Extended deadline: Call for proposals_International environmental Expert

Type of Agreement:              Individual Service Contract

 Type of expertise:                 International Environmental Expert

 Duty station:                         Home-based / with one in-country mission

 Language requirement:       English

 Duration:                                up to 25 working days /for the period of March-December 2024

 Payment arrangements:      Payments linked to satisfactory performance and delivery of outputs.

1. BACKGROUND

In September 2021, PA EcoContact, with the support of Sweden, initiated the implementation of the project “Green Justice STEPS”. The project aims to improve the legal and institutional framework of environmental governance and justice and achieve stronger involvement and cooperation of all key players in environmental protection at the national and local levels.

The project envisages a component related to conducting the Strategic Environmental Assessment for “The management plan of the Dniester River basin district (cycle II)" elaborated in frames of the project “Supporting the Moldovan authorities in the sustainable management of the Nistru River” implemented by UNDP with support of Sweden.

According to the official opinion of the Ministry of Environment (competent authority for SEA), the Nistru River Basin District Management Plan is subject to Transboundary SEA.

SEA procedure in the Republic of Moldova is carried out according to Law 11/2017 on the Strategic Environmental Assessment, which transposes the Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of specific plans and programmes on the environment.

The elaboration of the II cycle of the Dniester River Basin District Management Plan (PGDBHN) for the period 2024-2029 (hereinafter the Plan) is carried out in accordance with the provisions of art. 19 of the Water Law no. 272/2011 regarding the revision of the Management Plans of the watershed districts every 6 years and point 9 of Government Decision no. 866/2013 for the approval of the Regulation on the procedure for the elaboration and revision of the Management Plan of the hydrographic basin district.

The revision of the Plan is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter V of Government Decision no. 866/2013 for the approval of the Regulation on the procedure for drawing up and revising the Management Plan of the watershed district. The revision procedure is initiated one year before the expiration of the six years of validity of the first cycle of the Management Plan.

The new management plan, cycle II (2024 - 2029), completed and revised, contains:

1) re-delimitation of surface water bodies in accordance with the methodology regarding the identification, delimitation, and classification of water bodies (System A), approved by GD no. 881 of November 7, 2013;

2) the brief exposition of all additions and changes made since the beginning of the implementation of the previous Management Plan;

3) the evaluation of the progress made in the achievement of the environmental objectives with reference to the state of surface waters, underground waters, and protected areas in the hydrographic basin district that it targets in order to protect, improve, and restore water bodies and to prevent the deterioration of the status of all water bodies, as well as the deadlines for achieving these objectives, including a cartographic representation of the monitoring results for the previous plan period, accompanied by explanations for any environmental objective that was not achieved;

4) the brief exposition of the measures that were included in the previous Management Plan but were not fulfilled, with the exposition of the causes of their non-fulfilment, as well as the measures that were not included in the previous Management Plan but were fulfilled in order to achieve the environmental objectives established in the plan.

The parties involved in the development and realization of this Plan are the state institutions and those subordinate to them, the local public authorities, the NGOs in the respective fields, the management committee of the Dniester hydrographic district, and the committees of its tributaries' sub-basins, civil society, external assistance.

• OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED DELIVERABLES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The objective of the contract is to hire a part-time international SEA Team Leader expert with appropriate expertise in the elaboration of the SEA assessments for similar programs/plans. The expert is expected to support the national expert and SEA team members in developing the SEA procedure and elaborating on the SEA Report.

The expert will be involved in the entire SEA process (i.e., over several months) and deliver inputs in several phases. For every SEA step and written output/deliverable indicated below, the expert will be guided by the national provisions and context. The consultant is expected to participate in consultation events for the SEA Report with the planning authority and other relevant stakeholders and will present his/her findings during public SEA event(s) and provide feedback on comments obtained.

As per needed inputs from the International SEA Team Leader expert, it is expected that the following tasks will be performed, and outputs/deliverables provided:

1. Prepare a draft proposal for key relevant environmental expertise. Based on the draft PGDBHN, and in consultation with the Ministry of Environment (staff/consultant(s) responsible for the programme preparation), the international SEA expert will identify together with the national SEA consultant key relevant environmental issues that shall be reflected in the composition of the SEA team (i.e., to identify issues for which a dedicated specialist/national expert shall be sought – for example, air quality specialist, forest and climate specialist, etc.).
2. Jointly with the national SEA consultant, prepare draft Terms of Reference for each national expert/specialist to be hired by EcoContact for the SEA team, based on templates provided by EcoContact and in line with the areas of expertise required for the SEA as identified.
3. Jointly with the national SEA consultant, prepare and co-facilitate an online training workshop on the SEA procedures for national experts/specialists of the SEA team (i.e., preparation of a list of participants, proofreading of training-related documents/presentations/agenda in Romanian, input to a draft agenda, preparation of a draft summary record of the training in English).
4. Jointly with a national consultant on SEA to guide the SEA team of experts in developing the Report on Strategic Environmental Assessment, which will contain the following elements: current state, impact on the key environmental components, and existing trends for these environmental components (focusing on the specific problems and environmental components as identified within the scoping) and estimation of likely future development of these environmental components in case the Programme is not implemented is appropriately described/analysed.
5. Participation in consultation with relevant authorities/stakeholders. It is expected to be organized one national consultation event on the SEA Report. The international expert will develop and deliver a presentation of the relevant outcomes of the SEA.
6. Participation in transboundary consultation – if such an event will be organized between the government agencies of the potentially affected countries.
7. Input the Final Report on SEA with completions and updates based on the consultation process. Preparation of the final version to be submitted to the competent authority.

 Management Arrangements:

The international legal expert is required to perform the following task under the supervision of the EcoContact staff and in cooperation with the specific reference person for the Ministry of Environment.

The Project Manager should approve the Deliverables.

• PAYMENT MODALITIES

Payments will be invoice-based/ made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted, and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the project manager.

1. PROFESSIONAL PROFILE AND CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The potential candidate shall comply with the following criteria:

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in environmental science/ecology/biology/chemistry/international law or another relevant field

 Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience developing SEA for plans and programs.
• Proven experience in the region/understanding of the regional context.
• Extended coordination and team-leading experience
• Experience in the organization of public consultations and consultations with national and international authorities
• Extensive Knowledge of environmental assessment procedures and procedures under UNECE Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment
• Documented experience in the preparation of the substantive report in the environmental field

 Competencies:

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and diplomatic skills, and ability to work in a team.
• Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities.
• Good organizational, time management, and facilitation skills.
• Knowledge and skills in MS Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Fluent in written and oral communication in English.

The application shall be submitted via email to hr@ecocontact.md and cc tatiana.echim@ecocontact.md with the title International Expert on SEA for the management plan of the Dniester River Basin district (cycle II)  before March 11, 2024, 14.00 MD time  and comprises of the following documents:

• CV reflecting the relevant experience.
• 2 professional references for a similar assignment (contact information and organization name)
• At least 2 similar SEA studies conducted preferably within the CEE region during the last 5 years
• Financial offer (price for 1 WD, in EUR net amount) *

*the Republic of Moldova is a part of the various agreements with different countries to avoid double taxation[1]. Depending on the country of the applicant's fiscal residence, the additional documents requested by the contract signatory might include the issue of a special certificate from fiscal authorities to avoid double taxation.

[1] International taxation Serviciul Fiscal de Stat (sfs.md)