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EU4MD/ International Consultant on Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Economic Development.

Vacancy Number: Pr20/02021

Location:	home-based with 3 missions to Moldova (Chisinau)
Application Deadline:	11 Jun 2020, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	16 Jun 2020, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	15 Jul 2020
Reference to the project:	EU4Moldova: Focal regions
Expected Duration of Assignment:	July 2020 – February 2021, estimated workload: up to 65 working days
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 11 June 2020. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: liliana.caterov@undp.org. UNDP will respond 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 applicants.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice P11 Template OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Ms. Liliana Caterov.

Background

The EU4Moldova: focal regions Programme is based on the European Commission Implementing Decision on the Annual Action Programme 2018 in favor of the Republic of Moldova and is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.

The overall objective of the five-year Programme is to strengthen the economic, territorial and social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova through facilitating inclusive, sustainable and integrated local socio-economic growth and improving the standards of living of the citizens in the pilot micro- regions: Cahul and Ungheni.

To this end, this Programme will address the urban-rural divide and regional disparities, stimulate economic growth and job creation, refurbish and upgrade some social and technical infrastructure in selected pilot micro-regions (smaller towns and villages) while taking into account a gender perspective in the activities of the Programme.

Specific objectives:

1. To strengthen transparency, accountability of local public authorities and citizen participation in local governance processes in the pilot micro-regions.
2. To improve citizens' access to quality public services and utilities in the pilot micro-regions.
3. To create employment opportunities for men and women in the pilot micro-regions and improve the attractiveness of the pilot regions for investors and entrepreneurs,
4. To promote the smart specialization of the economy of the pilot micro regions through the development of the clustering and value chain approach in key economic sectors.

The Programme objectives will be achieved through measures targeted at: (i) capacity building to support the implementation and monitoring of local economic development plans; (ii) civil society engagement in local planning, governance processes and basic social service delivery; (iii) provision of investment funding in support of the creation and/or development of social and technical infrastructure which, combined with the outcomes from interventions (i) and (ii) above, will have an immediate, visible and tangible impact on employment creation, the standard of living of the population in the pilot micro-regions.

Scope of work

The overall objective of the International Consultant on Low Carbon Economic Development (LCED) assignment (hereinafter Consultant) is to provide methodological guidance and technical expertise in road-mapping of the Programme interventions for supporting 2 focal regions from the Republic of Moldova to build their competitiveness in promoting green and climate resilient economic growth and job creation. In this regard, the Expert is expected to deliver the following activities:

• Support the Programme to undertake the preparatory activities for defining the ‘functional economic area’ and initiation of the LCED field interventions in two focal regions;
• Support the process of elaboration of Low Carbon Economic Development Roadmaps for two focal regions with the environmental and climate change considerations duly mainstreamed;
• Support the conceptualization of the methodological approach to facilitate and catalyze the implementation of LCED Roadmaps in two focal regions.

Note: The term of ‘focal region’ is used to define the broader area of Cahul municipality (35 thousand inhabitants) and Ungheni municipality (32 thousand inhabitants), comprising adjacent rural communities (to be further defined).

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in economics, development studies, sociology, public administration or other relevant field.

Years of experience:

• At least 10 years of practical experience in the field of local economic development;
• At least 5 years of international experience in the field of local economic development;
• Advanced experience related to implementing PACA[1] (Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage) methodology (at least 2 projects/assignments);
• Advanced experience in conducting Rapid Economic Appraisal processes;
• Experience in European/East-European countries in the area of assignment will be an advantage;
• Experience in facilitation, coaching, mentoring and/or delivering trainings in the field of local economic development;
• Experience of work with international organizations/projects, including UN and/or European ones will be an advantage;
• Knowledge of local economic development context in transition countries;
• Knowledge of environment mainstreaming tools into LED will be an asset;
• Knowledge of the development context of Moldova will be an asset.

Competencies:

• Knowledge and skills of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Excellent language proficiency in both written and oral English;
• Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian language will be an asset.

Personal Qualities and other requirements:

• Demonstrated capacity of team-orientation work, excellent planning and organizational skills;
• Good interpersonal skills, solid judgment/decision making, initiative and creativity;
• Ability to analyse, plan, communicate effectively organize and meet expected results;
• Ability to achieve results and deadlines in a timely manner, maintaining a high standard throughout;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

The United Nations Development Programme in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women and men, persons with different types of disabilities, LGBT, Roma and other ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non‐citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

[1] E.g. www.mesopartner.com/knowledge-resources/methodologies/paca/

Documents to be included

Interested individuals must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: 

1. Proposal explaining how applicant responds to each of the qualification requirements and why he/she is the most suitable for the work;
2. Personal information (as a Personal History Form /P11 – Template attached in the Supporting Document section) including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and concrete outputs obtained, and at least 3 references.
3. Financial proposal - in USD, specifying a total lump sum amount and the number of anticipated working days, incorporated in the Offeror’s Letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment;
4. At least 1 report/study on implementing the Rapid Economic Appraisal methodology (to be shared before the interview).

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount. The payment for services will be made post factum on a lump-sum deliverables basis, as per contract, after the work has been accepted by the Programme Manager. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of offers, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee per day, total and all-inclusive travel costs per each mission to Moldova [include a breakdown of airfare/economy class only, per diem, accommodation, airport transfer], mobile phone costs, number of anticipated working days, etc.).

Travel

The consultant is expected to undertake up to 3 missions [as detailed in the Terms of Reference] (up to 50 working days in total) to Moldova (by airplane). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station. In-house transportation to/from flagship sites will be provided by UNDP. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Consultant 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.

Individual contractor who is over 65 years of age will be required, prior to contract signature, to undergo full medical examination and obtain medical clearance from an UN-approved doctor or his/her own preferred physician. The medical examination shall be issued and submitted to UNDP Moldova upon request.