International Consultant to develop the social and environmental safeguard policy for solar mini grids in Afghanistan-UNDP- AREMTI project

Consultant

Overview

Develop social and environmental safeguard policy for solar mini-grids in Afghanistan.

You have:

• A Master's degree in Environmental Science/Renewable Energy/Climate Change adaptation and/or mitigation or in a related field of study.
• 5 years of professional experience in environmental and social policy assessment and development.
• Excellent written and oral English skills.
• Experience with environmental and social impact assessment of electrical mini-grid projects.
• Experience working with Government departments/ministries and public sector institutions.
• Experience in energy sector policy development in Afghanistan will be an asset.
• Experience working in transition countries.

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years, UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels.

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)

The Mission of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) is to ensure the social, economic, and political welfare of rural society, especially poor and vulnerable people, through the provision of basic services, strengthening local governance, and promoting sustainable livelihoods. MRRD accomplishes this mission through donor funded national programs in the areas of governance, infrastructure and economic growth.

Since 2003, MRRD and its programmes have electrified 9,000 village communities providing electricity to an estimated 30% of the rural population of Afghanistan. At the current electrification rate, it is projected that all rural villages in Afghanistan will be electrified by 2042, missing the universal electrification goal by 2030 under the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative by 12 years.

Afghanistan Rural Energy Market Transformation Initiative (AREMTI)

The objective of the project is to kick-start rural renewable energy market transformation in Afghanistan

and create the conditions for upscaling and long-term sustainability, through a combination of: (1) policy

and regulatory design, facilitating public and private sector financing; (2) capacity building and awareness raising of the public and private sectors and end-users; and (3) investment in the set-up of 3 greenfield solar mini-grids and creation of an “upscaling platform” to facilitate additional solar mini-grid investments. The upscaling platform will consist of: (i) a knowledge platform, including a solar mini-grid practical development manual, online evidence and data sharing tools, and full technical studies for 5 additional mini-grids; (ii) development and mainstreaming of green procurement policies for solar minigrids; and (iii) development and mainstreaming of environmental and social governance (ESG) policies for solar mini-grids.

Ultimately, the project aims to contribute, in a phased approach, to a large volume of solar mini-grid development in Afghanistan and – with the long-term improvement in macroeconomic and security conditions – the eventual involvement of private investment for mini-grid development beyond operation and maintenance only.

The project works with the relevant government ministries, private sectors as well as civil societies.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables

Under the supervision of Section Head of Prosperity Unit and in close coordination with the relevant Programme Officer, Project Manager, Technical Adviser, project staff and relevant government institutions, the Consultant will perform the following duties:

1. Develop the Social and Environmental safeguard policy document for the solar mini-grids in Afghanistan, based on the current national policies and regulatory frameworks.

Solar mini-grids have the potential to cause moderate environmental and social impacts. Land clearing for the construction of solar mini-grids is considered minimal by area and intensity of impact and will not cause significant permanent loss of vegetation. However, there can be a potential for hazardous waste after the end of the project from used batteries and other equipment of photovoltaic systems.

In order to mitigate any potential environmental and social impact of mini-grid development, the project foresees in the development of standards related to social safeguards and environmental sustainability of mini-grids, using UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards as guidance and specific Environmental and Social Safeguards assessment tools for mini-grid development, such as developed by the World Bank, as input for safeguard policy development. Such regulatory instruments should also provide safeguards and balance the interests of the village energy users and the rural energy service provider and lay out the principles which encourage long term service delivery and specify grievance mechanisms to resolve and redress conflicts.

The consultant will:

1. Conduct review of existing social and environmental safeguards standards and needs assessment for complementary standards for mini-grid development. The project team will provide existing standards, policies and framework available in Afghanistan to the consultant. The team will also organize meetings with stakeholders and assist the consultant to conduct surveys and interviews for data collection as required by the consultant.
2. Develop/update standards related to social safeguards and environmental sustainability of mini-grids (recycling of components at end-of-life, social and environmental considerations of mini-grid location and mini-grid construction).
3. Develop grievance redress mechanism related to social and environmental safeguards regulations for mini-grid development.
4. Design and develop training materials for national and local government entities such as the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), DABS (Electricity utility company of Afghanistan) and other key ministries and provincial governments on social and environmental safeguards for mini-grid development.

