Antecedentes

The Black Sea is one of the most vulnerable regional seas in the world given its limited exchange of water with the open oceans and the large area of continental Europe from which it receives the drainage. The four strongly interlinked priority trans-boundary problems of the Black Sea are eutrophication - nutrient enrichment, changes in marine living resources, chemical pollution (including oil), and biodiversity/habitat changes, including alien species introduction - as well as the underlying root causes like industrial activities, agriculture, domestic wastewater, sea transport (oil spills, ballast water), and coastal zone degradation (urbanisation, tourism). The Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution (Bucharest Convention) addresses these problems through enhanced cooperation among its signatories. The development/improvement of a monitoring network and data collection to provide for ecosystem-based and knowledge-based decision-making is considered to be a management target of high priority. Further coordination in policies and legislation between the Black Sea countries is of common interest in the region and specifically to the EU's partners countries – being also members of the Black Sea Commission (BSC) - in so far it influences their own ability to comply with EU legislation and policies, notably the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). 
The overall objective of the project is to help improve the protection of the Black Sea environment. This objective will be pursued through the implementation of those initiatives that were elaborated and planned during the preparatory phase of this project (EMBLAS-I).
The specific objectives are as follows: i) to improve availability and quality of Black Sea environmental data in line with the MSFD and Black Sea Strategic Action Plan 2009 (BS SAP 2009) needs; ii) to improve partner countries' ability to perform marine environmental monitoring along MSFD principles, taking into account the Black Sea Diagnostic Report II recommendations on capacity building.
The following activities are carried out in the Phase 2 of the project – EMBLAS II:

  • Project Activity 1: Continue support to the implementation of countries’ obligations under the Bucharest and other related Conventions and Agreements;
  • Project Activity 2: Implementation of cost-effective and harmonised marine environmental monitoring programmes in accordance with reporting obligations under multilateral environmental agreements, the WFD and the MSFD – National Pilot Monitoring Studies (NPMS);
  • Project Activity 3: Large scale implementation of training programmes on monitoring methods and quality assurance adhering to the ISO 17025 standard;
  • Project Activity 4: Implementation of Joint Surveys and environmental assessment of the Black Sea along the lines of the WFD and the MSFD – Joint Open Sea Surveys (JOSS);
  • Project Activity 5: Operate the web-based Black Sea Water Quality Database;
  • Project Activity 6: Dissemination of Knowledge and Best Practices, Public Awareness and Visibility.

The project will strengthen capacities of the respective national authorities for biological and chemical monitoring of the Black Sea, taking into consideration the requirements of EU water related legislation (EU WFD and MSFD). Significant effort will be put into training and other capacity building activities. In order to promote ownership, engagement of local experts and organisations is foreseen. 

Location: home based, with travels in the Black Sea region for the project events, monitoring surveys and planned visit to Georgia (estimated duration 4 days). The project is implemented in Georgia (GE), Russian Federation (RF) and Ukraine (UA).

Deberes y responsabilidades

The Consultant will have a role of biology - macrozoobenthos expert for the Joint Black Sea Surveys (JBSS) 2017 consisting of Joint Open Sea Surveys (JOSS GE-UA, 27 August - 7 September 2017; JOSS RF September 2017) and National Pilot Monitoring Studies (NPMS) 2017 in GE, RF and UA (August - Septemebr 2017). The Consultant will closely cooperate with the Scientific Coordinator of cruises, Project Team Leader, national lead partner organizations and project experts, as well as other relevant UNDP staff – project assistant and water programme analyst from UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and the CIS. 
He/she will work under the direct supervision of the Project Team Leader and UNDP Regional Technical Advisor for International Waters, who has the overall supervision role on the project from the UNDP side.  

