UNDP Jobs - 88984- Technical Advisor to BIOFIN Thailand Phase 2, For

Technical Advisor to BIOFIN Thailand Phase 2, For Thai Nationals only

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

06-Jan-2020

Application Deadline :

23-Dec-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Maximum upto 160 working days during the contract period

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is a global platform managed by UNDP seeking to improve the management of biodiversity through an enhanced understanding and use of finance solutions.

Since 2014, BIOFIN has been supporting the Government of Thailand in articulating the financial resources it needs to maintain a healthy biodiversity portfolio in-country. BIOFIN has conducted 1) Policy and Institutional Review (PIR); 2) Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER); 3) Financial Needs Assessment (FNA); and 4) Biodiversity Finance Plan. Based on insights gained from the results of the first three BIOFIN assessments, the Biodiversity Finance Plan has been designed to be an effective strategic planning tool, identifying a mix of ‘finance solutions’ that would help to expand and improve Thailand’s investment in biodiversity preservation in order to help bridge the country’s funding gap. Finance solutions aim to capture the breadth of options available, including the four results of biodiversity finance as outlined by BIOFIN:

Avoid future expenditures;
Deliver better;
Generate revenues, and
Realign expenditures. These outcomes are ways of thinking about solving biodiversity finance challenges with the full array of options – leading to the choice of options that are the most effective and efficient.

For Thailand, the financial resources required for the achievement of biodiversity conservation priorities articulated in the National Biodiversity Strategic and Action Plan (NBSAP) are substantial. It has been estimated by the BIOFIN methodology that current funding levels for biodiversity conservation in the country are insufficient and Thailand will need at least USD 942 million (THB 31.911 billion) between 2019 – 2021 to adequately restore ecosystems and biodiversity. The financial need assessment for biodiversity preservation in Thailand is double the current expenditure levels for each year. In other words, for every Thai Baht spent on biodiversity-related measures, Thailand needs twice as much.

The Initiative aims to bring together a national coalition of partners anchored in strengthened cooperation across national line ministries (Finance, Planning and Environment). Increased engagement by the private sector and civil society through a broad-based awareness raising and capacity development process is also a priority issue.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Technical Advisor for BIOFIN Phase 2 in Thailand will be responsible for providing technical backstopping for the effective implementation of the BIOFIN and achievement of the planned results. Likewise, s/he will also facilitate and promote coordination and collaboration with other actors in all related sectors. The Technical Advisor will work in consultation with the Project Manager of BIOFIN Thailand to successfully implement the recommended finance solutions in Thailand.

Under the overall guidance of the BIOFIN Global Senior Technical Advisor and the Team Leader and/or designated programme officer of the Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Development of UNDP Country Office in Thailand, the Technical Advisor to BIOFIN Thailand will support in technical backstopping for the overall planning and implementation of the project including:

Support in preparation of detailed work plans, budgets and monitoring plans and seeking for operational and technical clearances from the Project Manager of BIOFIN Thailand and the Global BIOFIN Senior Technical Advisor;
Support in policy advocacy and support to the development of new initiative/finance solutions;
provision of technical guidance to and working closely with other consultants/experts
timely submission of required reports as per request of the National Project Manager;
Support in drafting of strategic documents including knowledge products;
Support in ensuring effective overall management of the technical team and finance solutions;
providing technical inputs to relevant stakeholders or programme, if required.

Key functions under the scope of works:

Provides technical guidance for the implementation of finance solutions;
Ensures knowledge management among BIOFIN technical advisory team members and national counterparts.
Develop an effective monitoring and evaluation systems for regular reporting to BIOFIN Global, national stakeholders and development partners;
Provide technical advice in developing baseline indicators for project monitoring and evaluation;
Address obstacles and challenges identified in the project implementation;
Ensure the cross-cutting issues, such as gender, human rights and environments be integrated into the implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of policy notes, statements, etc., for important events (e.g. donor coordination meeting, forums, regional conferences, etc.); and
Build partnerships with sector agencies via coordination mechanism.

Expected Outputs And Deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Preparation of the result framework with roadmap for implementing the conservation license plate schemes and the Local Government Unit budgeting for biodiversity- 30 January 2020;

Deliverable 2: Leading and developing the Monitoring and Evaluation system for BIOFIN Thailand by providing guidance and support to the Project Management Associate of BIOFIN Thailand on M&E process, the main sources of official document will be uploaded onto the BIOFIN website under Thailand section in www.biodiversityfinance.net and the shared point of UNDP Country Office in Thailand- 28 February 2020;

Deliverable 3: Submission of technical report of the first Quarter/2020 to BIOFIN Thailand and for technical clearance by the Global BIOFIN-31 March 2020

Deliverable 4: Preparation of the presentation for mission leader from government agency about finance for nature and the overview of BIOFIN Thailand with key milestones . The PowerPoint presentation with script shall be made ready by 10 April 2020 for the government representative to present at the Global BIOFIN workshop, 14 - 16 April 2020-10 April 2020

Deliverable 5: Designing the partnership instruments—consortium or working group among line agencies to implement the local government units’ budgeting for biodiversity in 5 regional hubs nationwide-30 May 2020

Deliverable 6: Completion of two sub-tasks as follows:

Sub-task 6.1: Providing technical backstopping on selection of the BIOFIN-20/2020 listing under the impact investment and reviewing the analysis report from Change Fusion on social impact investment;
Sub-task 6.2: Submission of technical report of the second Quarter/2020 to BIOFIN Thailand and for technical clearance by the Global BIOFIN - 30 June 2020

Deliverable 7: Providing technical backstopping on mid-term review of project implementation by the Responsible Party on Koh Tao finance solutions in Surat Thani province-30 July 2020

Deliverable 8 : Providing the technical backstopping on the revision of workplan and budget with communication strategy for implementing all recommended finance solutions - 30 August 2020

Deliverable 9:Submission of technical report of the third Quarter/2020 to BIOFIN Thailand and for technical clearance by the Global BIOFIN-30 September 2020

Deliverable 10: Preparation for the launch of the well-groomed biodiversity enterprises for investor matching under the BIOFIN 20 listing platform-30 October 2020

Deliverable 11: Providing technical backstopping on the launch of mini-Biodiversity Finance Plan under the impact investment of Public-Private Partnerships in sustainable mangrove management in Phetchaburi province-30 November 2020

Deliverable 12: Completion of two sub-tasks as follows:

Sub-task 12.1: Submission of technical report of the 4th Quarter/2020 to BIOFIN Thailand and for technical clearance by the Global BIOFIN
Sub-task 12.2: Reviewing the annual workplan and budget with the national BIOFIN team and provide technical inputs for strategic plan in 2021. 15 December 2020

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Preferably with knowledge of UN agencies, Royal Thai Government and its line agencies, and some level of familiarity with its operations

Functional and technical competencies:

Building Strategic Partnerships:

Displays initiative, sets challenging outputs for him/herself and willingly accepts new work assignments;
Takes responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches
Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
Develops and/or participates in the development of tools and mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialisation as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
Continues to seek new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the technical advisory team members;
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Design and Implementation of Technical Backstopping Systems:

Makes recommendations regarding operation of finance solutions within project;
Identifies and recommends remedial measures to address problems in project implementation.

Promoting Results-Based Management:

Provides inputs to the development of results-based management.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Advanced master's degree preferably in development studies, international studies, social sciences or a related field.

Experience:

At least 7 years of experience required in the field of environment and development (e.g. biodiversity, natural resources management, environmental management, etc.,);
At least 5 years of work experience in the project management and institutional capacity building;
Knowledge of Project Cycle Management and Logical Framework Methodology is mandatory;
Proven experience as technical advisor from one or more projects of similar nature. Management or participation in technical assistance to international environment and development projects would be an advantage;
Proven experience in managing a multidisciplinary team composed of technical specialists with varying experience and background;
Management and participation in technical assistance projects which involve an important “mindset change” in the participants, would be an advantage;
Previous experience with the United Nations System, including UNDP and Biodiversity Finance Initiative is required;
Experience in working, liaising and collaborating with officials, government representatives, civil society organizations, and public international organizations.

Language:

Excellent command of English and Thai, both spoken and written

Duration Of Assignment, Duty Station And Expected Places Of Travel

Duration: The expected duration of work is from 6 January 2020 to 30 December 2020, with maximum 160 days
Duty Station: Home-based with no travel required

Payment Terms

The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment.

The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

Deliverable 1: Submission of the result framework with roadmap for implementing the conservation license plate schemes and the Local Government Unit budgeting for biodiversity: 10% of total contract amount)

Deliverable 2: Completion of the Monitoring and Evaluation system for BIOFIN Thailand: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 3: Submission of technical report of the first Quarter/2020: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 4: Submission of the PowerPoint presentation with script in English for mission leader about the overview of BIOFIN Thailand with achievement against key milestones: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 5: Submission of the design of the partnership instruments—consortium or working group among line agencies to implement the local government units’ budgeting for biodiversity in 5 regional hubs nationwide: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 6: Completion of sub-tasks 6.1 and 6.2: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 7: Conducting the mid-term review process of the Responsible Party for Koh Tao finance solutions: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 8: Review the revision of workplan and budget with communication strategy for implementing all recommended finance solutions: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 9: Submission of technical report of the third Quarter/2020: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 10: Leading the key event/launching of BIOFIN 20 listing platform: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 11: Leading the key event/launching of mini-Biodiversity Finance Plan under the impact investment of Public-Private Partnerships in sustainable mangrove management in Phetchaburi province: 8% of total contract amount

Deliverable 12: Completion of two sub-tasks 12.1 and 12.2: 10% of total contract amount

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Specialist wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Specialist, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. Travel costs shall be reimbursed at actual but not exceeding the quotation from UNDP approved travel agent. The provided living allowance will not be exceeding UNDP DSA rates. Repatriation travel cost from home to duty station in Bangkok and return shall not be covered by UNDP

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 100 points with 70% weightage in Technical Evaluation)

Criteria 1 Eg. Relevance of Education or Degree- Max 30 points

Criteria 2 Eg. Profound knowledge of environment conservation, social development and M&E process – Max 40 points

Criteria 3 Eg. Technical work experiences with officials, government representatives, civil society organizations, local communities and public international organizations.- Max 30 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Required Documents:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
A detailed CV, 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;
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

ANNEXES

Annex 1- General conditions of contract;

Annex II- Terms of Reference

Annex III- Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal

All the documents can be downloaded from the following link:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=61751

For any clarification, please write to sandeep.sharma@undp.org specifying job title.