NAP-2: National Consultant to assess financial costs of Climate Change Adaptation Measures in five key sectors.

Vacancy Number: Pr21/02224

Location:Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline: 13 May 2021, 13:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:
20 May 2021, 18:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:
27 May 2021, 18:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:
08 Jun 2021, 18:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:
18 Jun 2021, 18:00 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date: 01 Jun 2021
Reference to the project: Advancing Moldova's National Climate Change Adaptation Planning Project
Expected Duration of Assignment:June 2021 – May 2022, 45 working days
Submission Instructions:

Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Online" button, no later than 13 May 2021.

Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: pavel.gavrilita@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
Procurement Notice
OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT
UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Mr. Pavel Gavrilita.

pavel.gavrilita@undp.org


Background

Climate change is already profoundly impacting the conditions for resource availability and agricultural activities. Over the last decade, the country has experienced a number of extreme events, such as droughts and major floods, along with the incremental effects caused by increased mean temperature, and the uneven distribution of precipitation through the year, which have had negative consequences on the country’s economy, and its population wellbeing and health. Severe droughts are recurring more frequently causing significant economic losses. The increasing scope and intensity of extreme events has also resulted in increased frequencies of high-risk situations. By 2050, an increase of 2–3ºC in the average temperature, an additional 32 days that exceed the current maximum temperature by 10%, and an additional 12 days with zero precipitation are projected.

The Government sees the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process as key to achieving the adaptation objectives outlined in its 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova, and its 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), as well as the continued mainstreaming of climate change considerations into its policies and budgeting processes. The proposed project supports the Government of the Republic of Moldova in advancing the second cycle of its National Adaptation Planning process (known as NAP-2). The outcomes of the NAP-2 national adaptation planning processes, are:

Outcome 1: To strengthen and operationalize the national steering mechanism for climate change adaptation (CCA);

Outcome 2: To improve the long-term capacity on planning and implementation of adaptation actions through CCA technologies;

Outcome 3: To improve the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation through the increased alignment of national development priorities, in the priority sectors (forestry, health, energy and transport).

The project will contribute to UNDAF, 2018-2022 outcome #3 (The people of Moldova, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from enhanced environmental governance, energy security, sustainable management of natural resources, and climate and disaster resilient development). Additionally, the project will contribute to the UNDP Country Programme Output 3.3 (National and sub-national governments have improved capacities to integrate resilience to climate change and disasters into development plans and practices to reduce population’s vulnerability). Other than that, the project will contribute to the National Development Strategy “Moldova 2030” through ensuring resilience to climate change by reducing risks related to climate change and by facilitating adaptation in six sectors priority - agriculture, water resources, health, forestry, energy and transport.

The preliminary work under the first cycle of the NAP (known as NAP-1) supported the development of a NAP as a process, conceptualizing and developing its elements, including the national steering mechanism, and laid down the groundwork towards long-term adaptation planning. Albeit the progress, significant gaps remain in the integration of climate change considerations into many of the development policies of the national priority sectors and their associated budget priorities. National appropriations for CCA remain limited.

The NAP-2 goals will be achieved within two parallel implementation tracks. The first track implemented by UNDP expands and deepens the national approach developed under the NAP-1 and strengthens synergies both vertically, at different levels of the governance, and horizontally, between the sectors affected by climate change to reduce duplication of efforts, pool scarce resources for effective use, and ensure a coherent and comprehensive approach to the integration of CCA responses into development planning, while the second track will focus on adaptation in the agriculture sector and will be concurrently implemented under the auspices of FAO.

The National Designated Authority has coordinated with the UNDP and the FAO country offices to ensure the complementarity and congruency of the activities and exchange, as appropriate. By its very nature, the NAP-2 will facilitate integration of CCA into existing strategies, policies and programmes and establish a strong foundation for the integration of methods, tools, and information systems in day-to-day planning activities to effectively inform decision-makers on the climate risks, and to enable the informed formulation of resilient projects and financing strategies.

The National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) until 2020 and its Action Plan was approved by GD 1009/2014. The Strategy provides guidance on the sectorial approach for climate change concerns and their integration in the process of development of sector specific strategies, action plans and relevant policy framework, which lead to the possibility of identifying the best adaptation opportunities at sectorial level. The general objective of the NCCAS is oriented towards “increasing the capacity of the Republic of Moldova to adapt and respond to actual or potential climate change effects” and it is underpinned by an in-depth study of future climate risks and their impacts on vulnerable sectors.

The NCCAS has three medium- and long-term objectives under which adaptation actions are clustered for the priority sectors (agriculture, water, health, forests, energy, and transport), as well as for cross-sectorial action. It contains an estimation of the implementation cost, which are broken down per measures in the Action Plan. Furthermore, a country study “Financing Climate Action in Moldova” has been carried out by OECD in 2016, to provide an approximate quantification of climate-related development finance flows that target climate mitigation and adaptation in the period 2011-2015. With the technical assistance of the World Bank, in 2016 also a “Moldova Climate Adaptation Investment Planning” tool has been provided to the GoM in view of supporting short- and medium-term budgeting for climate-related measures on national and sectoral levels.   

In this context, the present project will contract a National Consultants (NC) to evaluate the financial aspects of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova until 2020 and its Action Plan, including the efficiency of funds allocation and capitalization, and contribute to the development of a new state of the arts CCA strategic framework. As the implementation of climate change adaptation objectives needs to be supported by appropriate financial mechanisms, the Consultant will be also responsible for streamlining the financial aspects of the sectorial CCA planning framework into the country’s mid- and short- term budgetary planning for the GoM’s prioritized sectors: health, forestry, water, transport, and energy.

