Consultant (ICPN/2012/039): International Technical Expert on Biomass Energy – Municipal Biomass Guide

General background information:

The purpose of the Development and Commercialization of Bioenergy Technologies in the Municipal Sector in Ukraine project for submission to the GEF Secretariat as part of the GEF Project Preparation Grant (PPG)is to fully design the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the Development and Commercialization of Bioenergy Technologies in the Municipal Sector in Ukraine project and to fully develop a full set of project documentation for submission to the GEF Secretariat and approval.

Copies of the GEF documents can be found:

http://www.thegef.org/gef/guidelines_templates

In addition, a Municipal Biomass Guide will be prepared which should serve as a guideline to help Municipalities in Ukraine invest in municipal Biomass projects. The guide will cover the following issues (i) introduction to biomass energy in Ukraine (ii) background to biomass energy in Ukraine including overview of biomass supply(iii) overview of modern biomass technologies (iv) fundamentals of biomass feedstock including using waste revenues and energy crops (v) applying an integrated approach to the assessment of biomass projects and (vi) conclusions. In addition, an annex to the report will give an overview of planned, under construction and completed biomass projects, only for Ukraine.

Project overview:

Ukraine’s theoretical, technical and economic potentials from biomass for energy generation are estimated at 50 Mtoe, 36 Mtoe and 27 Mtoe respectively, with the lionshare of the economic potential in agricultural waste and wood biomass streams. With the current level of overall primary energy resources consumption in Ukraine (210.7 million ton in 2007), the economical potential of biomass could satisfy about 13% of Ukraine’s energy demand . Activation of this potential would lead to a replacement of 7 million tons of fuel equivalent per year of fossil fuel and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 11 million equivalents per year towards 2015.

In accordance with the new Energy Strategy of Ukraine towards 2030 (2006) and the Concept Programme on Development of Renewable and Alternative Sources of Energy (2007), the increase of the renewable part in the country’s energy balance is defined as a state policy priority. The share of RE sources Ukraine’s energy balance is expected to increase to 25% by 2030.
The major laws defining the framework for the use of RE in Ukraine are the Law of Ukraine "On Alternative Types of Liquid and Gaseous Fuel" (2000) and the Law of Ukraine "On Alternative Energy Sources" (2003). The Law "On Alternative Types of Liquid and Gaseous Fuel" provides basic definitions and characteristics of the alternative fuel types, establishes the main principles of public policy on support to business entities active in the field of alternative fuels, and defines administrative and economic incentives for production and consumption of alternative types of fuel. The Law "On Alternative Energy Sources" regulates issues related to public administration and regulation in the area of alternative energy sources, organizational support, standardization, and specifies requirements on alternative energy sources use.

Despite the attractiveness of using renewable energy resources, the successful realisation of promising project ideas requires the removal of not only commercial, logistic and technical obstacles, but also a range of other barriers which directly or indirectly prevent the use of renewable energy in Ukraine as an alternative fuel source. Based on their importance and influence these barriers could therefore be ranked in the following order: legislative, resource-based, institutional and organizational. In further detail, the major obstacles for an increase use of renewable energy in Ukraine are:

• Policy: Inadequate legislative and regulatory regime;
• Economic: Insufficient financial stimuli and high cost of bank loans;  
• Technology: Lack of modern technological solutions;
• Logistics: Lack of appropriate logistic infrastructure;
• Environmental: Lack of clear and fine-tuned regulations;
• Managerial: Issues of organizational nature including conflicts of interests, etc.;
• Information: Lack of information and awareness among major stakeholders.

In addition, there has been a lack of demand for biomass energy in the municipal sector in Ukraine and this project aims to create demand for municipal energy in Ukraine at the municipal level.

Objective of the assignment

In accordance with UNDP/GEF procedures, a team of consultants is being hired to develop the Development and Commercialization of Bioenergy Technologies in the Municipal Sector in Ukraine project for submission to the GEF Secretariat as part of the GEF Project Preparation Grant (PPG). The consultants will report to the Senior Programme Manager, Head of Energy and Environment cluster at UNDP Ukraine and work closely with the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre Regional Technical Advisor.

Overall scope of the assignment:

The responsibility of the International Technical Biomass Expert is to develop he municipal guide for biomass energy and in return to play a lead role in ensuring the project gets approved.

Expected deliverables / measurable outputs of the assignment:

The key products to be delivered are as follows:

• Project workplan
• Draft Municipal Guide for Biomass Energy followed by final guide for Biomass Energy
• Support for Biomass Project Ideas Competition
• Decree appointing the Ministry of Agricultural Policy as lead agency for biomass energy in Ukraine
• Support for UNDP Project Document and Request for CEO Endorsement and GEF Tracking Tool (supporting role providing comments and feedback) (end of March 2013).

Responsibility for expenses and their reimbursement:

The Consultant will be responsible for all personal administrative and travel expenses associated with undertaking this assignment including office accommodation, printing, stationary, telephone and electronic communications, and report copies incurred in this assignment.

