Republic of Moldova

National Consultant in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management

Vacancy Number: Pr15/01032

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	19 Jul 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	02 Aug 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	16 Aug 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	01 Aug 2015
Reference to the project:	Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation
Expected Duration of Assignment:	July 2015 – December 2018 (up to 140 working days)
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 19 July 2015. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: alexandru.rotaru@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 Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is providing assistance to the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova in implementation of the GEF Medium Sized Project (MSP) “Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation into Moldova’s Territorial Planning Policies and Land-Use Practices” (BD mainstreaming project).

Despite the Government’s reform efforts, the spatial/territorial planning framework is facing two types of barriers: (i) inadequate planning and enforcement framework and (ii) inadequate demonstrated experiences in spatial planning and biodiversity-compatible land management practices.

Against this background, the BD mainstreaming Project will be addressing the gaps in land planning and enforcement systems through development of relevant regulations, standards and legislation to accommodate  biodiversity conservation objectives while the gap of limited coordination across sectors will be addressed  by establishing a multi-stakeholder committee which will ensure a unified approach in the development, implementation and enforcement of land-use plans from the different ministries and departments. In addition, a monitoring system will be emplaced among the various regulatory agencies, assigning responsibilities based on comparative advantage, in order to evaluate acceptable limits of change in biodiversity-important areas. The gap of inadequate demonstrated experiences in spatial planning and biodiversity-compatible land management practices will be tackled through development and testing of  biodiversity-compatible district spatial (land-use) plans in 2 districts of Moldova, relying on cross-sectoral working groups, GIS technologies for biodiversity mapping, identification of sites of conflict between biodiversity and human activities and others. 

Overall, the objective of the project is to mainstream biodiversity conservation priorities into Moldova’s territorial planning policies and land-use practices through two components – the first will focus on modifying the land use planning and enforcement system so that it addresses biodiversity loss, and the second will demonstrate methods for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity on communal lands outside PAs.

The BD mainstreaming project is implemented as part of a larger biodiversity programme, which includes also UNDP/EU Clima East Project “Sustainable management of pastures and community forests in Moldova’s first National Park Orhei to demonstrate climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits and dividends for local communities”.

Scope of work

The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management Consultant will support the Ministry of Environment of Moldova in developing a sustainable biodiversity monitoring system at national and local levels. 

The consultant will lead a team of two national consultants on flora and fauna responsible for field inventory of Red list and rare/endangered species as well as their habitats from Soroca and Stefan Voda districts (if a habitat extends beyond the administrative borders of the mentioned districts, they should be covered by the inventory).

The Consultant will report directly to the project manager of the BD mainstreaming project and will work with all other involved national consultants.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualification:

• University or Advanced Degree in biology, zoology, environment protection, forestry or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• At least five years of experience in biology, zoology, environmental protection, forestry or other related fields.
• Experience of performing biodiversity field inventories is mandatory.
• Good knowledge of the environment, land use management and forestry sectors is required.
• Experience in working with state institutions at central and local levels.
• Experience in similar positions in a UNDP and/or other international projects are a strong advantage.

Competencies:

• Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of analytical documents.
• Effective demonstrable analytical and team working skills
• Builds strong relationships with partners, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
• 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 oral and written Romanian and Russian. Knowledge of English will be an asset.

Documents to be included

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

1. Proposal explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

2. Financial proposal (lump-sum in USD, specifying a total requested amount per working day, including all related costs associated with performing the assignment, e.g. fees, phone calls, travel etc. );

3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references or the dully filled Personal History Form (P11).

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 all related costs e.g. fees, taxes, travel, phone calls etc.) and the number of anticipated working days. The consultant shall bare costs for all supplies needed for data collection and data processing including possession of his own personal computer. 

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 should 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 the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 

Disclaimer In case of discrepancies between the text published on the website and the contents of the supporting documents, the provisions, instructions and conditions included in the supporting documents (published as Adobe Portable Document Format files) shall prevail. In case of discrepancies between the English version and the Romanian and/or Russian versions of text, documents or other content published on this webpage, the English version shall prevail.

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