Consultant: Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Development Expert

Shortly after independence, Montenegro became the 192nd member of the UN on 28th June 2006. Montenegro is a small country (13,812 km2 and 620,000 citizens) located in south-eastern Europe. It borders Bosnia & Herzegovina to the north-west, Kosovo to the north-east, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea to the south-west, and Albania to the south-east. The country?s main economic activities focus on the service and tourism sectors (72.4% of GDP in 2007). In 1991 the Parliament committed Montenegro to develop into an “ecological state” and this vision has been reinforced in 2007 through Constitutional provisions on ecological priorities, thus confirming a high level of commitment to preservation of the natural
environment and sustainable development.

Montenegro has recorded steady economic growth over the past several years, though the indicators suggest that the growth was fueled through large investments in „non-productive? sectors of the economy such as real estate and finance. In the past decade, Montenegro witnessed rapid urbanization fuelled by foreign direct investment on the Adriatic coast and in mountain resorts. The process that significantly increased the GDP in the country for several years has, on the other hand, caused some negative effects such as urban sprawl in previously natural landscapes along the coast, around the capital Podgorica and the mountain resorts, large numbers of illegal buildings, poor application of technical standards in energy efficiency, and an overall increase in CO2 emissions due to rising energy demand in buildings.

The economic recession has slowed the urbanization process significantly, providing an opportunity for the authorities to introduce better regulation and repair some of the consequences of past development. The overall carbon footprint of Montenegro is still relatively low and an integrated system of physical planning combined with technical standards and subsidies for design of settlements, energy efficiency and low carbon development can constrain emissions from rising significantly as the economy recovers.

The objective of the Expert will be to develop the Project Identification Form (PIF) and Project Proposal Grant (PPG) for a Full Size Project funded under the GEF (in the amount of approximately US$4 million), with the focus on energy efficiency and low carbon urban development of Montenegro, under the umbrella of Spatial Planning. The backbone of the project will be energy efficiency in buildings, possibly – to be determined during PIF preparation – with an emphasis on the tourist sector and/or low-income housing.
The PIF should also define the steps needed for the development of legislation for low carbon urban development in Montenegro. The goal is to formulate a national low-carbon buildings strategy. It will also develop and enact standards for energy efficiency in buildings – design, materials, insulation, and energy sources for heating and cooling – and put in place financing mechanisms (including carbon finance) to ensure sustainability and reliability of energy efficiency initiatives.

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UNDP GEF Project Office, UNDP Montenegro and  the Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Development expert for the development of the GEF FSP Project Identification Form will be responsible for:

• Review and analyze the opportunities and barriers to the effective promotion of EE in households and regions in Montenegro.
• Advise on international best practices on energy efficiency and low carbon development in the buildings sector, as well as institutional development. 
• Formulate the project design for a $4 million GEF climate change mitigation project focused on energy efficiency in buildings, incorporating – where relevant – national environmental and low-carbon development strategies, the context of possible EU accession, fuel poverty and other UNDP-GEF EE buildings projects ongoing in the region.
• Assess the sustainability of suggested project outcomes and outputs; elaborate the project results framework, total budget and workplan.
• Assess global environmental benefits sought from the project.
• Development of a replication strategy for project activities, including the incorporation of the CDM into the project in the form of capacity development and/or CDM project identification/PIN and PDD development.
• Elaboration of PIF and PPG for GEF submission
• Asses possibilities for Co-Financing 
• Have a set of meetings with relevant institutions in Montenegro (a 5 working days visit)
• Amend the PIF according to possible comments from GEF Secretariat  for PIF finalization and according to possible changes to the PIF/PPG template in GEF V.

Key Outputs:  The International consultant is responsible for the following deliverables:

Output 1: Project Identification Form (PIF) draft and final report
Output 2: Project Preparation Grant (PPG) draft and final report

Timing and reporting: The Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Development expert for the development of the GEF FSP Project Identification Form consultant  will be engaged under special service agreement immediately following the selection of the best candidate. The selected candidate will be responsible to deliver tasks set in these terms of reference no later than:

• Data gathering, data processing, first draft PIF produced: Timeframe: 20th  July 2010
• Inputs incorporated (if needed) and final PIF prepared: Timeframe: end of July 2010
• Final PPG prepared: Timeframe: end of July 2010
• Address all comments from the GEF Secretariat (if any)

The consultant will be required to undertake one mission (5 working days per mission) to Podgorica, Montenegro during the above mentioned period.

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.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.

• An advanced degree in engineering, economics, urban planning, environmental management, a relevant social science or  relevant equivalent experience
• Minimum 7 years of experience in the area of energy efficiency (notably in the buildings sector), low carbon development and climate change mitigation
• Demonstrated experience with UNDP/GEF document preparation.
• Good communication skills.
• Excellent knowledge of English language (both spoken and written)