UNDP Jobs - 93820- Consultant on Project Development

Consultant on Project Development

Location :

Home Based with travels to the project places, CHINA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

21-Sep-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

2 months; 40 working days

Languages Required :

English Chinese

Expected Duration of Assignment :

2 months; 40 working days

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

Please provide Offeror’s Letter and proposal (download the format in the link provided) together with your CV while submitting application. And please note that the system will not accept the uploading of more than one document so please merge or scan all your documents into one prior to uploading.

Offeror's letter download link:

https://pan.baidu.com/s/1r6rx6A7lm7vaKZFIELKvWA Code: x257

Progress Reporting Requirements:

The contractor is expected to:

1) maintain close communication with UNDP China (verbal or written),

2) report on the activity progress against the mutually agreed objectives and schedule weekly and upon the completion of every phase or activity (via e-mail), and

3) raise any outstanding issues hindering the on-time and quality delivery of the final output (via e-mail).

Location of work: travelling on the first week and home-based on the rest of weeks

Travels expected:

Destination/s: in addition to Shandong, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan will be visited according to the itinerary prepared by UNDP and the Project Management Office.

Estimated Duration of travel: 7 days

Brief Description of Purpose of the Travel: visit local governments, relevant private sector companies and the civil societies to have interviews and collect relevant data for developing the Project Document.

Target Date/s: preferably starting from Day 3 of the actual assignment

Background

Coal is considered as China's basic natural energy resources. The coal industry is a crucial fundamental industry that is related to the national economy and energy security of the country. In China's primary energy structure, coal will still be the main energy source for a long time to come while Brown-coal or lignite, the lowest grade of coal with minimum coalification, take a very large proportion of its reserves. Brown-coal is chemically reactive, easily weathered in the air, difficult to store and transport, and is highly polluted during combustion. However, with the rapid depletion of high-quality coal, lignite has become the main coal used for power generation and heating in China. Because the coalification degree of lignite is too low, a large amount of ash will float in the air during combustion. Coal slime or slurry from coal washing, which is a common practice for clean coal in China, are creating air or water pollution problems, adding to the increasingly serious haze problems from coal combustion and other sources.

The National Energy Administration's "13th Five-Year Plan for Coal Industry Development" report shows that although the coal industry has made great progress, the imbalance, uncoordinated and unsustainable problems in the development process are still outstanding, and the development level of clean coal technologies needs to be improved.

In the aspect of agriculture, China's soil is facing severe problems such as high intensity, off-season, continuous cropping, large multiple cropping indexes, deteriorating soil quality of cultivated land and soil pollutions. In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture clearly defined the goal of "One control, Two reductions and Three basic issues"[1] in the “Implementation Opinions on the Prevention of Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Prevention” and “National Agricultural Sustainable Development Planning (2015-2030)”, striving to achieve zero increase in the amount of chemical fertilizers applied to major crops in China by 2020. The Report of the “19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China” evidently points out that China will focus on solving prominent environmental problems, strengthen soil pollution control and restoration, and strengthen the prevention and control of agricultural non-point source pollution. The development of organic agriculture will have a positive effect on rural environment and land protection. The replacement of pesticides and chemical fertilizers with biochemicals and organic fertilizers will not only effectively reduce agricultural non-point source pollutions, but also gradually repair soil structure (e.g. compacted soil) and restore damaged soil ecosystems.

In addition, with the vigorous development of agriculture, farmers use pesticides and chemical fertilizers excessively in pursuit of more economic benefits, resulting in food safety issues from excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The State Council's "13th Five-Year National Food Safety Plan" and "13th Five-Year National Drug Safety Plan" points out that China is still in an outbreaking period of prominent food safety risks and food safety incidents. The food safety situation remains critical, and the residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs and the abuse of additives are still the biggest risks to food safety. The extensive use of chemical fertilizers, especially the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers, will lead to high levels of nitrate and heavy metals in agricultural products, posing a threat to food safety and human health.

Yuantaifeng (Baotou) Biological Science and Technologies Co., Ltd. in Inner Mongolia Baotou city has developed a unique Biogenic Gas and Fertilizer (BGF) Technology, which converts low-quality coals, such as coal slime, lignite, civil sewage treatment plant sludge, high-concentration organic wastewater, and crop straws as the main materials and auxiliary materials, through a series of biocatalytic reactions, into organic fertilizers (solid and liquid) and natural gas (CH4) in a same process. To resolve the air pollution problems caused by low-quality coal application and food safety issues caused by non-point source pollution of chemicals, a partnership between UNDP-Yuantaifeng (Baotou) is proposed to showcase the unique integration technology of clean coal and organic agriculture, which not only addresses issues with clean coal utilization of low-quality coal, also creates new opportunities for organic agriculture development and promotes sustainable development.

Through the collaboration between UNDP and Yuantaifeng (Baotou) Biological Science and Technologies Co., Ltd. to carry out the project, using disruptive innovation technology to change the bottom-end utilization status of traditional low-quality coal. It can not only exploit the clean coal utilization of low-quality coal, but also create new opportunities for organic agriculture development and promote sustainable development.

[1] The "One control", is to control the total amount of agricultural water usage by delimiting the total red line and using the red line of the coefficient rate. The "Two reductions" are to reduce the total amount of fertilizers and pesticides applied. The "Three basic issues", related to measures for the treatment of livestock and poultry pollution, the problem of plastic mulch recycling, and the problem of straw burning.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager for the project development, with the close support from PMO, the National Consultant will work out an UNDP project document based on field visits and desk review in 40 days.

The Consultant’s approach shall be consistent with policies, rules and procedures of both UNDP and Chinese government. The consultant shall work in close collaboration with Sustainable Development Team in UNDP China and PMO, as well as with Government partners, think tanks and other experts, ensuring successful completion of the assignment.

Responsibilities

Timely communication with UNDP Energy and Environment team members for project progress and any possible project opportunity;
Evaluate the development challenge that the project seeks to address and how it is relevant to national/regional/global development priorities;
Review domestic policies and legal framework for clean energy technology, esp. organic fertilizer technology with modern Eco-Agriculture;
Conduct desk review and provide a report of relevant clean energy technology, esp. organic fertilizer technology with modern Eco-Agriculture in other countries;
Conduct field visit for discussions and interviews with government agencies and experts involved to collect relevant data related to clean energy technology, esp. organic fertilizer technology with modern Eco-Agriculture;
With reference to the Project Concept Note for the Project, design the project by working out a project document based on UNDP template with recommended priority activities to be covered under the project in support of clean energy technology, esp. organic fertilizer technology with modern Eco-Agriculture.
Team up and communicate with all the partners in the process of project development;
Review and revise the draft project document in English and Chinese based on comments from consultation meetings and/or project stakeholders/PSC member institutions;
Any other tasks as may be jointly agreed.

Expected Outputs/deliverables

A project Document in English and Chinese reflecting all the above requirements using the template provided by UNDP China within 40 working days of signing the contract.

Timetable

Upon contract signature

- Consultation meeting with UNDP for clarifying the objectives and specific tasks of the assignment.

Within 5 weeks after contract signature

- submit a draft project document, containing the above listed elements to UNDP for comments.

Within 6 weeks after contract signature

- Submit the final Project Document appropriately reflecting UNDP’s comments, along with i) field visit report(s); ii) desk review report of relevant clean energy technology, esp. organic fertilizer technology with modern Eco-Agriculture in other countries.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Strategic technical and intellectual skills in the substantive area;
Teamwork, facilitation and coordination skills;
Ability to manage technical team and long-term strategic partnership;
Ability to work effectively in a team;
Successfully manage effective and timely delivery before the deadlines;
Excellent communication (both oral and written) and partnership building skills with multi-dimension partners, people skill for conflict resolution and negotiation;
Excellent writing skills, especially in the preparation of official documents and reports.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Ability to apply technical guideline production procedures;
Ability to analyze technical requirements in the relevant areas;
Ability to apply organizational policies and procedures.

Innovation

Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
Documents and analyses innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least Master’s Degree or equivalent in agriculture, energy engineering, renewable energy, climate change, or related fields.
Experience with organic fertilizers is preferable.

Experience:

Minimum 6-8 years of demonstrable working experience in economic analysis, organic fertilizers, consulting or related fields. Working experience in domestic and worldwide agricultural development is advantageous;
Extensive experience with project development, implementation and/or management (direct project formulation and management experience is preferable);
Demonstrated technical skills in the substantive area;
Demonstrated leadership, facilitation and coordination skills, ability to manage technical team and long- term strategic partnership;
Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner;
Demonstrated ability to work in a team, ability for managing timely and effective delivery of both quantity and quality before the deadlines;
Working experience with international organizations or having worked as national consultant is an advantage;
Knowledge of UNDP policies, procedures and practices is an asset;
Excellent communication (both oral and written) and partnership building skills with multi-dimension partners, people skills for conflict resolution and negotiation;
Experience in project formulation that addresses technical assistance and capacity development for implementing partners (IPs);
Familiarity with China, and with international development agencies. Working experience in collaboration with Chinese Government and international development agencies in China;
Master of office software packages and handling of web-based management systems.

Language Requirements:

Excellent English and Chinese language skills, particularly for written documents.

Payment:

The payment for consultancy will be made in two instalments. The first payment, which is to be paid within 10 working days of receiving the signed contract and vendor form, will be 30% of the contract value. The second payment will be the remaining 70% of the contract value, which is to be paid upon satisfactory completion of the compilation and review of the deliverables, namely project document in English and Chinese, reflecting all the requirements mentioned in this TOR, using the template provided by UNDP China within 40 days of signing the contract.
Direct economy class domestic tickets will be provided to the contractor. All of the travel related costs will be reimbursed on the basis of UN travel policy after providing F10 and boarding pass.

Documents to be included when submitting application

Offeror's letter download link:

https://pan.baidu.com/s/1r6rx6A7lm7vaKZFIELKvWA Code: x257

In the Offeror’s Letter and proposal, you will be asked to confirm your interest and availability for the assignment, and provide technical and financial proposal.

Technical proposal

Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work with example/former experience demonstrating your competencies;
Provide a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work.

Financial Proposal

Please quote the daily rate for professional fee and others related.

Evaluation Criteria

The award of the contract will be made to the Individual Consultant who has obtained the highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions. Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The offers will be evaluated using the “Combined Scoring method” where:

Technical evaluation - 70%;
Financial Evaluation - 30%.

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals. Qualified women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply.