Republic of Moldova

National Consultant in Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR)

Vacancy Number: Pr14/00624

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	03 Sep 2014, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	10 Sep 2014
Reference to the project:	Strengthening capacities to undertake Environmental Fiscal Reform to meet national and global environmental priorities
Expected Duration of Assignment:	September 2014 - September 2015, up to 60 working days
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted on-line by pressing the "Apply Online" link no later than 3 September 2014. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: mihail.roscovan@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. Important notice The applicant who has the statute of Government Official / Public Servant, prior to appointment will be asked to submit the following documentation: a no-objection letter in respect of the applicant received from the government, and; the applicant is certified in writing by the government to be on official leave without pay for the duration of the Individual Contract. A retired government official is not considered in this case a government official, and as such, may be contracted.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The GEF funded “Environmental Fiscal Reform Project” (EFRP) was launched in 2011 and sets out to build capacities for implementing environmental fiscal reforms (EFR) that will produce increased national and global environmental benefits through the adoption of selected subsidies, fees, fines, taxes and other appropriate fiscal instruments.

This project sets out to build capacities for implementing environmental fiscal reforms (EFR) that will produce increased national and global environmental benefits through the adoption of selected charges, subsidies, fees, fines, taxes and other appropriate instruments. It will initiate and pilot EFR instruments targeted to meeting Rio Convention objectives and ensure their integration within national plans and policies, especially in national taxation and decentralization process in Moldova. The reforms will focus on creating conditions, financial incentives and disincentives, and decreased opportunity costs to undertake actions that deliver environmental outcomes. The expected outcome is that EFR will be adopted as an important element of Moldova’s development policy, whereby improved economic, financial and fiscal instruments and their use would strengthen regulatory and other approaches to environmentally sound and sustainable development, with a particular emphasis of meeting obligations under the three Rio Conventions (Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Desertification). The project will also contribute to and complement a broader national decentralization reform process, including policy planning at the national level, redesigning of competencies and responsibilities of local and sub-national governments and reforming local government revenue systems.

One of the objectives of the project is the improved management and performance of the National Ecological Fund (NEF) including project cycle management, which is the main financing source in the environment sector. With the support of the project, the Ministry of Environment initiated a comprehensive reform of the National Ecological Fund, in view of ensuring the sustainability and functionality of the Fund as an effective tool for financing the implementation of environmental policies and strategic priorities in Moldova. The new draft Regulation and Operational Manual for the National Ecological Fund brings best international practices for public environmental expenditure and project cycle management. The project strategy of focusing in parallel on strengthened capacities of the Ministry of Environment and other environmental authorities for environmental programming and medium-term expenditure planning seems most suitable, specifically in view of the possibility that with the upcoming changes in the national public finance legislation the allocations to the NEF and the sector in general will have to be solicited through the general budget process. This will require significantly improved skills of the Ministry of Environment to ensure an adequate level of financing in the sector.

Scope of work

GEF EFRP seeks National Consultant in EFR (hereinafter Consultant) in order to design and support to carry out the implementation environmental fiscal reform in specified areas: pollution charge system and policies, subsidy system in agricultural and energy sectors, planning, budgeting and management and prioritization strategies of NEF, EFR integration in existing policies and plans on central and local level development and other relevant issues and others as required. Such tools as training programs, study visits, on-going coaching and mentoring, benchmarking, desk and peer review will be used. 

The Consultant will report directly to the project manager EFRP UNDP. The Consultant with support of the CO will obtain the appropriate national policy documents and access the appropriate stakeholders for consultation on the project implementation. The Consultant will work with all other involved international and/or national consultants.

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualification:

• University degree in environmental management, public finance, economics, or a closely related field.

 Experience:

• Proved knowledge of the environment sector problems and development as well as financing needs and constraints in the sector;
• Be familiar with the environment financing instruments used in Moldova;
• Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of legal and institutional framework of NEF operation;
• A minimum of 5 years work experience in environmental financing and/or improved operation of sectorial funds;
• Experience in legal and institutional framework improvement;
• Experience in working and collaborating with governments is a strong asset;
• Established network of contacts with key project stakeholders, especially on national level;
• Previous work experience with UNDP is an advantage.

 Language:

Good Knowledge of Romanian and English, oral and writing skills are essential.

Competencies:

Technical work

• Thorough understanding of environmental financing instruments.
• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in governance and operational management of Environmental Funds.
• In depth knowledge and experience on project cycle management.
• Experience in drafting strategic documents and legal framework proposals. 

Partnerships

• Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high-ranking members of international, regional and national institutions. 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability. 
• Good oral communication skills and conflict resolution competency to manage inter-group dynamics and mediate conflicting interests of varied actors. 
• Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of analytical documents.

Results

• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.

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;

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.

 

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