Procurement Notices

Background

The Government of Papua New Guinea - represented by the Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) - and the UNDP Papua New Guinea Country Office (CO) have developed a project concept for a Full-Sized Project (FSP) which seeks to support the development of more sustainable, long term revenue streams to fund the establishment and management of the system of protected areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

This FSP, titled ‘Sustainable financing of Papua New Guinea’s protected area network’, forms part of a modular approach to strengthening biodiversity conservation in PNG. This modular approach comprises three discrete but complementary GEF-funded projects, two of which are already under implementation. The first is the GEF-4 project, Community-based Forest and Coastal Conservation and Resource Management in Papua New Guinea project (2012-2018) which aims to develop and demonstrate community-based resource management and conservation models for communal landowners located in the Owen Stanley Range and New Britain island. The second is the GEF-5 project, Strengthening the Management Effectiveness of the National System of Protected Areas in Papua New Guinea (2015-2019) which is focused on supporting the establishment of the CEPA; facilitating the implementation of the PAP; and improving the planning and management of two demonstration conservation areas - YUS and Torricelli. It is expected that lessons and knowledge generated from the existing two projects will be integrated into the design of the new project so as to ensure complementarity and knowledge exchange between the three projects during implementation.

The Project Identification Form (PIF) for the FSP has been endorsed by the GEF Secretariat, and a Project Preparation Grant (PPG) approved. This PPG will support all the preparatory work required to draft and finalize all the documentation required by the GEF for CEO Endorsement. The preparatory work to be undertaken during the PPG phase will include: the collection and collation of key information; technical reviews and feasibility assessments; establishing the baseline and GEF incremental benefits for the project; the detailed design and costing of project outputs and activities; identifying the optimal management arrangements for the implementation of the project and project activities; clarifying stakeholder inputs and roles and responsibilities; and defining project performance indicators and targets. The PPG phase will be underpinned by a participatory approach, with regular consultation and working meetings with all key PPG stakeholders throughout the PPG phase. Specific attention will be given to gender issues by undertaking a gender analysis to ensure optimal involvement of women in, and beneficiation from project interventions.

The project PIF can be accessed at: https://www.thegef.org/project/sustainable-financing-papua-new-guinea%E2%80%99s-protected-area-network

Objectives:

The objective of this assignment is to support and provide inputs to the preparatory work to prepare the final project documentation for submission to the GEF Secretariat. The National Consultant on Protected Areas will be responsible to support the International Team Leader in preparing the full package of project documentation for submission, comprised of: (i) UNDP Project Document (UNDP PRODOC) and its associated annexures including support in solicitation of the co-financing letters; and (ii) GEF CEO Endorsement Request (GEF CEO ER) and its associated annexures.

The drafting of the full project documentation will be conducted in close collaboration with Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) of PNG and the relevant stakeholders to ensure collective agreement on the project results framework, multi-year work plan (and budget) and implementation arrangements (including the roles, responsibilities and accountability of the project partners and associated co-financing commitments).

Duties and Responsibilities

The National Consultant on Protected Areas will be responsible for timely collection and analyses of all the data on protected areas, protected areas management and financing, and will ensure scheduling and coordination of all meetings with relevant stakeholders for missions of Team Leader and international consultants. Inter alia, the National Consultant on Protected Areas will carry out the following tasks:

1. Support the Project Preparation Team Leader with the following technical inputs:

• Provide the information on the enabling legal, regulatory and policy framework for biodiversity conservation and protected areas;
• Provide the technical inputs and information on key project stakeholders, including description of their roles and responsibilities (specifically as it applies to protected areas);
• Provide data and information for profiling of the current system of protected areas (i.e. PA types, land tenure, governance, staffing, partnerships, state of management, state of biodiversity, threats and their root cause, etc.);
• Provide data on the current state of biodiversity (e.g. ecosystem processes, habitats, species, representativeness, resilience) in the protected area system;
• Provide technical inputs into description and costing of the ‘baseline scenario’ (or any ‘associated baseline projects’) for the protected area system covering the period of the project implementation (i.e. 5 years);
• Provide the information on the progress in, and challenges to: (i) implementing the new ‘PNG Protected Area Classification System’ during the 5-year transition period identified in the PAP; and (ii) the ‘Protected Areas Proposal database’ for expansion of existing, or establishment of new, protected areas;
• Support conducting stakeholder consultations to confirm and validate the selection of six protected areas identified in the PIF;
• Provide data and information on six target protected areas included into the project document, such as maps, type, extent, management capacity, state of planning and management, threats, opportunities, etc. - and their surrounding communities (maps, villages, population by age and gender, social structures, land use, socio-economic indicators, development needs, etc.);
• Provide detailed information and data on the roles and responsibilities of customary social structures, local and district government institutions and other partnering organisations in the planning and management of the six individual protected areas;

1. Support Conservation Trust Fund Specialist with the following technical inputs:

• Information and data on financial management capabilities of CEPA (e.g., developing budgets; preparing financial policies and procedures; establishing financial controls; developing accounting systems; and facilitating financial reporting and auditing, etc.);
• Information and data on the current funding sources (income) for, and financial flows (expenditure) through the: (i) protected area system and (ii) six targeted protected areas.

The National Consultant on Protected Areas is expected to deliver the following outputs:

All due dates and deadlines for provision of deliverables indicated in the table above are indicative, and must be agreed with International Team Leader on project preparation and International Conservation Trust Fund Specialist, in consultation with UNDP CO.

Education and experience

• Master’s Degree in environmental economics, natural resource management, or related social sciences;
• Minimum 8 years of demonstrable experience in the field of biodiversity conservation, PA and natural resource management;
• Specialist knowledge in protected area policy, legislation and management;
• Demonstrable experience in project design and report writing;
• Strong coordination and relationship management skills;
• Excellent technical written and spoken English.

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; and
• Treats all people fairly without fear or favour.

Functional Competencies

• Excellent speaking and writing skills in English are necessary;
• High level planning, organizational and time management skills, including flexibility, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to meet challenging deadlines;
• Analytical and problem solving skills of a high order, including the ability to formulate recommendations and advice senior management on tackling difficult scenarios;
• Leadership qualities, including the ability to make sound judgment, meet challenges constructively and creatively;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to establish strong cooperative relationships with senior government officials, civil society and donors.
• Ability to quickly adapt to change, and to remain calm under pressure; and
• Proven cross-cultural communication and the ability to function effectively in an international, multicultural environment.

Evaluation

Cumulative analysis

The proposals will be evaluated using the cumulative analysis method with a split 70% technical and 30% financial scoring. The proposal with the highest cumulative scoring will be awarded the contract. Applications will be evaluated technically and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference using the guidelines detailed in the table below:

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract may be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weighting; 70%

* Financial Criteria weighting; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Interviews may be conducted as part of technical assessment for shortlisted proposals.

Documents to be included when submitting Consultancy Proposals

The following documents may be requested;

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. Signed P11, 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;
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how they will approach and complete the assignment. A methodology is recommended for intellectual services, but may be omitted for support services [Note: this is optional for support services]; 
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.   The financial proposal must be submitted separately from other documents. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

The P11 form and Template for confirming availability and interest is available under the procurement section of UNDP PNG website (www.pg.undp.org ).

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, living expenses, and number of anticipated working days). 

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should 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.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed based on provision of supporting documentation.