Consultancy Title: Energy Implementation Support Officer – National Consultant

Unit Name: Resilience and Sustainable Development (RSD) Unit

Duty Station: Fiji (Suva)

Duration of the Contract

• Number of working days: 44
• Commencement date (tentative): 1 November 2020
• Completion date (tentative):  31 December 2020

Consultancy Proposal (CV & Financial proposal Template) should be uploaded on UNDP Jobshop website(https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm?cur_rgn_id_c=RAS) no later than 21st  October 2020 (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 through UNDP job shop web page. Candidates need to upload their CV and financial proposal -using UNDP template

1. Daily rate to be inclusive of Medical insurance cost for the duration of the contract

1. Selected Candidate will be required to submit a proof of medical insurance prior to issuance of contract

1. 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.

Objective

The objective for the temporary appointment is to provide effective support in the implementation start-up of climate change mitigation projects. Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader for Resilience and Sustainable Development (RSD) Unit, and in close collaboration with the Regional Technical Advisor in the Bangkok Regional Hub, the Programme Analyst for RSD Unit, the Energy Implementation Support Officer shall provide implementation start-up support to Project Management Units (PMU) in three countries i.e. the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, and Nauru. S/he is expected to provide high-quality implementation support services ranging from drafting various products, and capacity development support to the project management units, key stakeholders, to supporting the project in contributing and benefiting from the existing global knowledge networks related to climate change mitigation.

The Energy Implementation Support Officer is expected to provide support during the inception phase of each project in the FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru at a juncture where the most feasible renewable energy and energy efficiency demonstration activities and management arrangements will be validated and prioritized through a participatory and consultative approach. More specifically, the Energy Implementation Support Officer shall be responsible for the following:

• Serve as an interface between UNDP and each project management units in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru during the inception phase of each project.
• Support the work of project management units as they interface with relevant Ministries for all project activities especially the relevant renewable energy and energy efficiency demonstration activities.
• Contribute to each project’s efforts to increase the climate change mitigation knowledge and awareness of the public, by drafting media articles including press releases, social media posts, and blogs (if necessary).
• Support each project management unit as they organize project-level inception and induction training workshops and facilitate the commencement of Environmental & Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs).

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions resulting from border lockdowns, this consultancy assignment will be undertaken remotely from UNDP Pacific Office in Suva, Fiji. UNDP will enable access to virtual platforms to support this consultancy.

Background

The Governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have requested UNDP to be their implementing agency in the sixth funding cycle of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-6) for the climate change mitigation focal area under the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR). To date, projects have been approved and implementation have commenced in two countries (Tuvalu and Vanuatu), while projects for three countries (the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and Nauru) have received GEF approval and are ready to start implementation. All projects are implemented through the UNDP Nationally Implementation Modality (NIM) in partnership with the respective energy departments of each line ministries. All projects are designed in-line with each National Energy Road Map (NERM) targets and to a certain extent the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. While projects in Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu consist of a mix of renewable energy and energy efficiency activities, the project for FSM focuses solely on energy efficiency.

Over the past decade, there have been constant demand for ‘technical implementation support’ to UNDP/GEF climate change mitigation projects that are on-the-ground in each country. This is an opportunity to provide such support to the three countries of interest (i.e. FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru) during the Inception Phase that is expected to commence in late September until 31st December 2020. The Inception Phase milestones are listed below, post-signing of project documents between UNDP and the respective Governments of FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru:

• Establishment of project management units in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru including hiring of project personnel;
• Commencement of ESIAs and development of Environment & Social Management Plans (ESMPs) for projects in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru;
• Convening of inception workshop for project partners and stakeholders, and induction training for project management staff in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru; and
• Completion of inception reports for all three projects in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru.  

Brief project description for the Federated States of Micronesia:

The Micronesia Public Sector Buildings Energy Efficiency (MPSBEE) Project is a UNDP climate change mitigation project, with the project implementing partner being the Energy Division (ED) of the Department of Resources and Development (DRD) of the national government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The objective of the MPSBEE project is the improved application of energy conserving and energy efficient (EC&EE) techniques and practices in the design, retrofit, and ongoing O&M of public sector buildings in FSM. The MPSBEE project specific activities include: evaluate the current energy performance and energy use baseline situation in FSM public sector buildings; identify and quantify energy savings from available Energy Savings Measures (ESMs) and their inter-dependencies; identify and quantify ESM investment needs, energy savings paybacks and improvements in environmental conditions; and design, specify, implement, monitor and evaluate, document, and publicise reductions in public sector energy (electricity use), esp. in cooling, lighting and hot water supply. By demonstrating, replicating, monitoring, and publicizing the targeted 50% reductions in public sector buildings’ energy use, the MPSBEE project will contribute towards the realisation of FSM’s national target of a 50% improvement in EE by 2020. As electricity is unavoidable expensive[1] in the FSM (2018 tariffs are 39 – 77 US cents/kWh[2]), it will also be cost effective for the private sector to learn from and replicate the best commercially available ESMs (esp. for ventilation, cooling, lighting and hot water supply) that will be demonstrated, replicated, monitored, documented and publicised by MPSBEE for FSM’s public sector buildings. There is strong support from the FSM national and state governments to the MPSBEE project as a contribution to the FSM 50% EE target, and as FSM prepares for the 2023 end of US Compact II funding support.   

Brief project description for Kiribati:

The Promoting Outer Island Development through the Integrated Energy Roadmap (POIDIER) has the objective of enabling enhanced outer island development through the achievement of the renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) targets of Kiribati. Efforts to date to promote RE and EE in the outer island have lacked sustainability and lacked links to enhancing economic development and livelihoods. They have also lacked enough scale to meet targets. While widely distributed to households, small solar PV lighting systems provide only limited energy access. Affordable parts for repairs are not available. Larger systems, such as solar PV mini-grids, have only addressed institutional needs, mainly boarding schools, and lack financial and technical sustainability. Costs for such systems have been far above international benchmarks. Imported EE cook stoves have been introduced but are expensive and little known. RE and EE efforts to date have not addressed: the lack of opportunity on the outer islands, leading to overcrowding on South Tarawa; lack of deeper development of the two main resources of the outer islands, coconuts and fish; and lack of development of agriculture in the outer islands to address the nation’s food insecurity and chronic disease issues stemming from the majority of the nation’s food stuffs being imported. The POIDIER project is structured into four interrelating components: (1) Capacity Building for Low Carbon Outer Island Development; (2) Improvement of Energy Policy, Institutional Frameworks, and Planning for Low Carbon Outer Island Development; (3) Financial Support Mechanism Development for Low Carbon Development Initiatives in Outer Islands; and (4) Low Carbon (RE and EE) Technologies Applications for Outer Island Development.

Brief project description for Nauru:

The Supporting Mainstreamed Achievement of Roadmap Targets on Energy in Nauru (SMARTEN) project has the objective to enable the increased applications of feasible RE and EE technologies for supporting socio-economic development in Nauru in accord with the country’s energy roadmap targets. The Government of Nauru (GoN) has set three ambitious energy targets in the Nauru Energy Road Map (NERM) 2014-2020, and following updates, respectively: (1) 24/7 grid electricity supply with minimal interruptions; (2) 50% of grid electricity supplied from Renewable Energy (RE) sources; and (3) 30% improvement in Energy Efficiency (EE) in the residential, commercial and government sectors. So far, the efforts have been focused primarily on achieving the first target, which based largely on technical expertise of the national utility management team requiring very limited financial resources. Currently available technical and financial resources are insufficient to fully achieve all three targets unless additional support from international donors is made available. SMARTEN will provide the required technical assistance and financial resources and the project design will follow a strategy based on removing all the barriers identified during the Project Information Form (PIF) preparation and successively confirmed during the SMARTEN project proposal preparation. The project is structured into four interrelating Components, respectively: (1) Energy Policy & Regulatory Framework Strengthening; (2) Supporting RE & EE Initiatives; (3) Promotion of RE & EE Technologies Applications; and (4) Improvement of Energy Sector Capacity. All the activities that make these four components will be implemented over a 4-year period from 2020 to 2024. The expected duration on several RE & EE technologies installed under SMARTEN will have a lifespan of approximately 25 year, and at the end of this period the cumulative greenhouse gas emission reductions, including expected replication and scale-up projects, is estimated to reach 1.049 million-ton CO2eq.

Scope of Work

The expected outputs of the consultancy for the implementation start-up are:

• Summary of correspondences with each project management units in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru.
• Summary of correspondences with project management units as they interface with relevant Ministries for all project activities including the relevant renewable energy and energy efficiency demonstration activities. This includes official letters of invitation to the inception and induction training workshops to each of the project partners and stakeholders in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru.
• Press release and media articles for inception and induction training workshops in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru.
• Final agenda and Terms of References for inception and induction training workshops, including draft speeches for Government officials, power-point presentations to be presented by each implementing partner.
• Inception Reports for each of the three projects in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru.
• Terms of References for ESIAs in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru, and corresponding contractual management documents.

Resources Provided

UNDP

• Desk space (The consultant is expected to provide his/her own laptop).
• Relevant information including documents.
• Comments on draft deliverables. 

 Project Implementing Partners in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru

• Background information including documents.
• Specific information that will be used in the consultancy assignment.
• Comments on draft deliverables.

Supervision/Reporting

The consultant will be contracted by UNDP, including report to the Team Leader Resilience and Sustainable Development (RSD), UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji (or his/her designate).

Requirement for Qualifications & Experience

1) Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or areas relevant to the assignment

2) Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the field of climate change mitigation with emphasis in the energy sector. 

3) Minimum of 5 years of national experience.

4) Minimum of 10 years of experience (project, studies, papers) in the management/implementation of projects on renewable energy (such as solar, wind, biomass), energy efficiency in public buildings, and energy efficient cookstoves.

5) Completeness of proposal – comments on the TOR, quality, and soundness of the proposed approach, and realistic workplan.

Proposal Requirements (Mandatory Documents)

Technical Proposal

• A statement of how the applicant meets the qualifications and experience requirements.
• CV
• Proposed methodology/approach including preliminary work plan (covering deliverables, key activities, and due dates).  

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.

Payment Schedule

Evaluation

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:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of the pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

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.

Offerors must send the following Mandatory documents:
 

• CV including names/contacts of at least 3 referees;
• A cover letter indicating why the candidate considers himself/herself suitable for the required consultancy.
• Proposed methodology/approach including preliminary work plan (covering deliverables, key activities, and due dates) Realistic workplan and;
• Completed template for confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal.

Note: Successful individual will be required to provide proof of medical insurance coverage before commencement of contract for the duration of the assignment.

Incomplete and joint proposals may not be considered. Consultants with whom there is further interest will be contacted.

Individuals applying for this consultancy will be reviewed based on their own individual capacity. The successful individual may sign an Individual Contract with UNDP or request his/her employer to sign a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) on their behalf by indicating this in the Offerors letter to Confirming Interest and Availability.

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(Daily fees to include IC’s medical insurance costs), travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the 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 Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to procurement.fj@undp.org.

Women candidates are encouraged to apply.

The Fiji Office covers Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu