Panama CBIT Project Preparation Consultant

Result of Service Completed CEO endorsement request package for the Panamá CBIT II GEF project.

Work Location Home-based

Expected duration 5 months

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority. It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. This consultancy is in UNEP’s Economy Division, Energy and Climate Branch, Climate Change Mitigation Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean team, and will be home based.

UNEP’s Economy Division works with a portfolio of Global Environment Facility (GEF) medium-size and full-size climate change mitigation projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects, which are in different stages of development (concept, design, implementation, closure), are executed by different partners (Ministries, NGOs, etc.). The Economy Division, in its role as implementing agency, provides oversight and ensures adherence to GEF guidelines.

Under the supervision of the Task Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean for GEF mitigation projects, the consultant will plan and execute the project preparation grant process and develop the full CEO endorsement request package for a Panamá CBIT II GEF project. The consultancy is home-based.

Specific tasks and responsibilities:

For the development of each CEO endorsement request package: - Lead the preparation of the CEO endorsement document and its attachments. - Be responsible for the design of all substantive elements of the CEO endorsement document and its annexes, including sections such as the log-frame, budget, indicators, baseline scenario, alternative scenario, stakeholders, risks, consistency with national priorities, institutional arrangements, gender action plan, knowledge management, theory of change (ToC), and monitoring and evaluation. - Prepare an outline of the strategy and methodology to develop such elements, including a provisional timetable. - Organize and undertake a country scoping mission (in person or on-line) and stakeholder consultation workshop (first country mission) to consult with the relevant national counterparts, discuss the baseline situation, map the gaps and barriers, collect relevant country data, agree upon a project intervention logic (log frame and Annex A results framework) aligned with the approved project identification form (PIF) and discuss initial institutional arrangements for execution. The discussion on potential co-finance contributions to the project should be initiated during this mission. - Prepare a mission report including main findings on scope and stakeholder consultations (following first country mission). - In consultation with the government, establish project and program specific indicators in Annex A. - Align substantive elements of the project with national strategic and planning documents. - Inform UNEP on the status of work and highlight, in a timely manner, risks related to the quality of the information received and the fulfillment of the project's development schedule. - Prepare a first draft of the CEO Endorsement Package, including relevant annexes (annexes to be included in the first draft will be discussed and agreed upon with the Task Manager) - Prepare and organize in close coordination with the national counterparts a stakeholder validation workshop (second country mission) to validate the developed CEO Endorsement Document (log frames, results framework, budget, workplan, gender action plan, etc.) with key country counterparts. - Prepare a mission report and validation workshop report summarizing the findings, recommendations and decisions taken during the workshop, and the participants list. - Lead the discussion of co-finance contributions, validate the amount and nature of contributions, identify to which project Component(s) the contribution is allocated, complete the co-finance budget template (Annex I-2 of the CEO Endorsement Document) and provide any inputs required to obtain signed co-finance commitment letters. - Prepare a final stakeholder consultation report. The GEF requires that a report is prepared and submitted on stakeholder holder consultations undertaken during the PPG. - Prepare a presentation for internal discussion to UNEP management describing national circumstances and context, baseline, barriers, proposed intervention and indicators - Prepare a final and complete version of the CEO Endorsement Document and annexes for UNEP internal review and submission to GEF Secretariat. - Prepare the submission package of the CEO endorsement document and associated annexes to the UNEP Project Review Committee (PRC) and draft the responses to the Committee's reviews. - Prepare the submission package of the CEO endorsement document and associated annexes to the GEF secretariat and draft responses to Secretariat reviews.

Specific tasks at the national level: - Prepare a list of key project stakeholders - Organize an inception workshop, either virtually or in-person, bringing together key stakeholders to discuss the project baseline, co-financing, the problem tree, theory of change and proposed project interventions. Prepare a report summarizing the workshop. - Prepare a package of inputs of relevant information for the baseline analysis, including to support the gender analysis environmental and social safeguard screenings. This should include, inter alia: o Identification of key national policies, strategies, policies, regulations, and laws related to the electricity sector in general and renewables and energy efficiency, in particular o Key electricity data, including key information from the utilities o List of key stakeholders o Table of possible co-financing o Overview of key current and planned projects and actions of the government of relevance to the project o Gender information o Social safeguard information - Organize in close coordination with the national counterparts a stakeholder validation workshop to validate the developed CEO Endorsement Document with key country counterparts. - Prepare a validation workshop summary of the findings, recommendations and decisions taken during the workshop. - Follow up potential co-financers to obtain signed co-finance commitment letters.

Qualifications/special skills - A first level university degree in economics, environmental Sciences, management, or a related discipline is required. - Minimum of two years of experience in developing, assessing, evaluating or managing projects in the field of climate change, renewable energy, environment or development is required. - Experience in drafting project proposals and assessing project documents, including concepts, progress reports, work plans, and financial documents (budgets and expenditure reports) is required. - Experience working with GEF or UNEP projects is desirable. - Experience in working for multilateral or bilateral funding entities in the field of climate change, renewable energy environment or development is desirable.

Languages - English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency (both oral and written) in English and Spanish is required.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.