Chief Technical Adviser

Background

Project Title

The GEF-funded UNDP-supported NIM-executed ‘Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Management of the Coastal Zone in the Republic of Mauritius’ project.

Project Description

Under the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, the following GEF Funded Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Management of the Coastal Zone in the Republic of Mauritius project (funded by the Global Environment Facility) is being implemented and a Chief Technical Advisor is required to overlook this project.

Mauritius forms part of the Western Indian Ocean Islands, one of the 25 internationally recognized biodiversity ‘hotspots’. The tropical climate, topography and history of isolation, has resulted in the evolution of a diverse biota with a high degree of endemism. Terrestrial biodiversity is forest-dependent. However, much of the extant forest has been lost: land clearance and forest degradation has already impacted more than 90% of Mauritius Island’s land surface.  Marine biodiversity is in a better condition, but is also threatened. Extensive reef systems surround all the islands of the archipelago. Rodrigues harbours a large reef expanse, three times the size of the island. 

Most of the useable land on the island of Mauritius has been put to production use. Despite the extensive degradation and transformation that has occurred in many areas, coastal ecosystems and adjacent landscapes still maintain their basic ecological functions. The coastal strip provides prime land for habitation, recreation and tourism, while seascapes provide the basis of food provision though fisheries and the country’s main touristic attraction—beaches, nautical sports and related activities. Lagoon habitats are especially important in this regard. They contribute to the overall productivity of coastal waters by supporting a variety of habitats, including salt marshes, seagrasses, and mangroves.

The objective of the project is to mainstream the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services into coastal zone management and into the operations and policies of the tourism and physical development sectors in the Republic of Mauritius through a ‘land- and seascape wide’ integrated management approach based on the Environmental Sensitive Areas’ (ESAs) inventory and assessment. More specifically, the project will achieve this through a three-pronged approach:

• Support the incorporation of ESA recommendations into policies and enforceable regulations pertaining to integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), thereby mitigating threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and resilience with a special focus on tourism and physical development in the coastal zone; 
• Support the effective management of marine protected areas (MPAs) across the RM, given that they contain an important proportion of critically sensitive ESAs; and 
• Demonstrate mechanisms to arrest land degradation in sensitive locations, focusing on reducing coastal erosion and sedimentation and helping to restore ecosystem functions in key wetland areas.  

The global environmental benefits of the project are represented by: 

• Adding 22,304 ha of marine and coastal area under improved management or conservation status;
• Increasing management effectiveness at the MPA level (from a METT baseline of 48% to a METT target of at least 60%;
• Increasing the financial sustainability of the MPA.

The Project Management Unit (PMU) has been set up with the recruitment of the Project Manager and Project Assistant since June 2017. This unit is headed by a National Project Director nominated by the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping. The full team of the PMU should be reinforced for technical backstopping so as to successfully implement this project. In this context, a Chief Technical Adviser is required to provide technical quality control of the project and to support the PMU and the relevant stakeholders through advisory and capacity building services.

The Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping was designated as the Implementing Partner for the project. The other responsible parties are the following:

• Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development;
• Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security;
• Ministry of Tourism; 
• Rodrigues Regional Assembly;
• Ministry of Housing and Lands.

The other stakeholders are Mauritius Oceanography Institute, Department of Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration, District Councils, Ministry of Arts and Culture, Reef Conservation, Shoals Rodrigues, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) will be responsible for technical quality control of project deliverables/outputs as well as provide support through advisory and capacity building services. 

