Antecedentes

The Climate Aggregation Platform for Developing Countries (CAP) (PIMS# 5749) implemented through the UNDP-GEF, started on 18th July 2017 and is in its first year of implementation. Drawing on lessons learnt in its first year, the CAP is currently undergoing a realignment of its strategy and activities.  The MTR process must follow the guidance outlined in the document Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects.

The Climate Aggregation Platform (CAP) will promote the scale-up of financial aggregation for small-scale, low-carbon energy assets in developing countries. The project aims to help build in-country pipelines of high-quality, standardised low-carbon energy assets and to develop new low-cost sources of financing, building awareness and trust with investors in this new asset class. In so doing, the project can contribute to improving the lives of citizens in developing countries, bringing about affordable, reliable and clean energy.

The CAP’s activities and value proposition will be formulated in terms of a global offer and an in-country offer:

• Global offer: global awareness raising, knowledge management and working group
• In-country offer: three in-country initiatives, each centered around (i) a showcase transaction, likely in partnership with a development bank and/or the private sector, and (ii) tailored market development activities from a menu of services, such as standardization efforts and addressing tax/regulatory barriers.

The project’s central approach to achieving change - embedded throughout its design - is a barrier-removal approach. The project seeks to do this in different ways: addressing information barriers through the project’s global activities, addressing first-mover barriers through its emphasis on first-of-a-kind transactions, and then, within countries, targeting specific barriers to scaling-up via tailored market development activities.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is providing initial seed-funding to establish the CAP in the form of a USD 1.95 million, 3-year GEF project.  UNDP and the non-profit Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), as a Responsible Party to UNDP, will implement the project. IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is a founding partner of the CAP and is providing co-financing for the in-country initiatives.

The MTR will be conducted according to the guidance, rules and procedures established by UNDP and GEF as reflected in the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The MTR consultant will first conduct a document review of project documents for the CAP’s initial design and implementation, as well as, for its current realignment. These documents will include, but not limited to: UNDP Project Document, Inception Workshop Report, Workplans, Global Team Call Minutes, Hypothesis Papers, Stakeholder Call/Meeting Notes, Proposed Restructured Activities, CAP Addendum, all other relevant emails, notes, and documents used by the CAP team, etc. which will be provided by the Project Team. Then the consultant will participate in a one-day MTR inception workshop either in person in New York or via teleconference with New York to clarify his/her understanding of the objectives and methods of the MTR, producing the MTR inception report thereafter. The remainder of the consultancy will be home-based, with video, skype and conference calls as need be.

The MTR consultant will assess the following four categories of project progress and produce a draft and final MTR report. See the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects.

1. Project Strategy

Project Design:

• Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying assumptions.  Review the effect of any incorrect assumptions or changes to the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project Document;
• Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results;
• Review how the project addresses country priorities;
• Review decision-making processes.

Results Framework/Logframe:

• Undertake a critical analysis of the project’s logframe indicators and targets, assess how “SMART” the midterm and end-of-project targets are (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound), and suggest specific amendments/revisions to the targets and indicators as necessary;
• Examine if progress so far has led to or could in the future catalyse beneficial development effects (i.e. income generation, gender equality and women’s empowerment, improved governance etc...) that should be included in the project results framework and monitored on an annual basis.

2. Progress Towards Results

• Review the logframe indicators against progress made towards the end-of-project targets; populate the Progress Towards Results Matrix, as described in the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects; colour code progress in a “traffic light system” based on the level of progress achieved; assign a rating on progress for the project objective and each outcome; make recommendations from the areas marked as “not on target to be achieved” (red);
• Compare and analyse the GEF Tracking Tool at the Baseline with the one completed right before the Midterm Review;
• Identify remaining barriers to achieving the project objective;
• By reviewing the aspects of the project that have already been successful, identify ways in which the project can further expand these benefits.

3. Project Implementation and Adaptive Management

Using the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects; assess the following categories of project progress:

• Management Arrangements;
• Work Planning;
• Finance and co-finance;
• Project-level monitoring and evaluation systems;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Reporting;
• Communications.

4. Sustainability

Assess overall risks to sustainability factors of the project in terms of the following four categories:

• Financial risks to sustainability;
• Socio-economic risks to sustainability;
• Institutional framework and governance risks to sustainability;
• Environmental risks to sustainability.

The MTR consultant will include a section in the MTR report setting out the MTR’s evidence-based conclusions, in light of the findings.

Additionally, the MTR consultant is expected to make recommendations to the Project Team. Recommendations should be succinct suggestions for critical intervention that are specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant. A recommendation table should be put in the report’s executive summary. The MTR consultant should make no more than 15 recommendations total.

