[ES_JOBS_NET] Consultant for UNDP-GEF Midterm Review

[Christine Wiedinmyer]

https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=84027

 



Consultant for UNDP-GEF Midterm Review (IRH)


Location :

home-based with missions to Baku and Georgia


Application Deadline :

25-Mar-19 (Midnight New York, USA)


Time left :

12d 9h 22m


Type of Contract :

Individual Contract


Post Level :

International Consultant


Languages Required :

English  


Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated March-July 2019


Expected Duration of Assignment :

app. 25 working days


 

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Background


 Project Title Kura II: 
Advancing IWRM Across the Kura River Basin through implementation of the
transboundary agreed actions and national plans

Project Description:
This is the Terms of Reference for the UNDP-GEF Midterm Review (MTR) of the
full -sized project titled Kura II: Advancing IWRM Across the Kura River
Basin through implementation of the transboundary agreed actions and
national plans (5325#) implemented through the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub,
which is to be undertaken in 2019. The project started on the 23 August 2016
and is in its third year of implementation. In line with the UNDP-GEF
Guidance on MTRs, this MTR process was initiated before the submission of
the second Project Implementation Report (PIR). The MTR process must follow
the guidance outlined in the document Guidance For Conducting Midterm
Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects. 

The project was designed to: 
The UNDP-GEF Kura Project "Advancing Integrated Water Resource Management
(IWRM) across the Kura river basin through implementation of the
transboundary agreed actions and national plans" 2016-2020 is implementing
the Strategic Action Program for the Kura River Basin in partnership with
the Governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The SAP is framed around four
agreed Ecosystem Quality Objectives (EQO) which are:

.       To achieve sustainable utilization of water resources to ensure
access to water and preserve ecosystem services;

.       To achieve water quality such that it would ensure access to clean
water for present and future generations and sustain ecosystem functions in
the Kura river basin;

.       To achieve and maintain ecosystem status whereby they provide
essential environmental and socio-economic services in a sustainable manner
in the Kura River Basin; and,

.       To achieve mitigation of adverse impacts of flooding and climate
change on infrastructures, riparian ecosystems and communities.

The GEF 6 supports priority activities towards these objectives. The GEF
funded SAP implementation Project has the objective "to integrate water
resources management in the Kura river basin to address
water-energy-food-ecosystem security nexus through the implementation of
agreed actions in the SAP".

There are five components to support the countries to achieve this
objective. These are:

.       Project Component 1: Establishment of effective cross sectoral IWRM
governance protocols at the local, national and transboundary levels in the
Kura Basin;

.       Project Component 2: Strengthening national capacities to implement
multi-sectoral IWRM in the Kura basin;

.       Project Component 3: Stress reduction in critical areas and
pre-feasibility studies to identify investment opportunities for improving
river system health;

.       Project Component 4: Targeted education and involvement projects to
empower stakeholders in implementing local / national / regional actions in
support of SAP implementation;

.       Project Component 5: Enhancing science for governance by
strengthening monitoring, information management and data analysis systems
for IWRM. 

The UNDP-GEF Kura II Project Coordination Unit is located in Baku
Azerbaijan, and has an additional office and training center in Tbilisi
Georgia. There are 6 full time project staff in the Baku PCU and 3 in the
Tbilisi Office. There are over 60 national and international consultants
working on the project. The primary beneficiaries are the Ministry of
Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Environment
Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. Additional involved stakeholders
include(inter alia): the Amelioration Joint Stock Company of Azerbaijan,
Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Parliament of Azerbaijan,
AzerSu Joint Stock Company of Azerbaijan, The National Environment Agency of
Georgia, Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia,
United Water Supply Company of Georgia, Georgia Ministry of Sustainable
Development, The GEF Grant for the Project budget is $5,329,452, with over
$190,000,000 in co-financing from national partners in Azerbaijan and
Georgia.

The UNDP GEF Kura II Project is under Direct Implementation Modality (DIM)
via UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub. This is a pilot both for DIM for GEF IW
Project, and for IRH to have a project team remotely located. 







Duties and Responsibilities


Consultant will first conduct a document review of project documents (i.e.
PIF, UNDP Initiation Plan, Project Document, ESSP, Project Inception Report,
PIRs, Finalized GEF focal area Tracking Tools, Project Steering Committee
meeting minutes, Financial and Administration guidelines used by Project
Team, project operational guidelines, manuals and systems, etc.) provided by
the Project Team and Commissioning Unit. Then they will participate in an
MTR inception workshop to clarify their understanding of the objectives and
methods of the MTR, producing the MTR inception report thereafter. The MTR
mission will then consist of interviews and site visits to Azerbaijan and
Georgia), including the following project sites (Baku, Hajigabol, Tbilisi,
Gori, Khashuri). Additionally, the findings of the review will be presented
at the second Annual Steering Committee Meeting 20-21 June 2019 in Gange,
Azerbaijan.