For the “Mainstreaming Biodiversity” project, he/she will support the Project Management Unit (PMU) in developing Annual Work Plan and overall strategy for dynamic implementation by providing an international perspective on MPA management and expansion as well as ICZM planning. He/she will provide technical inputs, trainings, prepare/review of Terms of Reference and review the outputs and deliverables of consultants and other sub-contractors, build capacities and provide technical support to stakeholders in the areas of Integrated Coastal Management planning, marine protected area management and planning, Sustainable Tourism development, knowledge management system, communication and marketing, monitoring, and training. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide technical support to the National Project Director, Project Manager and other government counterparts in the areas of project management and planning, management of site activities, monitoring, and impact assessment;
• Support the Project Manager in reviewing / assessing the work and deliverables of all consultants and sub-contractors, ensuring the technical quality assurance of the deliverables as well as the timely delivery of expected outputs;
• Provide the necessary technical input on ICZM planning;
• Support the Project Manager in preparing Terms of Reference/Request for proposals for consultants and sub-contractors, and assist in the selection and recruitment process;
• Support the Project Manager in coordinating the work of all consultants and sub-contractors and ensuring an effective synergy among the various sub-contracted activities; 
• Provide technical support to the operationalisation of the Knowledge Management framework and the online platform and overseeing the sharing of experiences and lessons learned with all institutional stakeholders and community based integrated conservation activities both nationally and internationally; 
• Assist the National Project Director and Project Manager in liaison work with project partners, donor organizations, NGOs and other groups to ensure effective coordination of project activities; 
• Assist community groups, NGOs, staff, students and others with development of essential skills through training workshops (training on marine protected area management, conservation of biodiversity through the protection of ESA’s and on the job training thereby upgrading their capabilities, following the developed detailed training plan;
• Support the Project Manager in documenting lessons from project implementation and make recommendations to the Steering Committee for more effective implementation and coordination of project activities;
• Assist the National Project Director and Project Manager in mobilizing staff and consultants in the conduct of a mid-term project evaluation, and in undertaking revisions in the implementation program and strategy based on evaluation results; 
• Support the Project Manager in preparing and revising project action plans, work plans and financial plans; 
• Assist the National Project Director and Project Manager in the preparation of the Combined Project Implementation Review/Annual Project Report (PIR/APR), inception report, technical reports, quarterly financial reports for submission to UNDP, the GEF, other donors and Government Departments, as required; 
• Advise personnel responsible for marketing and communication, for documentaries, TV spots, guidebooks and awareness campaign, and review all communications and awareness raising material produced for technical soundness, clarity and conciseness, etc;
• Ensure that all lessons learnt in the mainstreaming of biodiversity into the production sectors are incorporated into the online platform;
• Act as workshop / working group facilitator upon request; and
• Perform any other tasks as may be requested by the National Project Director and Project Manager.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables  

The Chief Technical Advisor shall be remunerated in accordance with the time schedule and deliverables approved by UNDP.  UNDP will be represented as appropriate by the Environment Programme Officer, the Regional Technical Adviser, or the Independent Evaluation Office. The National Project Director, the Steering Committee and the Technical Committees set up for the project will also review and comment on the deliverables as appropriate. The list of Deliverables is shown in Table 1. 

Table 1: List of Deliverables of the Chief Technical Adviser

Activity 1: Produce an approved assignment work plan;

Tentative date: Jan – 18;

Fee (%): 10;

Means of verification: Approved assignment work plan.

Activity 2: Update the existing multi-year workplan for the remainder of the project;

Tentative date: Jan – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Approved multi-year workplan.

Activity 3: Provide inputs to TORs for the Communication and Awareness consultancy and assist in bid evaluation;

Tentative date: Jan – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: TORs for the Communication and Awareness Strategy finalised.

Activity 4: Submit the first mission report (2018) which should contain report on project activities, lessons learned, risk logs, risk management measures and compliance with logical framework;

Tentative date: Feb – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 1, 2018.

Activity 5: Technical assistance and backstopping for communication and awareness strategy;

Tentative date: Feb -18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Approved communication and Awareness strategy submitted.

Activity 6: Submit the second mission report (2018);

Tentative date: Apr – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 2, 2018.

Activity 7: Assistance in bid evaluation for all RFPs under Outcome 1- including Environmentally Sensitive Areas, Marine Protected Areas etc.;

Tentative date: May – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Bid evaluation report. 

Activity 8: Provide timely technical inputs for the preparation of the Project Implementation Report; 

Tentative date: Jun – 18;

Fee (%): 2

Means of verification: Project Implementation Report.

Activity 9: Technical assistance and backstopping for all project activities, providing comments on adequacy of deliverables, and compliance with logical framework of the project;

Tentative date: Jun – 18;

Fee (%): 4;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 11: Review and quality assurance of Management Plans for Fishing Reserves;

Tentative date: Aug – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report.

Activity 12: Submit the third mission report (2018);

Tentative date: Aug – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 3, 2018.

Activity 13: Review of Training/Capacity Needs Assessment; 

Tentative date: Aug – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report submitted.

Activity 14: Facilitate the final stakeholder Workshop to review the communication and awareness strategy;

Tentative date: Sep – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Communication and awareness strategy workshop report submitted.

Activity 15: Review and quality assurance of Management Plans of Fishing Reserves;

Tentative date: Sep – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 16: Review and quality assurance of the report on the economic evaluation of coastal and marine ecosystems of the Republic of Mauritius;

Tentative date: Oct – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 17: Review and quality assurance of the Management Plan of Pointe D’Esny Ramsar Site of International Importance;

Tentative date: Nov – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report.

Activity 18: Submit the fourth mission (2018);

Tentative date: Dec – 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 4, 2018.

Activity 19: Review and quality assurance of the ground-truthed maps of ESA’s;

Tentative date: Dec- 18;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 20: Review and quality assurance of the guidelines for ensuring that marine and coastal biodiversity is addressed through the standard for Sustainable Tourism;

Tentative date: Jan – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 21: Review and quality assurance of the Management Plan of SEMPA;

Tentative date: Feb – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 22: Review and quality assurance of the review of ICZM planning of coastal areas in the Republic of Mauritius;

Tentative date: Feb – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 23: Review and quality assurance of the review of Wetlands Bill and its amendments;

Tentative date: Feb – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 24: Review and quality assurance of the operational and business plan of SEMPA;

Tentative date: Mar – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 25: Submit first mission report of 2019;

Tentative date: Mar- 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 1, 2019.

Activity 26: Review and quality assurance of the report on the analysis of the institutional and governance arrangement for MPA in the Republic of Mauritius;

Tentative date: Apr- 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 27: Review and quality assurance of the report on the investment framework and financing strategy of MPA’s in the Republic of Mauritius;

Tentative date: May – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 28: Provide timely technical inputs for the preparation of the Project Implementation Report as well as Bid Evaluations as required;

Tentative date: Jun – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Project Implementation Report submitted.

Activity 29: Submit second mission report of 2019;

Tentative date: Jul – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 2, 2019.

Activity 30: Review and quality assurance of the ICZM plans of Black River and Rodrigues;

Tentative date: Aug – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 31: Submit the third mission report (2019);

Tentative date: Sep – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 3, 2019.

Activity 32: Review and quality assurance of the support to finalise Wetlands Bill and the analysis of legal issues associated with the management of wetlands;

Tentative date: Oct – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report.

Activity 33: Submit the fourth mission report (2019);

Tentative date: Nov – 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 4, 2019.

Activity 34: Technical assistance and backstopping for training programme on MPA;

Tentative date: Dec- 19;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Technical Report. 

Activity 35: Submit the first mission report (2020);

Tentative date: Jan – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 1, 2020.

Activity 36: Review of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training modules in Marine Protected Area management; 

Tentative date: Feb – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Approval of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training.

Activity 37: Review of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training modules in Wetlands Conservation and Restoration;

Tentative date: Mar – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Approval of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training.

Activity 38: Review of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training modules in spatial planning and ICZM;

Tentative date: Apr – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Approval of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training.

Activity 39: Submit the second mission report (2020);

Tentative date: May – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 2, 2020.

Activity 40: Review of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training modules on Sustainable Tourism;

Tentative date: Jun – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Approval of all training materials and the implementation of the technical training programme in technical training.

Activity 41: Provide timely technical inputs for the preparation of the Project Implementation Report as well as Bid Evaluation reports as required;

Tentative date: Jun – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Project Implementation Report submitted.

Activity 42: Submit the third mission report (2020);

Tentative date: Aug – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 3, 2020.

Activity 43: Submit the fourth mission report (2020);

Tentative date: Nov – 20;

Fee (%): 2;

Means of verification: Mission Report 4, 2020.

Activity 44: Final Report;

Tentative date: Dec – 20;

Fee (%): 6;

Means of verification: Final Report submitted.

Note:

All deliverables shall be submitted in appropriate format, in MS Word and in PDF as per requirement of the Client to the address of the Project Manager Mr P Ragen – parmananda.ragen@undp.org and with copy to the National Project Director Dr Daniel Marie depmarie@moi.intnet.mu, as well as the UNDP Environment Programme Officer. The project manager will be responsible for further distribution. The deliverables should be of high quality in form and substance and with appropriate professional presentation. The CTA should fully comply with the requirements of UNDP in terms of content and presentation and respect UNDP GEF visibility guidelines, since unsatisfactory performance may result in termination of contract. Tables of content should be cleared with the PMU before reports are produced. 

Institutional Arrangement

The Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) will provide high quality services to the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping of the Republic of Mauritius, and report to the National Project Director (NPD). 

S/He will prepare a brief activity report on a quarterly basis, to be sent to the NPD and UNDP Programme Officer.

All deliverables shall be paid only after approval by the NPD and UNDP.

Duration of the Work 

The Chief Technical Adviser shall be for 300 working person days (12 field missions and home-based) until December 2020 with the following breakdown (240 field mission days and 60 days home based).

Duty Station

During the field-based part of the assignment, the Chief Technical Adviser will be based at the PMU Office, Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources and Shipping, LIC Building, Port Louis.

Duty Station: Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping and home based.

Duration: 300 working days (12 field missions and home-based) until December 2020 with the following breakdown: (240 field mission days and 60 days home based).

