Republic of Moldova

National consultant on communication / Web content manager

Vacancy Number: Pr15/01028

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	19 Jul 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	01 Aug 2015
Reference to the project:	ESCO Moldova - Transforming the market for Urban Energy Efficiency in Moldova by introducing Energy Service Companies
Expected Duration of Assignment:	1 August 2015 – 15 December 2016 (up to 100 working days)
Submission Instructions: Proposal should be submitted online by pressing the “Apply Online” button, no later than July 19, 2015. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: nicolae.zaharia@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard  electronic  mail  and  will  send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice ESCO Moldova Brief Project Description Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The ESCO Moldova project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has an implementation timeframe of 4 years with a budget of 1.3 million US$ allocated by the GEF and 7.615 million US$ allocated as co-financing by project partners.

The project objective is to create a functioning, sustainable and effective market of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) in Moldova by converting existing energy service provider companies into ESCOs, as the basis for scaling up energy efficiency improvements and ultimately climate change mitigation efforts.

The main barriers that the project is trying to address are related to energy efficiency project financing; the eagerness of existing Energy Service Providers to embark on the ESCO business model; institutional barriers at the local level; and EE awareness in the municipal sector.

The ESCO Moldova Project intends to eliminate/address these impediments through the following project components:

1. Green Urban Development Plan is adopted and emission reduction projects are financed and implemented in Chisinau
2. ESCOs are successfully investing in energy projects in the building sector using Energy Performance Contracting modality
3. A Financial Mechanism in form of a Loan Guarantee Fund, is set up and functional, providing financing to ESCOs
4. ESCO(s) are designing, financing and successfully implementing energy efficiency projects using EPC modality in at least one other city in Moldova outside of Chisinau

The low level of public awareness about energy efficient technologies as well as the availability of financing modalities is the reason of limited understanding and acceptance of them from the private business as well as end users sides. In this context, the need to undertake measures for delivering detailed and clear information regarding the on-going projects in the field, technologies used and success stories which would enable the energy end-users of Moldova to accept the energy performance contracting (EPC) and energy services companies (ESCO) is obvious and strongly required.

In this context, the UNDP ESCO Moldova project is seeking to hire a national consultant to support the project in its awareness raising activities, by collecting, systematizing all relevant information about energy performance contracting modality as well as publishing them on a web portal dedicated to the Energy Service Companies and Energy Performance Contracting.

Scope of work

The expected output for the national consultant’ assignment is to  support the project with all communication activities, reflect on a dedicated portal the events, relevant training materials, presentations and news about energy efficiency in buildings as well as relevant information about energy performance contracting modality of financing energy efficiency projects. In order to achieve the stated objectives, the Consultant will have the responsibilities described in the Terms of Reference.

For detailed information, please refer to the Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Education: 

• University Degree in Journalism, Communication/Media Studies, publishing or other closely related field.

Experience: 

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in public relations, communications or advocacy.
• Extensive experience in developing and implementing media/communications strategies and plans, including organizing awareness campaigns;
• Experienced in using computers and office software packages, good knowledge and experience in handling of web-based management systems.
• Experience in similar assignments in a UNDP and/or other international projects are an advantage.

Competencies:

• Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of analytical documents;
• Proven ability to manage diverse and complex tasks required;
• Excellent organizational, inter-personal, diplomatic, communication and administrative skills;
• Responsibility and Creativity;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting  differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status; 

Language Requirements:    

• Fluency in English, Romanian and Russian.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of at least 3 reference persons;
2. Financial proposal (lump-sum in USD, specifying a total requested amount per working day, including all related costs, e.g. fees, phone calls etc. );
3. Cover letter explaining why the persons are the most suitable for the work.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.   In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP does not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable  travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP Moldova and the Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 

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