Environmental & Social Safeguards Specialist Consultant
Location : Harare
Application Deadline : 25-Mar-21
(Midnight New York, USA)
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : National Consultant
Languages Required : English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
05-Apr-2021
Duration of Initial Contract : 180 working days over a period of 21 months
Expected Duration of Assignment : 80 working days over a period of 21 months
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
Project Description
Zimbabwe received funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the project entitled "Building climate resilience of vulnerable agricultural livelihoods in southern Zimbabwe" The objective of the proposed project is to strengthen resilience of agricultural livelihoods of vulnerable communities, particularly women, in southern Zimbabwe in the face of increasing climate risks and impacts. The project will contribute to the following GCF Fund-level impacts for adaptation: 1.0 "Increased resilience and enhanced livelihoods of the most vulnerable people, communities and regions" and 2.0 "Increased resilience of health and well-being, and food and water security" for vulnerable smallholder communities in southern Zimbabwe. The project outcome will strengthen the adaptive capacities of vulnerable smallholder farmers, especially women, to climate change induced impacts on their agroecosystems and livelihoods through revitalization of irrigation schemes, upgraded water and soil moisture management and water use efficiency, climate-resilient agriculture, improved access to climate information and markets, and partnerships with public and private sector actors.
To achieve these outcomes the project proposes to overcome the identified barriers through implementation of the following three interlinked Outputs, using GCF and co-financing resources: (i) Increased access to water for climate-resilient agriculture through climate-resilient irrigation systems and efficient water resource management; (ii) Scaled up climate-resilient agricultural production and diversification through increased access to climate-resilient inputs, practices, and markets; and (iii) Improved access to weather, climate and hydrological information for climate resilient agriculture. The project is being implemented by the Government of Zimbabwe in partnership with UNDP for 7 years from June 2020 to May 2027 with Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement (MLAWRR) as the Implementing Partner (IP).
One of the projects' key component focusses on climate proofing irrigation infrastructure for enhanced water security through revitalisation of 15 existing irrigation schemes and establishment of six new schemes in the project`s 15 priority districts of Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland South Provinces. A firm will be contracted to conduct irrigation site specific Social and Environmental Impact Assessments (ESIAs) and Environmental and Social Management Plans. Against this background, the project seeks to engage an Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist Consultant to review and update) the existing Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), including the collection of all required data, information and materials, review the current SESP and develop an Environmental and Social Management Plan ( ESMP) , establish the project Grievance Redress Mechanism/feedback mechanism; and provide technical oversight of the ESIAs and ESMPs for each irrigation site This shall provide clear, comprehensive and practical guidance to the Client (UNDP) in integrating an environmental/social due diligence process into the project implementation process.
Social and Environmental Safeguards
UNDP's Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin our commitment to mainstream social and environmental sustainability in our Programmes and Projects to support sustainable development. The objectives of the standards are to:
A key mechanism to ensure these standards are applied is through UNDP's project-level Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) which is a requirement for all proposed projects. The objectives of the SESP are to: (a) Integrate the SES Overarching Principles (human rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability); (b) Identify potential social and environmental risks and their significance; (c) Determine the Project's risk category (Low, Moderate, High); and (d) Determine the level of social and environmental assessment and management required to address potential risks and impacts.
UNDP's SES and SESP came into effect January 1, 2015 and were revised in January 2021. All guidance on UNDPs Social and Environmental Safeguards can be found in the SES Toolkit.
Objectives of the Assignment
The Environmental & Social Safeguards Specialist Consultant will be tasked to co-ordinate and manage the implementation of the project safeguards in line with UNDP procedures, develop and monitor the implementation of the project Grievance Redress Mechanism and complaints register, Project Management Unit ( PMU) and stakeholder safeguards capacity development and training as well as the safeguards monitoring and reporting systems roll out. He or she will be expected to provide quality control of the irrigation site specific SEIAs and ESMPs that will be developed by the SEIA consultancy firms.
Duties and Responsibilities
Specific responsibilities and duties will cover four main areas of activity
Area (1): Support, manage and co-ordinate the project's safeguards to ensure the implementation of the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), evaluate needed updates as necessary to ensure that the project ESMF is up to date, manage procedures including the establishment of an appropriate field structure to ensure the appropriate level of support to technical personnel;
Area (2): Establish a Grievance Redress Mechanism/ feedback mechanism and advising the PMU and key stakeholders in the best practice of monitoring and reporting on the social and environmental impact of the project.
Area (3): Support in the co-ordination of capacity building and training activities to ensure the principles and procedures for Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) are well understood and complied with by stakeholders.
Area (4): Advise/guide the consultancy firm recruited to conduct the EIAs on appropriate standards in line with UNDP SES policies. Detailed responsibilities under each area are listed below:
Area (1):
Project
Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)
Implementation support
Area (2): Develop the ESMP and Establish a Grievance Redress Mechanism
Area (3): Support in the co-ordination of training and awareness raising activities
Area (4): Advise/guide the consultant firm recruited to conduct the ESIAs on appropriate standards in line with UNDP SES policies
Expected Deliverables
The consultant is expected to deliver the following:
Payment Schedule
Payments will be made based on the agreed financial proposal and released upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating deliverables achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.
The Individual Consultant shall receive his/her lump sum service fees upon certification of the completed tasks satisfactorily, as per the following payment schedule:
Institutional arrangements for management of this consultancy
The principal responsibility for managing this assignment lies with the UNDP Country Office, Zimbabwe. UNDP will contract the consultant and ensure the timely provision of reimbursable costs and remuneration. UNDP will mobilise internal technical expertise to support the consultant's work. UNDP will support the consultant's engagement with stakeholders, arrange for meetings, field visits and coordinate with stakeholders and Government officials.
The Consultant is accountable to UNDP under the overall guidance of the UNDP Head of PRECC and direct supervision from the Project Manager. The consultant will submit bi-weekly progress updates, detailing work progress, constraints and solutions whilst carrying out the assessment. The Consultant should be available for subsequent discussions about the consultancy work with UNDP.
The consultancy is expected to run between 1 April 2021 and December 2022 during which the consultant is expected to provide 180 days of service.
Client Obligations
Besides paying the Consultant for the work, the Client will assist the Consultant with the following:
Competencies
Functional Competencies:
Corporate Competencies:
Required Skills and Experience
Education
Experience
Language
How to Apply
Interested and qualified individuals shoould submit the following to demonstrate their interest and qualifications;
Please note that all the documents below must be submitted as one PDF file.
Applicants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative Analysis methodology [weighted scoring method], where the award of the contract will be made to the candidate whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
Technical Criteria weight; [70%];
Financial Criteria weight; [30%].
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the obtainable 100 points in technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.
Technical Evaluation Criteria: Adequacy of Profile and Technical Proposal (Max 100 points)
General Conditions of Contract for the consultancy firms: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20%20General%20Conditions.pdf
UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_ form.doc
Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20%20General%20Conditions.pdf
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This vacancy is archived.