Contract Period: Three years based on continued satisfactory performance.

Competencies

• Knowledge of Project Adaptive Management, as applied to conservation or natural resource management projects; 
• Ability to effectively coordinate a large, multi-stakeholder project; 
• Ability to train and work effectively with counterpart staff at all levels and with all groups involved in the project; 
• Strong drafting, presentation and reporting skills, excellent written communication skills;
• A good personality with strong leadership skills;
• Be an effective negotiator with excellent oral and presentation skills;
• A good working knowledge of international best practice in conservation, sustainable use and management of marine and coastal biodiversity is desirable; 
• A good working knowledge on GIS and Remote Sensing is desirable;
• Strong computer skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education 

• Postgraduate degree (Masters or PhD) in Environmental Science, Natural Resources Management with specific expertise in the area of Integrated Coastal Zones Management with a good understanding of conservation, sustainable use and management of marine and coastal biodiversity; PhD is desirable but not a requirement.

Experience

• At least 15 years of professional experience in conservation, sustainable use and management of marine and coastal biodiversity; 
• Minimum 5 years specific experience at international level in Integrated Coastal Zones Management planning;
• Experience in Wetlands Management and Restoration will be an advantage;
• Experience in Marine Protected Area management and planning will be an advantage;
• Experience in Sustainable Development will be an advantage;
• Demonstrable experience in implementing equivalent GEF or other multilateral donor-funded projects; 
• Working experience with private sector and project national stakeholder institutions and agencies is desired;
• (ICZM) Experience with GEF Tracking Tools (financial scorecard and METT) is an asset;
• Experience in carrying out Training Needs Assessment is an asset;
• Knowledge of SIDS Biodiversity challenges would be an asset.

Language

• Fluency in both written and spoken English is required; knowledge of French is an asset.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The financial offer should be quoted as a lump sum amount, all-inclusive (professional fee, insurance, all travel costs, per diem, etc.). 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. 

The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. In the case of unforeseeable travel (additional mission for example), payment of travel costs including tickets, accommodation and terminal expenses should be agreed upon prior to travel between UNDP and Individual Consultant and will be reimbursed.

Payments will be effected based on deliverables as per section D above. 

Recommended Presentation of Offer

The following documents are requested:

• Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Technical offer: Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment (including his/her experience using GEF Protected Areas Scorecards and Tracking Tools), and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
• Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided by UNDP.  

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis 

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 

Table 2 below provides the Evaluation Criteria for the Shortlisting of applicants.

Table 2: Evaluation Criteria for Shortlisting

• Education: 10 Max. Point;
• Relevant international experience in the area of ICZM planning: 10 Max. Point;
• Relevant technical experience in the management of Marine Protected Areas: 5 Max. Point;
• Relevant Experience in Wetlands Management and Restoration: 5 Max. Point;
• Knowledge of GIS and Remote sensing: 5 Max. Point;
• Experience in working with multi stakeholders GEF projects: 5 Max. Point;
• Knowledge of SIDS and Blue Economy: 5 Max. Point;
• Relevant experience in project management, budget administration: 5 Max. Point;
• Experience using GEF Protected Area Tracking Tools: 5 Max. Point;
• Experience in carrying Training Needs Assessment: 5 Max. Point;
• Experience with private stakeholders involvement: 5 Max. Point;
• Language (English mandatory/French is a plus): 5 Max. Point;
• Suitability of technical approach: 30 Max. Point.
• Total: 100 Max. Points

Candidates scoring a minimum of 70% of the maximum marks on the above criteria will be short-listed and called for a competency-based interview. 

The financial offers will be evaluated giving the lowest price proposal 30 marks and marking the other more expensive proposals reverse proportionally to the cheapest offer.

The final scoring of short-listed candidates will take into account the interview score and the financial score.

The method of calculation of the final score is shown in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Calculation of Scores for Selection of the CTA

• Criteria: Interview score;

Weight: 70%;

Max. Point: 70.

• Criteria: Financial score;

Weight: 30%;

Max. Point: 30.

Important Note:

• Interested offeror is strongly advised to read the Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice/TOR, which can be viewed at http://www.mu.undp.org/content/mauritius_and_seychelles/en/home/operations/procurement/
• For more detail about term of references,general terms and conditions of IC and templates to be included when submitting offer;
• Interested offerors above the age of 62 and requiring travelling: UNDP regulations require, at their own cost, to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical evaluation documentation does not need to be submitted with the other requested documents listed above, but will be requested should the candidate be chosen;
• Interested offeror is required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system, because the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system;
• Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.