Antecedentes

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The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. It focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia and the Middle East, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis. Within its economic development mandate UNCDF specializes in public and private financing mechanisms that catalyze economic growth and make it more inclusive and sustainable.

UNCDF’s Local Development Finance team aims to be a ‘centre of excellence for local government finance and local economic development finance’. In this context it works with cities and local governments to support the financing of their capital investment plans and to design and test financing solutions. This work often involves policy and regulatory reform in conjunction with the appropriate agencies including ministries of finance and central banks. As part of this work UNCDF and its partners sponsored a third party managed fund - the International Municipal Investment Fund (IMIF) to support cities and local governments (notably municipalities in developing countries including the least developed countries) in accessing national and international capital markets. IMIF will provide cities and local governments with reimbursable funds to finance investment projects and programmes of general interest.

In order to support local governments to prepare projects to bankability, UNCDF has constituted a Technical Assistance Facility for the IMIF. Known as the IMIF TAF this facility is comprised of technical advisors, investment officers and municipal finance experts. The IMIF TAF utilizes UNCDF’s proven Local Finance Initiative Dual Key investment process to support the local governments in developing countries prepare projects based on the technical capacity required.

In this context, UNCDF is establishing long term-agreements with consultants who are knowledgeable in municipal finance, project finance, infrastructure finance and capital investment structuring with public sector entities. Skills include experience in debt, equity, PPP and bond instruments. The consultants will complement the work of the diverse IMIF TAF Investment Officer team to undertake technical and financial due diligence, confirm bankability and development of an investment ready packages of ?municipal infrastructure investments.

Selected Municipal Investment Finance Consultants will have dual reporting to the Municipal Investment Finance Manager, based in New York, and the Local Finance Initiative Manager based in Tanzania.

After a competitive selection process, IMIF-TAF will rank applicants under the qualification and specifics of this Terms of Reference and will call upon the Consultants to engage with IMIF-TAF based on their ranking, regional and country presence and availability.

Selected LTA holders are expected to work remotely, with travels to the project sites, most of which are in the Least Developed Countries. Selected consultants must be fully reachable via Internet, email and telephone. The consultants must possess the necessary communication facilities at their own premises. The consultants will be expected to provide updates to the LD management if requested.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Scope of Services

The scope of work will include:

1. Support to Municipal and Project Finance pipeline sourcing
2. Provide specialized project finance advisory services that will lead to the financial closure of municipal investment projects.
3. Capacity building and knowledge transfer.
4. Any other related duties as may be required.

Description of Duties and Responsibilities

Provide specialized project finance advisory services that will lead to the financial closure of municipal. (80%) investment projects.

• Together with UNCDF team, support the project sourcing and development process documenting critical steps required for each municipal project assigned to reach financial closure (FC).
• Develop, update, and or consolidate dynamic financial models based on new information from municipal financial books, developers, lenders, contractors, lawyers and or any other relevant third parties.
• Support municipal PPP transactions to achieve the optimal capital structure aimed at meeting known requirements of lenders and equity investors? based on the economic of the projects.
• Support municipal and local utility bond structuring and issuance, both for general obligation and revenue bonds. Support to policy and regulatory reform required in capital markets and regulatory institutions to enable sub-national bond issuance.
• Support the municipality team directly on the projects that are to be borrowing directly on the balance sheet of the municipality (general obligation liability).
• Develop and negotiate joint development agreements (JDAs) involving the larger stakeholder community typically affected by such projects (municipality, logistics operators, equity sponsors, etc.).
• Prepare project financing documentation to present to UNCDF’s LD Dual Key Investment Committee (LDIC), potential lenders and investors having clear, transparent and relevant information that is in accordance with the documentations required by the said parties.
• Support equity and debt agreement negotiations with lenders/equity investors including term sheets, loan agreement etc.
• Support contract negotiations with multiple Operations and Maintenance (O&M) suppliers. If, and when, O&M contracts are part of the transaction structure.
• Advise and support the introduction and negotiations of credit enhancements, guarantees or any other relevant tools intended to mitigate lenders perceived project risks.
• Support the municipality as a “project developer” during lender due diligence phase and inquiries
• Advise and support the introduction of currency hedging instruments, where required by the lender
• Advise the municipality on the financial clauses and support the engagement and negotiations with legal advisors during the structuring phase of the project.
• Overall, advise the project developer through the entire funding negotiation process to ensure that they achieve the best possible and most cost-effective terms and conditions for their projects.

