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Two (2) Local Consultants on Economic Development for Ungheni Municipality.

Vacancy Number: Pr20/02026

Location:	Ungheni, Moldova
Application Deadline:	12 Jun 2020, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	18 Jun 2020, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date:	01 Jul 2020
Reference to the project:	EU4Moldova: Focal regions
Expected Duration of Assignment:	July 2020 – March 2021, estimated workload: up to 110 working days / per each consultant
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 12 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: Termeni de referinta Terms of Reference Aviz de procurare de consultanta individuala Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form 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 (further 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 smart, inclusive, sustainable and integrated socio-economic development as well as improving the standards of living of the citizens in the focal regions: Cahul and Ungheni.

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

Specific objectives:

1. To strengthen transparency, accountability of local public authorities and people’s participation in local governance processes in the focal regions.
2. To improve citizens' access to quality public services and utilities in the focal regions.
3. To create employment opportunities for men, women and youth in the focal regions and improve the attractiveness of the focal regions for investors and entrepreneurs.
4. To promote the smart specialization of the economy of the focal 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 focal regions.

Scope of work

To ensure adequate implementation of all planned activities, the Programme is seeking for 2 qualified and experienced local consultants to perform the assignment in Cahul focal region:

1. One (1) Consultant on economic development
2. One (1) Consultant on green economy / low carbon and climate resilience.

The Consultants will work in a team, along with other local and national consultants, based on a comprehensive tailor-made methodology, which should be determined at the inception of activities with the support of an International Consultant on Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Economic Development.

The overall objective of the Consultants on Economic Development / green economy assignment (hereinafter Consultants) is to facilitate the process of capacity building of targeted focal regions to actively engage private sector into local development process:

• Provide support in organizing the preparatory activities for setting up of local participatory Low Carbon Economic Development (LCED) mechanism;
• Provide support in conducting of a Rapid Economic Appraisal of economic development opportunities in targeted focal region;
• Support local actors to harness the existing economic opportunities within a systemic implementation framework;
• On-going support and coaching to local public and private actors, in targeted focal region.

The consultants will carry out similar activities, the difference being that the first Consultant responsible for economic development will cover the activities related to general economic interventions and the second Consultant will be responsible for integrating and promoting of green and climate resilient economic growth and job creation approach.

Important Note: The applicants shall clearly indicate the position they are applying for:

Position 1: Consultant on economic development;

Position 2: Consultant on green economy / low carbon and climate resilience.

The candidates may apply for both positions, which will be clearly stipulated in the application letter, with the possibility to be selected for only 1 position.

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

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• University degree in economics, engineering, sociology, public administration or other relevant field.

Years of experience:

• At least 5 years of practical experience in the fields related to local economic development (working with public and/or private actors).
• At least 5 years of work experience with the relevant multi-stakeholder economic environment in the targeted focal region (evidence: list of relevant institutions the Consultant has been cooperating with, including the topic and year must be presented together with the application package).
• Experience in facilitation, coaching, mentoring and/or delivering trainings in the field of local economic development;
• Experience of working with UN agencies and/or international organizations, and/or European/donor funded development projects/programmes will be considered a strong asset.
• Relevant expertise in the field of low-emission and climate resilience economic growth / green economy, will be considered an asset.

Competencies:

• Knowledge and skills of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Fluency in Romanian and Russian. Knowledge of English will be considered 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, adapt to different environments (cultural, economic, political and social);

• 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.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants 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. Evidence of experience with multi-stakeholder economic environment in the targeted focal region: list of relevant institutions the Consultant has been cooperating with, including the topic and year must be presented together with the application package
4. 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.

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

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 62 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.