Consultant will assess the following four categories of project progress and
produce a draft and final MTR report. See the Guidance For Conducting
Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects
(http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/guidance/GEF/mid-term/Guidance_Mid
term%20Review%20_EN_2014.pdf) for requirements on ratings. No overall rating
is required.

Project Strategy

Project Design: 

.       Review the problem addressed by the project and the underlying
assumptions.  Review the effect of any incorrect assumptions or changes to
the context to achieving the project results as outlined in the Project
Document.

.       Review the relevance of the project strategy and assess whether it
provides the most effective route towards expected/intended results.  

.       Review how the project addresses country priorities

.       Review decision-making processes

Results Framework/Logframe:

.       Undertake a critical analysis of the project's logframe indicators
and targets, assess how "SMART" the midterm and end-of-project targets are
(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound), and suggest
specific amendments/revisions to the targets and indicators as necessary.

.       Examine if progress so far has led to, or could in the future
catalyse beneficial development effects (i.e. income generation, gender
equality and women's empowerment, improved governance etc...) that should be
included in the project results framework and monitored on an annual basis. 

Progress Towards Results

.       Review the logframe indicators against progress made towards the
end-of-project targets; populate the Progress Towards Results Matrix, as
described in the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported,
GEF-Financed Projects; colour code progress in a "traffic light system"
based on the level of progress achieved; assign a rating on progress for the
project objective and each outcome; make recommendations from the areas
marked as "not on target to be achieved" (red). 

.       Compare and analyse the GEF Tracking Tool at the Baseline with the
one completed right before the Midterm Review.

.       Identify remaining barriers to achieving the project objective.

.       By reviewing the aspects of the project that have already been
successful, identify ways in which the project can further expand these
benefits.

Project Implementation and Adaptive Management

.       Using the Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported,
GEF-Financed Projects; assess the following categories of project progress: 

.       Management Arrangements

.       Work Planning

.       Finance and co-finance

.       Project-level monitoring and evaluation systems

.       Stakeholder Engagement

.       Reporting

.       Communications

Sustainability

.       Assess overall risks to sustainability factors of the project in
terms of the following four categories:

.       Financial risks to sustainability

.       Socio-economic risks to sustainability

.       Institutional framework and governance risks to sustainability

.       Environmental risks to sustainability

The MTR consultant will include a section in the MTR report setting out the
MTR's evidence-based conclusions, in light of the findings.

Additionally, the MTR consultant is expected to make recommendations to the
Project Team. Recommendations should be succinct suggestions for critical
intervention that are specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant. A
recommendation table should be put in the report's executive summary. The
MTR consultant should make no more than 15 recommendations total.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables 

The MTR consultant shall prepare and submit:

.       MTR Inception Report: MTR team clarifies objectives and methods of
the Midterm Review no later than 4 weeks before the MTR mission. To be sent
to the Commissioning Unit and project management. Approximate due date: (3
April)

.       Presentation: Initial Findings presented to project management and
the Commissioning Unit at the end of the MTR mission. Approximate due date:
(10 May)

.       Draft Final Report: Full report with annexes within 5 weeks of the
MTR mission to the Project Steering Committee Meeting. Approximate due date:
(27 May)

.       Final Report*: Revised report with annexed audit trail detailing how
all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final MTR
report. To be sent to the Commissioning Unit within 1 week of receiving UNDP
comments on draft. Approximate due date: (19 July)

*The final MTR report must be in English. If applicable, the Commissioning
Unit may choose to arrange for a translation of the report into a language
more widely shared by national stakeholders.

Institutional Arrangement

The principal responsibility for managing this MTR resides with the
Commissioning Unit. The Commissioning Unit for this project's MTR is the
UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub.

The Project Team will be responsible for liaising with Consultant to provide
all relevant documents, set up stakeholder interviews, and arrange field
visits. 

Duration of the Work

The total duration of the MTR will be approximately 25 of days over a period
of 17 of weeks starting 29 March, and shall not exceed five months from when
the consultant is hired. The tentative MTR timeframe is as follows: 

.       (22 March 2019): Application closes

.       (26 March 2019): Selection of MTR Team

.       (29 March 2019): Preparation of Consultant (handover of project
documents)

.       (29 March - 3 April 2019) app. 3 days: Document review and preparing
MTR Inception Report

.       (4 April 2019) app. 1 day: Finalization and Validation of MTR
Inception Report-6 May, latest start of MTR mission

.       (30 April - 10 May 2019) app. 11 days: MTR mission: stakeholder
meetings, interviews, field visits 

.       (10 May): Mission wrap-up meeting & presentation of initial
findings- earliest end of MTR mission

.       (13-27 May 2019) app. 7 days: Preparing draft report

.       (27 May - 5 July 2019) app. 1 days: Incorporating audit trail on
draft report/Finalization of MTR report 

.       (20-21 June 2019) app. 2 Days: Presentation of draft report to the
Project Steering Committee

.       (12 July 2019): Preparation & Issue of Management Response

.        (19 July 2019): Expected date of full MTR completion

.       The date start of contract is (22 March 2019).

