Project Description

Since 2014, The United Nations Development Program through its Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) Project, has been supporting the Philippine Government in articulating the financial resources it needs to maintain a healthy biodiversity portfolio in-country. In particular, BIOFIN in collaboration with Department of Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau has conducted the following assessments: 1) Policy and Institutional Review (PIR); 2) Public and Private Biodiversity Expenditure Review (PPBER); 3) Assessment of financial needs (cost and gap analysis of implementing Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP)). These assessments significantly contributed to the development of a Biodiversity Finance Plan.

Based on insights gained from the results of the three BIOFIN assessments, this Plan acknowledges the importance of tapping additional financing to support the biodiversity agenda of the Philippines, mainly through its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP), referred to henceforth in this Plan as the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP). This Plan is cognizant of the parallel challenges that could not be addressed by generating financing alone: thus, the Plan transcends the focus on generating additional resources and also identifies a range of "finance solutions" that leverage finance, fiscal and economic tools and strategies to improve the outcome of biodiversity objectives in the country. Financing solutions include a range of transformative actions: generating more financing to fund the PBSAP or associated planning documents; appropriate attribution of biodiversity expenditures in the budget; attaining cost-effective budget execution by eradicating overlaps in biodiversity functions; eradicating expenditures that continue to or aggravate dissipation of biodiversity resources; and paving the groundwork for a responsive policy environment through greater awareness on biodiversity and biodiversity financing and enhancing institutional support towards monitoring of PBSAP.

BIOFIN recognizes the importance of gender considerations to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the PBSAP and will give due consideration to the integration of gender into its work in line with the UNDP gender guidelines and the 2015-2020 CBD Gender Plan of Action. UNDP will continue its efforts to promote gender equality and develop capacities contributing to the national gender equality agenda and SDGS.

Scope of Work

The Gender Specialist under the supervision of the Project Manager and Senior Technical Advisor will:

1. Develop BIOFIN's Gender Action Plan with annual outputs to facilitate the implementation of activities that promote gender equality and women's empowerment for each finance solution. This will include mechanisms/measures/interventions to support gender equality integration into biodiversity planning mechanisms and capacity building activities including the development/formulation of gender-responsive legislation/strategies/policies to address gender and biodiversity related issues. The Action Plan will also identify a finance solution with a specific additional impact on gender and contribute to the development of specific activities that would enhance participation, empowerment, leadership and institutional strengthening;
2. In relation to the Gender Action Plan, conduct participatory gender analysis (geographical area/community/island) to fully consider the different needs, roles, benefits, impacts, risks and access to/control over resources of women and men (including considerations of intersecting categories of identity such as age, social status, ethnicity, marital status, etc.) for the finance solutions. This will include a collection of gender responsive baseline data relevant to finance solution planning, implementation, and monitoring; identification of the share of female and male direct beneficiaries and work with the BIOFIN team using findings from gender analysis to develop a gender-responsive plan or engender existing activities;
3. As needed, conduct consultations with key stakeholders including women organizations on the gender issues related to the project and collect stakeholders' feedback and incorporate these comments into the project results framework and the Gender Action Plan;
4. Select a finance solution with a specific additional impact on gender and contribute to the development of specific activities that would enhance participation, empowerment, leadership, and institutional strengthening;
5. Assess potential negative impacts of the project on gender equality and specific activities to mitigate and/or minimize them and incorporate into UNDP's Social and Environmental Standards process;
6. Ensure that the M&E system of the project can provide gender-disaggregated data and analysis;
7. Provide guidance and recommendations to the design of proposed policies and to related training programs;
8. In cooperation with the BIOFIN project team, develop at least 3 gender-responsive or comparative case studies development with inputs from project partners;
9. Attend relevant project meetings and workshops/exercises; and
10. Submit reports as required by the BMB and UNDP.

Expected Outputs and Deliverable

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Manager shall directly supervise and approve and accept the output/s of consultant.

Based on the table above, outputs will be submitted to the Project Manager in the dates indicated. At different points during project implementation, he/she is expected to liaise/ interact/ collaborate/ meet with the BIOFIN team and with other relevant stakeholders.

Based on the table above, outputs will be submitted to UNDP and BMB through the Project Manager in the dates indicated.

The project staff including other relevant project consultants, as well as, relevant BMB and UNDP technical staff shall provide comment on the outputs of the consultant.

Duration of the Work

The expected duration of work is 115 days spread over 1 year from December 16, 2019 to December 15, 2020.

Within 2 weeks of the consultant's submission of his/her outputs to the Project Manager and Sr. Technical Adviser shall provide their comments. Should there be further comments, the revised output shall be submitted within a week. Should there be no comments, the Project Manager shall endorse the consultant's output/s for approval.

Duty Station

The Training Consultant is not expected to report on a daily basis to the Project Management Office based in BMB in Quezon City but shall be available on an on-call basis.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The financial proposals from possible candidates should be expressed in lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs related to this engagement (i.e. transportation/travel to and from residence-Manila and/or within Metro Manila, supplies & materials, reproduction, communications including internet). Travel expenses to project-related meetings and workshops outside of Metro Manila shall be paid for by the Project based on the UNDP DIM Rates.

The Payment terms are as follows:

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's 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.

Functional and technical competencies

• Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
• Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Computer literate.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Offers will be evaluated based on combined scoring method – where the Technical Proposal will be evaluated based on qualifications in the CV. The Technical Evaluation is weighted a max. of 70%.

The Financial Proposal that will be evaluated through submission of the Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the IC including Financial Proposal Template and combined with the price offer will be weighted a max of 30%;

For the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, the selection of the successful consultant must be based in the qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points).

Applicants who will only receive a minimum score of 70 points and above from the assessment of the CV will be qualified for the assessment of the Financial Proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document at https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=88785.

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. Personal CV or 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.
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. 

You may download the editable version of the Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the IC by clicking on this link: http://gofile.me/292aN/5eiV7qhBq

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.