UNDP Jobs - 80284- BIODIVERSITY-FRIENDLY ENTERPRISES CONSULTANT

BIODIVERSITY-FRIENDLY ENTERPRISES CONSULTANT

Location :

Manila, PHILIPPINES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

06-Aug-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

55 days spread over 5 months

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

The Fifth Operational Phase of the GEF – Small Grants Programme in the Philippines (SGP-5) is supporting some 106 community-based biodiversity-based or biodiversity-related livelihood or enterprise projects (also referred to as biodiversity-friendly enterprises or BDFEs) in various communities in its priority sites in Palawan, Samar Island (in the provinces of Northern Samar and Eastern Samar) and the Sierra Madre Mountain Range (in the provinces of Rizal, Quezon, Aurora, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Isabela). These projects, which are intended to demonstrate the social and economic rewards of biodiversity conservation to poor marginalized and natural resource-dependent communities against the backdrop of large socio-ecological landscapes and seascapes, cover a wide range of livelihood endeavors – production, processing, marketing, tourism – in various ecosystems – coastal and marine, forest, wetlands, agricultural lands.

Based on the reports submitted by its 35 project holders that pursue these projects, these BDFEs are at various stages of progress. In the case of the Eastern Visayas Partnerships for Rural Development (EVPRD), for instance, its partner people’s organization in Mondragon, Northern Samar has been producing at least 1,000 kilos of abaca fiber per week and has already been selling to a trader that demands 10,000 kilos of such fiber per week. In Coron and Busuanga, Palawan, the Culion Foundation, Inc. (CFI) reported that while their partner communities have already started marketing their cashew products in the local market, they are not yet ready to intensify their marketing because they still have to work on the quality of handling their raw materials. In several cases, the level of production and marketing remain limited for one reason or the other.

The Programme aims to have a wider and deeper understanding of the challenges of pursuing BDFEs. Along this line, SGP-5 would like to know the problems faced by its projects and how these problems can be addressed through business and marketing planning at the community level. This is aimed to inform the impending successor operational phase of SGP and hopefully other grant making mechanisms that support BDFEs. The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the DENR, for one, has started to embed its programming with support to BDFEs as in the case of the Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Management Program (CMEMP). Other funding institutions, such as the Forest Foundation Philippines (PTFCF/FFP) and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE, which is also the Responsible Party for SGP-5) have expressed interest in picking up from where SGP-5 will leave off.

To fulfill the abovementioned need, the services of a Biodiversity-Friendly Enterprises Consultant is being sought.

Objectives

This assignment aims to assess the extent of accomplishment of the biodiversity-friendly enterprise (BDFE) projects supported by SGP-5, assist project holders in preparing business plans to further their BDFEs, and recommend ways of improving the conduct of BDFEs for the benefit of the next operational phase of SGP and other similarly situated mechanisms.

Institutional Arrangement

The Consultant

The Consultant shall coordinate and work closely with the Country Programme Management Unit (CPMU) and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment in its capacity as Responsible Party for SGP-5. He/she shall report to the Director of the DENR – Biodiversity Management Bureau through the Country Programme Manager

The Country Project Management Unit (CPMU)

The consultant’s deliverables will be reviewed by the relevant management team. The Country Programme Manager will also evaluate the performance of the consultant at the end of the assignment.

Duration of Work

The Consultant shall be engaged for 55 days spread over 5 months from 15 August 2018 – 14 January 2019.

Duty Station

The Consultant shall be responsible for the recruitment as well as payment of professional fees as well as logistical and travel expenses of the members of her/his team. Additional trips at the behest of the CPMU and at no fault of the Consultant shall be at the expense of the latter.

Schedule of Payments

First Tranche - 20% Upon submission and acceptance of the Inception Report and Work Plan;
Second Tranche - 30% Upon submission and acceptance of the initial findings of BDFE assessment and activity report during the National SGP Conference;
Third Tranche - 30% Upon submission and acceptance of the 10 business plans;
Fourth Tranche - 20% Upon submission and acceptance of the assessment paper

Duties and Responsibilities

The Biodiversity-Friendly Enterprises Consultant shall have the following tasks:

Conduct a capability-building session on the essentials of business planning for BDFEs during the National SGP Conference on 23-26 July 2018 (exact schedule to be determined).
Assess the challenges of conducting BDFEs and recommend ways of improving this aspect of work to inform the next SGP operational phase and other funding mechanisms in general:
- Prepare a paper containing an assessment of the BDFEs and present recommendations on: (1) the intervention needs of the projects beyond SGP-5; and, (2) how to improve the BDFE aspect in the next SGP operational phase and the BDFE support of similar funding mechanisms.
- Supervise the BDFE Assistant in implementing the tool
- Design a tool for assessing the extent of accomplishments BDFE projects under SGP-5 and the challenges that face/faced them
Assist select SGP-5 grantees in preparing business plans for at least 10 BDFE projects that meet a minimum level of development to be able to do business planning, provided that at least one project per priority site is represented.

Competencies

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 favouritism.

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Demonstrates self-management, including conflict management/negotiating skills on interpersonal issues;
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Filipino;
Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;
Computer literate; good knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Economics or Business Management or their equivalent

Experience:

Has more than 10 years’ experience in conducting or providing expert support to natural resource-based community livelihoods or enterprises
Has more than 10 years’ experience in designing and conducting capability-building interventions in business planning

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English and Filipino with excellent technical writing skills

Criteria for selection process:

The offer will evaluated based on the Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the financial offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Application requirements:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (Financial Proposal Template) using the template provided by UNDP;
Personal Curriculum Vitae, indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references;

Application requirements should be emailed to procurement.ph@undp.org and registry.ph@undp.org on or before 06 August 2018.

Attachments in this link can be downloaded at the below link:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=48542

- Financial Proposal Template and Terms & Conditions for Consultants.

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.