The Consultant is expected to coordinate with the sectoral national experts and exchange information on climate adaptation options, appropriate financing instruments and their integration in the specific sectoral budgetary planning. The National Consultant will work under the guidance of the International Consultant, Team Leader and Project Manager, and in close cooperation with the five Sectoral Experts contracted to support the NAP2 process. He/she will also work closely with the respective national partners, including state institutions, local authorities, civil society, and international organizations. The process is highly participatory and inclusive as it must be driven and owned by national stakeholders to maximize sustainability.

Scope of work

The main objective of this assignment is to provide a climate adaptation investment planning framework for the priority sectors, as well as mainstreaming the identified CCA actions in the mid- and short- term budgetary planning at national and sectoral levels. This would be achieved by undertaking a detailed critical analysis of the financial aspects of the current NCCAS until 2020, compared with the established objectives, identified measures, and estimated needs of the Strategy and its Action Plan. This critical analysis will also assess and inform on the efficiency of utilisation of the financial resources, allocated for implementation of the measures stipulated in the current NCCAS and in other sectorial policy documents, as applicable.

The Consultant will work under the guidance of the International Consultant and supervision of the Team Leader and Project Manager to conduct a comprehensive review of the financial aspects in the current NCCAS until 2020, develop a new climate adaptation investment planning framework, including for streamlining identified CCA measures for the key sectors health, forestry, water, transport, and energy into the national and sectoral budgetary planning. For identification of appropriate financing mechanisms, he/she will closely coordinate with the national consultants working on the development of sector specific CCA measures.

Specific tasks:

  • Establish regular communication plan and data/information sharing procedures with the International Consultant and national sectoral consultants;
  • Provide feedback to the International Consultant with respect to the development of methodologies, tools, and other elements related to the design of the assessment;
  • Provide climate financing- related inputs to the International Consultant and ensure effective communication with the relevant national stakeholders (MoF, MARDE, MEI etc.);
  • Coordinate and work with sectoral NCs to identify financial needs and options, as well as potential entry points for efficient mainstreaming of CCA considerations in the strategic and budgetary planning on both national and sectoral levels;
  • Collect, analyse, and summarize all the initial information regarding the degree of implementation of the financial aspects in the NCCAS and its Action Plan until 2020, or, if relevant, other sectoral policy documents that comprise CCA measures;
  • Support the organization of a stocktaking workshop and coordinate with all relevant decision makers the results of evaluation of the financial aspects in NCCAS 2020;
  • Conduct a desk review of various international (WB, OECD, FAO, UNDP etc.) and relevant national assessments of climate-related development finance flows and potential CCA investments in the country, in view of supporting short- and medium-term budgeting for climate-related measures on national and sectoral levels;
  • Liaise with relevant national stakeholders to discuss options for streamlining the identified CCA financial needs into the national and sectoral budgetary planning;
  • Contribute to the costing of formulated CCA measures for the new Action Plan and, together with the sectoral NCs, coordinate the proposals with the relevant stakeholders;
  • Identify appropriate financing mechanisms and streamlining options, coordinate them with the relevant national stakeholders, and propose formulations to be included in the new NCCA Framework;
  • Identify sources of funds for financing adaptation, including country funds, as well as donor and international funds to be targeted at priority sectors/areas.
  • Based on the findings and recommendations identified in the process of CCAS implementation assessment – develop a climate risk management/adaptation financing plan to be incorporated in the new CCA framework. In this context – consider and propose options for mainstreaming the CCA measures in the sectorial investment planning, as well as in the national and sector-specific budgetary framework;
  • Conduct consultative workshops and ensure consultation on the proposed/estimated financing framework for the implementation of CCA measures with the National Climate Change Commission and other stakeholders and update it according to the received recommendations.

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualification:

  • University degree in economics and finances, environmental economics or another relevant field related to the assignment.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of experience in financial and/or economic analysis of projects and/or programmes;
  • Previous experience with development/evaluation of Cost and Benefits Analyses (CBAs) for policy documents/programmes;
  • Experience in working with UNDP and/or EU-funded project or other international organization would be an asset.

Competencies:

  • Thorough knowledge of the Republic of Moldova’s climate-related political framework and its financing, especially in climate change adaptation;
  • Familiarity with national development objectives and climate related needs identified during the NAP 1 process in the Republic of Moldova;
  • Knowledge of national stakeholders, institutional mandates, financing needs and investments related to adaptation to climate change would be an asset;
  • Excellent and proven analytical and writing skills;
  • Good coordination and facilitation skills.

Language requirements:

  • Fluency in Romanian and English is required for this assignment, Russian is an asset.

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. Please mention in CV if you belong to the group(s) under-represented in the UN Moldova and/or the area of assignment.

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic 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

Applicants shall submit the following documents:

  • Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability with financial proposal (in USD, specifying the total lump sum amount). Financial proposal template prepared in compliance with the template in Annex 2;
  • CV, including information about experience in similar assignments and contact details for at least 3 referees;
  • 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.

Financial proposal

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fees, taxes, travel costs, accommodation costs, communication, and number of anticipated working days) (see Annex 2 of the Offeror’s Letter Confirming Interest and availability attached to this Procurement Notice).  

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should 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 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.