Terms of Reference

Request for: Consultant X Individual contractor

Organizational Unit UNEP DTIE Sustainable Consumption and Production

1 Purpose

1.1 Explain the requirement for a consultant

A consultant for a period of 6 months (with possible contract renewal) is requested to support the
Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) team at UNEP DTIE in Paris by ensuring a good and
timely implementation of the activities related to three of the projects that UNEP manages related
to SPP: 1) the SPPEL project; 2) the ASEAN+3 project; and 3) the 10YFP SPP Programme. The
consultant will be especially responsible for communication tasks related to UNEP’s SPP
Projects, as well as the maintenance of the SPP Community of the Sustainable Consumption and
Production (SCP) Clearinghouse. The consultant will assist the Sustainable Public Procurement
(SPP) Programme officer in the following:

i. Project implementation and preparation of administrative documents (60%)

ii. Overall communication for SPP projects in coordination with the SCP Clearinghouse
(40%)

Please find brief descriptions of the 3 projects that this consultant will be working on, as well as a
description of the SCP Clearinghouse, here:

10YFP SPP Programme

The goal of the 10YFP SPP Programme is to promote the worldwide implementation of SPP
through increased cooperation between key stakeholders and a better understanding of the
potential benefits and impacts of SPP. The objectives of the 10YFP SPP Programme are to: (i)
Build the case for SPP: improve the knowledge on SPP and its effectiveness as a tool to promote
greener economies and sustainable development, and; (ii) Support the implementation of SPP on
the ground through increased collaboration and improved coordination between SPP
stakeholders. UNEP serves as the lead of the Coordination Desk of the SPP Programme, and
therefore manages the day-to-day business along with the two co-leads KEITI and ICLEI, as well
as the tasks approved in the biennial work plan.

Sustainable Public Procurement and Ecolabelling project – SPPEL

Building on the valuable experience that UNEP has on ecolabelling (EL) and SPP, UNEP is
implementing a joint project that seeks to combine these two instruments to better deliver the
common goal of stimulating the demand and supply of sustainable products. The objectives of
the project are to:
1) Provide capacity development and technical assistance to public and private sectors on
the development of SPP policies and use of eco-labelling;
2) Assist countries in the coordinated implementation of sustainable public procurement
policies and eco-labelling
The project has a regional component in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin American and the
Caribbean that aims to encourage South-South cooperation, regional collaboration on voluntary
standards, and the sharing of experiences related to SPP/GPP implementation. The national
component of the project provides direct technical assistance on SPP and EL to 15 countries
worldwide.

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ASEAN+3 project
This project has a regional scope within the Asia-Pacific region and is implemented in
conjunction with the broader UNEP work on SPP and ecolabelling (SPPEL project) and the
10YFP Sustainable Public Procurement Programme. The proposed project aims at:
1) Strengthening the combined use of SPP and ecolabelling in the ASEAN region, based on
the expertise of China, Japan and South Korea
2) Enhancing South-South collaboration on those topics
3) Ensuring a broad and effective participation of ASEAN+3 countries in the 10YFP SPP
Programme

Sustainable Consumption and Production Clearinghouse

The Global SCP Clearinghouse (www.scpclearinghouse.org) is an online platform for
communication and cooperation among different actors involved in the promotion of SCP. The
platform features key thematic communities centered on topics related to Sustainable
Consumption and Production, with SPP being one of them. The SPP online community has
access to key services such as:
- Evolving database of initiatives or policies related to SPP and Ecolabelling;
- Public and private e-Groups;
- E-Library with a broad variety of publications, toolkits, guidelines, legal documents,
articles, etc.
- Directory of experts and organizations
- News and information on workshops, side-events, seminars and trainings.

1.2 Qualifications / special skills or knowledge required of the consultant

Competencies

Planning and organization: Ability to identify priority activities and assignments, allocation of
appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work.

Communication: Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English and Spanish. The
ability to translate short communication materials, including for example brochures and websites,
into other languages such as French is considered a plus.
Experience in using communication tools and designing communication campaigns.
Experience in website management, managing social networks, and using graphic editing
programs.
Curiosity and open-mindedness: ability to ask questions to clarify, and exhibit interest in having
two-way communication; demonstrate openness in sharing information and keeping people
informed.

Teamwork: ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; ability
to solicit inputs by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; willingness to learn from others,
and ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment. Capacity to work with
transparency; capacity to build trust in colleagues.

