Vetted Experts Roster: Sustainable Development: Green Economy

Background

The Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) is UNDP’s main knowledge and advisory hub for the Europe and CIS Region (ECIS). It aims to connect the region to a global network of development experts, to build knowledge and capacity, and to forge partnerships to meet the development challenges of a large and diverse region. IRH also aims to capture and spread development successes and best practices in the region and to improve the impact of UNDP’s work through effective communications and advocacy.In order to achieve these aims, the IRH employs a team of in-house policy advisers and specialists, backed by an extensive roster of outside experts. Regional programme advisers and specialists provide demand-driven advisory services, access to knowledge, and technical backstopping to ECIS country offices. Their specific services include diagnostic missions, on-site support to UNDP Country offices principally in programme identification and preparation, evaluations, expert referrals, capacity development, training and applied research. They may also be responsible for leading and managing the regional practice work through communities of practice (COP) in their respective areas of expertise.The Sustainable Development Team provides support to the process of nationalizing, implementing and monitoring the global 2030 sustainable development agenda. UNDP IRH invites applications from qualified experts to establish a roster of consultants to work on various consultancy assignments in the region.  The SDT launches a competitive process to create a pool of qualified experts/consultants in following areas:Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 

• Poverty and Inequality, 
• Employment and Inclusive Growth, 
• Private Sector and Trade, 
• Social Protection and Social Inclusion
• Roma Inclusion
• Green economy
• Human Development

Green Economy in ECIS region

The UNEP Green Economy Initiative (GEI) defines a green economy as “one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities”. A green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. The situation differs significantly in countries of regions. The transition to a green economy vary considerably among countries, as it depends on the specifics of each country’s natural and human capital and on its relative level of development. Some countries have attained high levels of human development, but often at the expense of their natural resource base, the quality of their environment, high ecological footprint and high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The challenge for these countries is to reduce their per capita ecological footprint without impairing their quality of life—this is most common story in the Europe and Central Asia region. Other countries still maintain relatively low per capita ecological footprints, but need to deliver improved levels of services and material well-being to their citizens. Their challenge is to do this without drastically increasing their ecological footprint. There is huge variation in countries of region, both in terms of social aspects and environmental consequences. Countries of Western CIS and Central Asia show relatively high employment rates, but often times suffer from high energy inefficiency, spending too much energy per unit of GDP (combination of old technologies and transitional decline in GDP). Export from labour abundant Central Asian countries if often times dominated by the capital and resource intensive goods, creating economic growth, but few if any employment. (In Kyrgyzstan gold represent some half of export receipts, while the sector employs less than 1% of labour force.) Outdated technologies (especially in metallurgy) and non-energy and resource efficient buildings contributes to the issue.The average employment figures hide significant gender differences. Generally, employment to population rates are lower at Western Balkans, and higher in Western CIS and Central Asia, however gender gap is larger at Western Balkans and Central Asia. Thus, average employment rate for men at Western Balkans (excluding Kosovo* and Turkey) is 47%, for women 33%, making a gap 14%. In case of Turkey the gap is even wider, 38%, with men being actively engaged in labour market (65% employment rate) and women effectively excluded from formal labour relations (just 27% employment rate). At Western CIS employment rates are much higher (52% and 64% for women and men), and gap is much smaller (just 11%). In Central Asia employment rates for men are quite high (70% on average), while the gap is quite serious (25% on average, excluding Kazakhstan).Western Balkans show much lower employment rates, but better energy efficiency, close to European Union average (92.7 kg of oil equivalent per $1,000 GDP, constant 2011 PPP), comparting to 158.5 kg in developing countries of Europe and Central Asia and 134.0 kg World average. Most of countries of region are on non-sustainable consumption path, have environmental footprint above the global biocapacity. Only four countries of region (Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, and Tajikistan) consume below world possibilities, while many others significantly above, with total environmental footprint of consumption 2.7 global ha for developing countries of Europe and Central Asia and 4.2 global ha for European Union countries and Earth biocapacity of 1.72 global hectares per person.In addressing these fundamental challenges of transition of Green Economy, UNDP advocates for growth, which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. This approach is also featured prominently in the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, the SDG 12 is calling for the promotion of “sustainable consumption and production patterns”, while targets in SDGs 2, 8, and 9 focus on how growth happens. SDG4 emphasize skills for Sustianble development. UNDP’s response to these problems follows a multi-directional trajectory:

