)
• An ‘Investor Attraction Report’ which describes in detail the interest of various potential investors/partners in ESCO Moldova and concludes with (i) recommendations on how to proceed with which investor(s) and (ii) a proposed shareholders structure for ESCO Moldova and (iii) provides advice on the business strategy for ESCO Moldova (following mission 1)
• An acceptable ‘Termsheet’ between the City of Chisinau and an investor/investor(s) which will outline the capitalization requirements of ESCO Moldova, what assets and cash the company will contain once it is operationalized, the proposed shareholders structure of the new company, and the basic elements of a shareholders agreement that will need to be drafted by lawyers once the basic terms have been agreed. The international corporate finance expert will aim to assist the UNDP Country Office and the City of Chisinau with having the termsheet signed between the City and the investor(s) but it is not the final responsibility of the international corporate finance consultant to have this termsheet signed (following mission 1)
• A draft ‘Business Plan’ for ESCO Moldova which helps to define the business strategy, estimates financing requirements, undertakes SWOT analysis, and makes an estimate of revenues and costs over the next five years. The draft business plan will be the last activity to be prepared under this assignment as work on the draft business plan can only be prepared once an investor(s) have been identified and basic terms agreed. It is accepted that once the company is fully capitalized and operational that the business plan will need to be further updated and improved. (following mission 2)

Competencias

Functional Competencies:

• Experience with having successfully transacted corporate finance deals in the last 5 years in Moldova/Romania
• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
• Ability to plan and organize his/her work, efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results
• 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

 

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

• Graduate degree in business, economics, engineering, environmental science or equivalent experience

Experience

• At least 7 years’ experience in working with companies or on projects in the energy sector in the eastern Europe and CIS region
• At least 7 years’ experience in working with companies or on projects in the energy sector in Moldova/Romania in the last 5 years
• Experience with having successfully transacted a corporate finance deal within the last 5 years in the energy sector and for an ESCO company or in the energy sector or non- energy sector corporate finance deal or worked on a deal which was not successfully concluded. For the avoidance of doubt, transacted a deal means that the deal was successfully concluded with capital being invested into the company
• Experience in having developed business plans for companies and having provided business advisory services

• English; excellent English writing skills; knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian would be an asset

• A brief Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and explaining when, if selected, you could start this assignment
• Copy of your Most Recent P11 and CV
• Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days – in home office and on mission, travel – international and local, per diems and any other possible costs)  

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. 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.

The International Expert will have two missions to Moldova: the first mission is anticipated for July 2013, the second - for September/October 2013. The number of days spent in Moldova for each mission is 5 days.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, office costs 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 in accordance with milestones.

Applications can be from individuals or from a company. In the event a company is applying, then UNDP can use the reimbursable loan agreement (RLA) modality for contracting. Companies which apply to this tender should use on the application only the CV of the one person who is applying for the consultancy position and not provide detailed company background.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

Incomplete applications will not be considered

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

• Graduate degree in business, economics, engineering, environmental science or equivalent experience
• At least 7 years’ experience in working with companies or on projects in the energy sector in the eastern Europe and CIS region

The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on the following methodology:

The award of the contract shall 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.