Schedule of Payments:

.       10% of payment upon approval of the MTR Inception Report

.       30% upon submission of the draft MTR Report

.       60% upon finalization of the MTR Report

Duty Station

Home based with travel to Baku Azerbaijan, as well as field trips to
Hajigabol Azerbaijan, Tbilisi Georgia with field trips to Gori and
Khashuri/Suramin in Georgia. Attendance at Project Steering Committee in
Genge Azerbaijan

Travel:

.       International travel will be required to (Azerbaijan and Georgia)
during the MTR mission; 

.       BSAFE security course 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. 

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

Consultant Independence:

The consultants cannot have participated in the project preparation,
formulation, and/or implementation (including the writing of the Project
Document) and should not have a conflict of interest with project's related
activities. 







Competencies


Corporate competencies:

.       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;

.       Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance
for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

.       Excellent communication skills

.       Demonstrable analytical skills







Required Skills and Experience


Education:

.       A Master's degree in water resources management, applied water
resources evaluation or other closely related field. 

Experience:

.       Recent experience (within 5 years) with result-based management
evaluation methodologies required

.       Experience applying SMART targets and reconstructing or validating
baseline scenarios required

.       Experience in adaptive management, as applied to GEF International
Waters transboundary fresh water systems required

.       Experience working with the GEF evaluations required

.       Experience working in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Caucasus in
fresh water management required, in evaluation of project implementation
preferred

.       Work experience in transboundary fresh water management for at least
5 years required

.       Experience in gender sensitive evaluation and analysis and
demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and GEF International
Waters is an asset

.       Project evaluation/review experiences within United Nations system
will be considered an asset

Language skills:

.       English is the working language of the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project and
it required, the ability to communicate in Russian is an asset. 

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis
taking into consideration the combination of the applicants' qualifications
and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should 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 (P11/CV desk reviews,
methodology evaluation and interviews) and financial criteria specific to
the solicitation. 

Only candidates who will get min. 70% of points in desk review and
methodology evaluation (criteria A-G) will be invited for an interview. Only
candidates who receive 70% or more of points in technical evaluation
(Criteria A-J) will be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation - max. 100 points:

.       Criteria A - (desk review) Education in water resources management,
applied water resources evaluation or other closely related field. max. 10
pts

.       Criteria B - (desk review) Experience applying SMART targets and
reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios; max. 5 pts

.       Criteria C - (desk review) Experience with adaptive management, as
applied to GEF International Waters  transboundary fresh water systems; max.
15 pts

.       Criteria D - (desk review) Work experience in transboundary fresh
water management; max. 10 pts

.       Criteria E - (desk review) Experience in gender sensitive evaluation
and analysis and demonstrated understanding of issues related to gender and
GEF International Waters: max. 5 pts

.       Criteria F - (desk review) Project evaluation/review experiences
within United Nations system will be considered an asset; max. 5 pts

.       Criteria G -  (methodology) Demonstrable analytical skills,
communication skills, language skills; max. 25 pts

.       Criteria H - (interviews) Recent experience (within 5 years) with
result-based management evaluation methodologies; max. 5 pts

.       Criteria I - (interviews) Experience working with the GEF
evaluations; max. 10 pts

.       Criteria J - (interviews) Experience working in Eastern Europe,
Central Asia, and Caucasus in fresh water management required, in evaluation
of project implementation; max. 10 pts

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation - max. 43 points.

Application Process

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the
submission process may result in disqualifying the applications.

Step 1: Interested candidates must include the following documents when
submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into one (1)
single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document):

.       Cover letter and brief description of approach to work/technical
proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable
for the assignment, and a proposed methodology on how they will approach and
complete the assignment; (max 1 page)

.       Personal CV or a P11 Personal History 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
(http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_
ICs.doc);

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal - Only shortlisted candidates will
be contacted and requested to provide a financial offer. Price offer must
not be included in the online application. 

Incomplete applications will be excluded from further consideration. Please
make sure you have provided all requested materials. 

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the
contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. 

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have
vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as
designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to
comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found
under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Annexes to the MTR ToR

Guidance For Conducting Midterm Reviews of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed
Projects including annexes is available here:
http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/guidance/GEF/mid-term/Guidance_Midt
erm%20Review%20_EN_2014.pdf

 

	

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender,
nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups
and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All
applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of
harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected
candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background
checks.

 

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