In line with the principles underpinning the SDGs, UNDP is actively promoting integrated, whole-of-government and transformative approaches to green economy, which include both top-down approaches and bottom-up initiatives. For instance, the Green Bridge Initiative was launched by the government of Kazakhstan at the UN ESCAP, UNECE conferences in 2011, and at the UN Rio+20 Summit 2012. It aims to attract green investments, integrate innovative green technologies, and promote government-business partnerships to move the economy from ‘brown’ to ‘green’. The EU, UNDP and UNECE launched a joint project "Supporting Kazakhstan’s transition to a green economy model”. The project is supported by the EU with 7,1 million Euros budget and is targeted to bring water governance in Kazakhstan align with the Green Economy Strategy of the country.“Transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Green Economy” lays out goals and targets and general approaches for achieving sustainable development in the country.  The Concept identifies seven key areas in which to undertake sustainable-development initiatives: water resource management, sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency, power sector development, waste management, air pollution reduction, and ecosystem management.  Fundamental to Transition to Green Economy is the idea that in addressing the sustainability of key sectors, there will be synergies found across a variety of cross-cutting issues, including climate change, good governance, environmental sustainability, gender equality, and human rights. In a similar vein, currently Tajikistan is developing concept of green economy, with support of UNDP. Statistics issue is specifically important for Green Economy, as most of SDG indicators for related targets belong to Tier III. There is a number of on-going efforts in the region. ILO usefully piloted Green Jobs measurement in Albania. UNDP through PEI supported introduction of SEEAs in Tajikistan for water and forest sector. A transition to a low-carbon economy is only possible by developing the skills, knowledge and competences required by resource-efficient, sustainable processes and technologies; and integrating these into our businesses and communities. VET institutions, as well as on-job training are crucial for formation skills for green economy. For instance, In Turkey ILO study reveals that the transition of enterprises towards a greener business model is not easy, yet necessary for companies to reduce their impact on the environment and keep their leading positions in their respective sectors. The same study documented company responses to green skills need in sectors as diverse as construction and garment industry. UNDP has a long-standing experience in supporting the countries from the ECIS region to enhance their vocational training system. For example in the FYR Macedonia, Albania, UNDP provides technical assistance to national authorities for the establishment of Quality assurance and accreditation of VET/VSD providers; skills needs forecasting, improvement of the regulatory framework and ecosystem for up-scaling work-based learning schemes (elements of dual system) 

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultants selected for the Roster will be working with UNDP Country Offices and/or Istanbul Regional Hub on various assignments related to Green Economy. Final agreement on operational reporting lines will be made during the contractual tasks negotiations. The range of tasks typically expected includes:

• Contributes to the development of cross-sectoral and sectoral strategies, policies and measures, bearing in mind green economy approach and the SDG national and local priorities;
• Supports in-depth research, provides advice and strategic technical inputs in the design and implementation of programme/project in above areas with a view of promoting green economy and the achievement of SDGs and respective country roadmaps;
• Contributes to analytical and thematic research within the subject areas, including for the development of relevant strategies, plans, programs/projects.
• Contributes to the development of toolkits, guidelines, publications, knowledge products and advocacy messages in the area of green economy, mutually reinforcing the 2030 Agenda for Development and the SDGs at regional and (sub)national levels;
• Contributes to conducting functional reviews, assessments, roadmaps development and institutional development for public institutions related to green economy 
• Contribute to review of training approaches and curricula for skills formation for the Green Economy, for vocational education schools, training centers, private companies and other relevant institutions;
• Contributes to development of innovative schemes, facilities and capacities for green economy initiatives, MSMEs and social enterprises (e.g. public funds, grants, guarantees, micro-finance loans, introducing flexible collaterals, social impact investment). 
• Contribute to development of innovative tools and networks for increased access to green economy knowledge, support services, business opportunities for MSMEs, social enterprises, with a view of strengthening their capacities for growth and creation of productive jobs in environmentally friendly way. 
• Document existing case studies of innovative schemes and working approaches to leverage these cases in countries of region.
• Supports initiatives and programmes that will facilitate and broker policy dialogue and cooperation mechanisms between the public and private sectors at national, sub-national and regional levels, in order to catalyze and incentivize private actors to come up with innovation and investments that result in adopting greened approaches for sustainable and inclusive growth and employments;
• Contributes to the preparation and facilitation of workshops, conferences, expert or other high level policy forums commissioned by UNDP in the area of Green Economy 
• Provides input for development of training curricula, background materials and delivery of training  at regional, national and local levels; Collects and systematizes country case studies, drafts analytical materials on the basis of information collected;
• Contributes to developing a methodology and guide quantitative and qualitative surveys, including by using alternative data sources for the relevant green economy and employment (including but not limited to SDGs 2, 12, 8, 9, and 4) targets and indicators;
• Contributes to collection, systematization and analysis of data sets for countries of region using international and national data sources, in particular related to SDG 2, 12, 8, and 9 

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• 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:

• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities
• Excellent public speaking and presentation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Minimum Master’s degree at least in one of the following fields: macro/micro economics, Public administration, Business Administration, Public Policy, Social Science, Political Science, Development Studies, Environment or related fields.
• Relevant training on green economy data analysis and development project management is preferred.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of proven work experience in development work with emphasis on Green Economy (e.g. work, research, teaching, consultancy)
• Experience with development and implementation of programs and projects related to Green Economy on central and local levels, including sector-specific reforms is an asset.
• Experience with liaising and cooperating with government officials, civil society organizations, universities, research institutes or economic think tanks is an asset.
• Proven existence of knowledge products such as books, articles, research papers, toolkits, guides, methodologies, analytical documents, policy papers and notes, project and program documents, baseline studies, desk reviews, comparative studies, reports etc. developed and/or published by the candidate is an asset.
• Previous relevant experience of working in/for ECIS countries (Central Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Caucasus, European Union (EU) Accession Countries and Western Balkan) is an asset. 

Language skills:

• Fluency in English is required
• Fluency in Russian or any other language spoken in the region is an asset

Computer and application skills:

• Full IT literacy is a must
• Proficiency in statistical software (like STATA, SPSS, or R) is an asset

Evaluation of Applicants:

All applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies set above. Candidates fully meeting the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below. The inclusion into the Vetted Roster of Experts will be offered to those individual consultants whose offers have been evaluated and determined as (a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and (b) having received high scores specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria – 70 % of total evaluation– max. 70 points:P11 review: 60 points Only highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job based on the CV desk review (who will score at least 70%) will be considered for drafting and formulation skills evaluation.

• Relevance of education – 5 points;
• Years of professional experience in Green Economy related initiatives – max. 10 points
• Relevance of proven professional and technical experience (skills) in Green Economy, especially relevant to Agenda 2030 and SDG MAPS - max. 10 points;
• Relevance of experience with development and implementation of programs and projects related to Green Economy on central and local levels, including sector-specific reforms – max. 15 points;
• Relevance of experience with liaising and cooperating with government officials, civil society organizations, universities, research institutes or economic think tanks is an asset – max. 5 points;
• Relevant regional knowledge and experience in the ECIS – max. 5 points;
• IT literacy and proficiency in statistical software (like STATA or, SPSS, or R)  – max. 5 points;
• Fluency in English; Fluency in Russian or other language spoken in the region is an asset– max. 5 points

Proven drafting and formulation skills (based on the record of existing publications focused on Green Economy areas) – max. 10 points (candidates can provide links to written samples of their work in relevant areas or send as attachment  together with the P11 form  , preferably in English. Publications in Russian language will also be accepted).Only candidates who will receive at least 70% of points in technical evaluation (desk review and evaluation of written samples) will be considered for financial evaluation.Financial Criteria – 30 % of total evaluation – max. 30 points.Contracting Arrangements:Successful candidates will be included into UNDP RBEC Vetted Experts Roster for Area of green economy for the period of 3 years. Entry into the expert roster system does not necessarily mean that contract with UNDP is guaranteed. This will depend on forthcoming needs. During this period, IRH which manages the roster, can regularly follow up with consultants as well as UNDP offices in ECIS on their assignments. Financial proposal (daily fee in USD) provided by the consultant is the all-inclusive maximum daily fee payable and is bound to the period of 3 years (unless the consultant applies to the roster during its re-opening). Profiles of roster members will be published at UNDP internal platform and accessible to UNDP IRH and Country Offices.Where a request for services arises, the UNDP IRH or UNDP office will share a specific Terms of Reference (TOR) outlining specific services, outputs and timeline for that assignment with consultant(s) matching the requested profile and consultants will be requested to provide a price offer. A consultant offering a best value for money will be contracted.Payments:Payments will be made as specified in the actual contract upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application. 
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV. 
• Financial Proposal* in USD – specifying all-inclusive maximum daily fee

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor (e.g. fee, health insurance, office supplies, communications, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). 

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

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.