Procurement Notices

Background:

The project strategy will have a nationwide impact triggered by national policies and action on the ground. It aims to deliver Global Environmental Benefits by promoting a dynamic multi-sectorial management process of official environmental information, in order to increase collective action for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through sustainable land-use management in rural and urban landscapes. This premise will be tested in the production landscapes of La Amistad Pacifico Conservation Area (ACLAP) and the Inter-Urban Biological Corridor of María Aguilar River in San Jose (MAIBC) covering 619,162 hectares (449,546 hectares of production landscape within ACLAP, and 169,616 hectares of biological corridor in MAIBC).

The project will focus on reducing the loss of natural habitat triggered by rapid and uncontrolled land use change due to agricultural expansion in Target Area 1 (ACLAP), and in Target Area 2 (MAIBC) for urban growth. The project will strengthen the National Environmental Information System’s (SINIA) capacities to generate annual data that can be used by public and private stakeholders to address threats to biodiversity. The strategy aims to establish an annual dynamic of response to specific threats: At the rural level, firstly, by enhancing SINAC’s capacity to detect and process forestry law violations and secondly, by improving the supply and demand of sustainable goods where farmers are supported by an improved flow of information and the provision of tools for responsible commodity buyers and producers. At an urban level, threats will be offset by catalyzing response and community action to help control habitat loss and contribute with forest connectivity and biodiversity conservation.          

Duties and Responsibilities:

The International Project Planning and Monitoring Expert will closely coordinate with the team of regional experts, with at expective two missions as well as home-based work, to perform the following tasks:

1. Provide broad guidance to the PPG team in relation to GEF requirements for planning and monitoring of the project.
2. Facilitate the coordination with other GEF projects implemented by other agencies and institutions for the identification of common actions that contribute to the scope of the project products and results.
3. Provide methodological guidance for collection of data related to the planning and monitoring of the project, with particular attention to the description and quantification of the baseline investments.
4. Coordinate the definition and validation of the results, outputs and activities based on a logical framework analysis and the results of studies of the PPG undertaken by the team of experts.
5. Compile and document baseline/ situational analyses for the project based on the inputs from local experts and in close cooperation with experts and key national partners. This will include a precise definition of the baseline of projects, activities, budgets, targets and outcomes, GEF co-financing contacts; and the development of the incremental cost analysis.
6. Provide further detail in the Prodoc narrative related to the strategy for reducing emissions from livestock systems; the "area-weighted Environmental Service Index"; as well as evidence to support the proposed use of micro-corridors, live fences, silvopastoral systems documenting the benefits for connectivity and biodiversity conservation. All this based on inputs from local consultants.
7. Ensure the Prodoc avoids minor mistakes included in the approved PIF: 1) inaccurate use of the terms "trigger" (LUC is not a trigger of biodiversity loss; rather it is the pressures leading to LUC that are the triggers) and "opportunity cost"; and, 2) reference to oil palm as a domestically-consumed crop, rather than an export crop.
8. Prepare a quantified assessment of the global environmental benefits of the project for biodiversity, land degradation and sustainable management of the forest based on inputs from experts local and international best practices.
9. Prepare the plan and budget M & E.
10. Prepare the procurement plan.
11. Write the final project documentation, including: a) the socio-economic benefits of the interventions proposed at a transnational, national and local levels; (b) environmental, social, financial and institutional sustainability of the proposed activities; (c) cost-benefit analysis of the strategy of the project and all activities in relation to alternatives; (d) strategy of replicability of project activities; (f) risk analysis of the activities proposed in the project and measures to mitigate risks; (f) analysis of incremental costs; and (g) budget (multi-year project detailed budget following standard template provided in the UNDP-GEF.) h) A procurement plan of the project, based on the multi-year detailed budget.
12. Ensure that the tracking tool (Tracking Tools) for biodiversity, land degradation and sustainable forest management have been completed following the guidelines of the GEF.
13. Complete the Checklist of environmental and social safeguards of the project.
14. Support the development of a stakeholder plan using inputs from national experts.
15. Carry out final revisions of the documentation of the project.

Assignment Deliverables

Deliverable 1:

• Detailed review of and suggestions for adjustments to the terms of reference (TOR) and expected outputs of the consultants.

• Detailed timeline of activities and responsibilities for the preparatory process.

• Proposed methodology and formats for collecting information for the PPG consultant team.

• Virtual inception workshop report that includes technical advice on data collection, planning and project monitoring, focusing on the approach to describe and quantify the project baselines.

• Final report with observations and comments on the products.

Deliverable 2:

• Logical framework and Total Budget and Work Plan table.

• Draft documents: ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request, ESSP checklist and relevant Tracking Tool, in English, revised, updated and including required attachments, in accordance with the guidelines and requirements of UNDP-GEF.

• Final documents: ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request, ESSP checklist and relevant Tracking Tool, updated in response to the reviews and opinions of relevant stakeholders.

Deliverable 3:

• ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request, ESSP checklist and relevant Tracking Tool, updated in response to the reviews and comments of the UNDP-GEF RCU, the GEF Secretariat and the GEF Council.

Estimated duration    

The consultancy will be for 55 working days over a period one year.

Institutional Arrangements

The Consultant will be home-based, with some travel to Costa Rica.

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 station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection.

Payments will be made per deliverable. The quality of the final documents will be evaluated by the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Adviser on BD and the Global Technical Adviser on BD. If the quality does not meet standards or requirements of the UNDP-GEF, the consultant will be asked to rewrite or revise (as necessary) the document before proceeding to payment. In that sense, payments shall be made upon delivery and approval by the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Adviser on BD and the UNDP-GEF Global Technical Adviser on BD of the products agreed as per following distribution:

·         Deliverable 1 (20% of total contract amount)

·         Deliverable 2 (40%)

·         Deliverable 3 (40%).

Travel:

International travel will be required to attend with at expective two missions to Costa Rica (depending on technical offer) with expected maximum total travel duration of 10 days including a long mission or two shorter missions.

Costs for mission travel should be included in financial proposal. Consultants will be responsible for making their own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies. Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the supervisor.

The Basic Security in the Field II and Advanced Security in the Field courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;

The consultant shall be solely responsible for taking out and for maintaining adequate insurance required to meet any of its obligations under the Individual Contract, as well as for arranging, at the consultant’s sole expense, such life, health and other forms of insurance as the consultant may consider to be appropriate to cover the period during which the   consultant provides services under the Individual Contract.

Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;

Consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP.

Competencies-Corporate

Excellent communications and networking skills and the ability to work in a team;

Strong interpersonal and negotiating skills;

Ability to work in a multicultural environment; and

Sound judgment and discretion.

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally; and

Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Management and Leadership

Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;

Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;

Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;

Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;

Remains calm, in control and composed even under pressure;

Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;

Communicates effectively with staff at all levels of the organization;

Acts with tact and diplomacy;

Proves outgoing and comfortable in handling external relations at all levels.

Demonstrates compelling communication skills and cross-cultural effectiveness.

Demonstrates experience in bilateral and/or multilateral negotiations, and negotiating and training / facilitation skills.

Possesses the ability to convey difficult issues and positions to senior officials, proven political judgment, sensitivity to local cultures.

Professionalism:

Capable of working in a high pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously.

Excellent organizational skills.

Able to work independently and remotely with minimal supervision.

Exercise the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.

Capacity to submit high quality deliverables under time constraints.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Language: Essential requirement; If not completed, it won't be considered for evaluation. English and Spanish are the working languages for this assignment, therefore excellent oral and written communications and presentation skills in both languages are required. Deliverables are to be developed and submitted in English language only.

Documentation to be submitted

1.       Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

2.       Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.

3.       Duly completed and signed P11 Form, 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.

4.       A brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.

5.       Financial proposal stating the quoted lumpsum amount as well as breakdown per deliverable and per working day, as per template provided in Annex II.

6.       All proposals must be submitted on 5 July 2016 (11:59pm Costa Rica time) to the following email address: adquisiciones.cr@undp.org; subject “Project Planning Monitoring Expert”.

7.       Incomplete proposals may not be considered.