National Specialist in Sustainable Production & Farmer Support

Background

The GEF-7 delivery model incorporates three impact programmes which collectively address major drivers of environmental degradation and/or deliver multiple benefits across the many thematic dimensions the GEF is mandated to deliver. These Impact Programs also contribute in significant ways to each one of GEF’s Focal Area Strategies while at the same time delivering multiple benefits across several Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

One of these impact programmes is the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Programme (FOLUR IP), which recognizes that the environmental and sustainability challenges associated with food and commodity production systems require an integrated and multi-level approach working across local, national and global scale. Achieving this transition will require a holistic, system-wide approach integrating both horizontal (land and natural resources) and vertical (food value and supply chain) dimensions. Land degradation, declining agricultural productivity, malnutrition and rural poverty are interrelated problems that require a systems-level approach to planning, management, monitoring and decision making.

The “Integrated Landscape Management of Heart of Borneo landscapes in Sabah and Sarawak” is one of the child projects of the GEF-7 FOLUR IP. This project aims to transform land use planning and management in Sabah and Sarawak to contain the footprint of palm oil production and maintain high-value forest for environment and development benefits. This will be achieved through four interrelated components of work, to be undertaken in parallel:

• Component 1: Development of integrated landscape management systems in Sabah and Sarawak
• Component 2: Promotion of responsible value chains for palm oil and smallholder support
• Component 3: Conservation and restoration of natural habitats through public-private-community partnerships
• Component 4: Knowledge management and impact monitoring

UNDP Malaysia is currently seeking a qualified National Specialist on Sustainable Production and Farmer Support to support a team of consultants contributing to the delivery of interim PPG tasks (see below) and to develop individual funding proposals and project documents (ProDoc) and the corresponding individual CEO endorsement requests (CEO ER) to be submitted for endorsement to the GEF.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Specialist will support the international Project Preparation Grant (PPG) Team Leader and identified national and international counterparts together with UNDP Malaysia in conducting three important baseline studies and in designing the project interventions related to small-scale farming and extension support in the target landscapes.

Responsibilities and Deliverables:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide support in developing a technically sound and eligible project concept/PIF that aligns with the Government of Malaysia’s relevant development priorities and policies as well as GEF7 programming directions and policies.

(A) Preparatory Technical Studies and Reviews:

Identify, prepare inputs and support the required analyses/studies, as agreed with the PPG Team Leader together with UNDP and identified national and international counterparts, including:

• Develop baseline analysis of palm oil value chains in Sabah and Sarawak;
• Scope out and identify the key local and national stakeholders to ensure the success of the project. Stakeholders include plantation companies, growers and supply chain network;
• Deliverable to also include the following:
  • Understanding of the supply, demand and needs of local and global food companies and main distributors around agricultural commodities;
  • Identify sustainability commitments, including the gaps, among key private sector companies and small-holders in Sabah and Sarawak;
  • Identify main issue areas along the local supply chains;
  • Identify main improvement potentials along the local supply chains.
• Develop baseline evaluation of current multi-stakeholder oil palm platform in Sabah and Sarawak, assess its engagement needs and potential for more effective engagement platform;
• Analyse, map and categorize commodity producers and production;
• In coordination with other national consultants- review, select and finalize selection of sites for agriculture project interventions. This process must be done in consultation with Government partners, key stakeholders, UNDP country office and other identified consultants;
• Identify main drivers of unsustainable production and key interventions needed to transform production to be sustainable;
• Develop national and local public and private systems for farmer support to become sustainable;
• Develop strategies to link production with demand for local deforestation-free jurisdictions such as NDPE (no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation);
• Identify financing needs for producers and provide support to Country Office on generating public sector co-finance;
• Provide inputs to the capacity development needs assessment and the preparation of the indicative capacity development plan (template to be provided);
• Provide input and support in developing guidelines and expected outcomes described in the project components and include them in the PIF and IP/PPG;

(B) Formulation of the Project Document (ProDoc), CEO Endorsement Request and Mandatory and Project Specific Annexes:

• Prepare inputs and support the development of final PPG deliverables, as agreed with the PPG Team Leader;
• Provide support in conducting a project conceptualization workshop based on theory of change methodology in Sabah and Sarawak with multiple stakeholder participation in an inclusive and participatory manner.

