UNDP Jobs - 77183- International Project Advisor/Team Leader

International Project Advisor/Team Leader

Location :

Chisinau,, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

07-Mar-2018

Application Deadline :

25-Feb-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

163 Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP 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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

These are the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the position “International project Advisor/Team Leader” under the UNDP-GEF Project titled: Moldova Sustainable Green Cities – Catalysing investment in sustainable green cities in the Republic of Moldova using a holistic integrated urban planning approach. The project document was signed with the Implementing Partner in October 2017 and the implementation period will extend over the next 5 years. Currently, during the project inception phase, UNDP Moldova and the Project Manager are recruiting the main staff positions under the project.

During the duration of this consultancy (163 work days over a period of one year), the International Project Advisor/Team Leader will report to the Project Manager and will provide day-to-day technical support to the project in view of establishing the mechanisms, operational standards and reference documents, necessary for the national implementation of the Component 1 of the Project and will provide general support to the project, will liaise with the main stakeholders and implement the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (M&E) aligned with GEF rules.

Duties and Responsibilities

The International Project Advisor/Team Leader will have overall responsibility over the day to day implementation of the activities under project’s Component 1 and overall project advisory services and support to the Project Manager, including responsibility for the project’s UNDP standard M&E aligned with UNDP/GEF rules.

The Project Advisor will report to the Project manager and will have duties grouped under three main areas

Project implementation (management, leadership of the Component 1) monitoring and GEF reporting;

Support the local project management team in organizing the implementation of the project’s different components at the inception phase, including support to the project management in the preparation of the project inception report and the annual output specific work plans, drafting of Terms of Reference for the national and, as needed, additional international experts and subcontractors, input into required tender documents, presentations for project board meetings etc;
Preparation of project progress reports, according to the donor requirements, containing description of progress – technical and financial, including problem encountered, planned activities as well as inputs for all reports required within UNDP project monitoring scheme, provide input necessary for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E activities);
In line with UNDP/GEF rules and regulations and the prevailing project implementation arrangements, draft Terms of References (TORs) for project experts, companies, partner organizations, identify candidates, and provide input to the recruitment and hiring process as needed;
Support the implementation of activities under Component 1, ensure quality of deliverables leading to the envisaged outputs under Component 1;
Directly liaise with project partners and national stakeholders as needed, facilitate strategic partnerships;
Provide technical input needed for outreach, communication, PR and project visibility materials;

Advisory support to the Project manager and national partners

Closely engage with key stakeholders to identify the best option for the Green City Lab set-up and necessary institutional arrangements; draft the statutory documents;
Support the development of the marketing materials for the GCL for attraction of new clients / business opportunities;
Draft concept note for a proposed strategic study tour for GCL staff to similar green/smart urban development hubs in other country (ies) with relevant experience; provide an analysis of the various options for green urban development visited and other best practices at international level and advise on how to adapt some of these solutions to the national context of Moldova;
By building on international experiences and lessons learnt from promoting the Green and Smart City, contribute to the design and adaptive management of the project’s financial support programs as well as provide policy and other recommendations to advance the project goals;
Coordination of the team of experts and/or companies hired to support the capacity building and business opportunities and growth of the Green City Lab (under Component 1), facilitate round tables, working groups, liaise with project partners;
Coordinate with financial, legal and other experts (both national and international) and support through coordination of the development of a Terms of Reference for business model and business plan for the GCL including development of services and fee structures;
Provide substantive inputs into all project technical reports prepared under Component 1 and when needed, support the revision of the technical reports prepared in support of the other two project components;

Stakeholder engagement, partner coordination and knowledge management support.

Support the GCL team members in arranging co-operation with the already identified key stakeholders and, as applicable, support the identification and establishment of new national and international partnerships and to support the project goals and objectives; and
Facilitate discussions, workshops or other events with multiple stakeholder and NGO participation, studies, surveys and pilot projects;
Facilitate coordination with capacity building activities or partners and other relevant projects, which may include development and implementation of joint capacity building strategies and programmes;
Support the Component 2 manager and the Project Manager to establish cross-sectoral green city / urban task forces consisting of a variety of key stakeholders from public and private sector for the three main areas the project is seeking to influence, namely i) urban land use and mobility planning; ii) energy efficient housing and related public utility services; and iii) resource efficient waste management. The task forces shall review and, as applicable, contribute to the revision of the current urban plans and sectoral development strategies (or those under development) as well as to support the design and selection of the first pilot/demonstration projects to be supported under project outcome 2;

Support to the expected Project Outputs

The International Project Advisor will have overall advisory responsibilities in support to advancing towards the project’s outcomes and will support the project’s monitoring and reporting. In addition, he/she will also act as a Team Leader for the Component/Outcome 1 and will be responsible for advancing towards the achievement of the envisaged outputs under Component 1.

