International Individual Consultancy on Review of Green Growth Strategy from a Child Lens, Viet Nam

Job Number: 532966 | Vacancy Link Locations: Asia and the Pacific: Viet Nam Work Type : Consultancy UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. UNICEF Viet Nam is one of more than 190 offices of the United Nations Children’s Fund globally and part of the United Nations system in Viet Nam working in close collaboration with all UN agencies in the country. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF has a universal mandate to promote and protect the rights of all children, everywhere – especially those hardest to serve and most at risk. UNICEF’s mission in Viet Nam is to make sure every child in the country is healthy, educated and safe from harm, therefore having the best start in life and a fair chance to reach her or his full potential and benefit from the country’s prosperity. We believe children have a right to live in a more equitable society, where their voices are heard and needs met as a matter of priority in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. More information on what we do in Viet Nam is available at https://www.unicef.org/vietnam/ Background In line with international commitments, the Government of Vietnam (GoV) issued a National Action Plan to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Decision No. 622 / QD-TTg dated May 10, 2018, of the Prime Minister). The action plan identified 17 goals and 115 specific targets for sustainable development. GoV assigned specific responsibilities to relevant ministries and agencies with specific tasks and developed mechanisms for implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of SDGs implementation. One of the priority areas of Viet Nam in the achievement of SDGs is to tackle the impacts of climate change. GoV has been implementing various measures to respond to climate change including through developing and carrying out the National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) and 2011-2020 Green Growth Strategy. Viet Nam launched its Green Growth Strategy in September 2012 (the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1393/QD-TTg)– and it was the legal basis for GoV developed Plan for Implementation of the Paris Agreement – PIPA in late 2016. The PIPA prioritized among other measures, green growth actions are a core of the mitigation and adaptation actions. As of 2018, 7 ministries and 34 provinces and cities issued Green Growth Action Plan. These include UNICEF’s focus provinces namely Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Ninh Thuan, and Kon Tum. Activities related to green growth have been carried out across sectors and achieved certain results such as: improving the energy efficiency of high energy demand industries; promoting the application of new technologies and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation; innovating farming techniques to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; developing clean and renewable energy sources. The implementation of the Green Growth Strategy is an important effort to respond to climate change in Viet Nam. The Government of Vietnam is in the process of developing a second phase of the strategy for the period 2021-2030 to further promote GoV’s green economic restructuring efforts towards sustainable development goals. The overall strategic direction of the new strategy is to ensure the inclusiveness and leave no one behind and address the intergenerational equity. As such, the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment (DSENRE) that serves as the focal point to lead this process and the focal point for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Viet Nam has identified a major gap in the existing Strategy and evidence that does not consider how the Strategy could address child rights nor the participation of the most vulnerable groups and children as the future generations to define the priorities of the Strategy. Under the framework of the project titled "Implementation of children’s rights through integrating children’s rights into socio-economic development plans and effective utilization of UNICEF’s support in the Country Programme 2017-21”, MPI and UNICEF have agreed to jointly undertake a review and consultations on how Green Growth Strategy can benefit children and future generations. This process will engage children through consultations and dialogues. The key findings will contribute to the integration of children's issues in the 2021-2030 Green Growth Strategy to promote the implementation of SDGs. Subsequently, the key recommendations will contribute to the review of the public investment plan regarding climate change to ensure that the climate policies and plans (at national, sectoral, and sub-national levels) are coherent and guide the budget allocation in addressing children’s priorities climate change. Methodology & tasks and expected deliverables: This assignment focuses on desk review of international frameworks and good practices on how children’s issues are reflected/incorporated in the green growth implementation instruments and sustainable development. The assignment will also support DSENRE to conduct consultations and discussions with relevant stakeholders, national and subnational counterparts, particularly the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour-Social-Invalid Affairs. The consultant is expected to provide support to the national consultant (the lead consultant) recruited by MPI to complete this assignment. Following is the summary of key tasks, deliverables, and timeframe: Specific Tasks/Expected Deliverables: Task 1: Together with the national consultant, develop a detailed work plan for this assignment with the proposed methodology: the work plan developed and approved by UNICEF and MPI, 1.5 days, August 2020. Task 2: Conduct desk review: a) of international frameworks and good practices on how challenges of the most vulnerable families and their children are reflected/incorporated in the green growth strategy and other green growth implementation instruments and sustainable development mechanism within the overall climate change policies and actions; b) of international good practices on how countries have integrated the challenges of the most vulnerable families and their children into their green growth strategies and other green growth implementation instruments (including targets and indicators) and sustainable development mechanism within the overall climate change policies and actions. Available literature review report, 3 days, August 2020. Task 03: Provide technical inputs to the outline of the report (proposed by the national consultant) and to refine the dimensions regarding the task 2a and 2b: The outline and the report reflect aspects of 2a and 2b approved by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and UNICEF, 1 day, September 2020. Task 04: Participate in consultations and provide technical inputs. Provide detailed technical inputs to the draft report ensuring the dimensions regarding the task 2a and 2b are well-reflected and specific recommendations, targets and indicators within the overall climate change policies and climate actions in Viet Nam: Documented inputs as part of the consultation minutes; Availability of the draft report agreed by both the Ministry of Planning and Investment and UNICEF, 7.5 days, September – October 2020. Task 05: Provide inputs to finalize the report in conjunction with the national consultant and develop a policy brief (2 – 4 pager) and a power-point presentation (max 15 slides). The report and the policy brief will be shared through UN, UNICEF, and MPI channels which will be a core part of the dissemination and advocacy plan: available final approved report, a policy brief, and a presentation, 7 days, November 2020. Management and Reporting: The international consultant will be working under the supervision of Mizuho Okimoto-Kaewtathip, Chief of Social Policy and Governance Programme. The supervisor of this consultancy will also work closely with the key staff of other UNICEF program sections as appropriate. The UNICEF DRR Specialist will be assigned as the focal point for the consultancy and will provide technical inputs and support as needed. The national consultant will be hired by DSENRE and will be the lead consultant. The international consultant will work closely with the national consultant to come up with a work plan which will serve as a basis for shared tasks and responsibilities. The work plan will be reviewed by both UNICEF and DSENRE periodically. The DSENRE focal point for UNICEF together with UNICEF DRR Specialist will facilitate the joint work of both the international and the national consultants with quality assurance from DSENRE and UNICEF. Performance indicators for evaluation:

The quality of deliverables meets the standards set by UNICEF and specifications outlined in the contract.
Deliverables are submitted on time as indicated in the contract.
Technical assistance delivered in a contextualized and tactful manner, drawing on the inputs of the partners.
Performance evaluation will be completed at the end of the assignment

Qualification/Specialized Knowledge and Experience: Qualifications:

Advanced university degree in economics, sustainable development, environmental science, natural resource management, circular economy, social and economic development, or related areas.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

Knowledge and experience on climate change policies with emphasis on social development, sustainability and equity linked to SDGs. Experience in bringing child focus in Green Growth Strategy and how it benefits the most vulnerable families, their children, and communities would be an asset.
Knowledge of child-centered approaches and the role of the sectors such as education, health, and social / child care, as well as UNICEF’s position in the relevant areas are essential.
Knowledge and experience of Viet Nam’s socio-economic context, particularly relating to the subject matter.

Languages and Competencies:

Excellent writing and research skills as well as communication skills are essential; Strong teamwork and facilitation skills are required.

For every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. Payment Schedule linked to Deliverables: Payment 1: upon Deliverables # 1 & 2, equivalent to 30% of the contract’s total amount.

Available detailed work plan agreed with both UNICEF and MPI
Literature review

Payment 2: upon all the remaining deliverables (from 3 to 5) for the remaining amount of the contract (70%) with final products as below:

Final report available with a 2-4 page summary of key findings and recommendations and 1 power-point presentation (max.15 slides).

Assessment criteria: For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment: a) Technical Qualification (max. 100 points) weight 70 %

Qualifications (15 points)
Knowledge, Skills and Experience (45 points)
Languages and Competencies (40 points)

b) Financial Proposal (max. 100 points) weight 30 % The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened/evaluated and compared among those technically qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 70 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price. The Contract shall be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview [if needed.] Submission of applications: Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents to the assigned requisition in UNICEF Vacancies: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/

Letter of interest and confirmation of availability;
A technical proposal which clearly explains the outline on how to deliver the tasks and deliverables (preferably less than 2 pages);
Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available);
Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including consultancy fee, travel, and accommodation cost for this assignment as per work assignment.
CV/P11 form (UN Personal History Form)

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Remarks: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. Closing Date : Wed Aug 05 2020 23:55:00 GMT+0700

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