In detail, the Consultant will have the following tasks in the project:

In the Project Activity 2, 3 and 4 the Consultant will: 

  • Actively participate in the preparations and implementation of JOSS 2017 and NPMS 2017 and be responsible for supervising all aspects of macrozoobenthos sampling, analysis and assessment of results including quality assurance (intercomparison) programme;
  • Organise collection of data from all macrozoobenthos experts involved in the surveys in a harmonised format;
  • Organise training of biology experts in Georgia with focus on the development and testing of national classification schemes for macrozoobenthos; 
  • Contribute to the preparation of the Technical reports and JBSS 2017 Final Scientific Report with chapters on macrozoobenthos describing sampling and analysis methodologies, and assessment of results obtained by all project macrozoobenthos experts according to WFD and MSFD requirements;
  • Provide input for the economic assessment of the WFD- and MSFD-compliant macrozoobenthos monitoring costs in GE and UA.

The Consultant will prepare several deliverables in cooperation with the project experts, within the following time frame and payment schedule:

August 2017 (30 % of payment):

  • Review the final version of the Manuals for the Monitoring Surveys, in particular sections related to macrozoobenthos sampling SOP – provide summary of comments;
  • Prepare proposal for intercomparison exercise among the project macrozoobenthos partners;
  • Contribute to the inventory of all purchased goods and services secured including those arranged by the National Lead Partner Organizations, in close cooperation with the Scientific Coordinator of the cruises;
  • Collaborate with the project Economy expert at the assessment of WFD- and MSFD-compliant monitoring costs of macrozoobenthos in the project countries.

October 2017 (50 % of payment):

  • Analysis of macrozoobenthos samples collected during the JOSS GE-UA 2017 and verification of data provided by UA and GE specialists on macrozoobenthos after their analysis and interpretation of samples collected during NPMS UA 2017, NPMS GE 2017;
  • Organise training on development and testing of national classification schemes for macrozoobenthos in Georgia.

December 2017 (20% of payment):

  • Contribute to the Technical reports and Final Scientific Report on the JOSS and NPMS 2017 (provide relevant chapters);
  • The assignment will require travel in the region, in particular personal participation at the training in Georgia. Participation at monitoring (JOSS GE-UA, NPMS GE, NPMS UA) cruises as well as other events (e.g. press conferences etc.) will be provided upon request by UNDP (to be covered separately).

 

Competencias

Functional competencies:

  • Excellent research and analytical skills; 
  • Ability to work in a team and deliver high quality results under time pressure. 

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

Academic Qualifications/Education: 

  • Master degree in hydrobiology, marine biology or environmental/natural sciences (or equivalent).

Experience: 

  • At least 5 years of demonstrable experience and a proven track record in biology with particular focus on  macrozoobenthos;
  • Experience and a proven track record in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD);  Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) or other related EU Directives;
  • Regional/national experience in working with international projects, at least in one of the following areas:  integrated water resources management, water quality, monitoring programmes, marine biology and ecology, laboratory work;
  • Experience in international consultancy and research in the field of environment and marine biology specifically for the Black Sea region is an asset;
  • Experience in organization or participation in monitoring surveys. 

Language skills

  • Fluent writing and communication skills in English; 
  • Working knowledge of Russian is an asset. 

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 desk reviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only those individual consultants who obtained at least 70% of points from technical criteria will be considered for financial proposal evaluation.

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

  • Criteria A – academic qualification / education – max points: 10;
  • Criteria B – general professional experience in EU environmental acquis (WFD or MSFD) – max points: 15;
  • Criteria C – specific professional experience in the environmental research, in the areas of project (IWRM, water quality monitoring –biological, QA/QC, provision of trainings, environmental data collection or database development, cost assessment of monitoring) – max points: 15;
  • Criteria D – specific professional experience in field work (participation in surveys, expeditions, marine monitoring in the Black Sea region) and intercallibration excercises – max points: 20
  • Criteria E – language, writing skills (publications) max points: 10.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

Application procedure:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

  • 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;
  • Filled P11 form 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); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
  • Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days and any other possible costs); travel costs for missions will be paid separately according to the UN rules and regulations;

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
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 and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). Travel costs for missions will be covered separately according to UNDP rules and regulations.

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. 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.