Responsibility for managing the people and the work plan:

As was mentioned before the principal responsibility for managing the consultant will lie with the Senior Programme Manager, Head of Energy and Environment cluster at UNDP Ukraine and with UNDP BRC Regional Technical Advisor on climate change mitigation. The International Consultant will be responsible for leading and directing the three national consultants. The timeframe and duration of activities are estimated to be broken down as follows:

Activity : Duration (estimated) / days; Estimated Timing and deadline:

• Preparation of Workplan: 1 day; End of May
• Mission 1 – Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkassy: 5 days; Mid-June
• Preparation of Draft Municipal Biomass Guide: 5 days; End of July
• Co-financing commitments from Government incl. appointment of Government Agency as Lead Agency fro Biomass: 1 day; End of August
• Support for Preparation of Biomass Project Ideas Competition: 1 day; End - August
• Mission 2 – Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkasy: 5 days; End - August
• Support for Preparation of Draft Request for CEO Endorsement: 1 day; End of October
• Support for Preparation of Draft UNDP Project Document: 1 day; End of October
• Final Municipal Biomass Guide: 2 days; End of October
• TOTAL working days: Approx. 22.

Prior to approval of the Request for CEO Endorsement, UNDP Project Document, and GEF Tracking Tool, a draft version shall be submitted for comments to UNDP by 31 October 2011. UNDP and the stakeholders will submit comments and suggestions within 15 working days after receiving the draft. The finalized documents shall be submitted by the end of January 2013 with the aim of getting the project documents all approved by the end of March 2013.

If any discrepancies have emerged between impressions and findings of the consultant and the aforementioned parties, these should be explained in an annex attached to the final report.

Schedule of the assignment:

The Expert shall receive five equal payments in accordance with the following milestones:

• Milestone 1 – Submission of Workplan for the assignment – 20%
• Milestone 2 –Participation in Stakeholder Consultations in Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkassy – 20%
• Milestone 3 – Completion of Biomass Project Ideas Competition – 20%
• Milestone 4 –Submission and acceptance of Final Municipal Biomass Guide– 20%
• Milestone 5 - Submission of GEF RCE and Request for CEO endorsement to the GEF Secretariat - 20%

All travel should be paid for the expert as part of the lump sum for services.

• Strong technical skills related to biomass energy;
• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team;
• Ability to plan and organize his/her work, efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
• Experience working with UNDP or international organizations is not required;
• Familiarity with renewable energy policies in CEE, especially in Ukraine;
• Recent knowledge of working with GEF projects;
• Recent knowledge of developing project documents for UNDP);
• Recent experience in evaluation of international donor driven development projects;
• Knowledge of MS Word, Excel and email communication software.

Education: 

• Graduate degree in economics, engineering, environmental science or equivalent experience.

• Significant experience field of renewable energy projects;
• Experience in developing biomass projects for international organizations in the past seven years.

Language:

• Excellent English writing and communication skills;
• Russian or Ukrainian (preferred).

Payment arrangements:

Lump Sum (payments linked to deliverables)

Selection method:

Desk review followed by a validation interview.

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website http://jobs.undp.org . The application should contain: 

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (if applicable). Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application ;
• Filled P11/CV form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees. (P11 form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc );
• Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days – in home office and on mission and any other possible costs), preferably according the following template

Work in home office: Days; Rate; Total (USD)

Work on mission: Days; Rate; Total (USD)

Travel cost: Days; Rate; Total (USD)

- international travel to and from country/ies

- DSA

- Local travel

Estimates are indicated in the TOR, the applicant is requested to review and revise, if applicable.  Add rows as needed

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials!

* All costs related to this assignment, including among others, subcontracting of experts, translation of documents, office supplies, and others envisaged costs shall be covered by the contractor. Thus the proposed budget should include all the necessary expenses to achieve the assignment goals.

Evaluation of proposals:

The cumulative analysis will be applied for the evaluation of proposals. Under the cumulative analysis scheme, a total score is obtained upon the combination of weighted technical (70) and financial attributes (30).
When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
* Technical Criteria weight: 70
* Financial Criteria weight: 30
Criteria:

A) Technical

• Graduate degree in economics, engineering, environmental science or equivalent experience - 5 max. points
• Significant experience field of renewable energy projects - 10 max. points
• Familiarity with renewable energy policies in CEE, especially in Ukraine - 10 max. points
• Recent knowledge of working with GEF projects - 15 max. points
• Recent knowledge of developing project documents for UNDP - 15 max. points
• Recent experience in evaluation of international donor driven development projects- 5 max. points
• Excellent English writing and communication skills- 5 max. points
• Knowledge of MS Word, Excel and email communication software- 5 max. points

Total score obtainable for Technical evaluation - 70 max. points

* Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points under Technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

B) Financial

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:
30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].
The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal (A+B) will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, office costs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/jobs

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.