Background

UNDP works in some 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. UNDP Montreal Protocol and Chemicals Unit (MPU) is part of BPPS which is tasked with supporting the developing countries to establish and implement sound chemicals management frameworks fit to meet their commitments under multilateral environmental agreements on ozone protection and chemicals management. As an Implementing Agency for the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MLF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), MPU helps countries to meet the objectives of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, etc.

The Republic of Uzbekistan honors its international commitments under the Montreal Protocol and is undertaking successful actions to accelerate the phase out of hydrochlorfluorocarbons (HCFCs). Currently, the Government of Uzbekistan is working towards the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The Kigali Amendment brings the future production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the control of the Protocol and will make a major contribution towards the fight against climate change.

The State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology and Environmental Protection has requested UNDP’s support to develop a project proposal on phase down the consumption of HFCs through the introduction of alternatives with low Global Warming Potential (GWP). In view of this, MPU is seeking to recruit an expert on the issue to provide technical, research and analytical support and develop the proposal for the submission to the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Duties and Responsibilities

2. Objective and scope of the assignment

The objective of this consultancy is to work with the Government of Uzbekistan and other stakeholders, with the support of UNDP, to develop a Project Identification Form (PIF) that would be eligible for funding by the Global Environment Facility, as part of the GEF-7 programming cycle. The PIF should be i) aligned with the Government of Uzbekistan’s priorities and policy frameworks, ii) in accordance with the GEF-7 programming strategy, particularly the chemicals and waste focal area, and iii) meet with the relevant requirements of the Montreal Protocol and its funding mechanism, the Multilateral Fund regarding the HFC phase down.

The consultant will undertake a scoping mission to Uzbekistan to hold in-depth discussions with key stakeholders and to gather the information required to develop the PIF.

The individual consultant will develop a PIF by undertaking the tasks and activities as outlined below:

• Review relevant documents (reports, plans, studies/assessments, laws and regulations) on the implementation of the Montreal Protocol;
• Review of HFC consumption and ODS alternative data being collected in the ongoing UNDP-GEF project “Complete HCFC Phase-out in Uzbekistan through Promotion of Zero ODS Low GWP Energy Efficient Technologies”, and identify priority sectors for initial HFC phase-down intervention in Uzbekistan;
• Review of available regulatory documents on controls of ODS and ODS alternatives in Uzbekistan;
• Conduct a scoping mission and extensive in-depth consultations with key project stakeholders;
• Conduct a survey of primary information through meetings, workshops, interviews, surveys and other means that are identified as ideal for collection of information for the PIF;
• Provide general technical advice on the Kigali amendment scope and relation to the national development strategies of Uzbekistan on low GWP RAC technologies in related sectors (manufacturing, servicing, etc.);
• Prepare presentations for stakeholders in Uzbekistan on the process of developing the PIF, on possible objectives and structure of PIF and on information needed from the local stakeholders;
• Undertake the situational analysis including the baseline status for the project to develop the HFC phase down plan;
• Identify processes, programs and projects complementary to the PIF objective, gathering information and preparing a database of contacts;
• Formulate the PIF in close consultation with stakeholders for the GEF-7 programming. (NB: the PIF must meet GEF requirements and demonstrate GEF eligibility criteria including incrementality, technical feasibility, mobilization of co-financing, etc. In addition, the strategy of the proposed project should follow the relevant guidelines of the Multilateral Fund.)
• Outline possibilities for co-financing (resource mobilization strategies from public and private sectors) in line with GEF requirements.
• Analyze baseline and produce a strong theory of change for the future project.
• Coordinate, with help of UNDP-Uzbekistan, with relevant institutions in Uzbekistan to define future project’s components.
• Identify social and safeguards risks for the project;
• Respond to any comments and/or inquiries from the assigned Regional Technical Advisor  and GEF Secretariat on the PIF design;
• Amend/update the PIF according to stakeholder feedback and, later, possible comments from GEF Secretariat for PIF finalization and according to possible changes to the PIF template in GEF;

3. Deliverables:

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:

• Deliverable 1: Inception report which includes an understanding of the assignment and detailed work plan - 1 workday by no later than 1 week from the day of contract signature.
• Deliverable 2: Stakeholder consultation report which includes proposed objectives, scope and strategies for the new project - 10 workdays (including 5 days mission to Uzbekistan) within 1.5 months the day of contract signature.
• Deliverable 3: Draft and final Project Identification Form (PIF) and Project Preparation Grant (PPG) request in line with the GEF-7 programming strategy and UNDP's development mandate and which incorporates inputs from stakeholders and reviewers - 6 workdays within 2 months from the day of contract signature.
• Deliverable 4: Completed social and environmental pre-screening for the project - 1 workday within 2 months from the day of contract signature.
• Deliverable 5: Responses to GEF Secretariat review comments on the PIF - 2 workdays within 8 months from contract or 1 month from the receipt of comments.