The main outputs contributing to outcome 1 will consist of the following:

Shareholders Agreement, Articles of Association, GCL Board Composition terms of reference, and terms of reference for all GCL positions all prepared and ready;
Adequately equipped initial Green City Lab/PIU in operation with carefully selected staff within the premises suited for the envisaged functions of the Lab, including common workspace, meeting room(s) and other networking facilities accessible also for other actors affiliated with and/or interested in green city development such as CSOs, HOAs, individual experts, researchers and consultants, emerging start-up companies and others;
ICT platform hosting a comprehensive on-line and regularly updated open data, knowledge management and networking platform and clearing house for green city development providing a basis for project’s public outreach, community engagement, capacity and partnership building activities;
As a part of the of the above, an on-line network/roster of local and international green city experts and expert institutions with advanced search functions to serve partnership building and compilation of highly qualified expert teams to work with particular green city challenges and subprojects based on their areas of expertise and qualifications (CVs, references) that can be accessed and reviewed through the application;
Concluded partnership and co-operation agreements with the key stakeholders, including city authorities, relevant line ministries, public utility companies, academic and other research and educational entities, expert associations and other CSOs, home-owner associations, private sector companies, local and international financing entities and other ongoing projects as well as international experts and expert institutions, some of which may also become a part of GCL’s international advisory and coaching team.
Developing/adapting and taking into use complementary ICT solutions to support integrated and participatory planning, crowd-sourcing, impact monitoring and broad community engagement;
Establishment of cross-sectoral green city / urban task forces consisting of a variety of key stakeholders from public and private sector for the three main areas the project is seeking to influence, namely i) urban land use and mobility planning; ii) energy efficient housing and related public utility services; and iii) resource efficient waste management. The task forces shall review and, as applicable, contribute to the revision of the current urban plans and sectoral development strategies (or those under development) as well as to support the design and selection of the first pilot/demonstration projects to be supported under project outcome 2;
Further development of national design codes and/or related guidance documents to simplify the process of and empower the private sector and communities to develop projects contributing to green city development; and
Development of a suite of services for and enhanced capacity and references of the Green City Lab to deliver these services for fee paying customers by relying on the resources of both the GCL core team and the network of its co-operating experts and partner institutions included in its Roster of Experts. These services may include energy audits, design and delivery of training courses for homeowners associations (HOA) and municipal service providers, surveys and public outreach events and campaigns, various project management, procurement, design and financial structuring services, project impact monitoring, reporting and verification and others – subject to not jeopardizing the reaching of the other targets of the project during its implementation, however.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent proven skills in analysis, leadership and overall diplomatic skills;
Good organizational, time management and facilitation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Institutional arrangement

The consultancy work is expected to start beginning of March 2018 in part time regime. The International Project Advisor/Team Leader is expected to relocate to Chisinau for the duration of the assignment 163 days with possibility of extension. He/she will report to the Project Manager and will work in close coordination with the project team, national and international consultants and national partners. If additional ad-hoc travel from the duty station (Chisinau) is required, the cost of airfare and accommodation will be supported by the project.

Qualifications and experience requirements

Academic qualifications:

Master’s degree in environmental studies, business administration, social sciences and/or other related fields.

Experience:

At least 7 years professional experience in project/programme management and coordination, including project development and extensive use of M&E etc at national and international level.
Demonstrable experience in implementing GEF and UNDP projects in Environment and Energy area or other international donor funded development projects;
At least 5 years work experience with projects in environment, climate change field;
Previous experience in work in Moldova and knowledge of national context is an asset;
Knowledge of green cities concept and familiarity with at least one focus area of the project(e.g. energy efficiency in buildings, mobility/transport, waste management) ;
Demonstrable experience in coordinating large multi-disciplinary consultants or project teams ;
Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to respond to donor requirements and apply RBM tools;
Effectiveness and ability to achieve results and deadlines in a timely manner, maintaining a high standard throughout;
Proven experience in forging strategic partnerships, client-orientation approach and stakeholder engagement
Demonstrated experience and abilities to lead strategic planning, experience with adaptive management and multidisciplinary team coordination; ;
Analytical skills, communication and teamwork abilities;
Excellent computer literacy (Word, Excel, Internet, Power Point);
Proven experience in preparation of written reports in an accurate and concise manner in English;

Language requirements:

Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English.
Knowledge of Romanian or Russian is strong asset.

Payment modalities

The international consultant will organize and facilitate the implementation of all project management and advisory activities as described above; his/her payment will be lump sum amount based, disbursed in monthly instalments upon satisfactory performance and approval of deliverables.

Application process

All applications should include the following:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability including a brief description of why the applicant considers him/herself as the most suitable candidate;
Personal information (Personal History Form/P11) including past experience in similar projects.
Financial proposal in the provided template (in USD, specifying the total lump sum amount as well as the requested amount of the fee per day).

Important notice

The applicant who has the statute of Government Official / Public Servant, prior to appointment will be asked to submit the following documentation:

a no-objection letter in respect of the applicant received from the government, and;
the applicant is certified in writing by the government to be on official leave without pay for the duration of the Individual Contract.

A retired government official is not considered in this case a government official, and as such, may be contracted.

The detailed Terms of Reference and Procurement Notice can be found at: http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs