International Consultant - Development of Project Document on Climate Finance

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Background

The economy of Bangladesh has demonstrated impressive performance in accelerating economic growth and poverty reduction over the last decade. The economy has come out of ‘medium growth trap’ and is poised to earn the status of a developed nation by the year 2041. However, Bangladesh is widely recognized as one of the most climate vulnerable countries of the world, and the adverse effects of climate change may jeopardize the country’s remarkable performances as well as its progress towards achieving the higher trajectory of development.

A recent study conducted by the IBFCR project reveal very high impact of climate change in all sectors of the economy. Greater amount of scarce government resources would be spent for recurrent purposes in response to the effects of climate change in future if required amount of public resource is not dedicated for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The estimated shocks are greater for double-digit growth as envisaged in Vision 2041. The study also reveals that estimated loss of gross domestic product (GDP) due to climate change would range from 6.48 to 7.93 per cent of the projected GDP over the next 33 years in the case of high loss, while for low damage the loss would range from 2.54 to 3.68 per cent of GDP.

While these studies present the economy wide impact of climate change, there is an overriding need to take into account the human dimension of its impact, in particular, on women and the most vulnerable communities such as the ethnic minorities living in different regions of the country, to comply with the stipulation made in Article 15 of the Bangladesh constitution which guarantees the provision of basic necessities to all citizens. It has been confirmed by a study that many of the consequences of climate induced impacts are more severe for women, adolescent girls and other socio-economically marginalized groups, given their specific livelihood circumstances, their socio-political violation perpetuated by unequal power dynamics and related information asymmetry and constraint in decision making processes.

World Bank (2011) assessed the changing climate variability and vulnerability of households and the gender dimensions of climate change in Bangladesh. The study confirmed for Bangladesh what were key trends found by climate change literature in other country contexts: (i) vulnerability to hazards is gendered, (ii) adaptive capacity is gendered and shaped by control over endowments, opportunities, and agency, (iii) migration as an adaptive strategy is gendered and (iv) access to institutions that can help build resilience is gendered. The paper then used its survey results to identify in details some of the specific dimensions of these four key aspects of gendered sensitivity to climate change in Bangladesh.

It was revealed by the Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) conducted in 2012 and the Climate Fiscal Framework (CFF) adopted by the government in 2014 that climate change is not adequately recognized and embedded in the Public Finance Management (PFM) systems and processes. In addition, there was neither any nuanced approach to embrace gender and human rights dimension in climate public finance. And this is despite the fact that climate finance should not be neutral to gender and human rights of the most vulnerable communities who bear the burden of the adverse effects of climate change.

Recognizing the reality, the government launched a project titled Inclusive Budheting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) in 2016 to transform the climate finance landscape of the country by introducing several important reforms. The project, which will come to an end in September 2021, pursued a set of agenda to integrate the country’s climate policies and strategies into the Medium-Term Budget Framework (MTBF) process to make sure that the relevant sector ministries while preparing their budgets duly recognize the climate change dimension and allocate resources to finance climate actions to address the vulnerabilities arising therefrom. In addition, the project supported the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) to introduce climate performance audit in its audit protocol to ensure that the fiduciary risk surrounding the climate investments are minimised. In addition, at this point in time, the country is grappling with the unprecedented crisis arising from the COVID pandemic which is raging across the globe. The problems identified above would be further deepened and intensified unless pragmatic solutions are in place to build back better and ensure the life and livelihoods of the communities who are already affected by the extreme vulnerabilities of climate change. However, since climate change is an engulfing issue which affects the development endeavors of the government, there is an imperative dictate to continue reforms in climate finance governance in the country.

Objective of the assignment

Development of a project document for the second phase of reforms in climate finance governance in Bangladesh to keep the momentum of activities undertaken by the IBFCR Project being implemented by Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, which will come to an end in September 2021. The new project will embrace broader constituencies of reforms based on the recommendations made in the Bangladesh’s Climate Fiscal Framework 2020. In addition, it will take into account the COVID19 pandemic recovery being steered by the government.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The international consultant, backstopped by a national consultant, will carry out stakeholder consultations and generate information for preparation of the Project Document (ProDoc). Specific tasks will include the following:

• Review the existing project documents of IBFCR project and outputs it has delivered together with the concept note already developed;
• Identify the project baseline in terms of current policies, projects and stakeholders that are relevant to the project;
• Coordinate consultations with government and non-government agencies, project stakeholders and potential project partners (with special focus on stakeholders engaged in government and other baseline projects);
• Undertake institutional capacity assessment for institutions to be involved in the project implementation, and draft a capacity building strategy (including training) to ensure successful project implementation;
• Propose, based on stakeholder consultations, a draft Results Framework (including outcomes, outputs, activities, indicators, and risks/assumptions), for the project. These will include:
  • Analyze and design of priority measures for policy change and capacity development in climate finance governance (avoiding duplication and ensuring additionality and complementarity with relevant baseline programs/projects);
  • Define project roles and responsibilities and propose suitable project management, implementation and reporting arrangements, and partnership strategies;
  • Design a multi stakeholder results framework based on the theory of change formulated;
  • Design of the project’s Knowledge Management strategy;
  • Prepare multi-year and trigger based project budget and work plans;
  • Develop a communication strategy to be used to disseminate project learning among the stakeholders both within and outside the government;
  • Develop sustainability and exit strategy for the project;
• Help build partnerships for project financing and identify/mobilize co-financing resources;

Supervision, methodology and duty station of work

The consultant will directly report to Climate Change Specialist of the UNDP. S/he will work closely with the IBFCR Project Team.

Duration of the assignment

25 (Twenty-Five) workdays (20 Days Homebased and 5 Days in UNDP, Dhaka) over a period of 04 months from 15 April – 14 August 2021. Given COVID travel restrictions, the international consultant is expected to work remotely from their home base.

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.

Functional Competencies

• Communication;
• Speaks and writes clearly and effectively both in English;
• Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately;
• Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication;
• Tailors language, tone, style, and format to match the audience;
• Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Teamwork

• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others;
• Places team agenda before personal agenda;
• Builds consensus for task purpose and direction with team members;
• Supports and acts in accordance with final group decisions, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position;
• Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Encourages office staff to share knowledge and contribute to UNDP Practice Areas;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Requirement of Experience:

• Postgraduate degree in Environmental Economics, Economics, Climate Change, Environmental Science or any other relevant degree;
• At least 7 years of work experience on climate finance governance and climate change policies and strategies, practices with countries in the region, preferably in Bangladesh;
• Experience in preparation of project document, results-based M&E, theory of change, along with budget development and analysis.

Expected Deliverables/Outputs and Timeline

Sl.

Deliverables/Outputs

Number of days (estimated)

1

Inception report with proposed work plan

05 days

2

Draft Project Document (pro-doc) for IBFCR Phase-II project based on the document review and stakeholder consultations

15 days

3

Final Project Document (pro-doc) based on the feedback from UNDP

05 days

Total days

25 days

Schedule of Payments

The proposal price should consider only HR costs such as professional fees, medical, joining cost etc. The project will affect payments, by bank transfer to the IC’s bank account, upon acceptance by UNDP of the deliverables specified in the ToR. Payments will be made in tranches based on the following milestone deliverables upon submission of invoice and upon certification of the work completed.

Sl.

Deliverables

Percentage of payment

1

Submission and acceptance of inception report with workplan

25% of the total contract value

2

Submission of Draft Project Document on Climate Finance

40% of the total contract value

3

Final Project Document on Climate Change upon incorporating feedback from UNDP and Stakeholders

35% of the total contract value

Documents Submission

The Consultant shall prepare and submit the above-mentioned documents during the assignment period. All deliverables of the consultant will be submitted in English. The report outline should be agreed upon at the beginning of the assignment and cleared by UNDP. Further work or revision of the documents may be required, if it is considered that the documents do not meet the ToR, contain error of facts or the documents are incomplete or not of an acceptable standard.

Travel and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA)

Given COVID travel restrictions the assignment will be remote, and home based. 1 Mission for 5 days (excluding Journey- DSA will be provided) is preferable in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Evaluation Method and Criteria of the Proposal

The consultant will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

1. Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract should 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 a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; [70%]

* Financial Criteria weight; [30%]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 point or 70% would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

Criteria

Weight

Max. Point

Technical

70%

70

• Criteria A: Educational qualification

20%

20

• Criteria B: Work experience on climate finance governance and climate change policies and strategies, practices with countries in the region.

20%

20

• Criteria C: Experience in preparation of project document, results-based M&E, theory of change, along with budget development and analysis.

30%

30

Financial

30%

30

Total

100%

100 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the FinanciaDocumentation Required for submission:

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: Maximum size per email is 7 MB.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individuals must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references: http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/operations/jobs/
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
4. Financial Proposal: Financial Proposal has to be submitted through a standard interest and availability template which can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.bd.undp.org/content/dam/bangladesh/docs/Jobs/Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal-Template%20for%20Confirmation.docx

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to ebidbox@undp.org

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org