The consultant cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation, and/or implementation (including the writing of the Project Document) and should not have a conflict of interest with the project’s related activities.

Expected Outputs:

The MTR consultant shall prepare and submit the following to the UNDP-GEF HQ:

• MTR Inception Report: MTR consultant clarifies objectives and methods of the Midterm Review - Due date: 1 October 2018;
• Presentation on Initial Findings - Due date: 15 October 2018;
• Draft Final Report: Full report with annexes - Due date: 29 October 2018;
• Final Report: Revised report with annexed audit trail detailing how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final MTR report - Due date: 19 November 2018.

The report, together with its annexes, will be submitted in electronic format in both, MS Word and pdf format.  The final MTR report must be in English.

All outputs will be reviewed and approved by the Energy Finance Specialist. 

Payment Schedule:

• MTR Inception Report by 1 October 2018: 10%;
• Presentation on initial findings by 15 October 2018: 10%;
• Draft Final Report by 29 October 2018: 20%;
• Final Report by 19 November 2018: 60%.

Institutional Arrangements:

• The consultant will be home-based, with the potential for a one-day mission travel to New York, USA;
• The consultant will report directly to the Energy Finance Specialist;
• The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
• Given the regional consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;
• Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked (with a “day” calculated as 8 hours of work) and outputs delivered.

Travel:

• Travel may be required to New York, USA in September 2018 for a one-day MTR Inception Workshop;
• Any necessary mission travel must be approved in advance and in writing by the Supervisor;
• The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
• 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 https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;
• Consultants are responsible for obtaining security clearances and any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
• The consultant will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies;
• All related travel expenses will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form, quotation, and supporting documents;
• All estimated costs for potential mission travel to New York (round trip economy fare ticket, terminals, etc.) should be included in the financial proposal for budgeting purposes; not for the purpose of evaluating the lump sum financial proposal.

Competencias

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.

Technical:

• Demonstrated ability to coordinate processes to collate information and facilitate discussion and analysis of material;
• Technical competencies in undertaking complex evaluations which involve multiple countries and variety of stakeholders;
• Demonstrated strong research and analytical skills.

Communications:

• Excellent writing skills in English;
• Excellent communication skills and experience in conducting structured interviews with a variety of stakeholders;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, in a simple, concise and persuasive manner.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;
• Demonstrated ability in strategic thinking;
• Demonstrated strong organizational, reporting and writing abilities;
• Able to work independently and remotely with minimal supervision;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Teamwork:

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a collaborative team and process;
• Ability to be flexible and respond to changes as part of the review and feedback process.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Public Policy, Social Science, Energy, Finance, International Affairs, Business Administration, or other closely related field (max. 10 points).

Experience:

• At least 7 years or more relevant professional experience (max 20 points);
• Proven experience with UNDP/UNDP-GEF MTR and/or Terminal Evaluations (max 20 points);
• Experience working in renewable energy required, with experience in small-scale low-carbon/energy efficiency an advantage (max. 10 points); 
• Experience working in project restructuring/re-design will be an advantage (max 10 points);
• Experience working on development projects with a private sector financial component or private sector financial partner will be an advantage (max. 10 points); 
• The consultant cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation, and/or implementation (including the writing of the Project Document) and should not have a conflict of interest with project’s related activities.  Please provide a statement in your application confirming this. (pass/fail).

Language:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English language (max. 10 points).

Evaluation method:

• Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated.  Incomplete applications will not be considered;
• Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the technical criteria will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer will be weighted at 30%;
• The technical criteria (education, experience, language [max. 90 points], and interview [max. 20 points]) will be based on a maximum 110 points;
• Only the top 3 candidates that have achieved a minimum of 63 points from the review of the education, experience and languages will be considered for the interview;
• Candidates obtaining 14 points or higher from the interview will be deemed technically qualified and considered for financial evaluation;
• Financial score (max 100 points) shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal of those technically qualified;
• The financial proposal shall specify a lump sum fee including breakdown per deliverable as outlined above. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of the fee (including number of days and all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment);
• The financial proposal should also include the estimated cost of a one-day mission to New York for budgeting purposes. This cost estimate should not be part of the lump sum fee and will not factored into the financial score;
• Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.

Documentation to be submitted:

• Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the below link;
• Applicants must submit a statement confirming s/he has not participated in the project preparation, formulation, and/or implementation (including the writing of the Project Document) and has no conflict of interest with project’s related activities;
• Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application;
• Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment to be downloaded from the UNDP procurement site.

Kindly note you can upload only ONE document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.

Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=48562