Capacity building and knowledge transfer (20%)

• As a key element of project support, the consultant should be able to impart knowledge to various stakeholder groupings, including but not limited to the developers, the municipal counterparts, and UNCDF staff members.
• Develop municipal project finance training materials and deliver together with the UNCDF team at least two technical workshops in a year and or training targeting key stakeholders and developers of municipal infrastructure investment projects.
• Support UNCDF staff engagement in project finance deliberations and provide knowledge transfer through on the job consultation sessions and informal training as needed. Deliver at least one consultation session/training in developing and financing of municipal investment projects, building dynamic financial models, negotiating EPC agreements, debt/equity arrangements and assessing risk and mitigation strategies to UNCDF team members.

Deliverables:

If an LTA holder is assigned to a project investment, the Consultant shall produce, during the assignment, the following reports:

• Inception Report:?The Consultant shall present to UNCDF an Inception Report presenting initial findings following the review of project proposal by the municipality and financial and technical data available.
• Detailed Work Plans:??For each of the selected municipal infrastructure investment projects inception report will include at a minimum the objectives, projected activities and strategies needed to achieve them.
• Draft Financial Analysis Report and draft Financial Model: The Consultant shall submit to UNCDF a draft financial analysis report and draft financial model, which shall generate preliminary financial projections for the project operations as soon as enough data points have been obtained.
• Interim Reports: Municipal investment projects are long term infrastructure projects. The consultant will work under the UNCDF supervisors mentioned above and will produce the interim reports as the engagement agreement of each municipal investment project. The interim reports shall include: (i) current obstacles to be overcome, (ii) an assessment of the situation and progress; (iii) an outline of a long term strategy toward Financial Closureof the projects the consultant is working on; (iv) proposals for components to be included with cost estimates; (vi) the scope of work for the project implementation team; (viii) the Value For Money analysis. The Consultant shall distribute interim Reports to UNCDF for comments and shall organise a joint meeting, if requested to, to present the project status (“Presentation”) with all parties within two weeks after distribution of the Report.
• Project Information Memorandum: The objective of an information memorandum is to achieve Financial Closure.

Output Documents – per selected project

• Inception report and interim reports
• Detailed Work Plan
• Due Diligence Report
• Consolidated Financial Model
• Project Management Plan
• Project Budget
• Project Information Memorandum
• Training Materials for municipal project finance technical workshops and training UNCDF staff and UNCDF partners.

Duration of the assignment

• Successful candidates agreeement with UNCDF is for a duration of three (3) years. Within the said period, the Consultants may be called upon to render the above listed services.
• The Duration of each assignment will vary based on multiple factors, ranging from the size, complexity, readiness and amount of work needed to structure the project to an investment ready stage. However, it is estimated that an LTA holder may spend from 10 business days up to 100 business days on preparing an investment.
• Precise time duration for each assignment will be provided and discussed with the selected LTA holders for each investment. It is also possible to engage the same LTA holder in multiple investments (portfolio) for which the time may range from 50-120 business days of commitment.
• At the end of the 3rd year, UNCDF shall re-open the tendering for the roster, and all LTA holders may participate anew, except for those removed by UNCDF from the list of LTA holders for whatever cause. Performance from previous engagements shall be considered during the new tender.

Contract Modality

• The successful offerors shall be engaged as LTA holder for a duration of three (3) years. The LTA holders are to be classified based on their qualifications and regional presence. Consultants shall be ranked based on overall rating achieved during the selection process – the highest rated will be ranked first, and so on.
• UNCDF will sign framework agreements otherwise referred to as long term agreement (LTA) (1-year renewable) with the highest-ranking applicants (12-16) covering the regions IMIF-TAF will operate in. Under IC Framework Agreements, there will be no financial obligations, until the expert is called off to render the services, which shall be triggered by a written request accompanied by this TOR and a Purchase Order indicating the full cost of the services
• Priority and availability to assign an investment project will be given to the highest-ranking Consultants in each region.?Second ranking Consultants (or third, depending on the outcome of the selection process) shall be called off in the event that the highest-ranking expert is not available during the UNCDF-requested period of engagement.
• Consultants will be compensated based on submitted monthly Certification of Payment forms (COPs) indicating the number of days and investment committee performed. COPs are certified and authorized for disbursement by the direct managers.
• At the end of every call-off, payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant for record and reference purposes, specially at the time of the new tender.

Travel:

UNCDF will pay separately travel expenses (economy airfare, terminal expenses and per diems which include hotel and food expenses) according on standard UN rates based on evidence of approved and actual travel.

