Procurement Notices

Consultancy Title: Cross-Cutting Capacity Development (CCCD) Projects Implementation Technical Advisor

Project Name: Three CCCD Projects of the Pacific:

• Fiji: Capacity Building for Mainstreaming MEA Objectives into Inter-Ministerial Structures and Mechanisms
• Palau: Mainstreaming Global Environmental Priorities into National Policies and Programmes
• Vanuatu: Mainstreaming Global Environmental Priorities into Vanuatu’s Policies and Programmes

Duty Station: Home based with mission travel to UNDP Pacific Office in Suva, Fiji and the other two Pacific Island Countries (PICs) of Palau and Vanuatu.

Duration of the Contract:

• Up to 75 working days over 9 months (April – November 2019)

Consultancy Proposal should be sent via email to etenderbox.pacific@undp.org no later than, 5th  April 2019 (Fiji Time) clearly stating the title of consultancy applied for. Any proposals received after this date/time will not be accepted. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to procurement.fj@undp.org. UNDP will respond in writing or by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants. Incomplete, late and joint proposals will not be considered and only offers for which there is further interest will be contacted. Failure to submit your application as stated as per the application submission guide (Procurement Notice) on the above link will be considered incomplete and therefore application will not be considered.

NOTE:

Proposals must  be sent to the designated email (etenderbox.pacific@undp.org) 

 Please do NOT copy or directly email applications to UNDP staff.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

If the selected/successful Candidate is over 65 years of age and required to travel outside his home country; He/She will be required provide a full medical report at their expense prior to issuance to contract. Contract will only be issued when Proposed candidate is deemed medically fit to undertake the assignment.

Objectives:

To revise status, provide technical backstopping, advisory and planning support to all elements of the 3 on-going CCCD Projects in the Pacific; to help projects refocus and provide a plan of actions to accelerate and improve quality of the delivery.

Background

Since its inception, the GEF instrument has supported capacity development at all levels, within regular GEF programs and projects, through specific capacity development activities and through enabling activities.  The driving factors for GEF support to capacity development include guidance from conventions requesting the GEF to support capacity development and the recognition that improving capacities are critical to meet global environmental objectives. Guidance from the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC and CBD have both requested the GEF to provide funding for country-driven capacity development activities, in particular for LDCs and SIDSs.  Both the UNCCD and the Stockholm Persistent Organic Pollutants convention highlighted the need to emphasize capacity development to assist countries in meeting their commitments under their respective conventions. 

The Technical Advisor will work closely with each of the three countries’ PMU, to identify and assist the formulation of project activities that are well-aligned to the project rationale. This should see the achievements of project outputs that contribute to the desired outcomes of the components for each of the three CB2 projects.  The Technical Advisor’s overall objective is to see the respective projects producing quality outputs and maximising the balance of funds available to at least have some degree of the project’s expected impact. The Technical Advisor will be doing these in close consideration of the very limited project time that remains.

Scope of work/Expected Output

Under the direct supervision of the UNDP Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO), and closely liaising with and under the guidance/engagement of the Project Coordinators of the three CB2 projects; Fiji CB2, Palau CB2, and Vanuatu CB2. The Technical Advisor will be responsible for providing overall technical backstopping and management support to the three Projects. She/he will undertake the following tasks:

1. Provide technical advice and support to enhance effective implementation and efficient delivery of the three CB2 projects stated above:

1. Provide critical technical advice and strategic thinking towards the implementation of pending project activities and ensure that they are aligned to the project document;
2. Provide technical supervision and support to the work of PMUs staff and consultants. Specifically, to identify essential project activities that each project can practically implement in about 7 to 8 months of time that they each have;
3. Monitor their work plan progress, and make adjustments if need be to enhance efficiency and alignment with project targets;
4. Work with each PMU team to map out quarterly activities and strategize implementation. The activities must link to quarterly advance budget request and acquittals;
5. Facilitate the development of TORs for pending consultants and provide guidance in conducting their expected activities as per TORs and provide constructive feedback to their deliverables;
6. Be ready to support and advise on the delivery of agreed technical outputs and plans in line with the requirements of UNDP through the respective PMU;
7. Support the PMUs with the sharing of project-related information through global, regional, and national networks;
8. Support, assist, and provide technical advice in the implementation of the project annual work plan and budget with each PMU team in close consultation and coordination with the personnel of authority for each of the three implementing partners, the three Project Boards, and UNDP;
9. Work with each PMU, government officials, NGOs, island communities, and other key stakeholders to identify capacity building needs and how projects activities and outputs can be better implemented; and
10. Provide technical support to the quality and delivery of training courses toto ensure overall relevance to project objectives;