The inputs will contribute to critical policy and regulation development, capacity building of key stakeholders and overall sensitization of key players, thereby contributing to the long-term sustainability of solar mini-grids development in Afghanistan.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables; Estimated duration to complete and Payment percentage:

1. Social and Environmental safeguard policy document for the solar mini-grids in Afghanistan, 14 working days, 60%
2. Training materials for national and local government entities on social and environmental safeguards for mini-grid development, 8 working days, 40 %

Payment Modality:

Payments under the contract for remuneration/fee will be linked to deliverables and will be made on certification of completion of deliverables indicated above.

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:

• Demonstrated experience in social and environmental safeguard policy development.
• Skilled with energy sector policy, regulation, economics and engineering with experience assessing and incorporating international best practices to a local context;
• Analytic capacity and demonstrated ability to process, analyse and synthesise complex, technical financial information.
• Proven experience in the developing country context and working in different cultural settings.
• Good knowledge and awareness of gender issues and how they impact upon men and women’s roles especially in community development
• Excellent interpersonal and facilitation skills

Management and Leadership:

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;

Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

A Master’s degree in Environmental Science/Renewable Energy/Climate Change adaptation and/or mitigation or in a related field of study or other closely related field such as Environmental Studies, International development etc.

Required Experience:

• 5 years of professional experience which includes demonstrated expertise in environmental and social policy assessment, environmental and social policy development, climate change policy development and policy assessments specifically in the renewable energy and electrical mini-grid sector.
• Experience with environmental and social impact assessment of electrical mini-grids projects, policy support in energy supply and delivery;
• Experience of working with Government departments/ministries, public sector institutions;
• Previous working experience in the energy sector policy development in Afghanistan will be an asset.

Desirable:

Previous working experience in transition countries.

Language:

• Excellent written and oral English skills

Working Arrangements

Institutional Arrangement

• The International Consultant will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Unit Head of the Prosperity Unit at UNDP County Office, the AREMTI Project Manager and Technical Adviser, in close collaboration with the project team at MRRD.

Duration of the Work

• The performance under the contract shall take place over total contract duration of 4 months with maximum 22 working days. The target date for the start of work will be 01 August 2021, also depending on the availability of the selected consultant.

Duty Station

• The duty station for the candidate is home based (estimated 64% - 14 working days) and in Kabul, Afghanistan (estimated 36% - 8 working days). The consultant will mainly work at the project office at MRRD while in Kabul. S/he will follow the working hours and weekends as applicable to UNDP CO staff. Consultant’s movement for meetings and consultations shall be coordinated by the UNDP Prosperity Unit and the AREMTI project team. The consultant is at all times required to observe UNDP security rules and regulations.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

Only Shortlisted candidates will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal. The consultant shall then submit a price proposal when requested by UNDP, in accordance with the below.

• Daily Fee – The Consultant shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication cost, insurance (inclusive of medical health and medical evacuation etc.), equipment, and other costs required for performance of the contract but excluding travel, visa and DSA. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 22 working days over a contract duration of 4 months.
• DSA – The Consultant shall be separately paid the DSA as per applicable UNDP rate for stay in Kabul and travel to other locations as per actual number of nights spent in Kabul or other locations. Deductions from DSA shall be made as per applicable UNDP policy when accommodation and other facilities are provided by UNDP. An estimated provision in this regard shall be included in the contract. The consultant need not quote for DSA in Financial Proposal.
• Accommodation in Kabul - The Consultants are NOT allowed to stay in a place of their choice other than the UNDSS approved places in Kabul, Afghanistan. UNDP will provide accommodation to the Consultant for the duration of the stay in Afghanistan in UNDSS approved places. Deductions in this regard shall be made from DSA payment as per applicable UNDP Policy.
• Travel – The Consultant shall include lumpsum cost of travel per trip for Home-Kabul-Home (estimated 1 trip) in the Financial Proposal. Any other travel for work, originating from Kabul shall be payable by UNDP separately as per applicable Policy.
• Visa – UNDP shall facilitate visa requirements and reimburse the visa cost, if any.
• Payment schedule - Payments towards remuneration/fee shall be linked to deliverables and shall be made on certification of completion of deliverables and submission of certified timesheet. Payment towards travel shall be made on an instance of actual travel and shall be cost-reimbursable limited to the amount quoted in Financial Proposal. Payments towards DSA, Visa, etc. shall be cost-reimbursable, as specified above.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

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:

• 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.

* Technical Criteria weight 70%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

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

Technical Proposal (50 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (45 marks) – This explains the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output/s, and the degree of detail of such output/s. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach;
• Work Plan (5 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Interview (20 marks)

Qualification and Experience (30 marks) [evaluation of CVs for shortlisting]

• General Qualification (10 marks);
• Experience relevant to the assignment (20 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Personal 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.

• Technical Approach & Methodology

• Work Plan

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org