Qualifications

Education: University degree and/or professional training in communication. Expertise in public

procurement, social science, international affairs, and/or environmental science is a strong asset.
Experience in developing countries is important.

Professional Experience: At least 1 year of work experience in the area of communications or

managing communities/networks is required for this assignment. The candidate should also have
international experience in project management, with a focus on sustainable development
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(preferably in sustainable public procurement). Experience with the United Nations is an
advantage.

Languages: For this position fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish is essential;
ability to work in other UN languages, especially French, is an asset.

Other Skills:
- The candidate must be able to foster cooperation among a diversity of public officials and
relevant stakeholders.
- Excellent command of communications programs and software (website, graphic design, etc)
is required
- Excellent computer skills are required in the complete Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Access). Knowledge of Adobe software (Dreamweaver,
Indesign, Photoshop) will be an advantage, as well as familiarity with Citrix’s GoToWebinar
online meeting tool.

1.3 Ultimate result of services

Improved performance and timely delivery of UNEP’s SPP Projects in particular in the fields
of communication and administrative management.

1.4 Legislative authority reference

UNEP Programme of Work 2012-2013 – Output 643

1.5 Title and identification number of programme / project

63P1: delivering sustainable development and enabling the transition to greener

economies through sustainable public procurement

1.6 Duration of contract

6 months, during the following period: 16th February 2015 – 31st August 2015 (vacation included)

2 Funding

2.1 Source of Funds Regular Budget Extra-budgetary X

2.2 Allotment Account / Budget Line

2014 EUL-5068-2J93-1161-1210

2.3 Indicative level of remuneration: In line with UNEP’s grid for consultancy rates and project
outputs (exact renumeration depends on the academic degrees and professional experience
attained by the consultant).

3 Travel involved

Travel may occur over the recruitment period.

4 Workplan

4.1 Objectives, output expectations and performance indicators

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The consultant will provide assistance in the development, coordination and delivery of UNEP’s
Sustainable public procurement projects.
More specifically, the consultant will deliver the following outputs:

A. Implementation of the SPPEL and ASEAN+3 projects

Objectives:
1. Assisting the Programme Officer on operational management
- Updating and follow up of the project implementation plan (project monitoring)
- Following up with national counterparts on project implementation.
- Providing feedback, comments and advice on outputs

Outputs expected:
1. Completed implementation plans, legal and market readiness studies, SPP action plans,
procurement guidelines, green tenders
2. SSFAs completed and signed, consultants located and hired, project reports submitted

Indicators:
1. Number of impact indicators met or ensured (target: 5)
2. Level and degree of implementation of national projects (Target: percentage of
completion of activities in line with the implementation plan). Activities: funding
agreements, reports, workshops, studies, guidelines, sustainable tenders, etc.

B. 10YFP SPP Programme

Objectives:
1. Assisting in the coordination and implementation of 10YFP SPP Programme working
groups:
- Assisting in the implementation of 10YFP SPP Programme activities: Following up
on work plan progress, liaising with groups leads, actively helping to keep activities
on schedule and outputs delivered on time, providing feedback, comments and advice
on the SPP Programme outputs.
2. Assisting the SPP Programme Officer in relation to the Coordination Desk function led
by UNEP. In particular, support the SPP Programme Officer in the management of the
SPP Programme Multistakeholder Advisory Committee (meeting preparation and
organization, drafting of minutes, etc.).
3. Assisting in the management of all communication activities related to the 10YFP SPP
Programme, specifically:
- Assisting in deploying the 10YFP SPP communication strategy
- Maintaining website and social networks’ pages and accounts: LinkedIn, Facebook
and Twitter
- Organize and run all webinars done by the 10YFP SPP Programme
- Optimizing connections and linkages with the SCP Clearinghouse as well as other
online resources and platforms

Outputs expected
1. Updated implementation plans, working groups’ studies, fact sheets, training modules,
webinars
2. An efficiently-functioning 10YFP SPP Programme Coordination Desk and
Multistakeholder Advisory Committee; Quarterly MAC meetings and monthly
Coordination Desk meetings well-organized and well-coordinated

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3. Better communication between 10YFP SPP Programme participants, increased
participation of members in 10YFP SPP Programme activities, increased visibility and
online presence of the 10YFP SPP Programme

Indicators
1. Number of 10YFP SPP Programme working groups progressing on schedule or close-to-
on schedule (target: in line with the time table of each working group’s implementation
plan)
2. Number of well-organized meetings of the 10YFP SPP Programme MAC (Target: 3) and
number of well-organized meetings of the 10YFP SPP Programme Coordination Desk
(Target: 6)
3. Number of subscribed stakeholders to the social networks pages (target: increase by 100
over the course of 6 months); Number of SPP-related news feeding the social networks
pages (2/week); Number of 10YFP SPP Programme website visits per month (Target:
200)

C. SPPEL Communication

Objectives:
1. Maintained SPPEL webpage on the UNEP website
2. Biannual newsletters
3. Optimized connections and linkages with the SCP Clearinghouse

Outputs expected:
1. Better communication between UNEP and project stakeholders on project activities
increased participation in project activities, more people informed about SPPEL
2. Newsletters produced
3. Strong coordination ensured between the SPPEL project and the 10YFP SPP Programme,
good use of SCP Clearinghouse for project implementation

Indicators
1. Updated SPPEL webpage (target: monthly updates)
2. Number of newsletters (target 2 newsletters/year)
3. Number of downloads of SPPEL outputs on the webpage and SCP Clearinghouse (target:
200 downloads/year)

D. SPP Community of the 10YFP Global SCP Clearinghouse

Objectives:
1. Increase the content and number of registered members of the SPP Community of the
10YFP Global SCP Clearinghouse: capacity building and information tools, SPP
initiatives, experts, etc.
2. Provide and maintain collaborative tools for the 10YFP SPP Programme participants:
creation of Clearinghouse working groups with document sharing capabilities, mailing
lists, etc. as needed

Outputs expected:
1. Better communication among 10YFP SPP Programme participants and SPP stakeholders,
better performance of 10YFP SPP Programme workgroups and projects
2. Increased number collaborative tools available on the SCP Clearinghouse

Indicators
1. Total number of SPP entries with breakdown between capacity building and information
tools, SPP initiatives, experts, etc. (Target: 80 new SPP entries added to the Global SCP
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 Clearing House including 10 capacity building tools, 10 initiatives and 50 contacts of
stakeholders)
2. Number of active collaborative tools for the 10YFP SPP Programme groups (Target:
maintenance of 10 working groups on the SCP CH with access to collaborative tools:
document sharing capabilities, mailing lists, etc.); Number of visits to the SPP
Community of the SCP Clearinghouse (Target: 50); Number of downloads of SPP
documents from the SCP Clearinghouse (Target: 20)

Main outputs Indicative

delivery date
 Progress made based on the indicators proposed in the UNEP SPP team’s March 2015
communication strategy
 Well-run 9th MAC Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme
 Distribution of both a 10YFP SPP Programme and SPPEL Project
newsletter
 Bimonthly informational webinar organized through 10YFP SPP
Programme
 Well-run Monthly Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme Coordination
Desk (CD) and minutes drafted
 Websites and social networks pages revamped and well-maintained – April 2015
shown through proven increase in user traffic to SPP pages
 Third and final meeting of the ASEAN+3 Regional project well planned
through collaboration with ROAP
 Funding agreement signed for Biennial Global Report on SPP
 Well-run Monthly CD Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme and
minutes drafted
 Timely progress made on all of the active 10YFP SPP Programme work May 2015
areas – shown via deliverables specified in working group concept notes
 Continuous maintenance and organization of all SPP mailing lists
 Bimonthly informational webinar organized through 10YFP SPP
Programme
 Well-run Monthly CD Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme and
minutes drafted
 Final report from 10YFP SPP Programme working group 2B delivered on June 2015
time
 Feedback on SPP Training Toolkit evaluated, updated slides from
trainings analyzed, suggestions on improvements submitted to programme
officer
 Well-run 10th MAC Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme and minutes
drafted
 Well-run Monthly CD Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme and
minutes drafted
 10YFP SPP Programme Coordination Desk tasks well managed July 2015
 Bimonthly informational webinar organized through 10YFP SPP
Programme
 Well-run Monthly CD Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme and
minutes drafted
 At least 3 new funding agreements (PCAs or SSFAs as necessary) signed

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 with SPPEL project countries
 At least 3 prioritization workshops planned in LAC SPPEL countries August 2015
 Well-run Monthly CD Meeting of the 10YFP SPP Programme and
minutes drafted
 Development of regional online platform in LAC underway

4.2 Reporting lines

The consultant shall report directly to Farid Yaker, Programme Officer, UNEP-DTIE, SCP
Branch

Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a cover letter to Farid Yaker at
[email protected] by 9 January 2015. The consultancy assignment is meant to start on 16th
February 2015.

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