1. Support the three CB2 projects in reporting, monitoring and evaluation to achieve the following results:

1. Work with each Project Coordinator to provide support for updating the Annual Project Report (APR);
2. Provide technical advice to each Project Coordinator for the careful monitoring of financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports; and
3. Support training programs, completion of strategies, capacity building programs and other project initiatives as required.

Resources Provided

• All costs associated with the delivery of this work based on work plans submitted detailing all activities to achieve delivery and timeline.
• Ground transportation to facilitate in-country meetings and consultation.
• Travel cost to the countries will be facilitated only unless specific in financial proposal.
• Visit to stakeholders will be supported by Project Management Unit (PMU) officers

Supervision/Reporting

• The CCCD Technical Advisor when in each of the countries will be directly supervised by the personnel of authority (most probably the National Project Director) at each of the implementing partner institutions and will be required to report to that office in-country whilst there on a regular basis.
• The Technical Advisor will also be expected to report to UNDP through various reporting mechanisms such as progress reports, Quarterly Progress Reports, and the APR.  

Requirement for Qualifications & Experience

Education:

• Minimum Masters in environmental science/environmental affairs or related discipline that directly pertains to the three conventions of the UNFCCC, the UNCBD and the UNCCD.

Work Experiences:

• Minimum  5 years in environmental project management
• Minimum 5 years in the development field, environmental science/affairs or other related area.
• Minimum 5 years of successful experience in the Pacific Region and/or Small Island Developing States
• Experience working on UNDP-GEF Project development and implementation
• Experience working on the UNFCCC, the UNCBD and UNCCD with emphasis on building capacity.
• Experience working with Government and/or NGOs on project implementation.
• Able to build strong relationships with stakeholders, focuses on impact and result for the stakeholders and responds positively to feedback; consensus-oriented.
• Highly developed inter-personal, negotiation and teamwork skills, ability to work in multi-cultural environment.
• Sensitive to and can demonstrate diplomacy and integrity within cultural complexities and unique political contexts.

      Language requirement:

• Fluency in English with very good diplomacy and communication skills

Proposal Requirements

Technical Proposal

• CV
• Statement of how applicant meets requirement
• Names/Contacts of 3 referees

Financial Proposal

• Lumpsum proposal including Daily Rate Fee for 75 working days. Home based with mission travel to Fiji and from Fiji to the other two Pacific Island Countries (PICs) of Palau and Vanuatu. The successful consultant will spend a total of 15 consecutive working days in Fiji, 10 consecutive working days in Palau and 8 consecutive working days in Vanuatu. The balance of the days (42 days) will be spent supporting the projects whilst home-based and all travel related costs.

Travel:

• Mission travel will be required. Max. 45 travel days. These will be 21 days spent in Fiji, 14 days in Palau and 10 days in Vanuatu (inclusive of the weekends and traveling to the respective countries and return);
• Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the Supervisor;
• The UNDSS Be safe course  must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
• Consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas and security clearances needed in connection with travel . Support letter will be provided  by UNDP;
• The Consultant is required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;   
• Financial proposal to be submitted separate from Technical proposal.

Payment Schedule (if required):

• Estimated level of effort: up to 75 days through 30 November 2019;
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones where applicable;
• 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 working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
• Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked (with a “day” calculated as 8 hours of work) and outputs delivered.

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.

Proposal Submission: Offerors must send the following documents.

Technical Proposal

• A statement of how the applicant meets the qualifications and experience requirements.
• A Detailed CV with contact details of minimum 3 referees  

Financial Proposal

• A completed Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) Assignment including Annex A: Breakdown of Cost by Components.

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the Individual Consultants (IC´s) duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs. In general, UNDP shall 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 event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the IC, prior to travel and will be reimbursed

Template for confirmation of interest and Submission of Financial Proposal is available under the procurement section of UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji website (www.pacific.undp.org)

Women candidates are encouraged to apply

Interested Candidates must accept UNDP General Terms and Conditions for Individual Consultants