National Stakeholder Engagement and Gender Specialist (National Consultant)

Background

Background:

The Project Identification Form (PIF) titled ‘Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems in the ASEAN Region (ASEAN ENMAPS) was approved by the GEF Council during its meeting in December 2021. A Project Preparation Grant (PPG) was approved to develop the project document and other requirements for GEF CEO endorsement.

Table 1: brief description of The Project’s objective, grant amounts, components, geographies and PPG team composition

Project title

Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems in the ASEAN Region (ASEAN ENMAPS)

Objective

To develop and improve the management of networks of marine protected areas and marine corridors within selected Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) in the ASEAN region for the conservation of globally significant biodiversity and support for sustainable fisheries and other ecosystem goods and services

Grant amount

USD 12,548,861

Co-financing amount: USD 65,047,291

Components

• Component 1: Science-based approach to supporting and expanding networks of marine protected areas (MPAs)

• Component 2: Enhanced management of the network of MPAs in selected LMEs

• Component 3: Learning, knowledge management and networking

Participating Countries/

Target project sites

• Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand/Target sites to be confirmed during the PPG phase

PPG Team composition

International/Regional

International Project Development Specialist (PPG Team Leader)
International Specialist for marine biodiversity conservation or sustainable fisheries management, complementing the specialization of the PPG Team Leader
International expert on Environmental and Social Safeguards

National

National Team Leader cum National Marine Biodiversity Specialist
National Stakeholder Engagement and Gender Specialist
National Environmental and Social Safeguard Specialist
PPG Project Coordinator

UNDP seeks to engage a qualified Stakeholder Engagement and Gender Specialist to take the lead in the conduct of national and local stakeholder consultations, develop the Stakeholder Engagement Plan and the Gender Analysis and Action Plan. The PPG will support all the preparatory work required to draft and finalize all the documentation required by the GEF for CEO Endorsement Request (CEO ER). The PPG phase will be underpinned by a participatory approach, with regular consultation and working meetings with all key PPG stakeholders throughout the PPG phase.

Institutional Arrangements

The Consultant will be home-based and will report to, and be directly supervised by UNDP BRH, will coordinate closely with the UNDP-NCE Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) based in Bangkok and Climate Action Programme Analyst, with whom all outputs shall be submitted and through whom all communications shall be coursed or copied.
The Consultant is expected to provide his/her own laptop for the work requirement.
The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
Given the virtual or face-to-face consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones;
The Consultant shall consider at least 5 working days lead time for UNDP to review outputs, give comments, certify approval/acceptance of outputs delivered, etc.

Duty Station and Duration of the Work:

Duty Station is in Home-based. The consultant will be engaged for 60 working days spread 18 months from April 2022 to November 2023, unless revised in a mutually agreed upon timetable by UNDP and the Contractor. Changes in the duration of the contract will be implemented through issuance of a contract amendment.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and declaration of State of Public Health Emergency in the Philippines, all work and travel of the Individual consultant shall be done within the guidelines and protocols set by the local and national government. Field work, trainings, meetings, and coordination shall be done in compliance with community quarantine policies.

Travel:

Missions to the Project sites and stakeholder consultations (TBD) with an estimated duration of up to 15 days might be required (subject to COVID-19 situation vis-a-vis travel restriction policy of the government);
UNDP will cover the cost of the travel on actual basis once the travel is confirmed. In general, UNDP could not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the consultant 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 based on provision of supporting documentation.

The BSAFE course must be completed before the commencement of travel including any training on COVID-19 safety;
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payment:

1. The Contractor should send the financial proposal based on a lump-sum amount for the delivery of the outputs identified below. The total amount quoted shall be “all inclusive” (professional daily fees X number of days, communications, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor should be factored into the final amount submitted in the proposal. Travel, as deemed relevant by UNDP and compliant with government guidelines on community quarantine, will be arranged and paid for by UNDP and should not be included in the financial proposal.

2. Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the Contractor must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during contract duration

3. The contract price will be fixed output-based price. Any deviations from the output and timeline will be agreed upon between the Contractor and UNDP.

4. Payments will be done upon satisfactory completion of the delivery by target due dates. Outputs will be certified by the UNDP BRH and Climate Action Team Leader prior to release of payments.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the assignment

Role: The National Stakeholder Engagement and Gender Specialist will provide inputs to the ProDoc and CEO ER, and develop mandatory project Annexes related to application of stakeholder engagement and gender. The consultant will be a gender and social inclusion expert with experience in-depth gender analysis and local community engagement. The consultant will also be responsible for developing the Stakeholder Engagement Plan in the national context, which lists the main potential partners and stakeholder to the Project at national level, to be confirmed following selection and capacities assessments. Stakeholder engagement will focus on negotiating and generating buy-in and appropriation by specific partners and beneficiaries who are taking responsibility for certain activities. The Project will prioritize such interventions and partner strategies to deliver outputs in an appropriate sequential manner. The Project will ensure that stakeholders and partners are well-informed and updated on the intended project goals and delivery. The timeline of stakeholder meetings, which will be held regularly need to be included in the Stakeholder Engagement Plan, to ensure interaction not only between the Project and individual stakeholders and partners but also between various stakeholders.

Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic it is likely that the bulk of the work might have to be conducted remotely, but costs site visits during the PPG phase has been included in the CO budget, if travel restrictions are eased.

Responsibilities: Below are details of the overall responsibilities and deliverables that will be expected from the National Consultant. The UNDP PPG Initiation Plan (IP) provides further guidance regarding the tasks and responsibilities of the PPG team and must be followed accordingly.

Preparatory Technical Studies and Reviews (Component A): Prepare inputs and support the required analyses/studies, as agreed with the GEF PPG Team Leader, including:

Prepare activity designs of and document national and local stakeholder consultations to be undertaken, including the Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings, National Inception and National Validation Workshops, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions;
Lead the mobilization and conduct of national and local stakeholder consultations, including Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings, National Inception and National Validation Workshops, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions;
Prepare the gender analysis and action plan and work closely with the National Team Leader to ensure its findings are meaningfully integrated into the project’s strategy, theory of change and results framework;
Prepare the stakeholder analysis and develop into the comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement Plan, as well as work closely with the National Team Leader to ensure its findings are meaningfully integrated into the project’s strategy, theory of change and results framework;
Advise on gender responsive stakeholder analysis and consultations and ensure that they are complete and comprehensive;
Facilitate discussions and ensure securing of signed co-financing letters;
Support the conduct of Management Effectiveness and Tracking Tool (METT); and
Support the completion of any additional studies that are determined to be needed for the preparation of the ProDoc and all other final outputs as guided by the PPG Team Leader.

Contributions to the Formulation of the ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request and Mandatory and Project Specific Annexes (Component B):

Prepare the Gender Analysis and Action Plan, with appropriate budget and identification of appropriate project interventions to ensure gender mainstreaming including at project demonstration sites;
Using the findings from the gender analysis, provide inputs to the project’s results framework and theory of change; ensure gender considerations are integrated into the project’s theory of change;
Prepare the Stakeholder Engagement Plan and ensure it is socially inclusive and gender responsive; and
Support the agreements on project management arrangements and ensure that gender and appropriate stakeholders are adequately incorporated into these arrangements.

Validation Workshop (Component C):

With support from the Project Coordinator, lead the conduct and documentation of the validation workshop; and
Support all necessary revisions that arise during the workshop, as appropriate.

Final Deliverables:

Stakeholder Consultation Report
Stakeholder Engagement Plan, including stakeholder analysis
Gender Analysis and Action Plan;
Signed co-financing letters; and
Appropriate inputs to the final UNDP-GEF project document based on guidance from the PPG Team Leader including on gender-responsive consultation and consultations with local communities and any Indigenous Peoples present within the target sites

Table 2: Required deliverables, estimates duration, fee percentage and required approvals

Deliverables/ Outputs

Indicative Days

Target Due Dates

Fee (%)

Review and Approvals Required

Upon submission and acceptance of the following:

Inputs to the National Team Inception Report, including Country Work Plan
Working closely with the International Consultant for Stakeholder Engagement, inputs to the PPG Inception Report
Activity designs of national and local stakeholder consultations

5 days

31 Mar 2022

10%

Climate Action Programme Team Leader,

UNDP BRH & NCE RTA

2. Upon submission and acceptance of the following:

Documentation/proceedings of the National Inception Workshop Report
Inputs to 1st draft of ProDoc and mandatory and project specific Annexes
Stakeholder Consultation Report
Stakeholder Engagement Plan, including stakeholder analysis
Gender Analysis and Action Plan
METT results

30 days

31 July 2022

30%

3. Upon submission and acceptance of the following:

Documentation/proceedings of the National Validation Workshop Report
Inputs to Final draft of the UNDP-GEF Project Document with the mandatory annexes and the CEO Endorsement Request
Signed co-financing letters

15 days

30 September 2022

30%

4.Submission of the documents to UNDP-GEF Directorate for technical clearance and submission to GEF Sec for CEO endorsement

5 days

30 Nov 2022

20%

5. Address comments from GEF and completion of assignment upon approval of GEF Secretariat

5 days

30 Apr 2023

10%

TOTAL

60 days

100%

*Please refer to the PPG Initiation Plan for the deadlines

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;

Functional Competencies

Able to communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner;
Capable of working in a high- pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
Excellent analytical and organizational skills;
Exercises the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.
Works well in a team;
Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
Focuses on results for the client;
Welcomes constructive feedback;
Fluent English language (both oral and written) and excellent communication and presentation skills, particularly in the preparation of written documents.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field, such as social work and development, community development, gender studies, gender and development, women and environment, or women, or women and sustainable development
Minimum 10 years of demonstrable experience in the technical area of gender mainstreaming, stakeholder engagement and community development on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem management, sustainable development, or closely related area;
Minimum 5 years of demonstrated experience in carrying out stakeholder consultations, community engagement, and livelihood development is highly desired, including carrying out consultations with Indigenous Peoples and protection of cultural heritage, among others;
Minimum 3 years experience working with UNDP and/or on GEF projects; and
Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and fluency in Filipino.