Competencias

• Serves and promotes the vision, mission, values, and strategic goals of UNCDF;
• Plans, prioritizes, and delivers tasks on time;
• Conceptualizes and analyses problems to identify key issues, underlying problems and how they relate to each other;
• Demonstrates effective written and oral communication skills;
• Plans and produces quality results to meet established goals;
• Generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Experience:

• Development and execution of viable limited recourse project finance transactions
• Project finance expert with demonstrated experience and track record of securing private sector financing for income generating municipal or central government infrastructure projects with project sponsors, including sponsors who are cities or municipalities;
• Demonstrated track record in structuring infrastructure projects in developing countries, using risk mitigation structures, including specific elements such as EPC, O&M and PPA contracts;
• Demonstrated track record of innovating in the above project development and financing processes, adapting the development, structuring, risk mitigation, and financing as needed to secure private sector finance;
• Access to potential lenders and alternative equity partners from the Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s) / Multilateral Finance Institutions (MFI’s) / impact investment community;
• Demonstrated ability to develop and close project finance transactions in developing countries is a plus
• Demonstrated the ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.
• Track record of providing capacity building and technical support to project teams or their advisors on largescale infrastructure projects – development, structuring, risk mitigation and financing

Education:

• A Master’s Degree or equivalent in international development, finance, business administration, Law or equivalent

Language:

• This assignment needs a bilingual candidate. Fluency in English is necessary and one of the following languages: French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Availability:

Immediately

Location:

Home Based with physical presence in Africa, South East Asia, the Pacific, Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Application Procedures:

Interested consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit below mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation. (Note: the system does not allow multiple uploads of documents. Applicants must make sure to upload all documents in one PDF file).

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability;
• Personal CV or UN P11 form, - indicating all past experience, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate AND names of at least three (3) professional references (e-mail addresses, telephone numbers);
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, outlining track record and direct relevance for the present assignment; Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application. This is the section where the preferred thematic areas should be indicated;
• Signed Financial proposal, for the assignment outlining: All-inclusive daily fee in USD (including professional fees and other professional expenses, such as housing, insurance, taxes, etc.) Available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916).

If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNCDF under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNCDF.

When applying for this consultancy position, the Offeror must apply with his/her official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification.

Evaluation of applicants:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a “ combined evaluation of both technical and financial proposals.
The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose CV has been evaluated and determined as (a) technically responsive/ compliant/ acceptable, and (b) lowest daily fee. CVs will be evaluated based on:

• Relevant experience working in international development, project finance, and helping large scale infrastructure projects reach finance close in developing countries.

Application procedure:

Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions. The following selection method will be used: Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals. The overall combined score will be 100 points, where weight distribution shall be 70% technical (Desk Review) and 30% financial.

Step I: Screening:

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria (listed under education and experience) will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• Education requirements as indicated in this Terms of Reference.

• Development and execution of viable limited recourse project finance transactions 

• Demonstrated track record of at least three years in structuring infrastructure projects in developing countries, using risk mitigation structures, including specific elements such as EPC, O&M and PPA contracts.

• Proficiency in English is required and any of the following languages, French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese.

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review (100 points X 70%)

UNCDF will conduct a desk review process to shortlist and technically evaluate candidates as per the following criteria:

1. Development and execution of viable limited recourse project finance transactions. Experience in Municipal investment transactions is an advantage.  (20 points)

2.  Demonstrated track record in structuring infrastructure projects in developing countries, using risk mitigation structures, including specific elements such as EPC, O&M and PPA contracts.  Experience in Municipal investment transactions is an advantage. (30 points)

3. Track record of providing capacity building and technical support to project teams or their advisors on infrastructure projects – development, structuring, risk mitigation and financing including debt, equity, PPP and bond modalities. (20 points)

4. Demonstrated track record of innovating in the above project development and financing processes, adapting the development, structuring, risk mitigation, and financing as needed to secure additional financing flows. (20 points)

5. Experience in accessing potential lenders and alternative equity partners from the Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s) / Multilateral Finance Institutions (MFI’s) / impact investment community. (5 points)

6. Fluency in English and Fluency in one Additional language (French, or Arabic or Spanish or Portuguese or Russian). (5 points)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Step II: Desk Review will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step III: Financial Evaluation:

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

The Price proposal must be submitted as an inclusive daily fee in USD.

Step IV: Short interview

• Candidates passing step III will be invited for a short interview to discuss their availability, language preferences, expertise and geographical interest. This will enable a more effective utulization of the LTAs and a balanced capacity to meet demand.  The findings from the interview shall not, in any way, alter the outcome of the combined scoring arising from Steps I to III.  However, the outcome of the interview may impact the ranking of the  consultants. 

Step V: Placement on Roster and Issuance of Individual Contract

LTA awards shall be made to candidates whose offers have been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable vis-à-vis the requirements of the TOR and the project operating environment; and
• Having received the highest scores out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical criteria (70%) and financial criteria (30%) specific to the solicitation.

Both individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply.

Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly).

Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.

UNCDF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.  All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling 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.