(C) Validation Workshop:

• Contribute to the validation workshop; and support all necessary revisions that arise during the workshop, as appropriate.

(D) Final Deliverables:

• Analytical report of commodity and other crop production in the Sabah and Sarawak and recommend interventions to transform to sustainable production;
• Sample survey of small-scale farming communities in target landscape especially selected intervention sites for sustainable farming & agroforestry – current practices, value chains and extension need;
• Feasibility study and barrier analysis on potential circular economy approaches for palm oil waste applications (including waste to energy generation, but also bio-fertilizer, biofuel, bio-char, biogas and biotech products) for revenue generation;
• Costed action plans for implementation;
• Terms of Reference (TOR) of technical consultancies for implementation;
• Inputs into the Indicative capacity development plan, as required;
• In coordination with PPG Team Leader and UNDP, provide support in responses to revisions and comments from the GEF Secretariat, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAP), the GEF Council and the regional office, with adjustments made to the project concept/PIF. Address and incorporate comments from identified national counterparts, UNDP CO and UNDP-GEF, so that the proposal meets the eligibility criteria mentioned.

Methodology:

The methodology employs a number of investigative, analytical and consultative methods and tools to complete the tasks; and based on the needs:

• Collect data from public domains and official documents including policies, legislation, strategies and plans e.g. RSPO, MSPO, etc.
• Supplement the data analysis with literature review.
• Active stakeholder consultations and engagements.

Handling of Data, Information and Documents:

All data, information and documents obtained under this assignment is the property of the United Nations Development Programme and be treated as strictly confidential. No such information shall be used by the expert for any other purpose other than the preparation of deliverables.

All soft and hard copies of the data, information and documents must be returned to UNDP upon completion of this assignment.   

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

Deliverables/ Outputs	Proposed Duration to Complete	Target Due Dates	Review and Approvals Required
1. Inception report (personal) outlining the methodologies for the assignment including workplans for each deliverable and travel plans 1.1 Meeting and coordination with other PPG members 1.2 PPG inception workshop in Sabah and Sarawak	5 days	15 August 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
2. Analytical report of commodity and other crop production in Sabah and Sarawak comprising of the following elements: 2.1 Multi-stakeholder and supply chain baseline evaluation 2.2 Sustainability commitments and gaps evaluation 2.3 Multi-stakeholder oil palm platform engagement needs and potential	10 days	31August/ 1 September 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
3. Value chain analysis report for target commodities and proposed recommendations on actions/interventions to strengthen sustainable production and sourcing of the target commodities	10 days	31 October 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
4. Report on selected small-scale farming communities as intervention sites for sustainable farming & agroforestry – current practices, value chains and extension needs	10 days	30 November 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
5. Feasibility study and barrier analysis report on potential circular economy approaches for palm oil waste applications (including waste to energy generation, but also bio-fertilizer, biofuel, bio-char, biogas and biotech products) for revenue generation	5 days	31 December 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
6. Costed action plans of interventions for implementation for the project	5 days	31 December 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
7. Inputs to the drafting of the project document (ProDoc)	5 days	31 December 2019	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
8. Final consultation and validation workshop 8.1 Support PPG team leader with the preparation of validation workshop and report for GEF	5 days	31 January 2020	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
9. Address comments from GEF 9.1 Completion of assignment upon approval of GEF SEC	5 days	31 July 2020	UNDP CO Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environment Finance Regional Technical Advisor
TOTAL	60 days

Institutional Arrangement:

The National Consultant will report to and seek approval and/or acceptance of deliverables from the Head of Sustainable and Resilient Development of UNDP Country Office in Malaysia.

The National Consultant is expected to liaise/interact/collaborate/meet with the UNDP Country Office in Malaysia, PPG Team Leader, UNDP-Global Environmental Finance Unit in Bangkok and HQ, and collaborate with the Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources as the lead implementing government agency and other agencies including Sabah Forestry Department etc.

Duration of the work:

The assignment will require up to 60-man days starting from 1 August 2019 to 30 July 2020.

Duty Station:

• Home-based with occasional trips to Putrajaya. This assignment also requires two return trips of domestic travel to Sabah and Sarawak, each with estimated 3 days in each site;
• Consultant has to complete the new mandatory security awareness training prior to commencement of travel: BSAFE;
• Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/.
• Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director.
• Consultants will be responsible for providing her/his own work station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;

Schedule of payment:

Payment to be made based on completed deliverables against the TOR, which will be assessed and verified by the UNDP Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environmental Finance Regional Technical Adviser.

Payment Schedule	Expected Due Date	Percentage
Upon completion and acceptance inception report (deliverable 1).	15 August 2019	10%
Upon completion and acceptance of analytical report of commodity and value chain analysis report in Sabah and Sarawak by UNDP Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environmental Finance Regional Technical Adviser (deliverables 2 and 3).	31 October 2019	30%
Upon completion and acceptance of report on selected small-scale farming communities by UNDP Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environmental Finance Regional Technical Adviser (deliverable 4)	30 November 2019	20%
Upon completion and acceptance of feasibility study, barrier analysis report and costed action plans by UNDP Malaysia and UNDP-Global Environmental Finance Regional Technical Adviser (deliverables 5, 6 and 7).	31 December 2020	30%
Completion of assignment upon acceptance of IP document by CEO ER from GEF SE (deliverables 8 and 9).	31 July 2020	10%
TOTAL		100%

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates high moral integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

• Strong analytical, writing and communication skills;
• Excellent financial and budgetary skills;
• Ability to prepare concept note and proposal;
• Strong motivation and ability to work and deliver under short deadlines;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback;
• Able to work independently with little or no supervision;
• Familiarity with UNDP and government strongly desired

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters or higher degree in relevant field such as agriculture, environmental studies, development studies, economics or related field.

Skills and Experience Required:

This assignment is open to Malaysian nationals and/or with permanent resident status. 

Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in agricultural/development section in Malaysia.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of agricultural and commodity sector.
• Have a sound understanding of local laws, regulations and issues on environmental and labour
• Awareness of NDPE requirements (no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation)
• An understanding of RSPO and other related sustainability standard requirements will be an advantage.
• Experience in working with growers in agricultural sector will be an added advantage.

Language Requirement:

• Excellent command of English.

Documents to be included when submitting proposals:

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

1. Completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (Annex 1) provided by UNDP;
2. Technical Proposal on how your qualifications, experience and list of track records can lead to successful deliverables of this assignment within the required timeframe, and provide a methodology and approach on how you will approach and conduct the assignments;
3. Financial Proposal (Annex 2) should specify unit price (daily professional fee in USD), travel and relevant costs using the financial proposal template in Annex 2.
4. Personal CV including areas of expertise and past experiences in similar projects and at least three (3) references.

How to Apply:

• Kindly download the Letter of Confirmation of interest and availability, Financial Proposal Template and General Terms & Conditions mentioned below;
• Read and agree to the General Terms & Conditions;
• Click the ‘apply’ icon and complete what is required;
• Scan all documents into 1 pdf folder and then upload;
• For clarification question, please email to procurement.my@undp.org. The clarification question deadline is three (3) days before the closing. When emailing for clarification questions, please put "MyIC/2019/039" as the subject matter.

Forms and General terms & conditions to be downloaded:

• The UN Personal History Form (P11) is available at:http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/P11%20for%20SC%20&%20IC.doc?download
• The Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Financial Proposal Template at: http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/MyIC_2019_039%20Annex%201-2.docx
• The General Terms & Conditions for Individual contract is available at:http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/General%20Conditions%20of%20Contract%20for%20IC.pdf?download
• The General Terms & Conditions for Reimbursement Loan Agreement is available at:http://www.my.undp.org/content/dam/malaysia/docs/Procurement/Reimbursable%20Loan%20Agreement%20_%20Terms%20&%20Conditions.pdf?download 

Criteria for selection of the best offer:

The award of the contract will be made to the Individual Expert who has obtained the highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions. Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The offers will be evaluated using the “Combined Scoring method” where:

1. The technical proposal including educational background and experience on similar assignments will be weighted a max. of 70%;
   • At least 5 years of professional experience in agricultural/development section in Malaysia (10%).
   • Excellent knowledge and understanding of agricultural and commodity sector (20%).
   • Have a sound understanding of local laws, regulations and issues on environmental and labour (20%)
   • Awareness of NDPE requirements (no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation) (10%)
   • An understanding of RSPO and other related sustainability standard requirements will be an advantage (5%).
   • Experience in working with growers in agricultural sector will be an added advantage (5%).
2. The financial proposal will weigh as 30% of the total scoring.