NB: the timeline can be adjusted depending on the circumstances and discussions between the expert and UNDP.

4. Duration

The Contract will enter into force upon signature by both parties and until 31 December 2020 and estimated 20 working days.

5. Duty Station

Home-based with a mission to Uzbekistan hold in-depth discussions with key stakeholders and to gather the information required to develop the PIF.

6. Fees

Payment shall be made with lump sum amount based on specific deliverables as described above inclusive of all travel expenses as required and the payments will be made upon satisfactory performance. The candidate shall quote his/her services as per the instructions in the financial offer.

A Best Value for Money approach will be used in the evaluation of the applicants and will lead to a combined score for technical capabilities and the financial offer.

The candidates, short-listed based on their technical capabilities, will receive the standard format that they must fill out to submit their financial offer.

Competencies

7. Core Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN 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
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills
• Good presentation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

8. Qualifications and Requirements:

Education

• Advanced university degree in Refrigeration Engineering, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Climate Change, or other relevant disciplines.

Experience

• At least 8 years’ international experience in the area of implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
• At least 5 years’ experience on implementation of projects/programmes, which resulted in the introduction of climate friendly low-GWP alternatives in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning sector.
• Experience on the development of proposals and strategic programmes on phase down of ozone depleting substances and introduction of climate friendly alternatives.
• Knowledge of MLF and/or GEF ozone program requirements will be an advantage.

Communication skills

• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English.
• Knowledge of Russian and/or Uzbek will be an added advantage.

9.     Application Procedures (Instructions to Applicants)

The application is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications:

Step 1: Interested individual consultants submit the following documents:

• CV indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references
• Brief description of why the individual considers himself/herself as the most suitable for the assignment. Indicate available start date.

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal: Only applicants who attain a score of 70% and above on the technical evaluation will be contacted and requested to submit a financial proposal.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

• Financial proposals must be submitted with the following information:

1. Lumpsum Fee based on the deliverables stated in item number 3 “Deliverables”

2. Travel Cost based on the possible missions stated in item number 5. 

Both should be expressed in USD and sent the proposal for this consultancy to mpu.procurement@undp.org using the financial proposal template available here: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780. The proposals should be sent via email with the following subject heading: “International Consultant in HFCs in Uzbekistan" by the deadline for this vacancy. Proposals to be received after the deadline may be rejected.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal should be all-inclusive and include a breakdown.

• Payment will be made upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating outputs achieved to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.

The term ‘all inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, utilities, consumables, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses will be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP will not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

•    Criteria for selection of individual consultant for award of contract:

The selection of the best offer from the shortlisted candidates will be based on a Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and experienced will be weighted a maximum of 70 points and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30 points out of 100 points

Method: Cumulative analysis method will be used to evaluate proposals.

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation

                                                        Technical Criteria weight: 70%

                                                        Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Technical Evaluation

Only those candidates that meet the minimum level of education, relevant years of experience and language requirements will be considered for the technical evaluation. The technical evaluation will be conducted by a desk review to select the shortlisted candidates (those that score at least 49 out of total 70 obtainable scores). The technical evaluation may also include interviews with shortlisted candidate(s).

Only applicants obtaining a minimum of 49 points on technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Proposal (70 Points) 70% weight

Technical proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

Financial evaluation (Weight 30%)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Financial Proposal (30% weight of combined score)

• Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

• Institutional arrangement

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 computing and auxiliary equipment.

Payments will be made upon satisfactory delivery of outputs, certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Task Manager on outputs satisfactorily delivered.

• Payment modality

• Payments will be made upon submission and acceptance of deliverables. All payments are subject to the clearance and approval of the direct supervisor. The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost of components. The table below shows the payment milestones.

Annexes

(click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - Financial Proposal Template

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions