National expert to develop the regulations on circular economy in the guiding documents for LEP 2020

Terms of Reference and Call for Applications

Title: National expert to develop the regulations on circular economy in the guiding documents for LEP 2020

Time frame: 08/2021-11/2021

Requirement: TWO national experts

Location: home-based

1. CONTEXT

The Hanns Seidel Foundation is a political foundation with its headquarters in Munich (Germany). “In the service of democracy, peace and development” – this motto is present in the work and mission of the Hanns Seidel Foundation. This motto applies both to its activities in Germany and abroad. Since 1995, HSF has supported the integration of Vietnam into the global political spectrum and the ASEAN-Community. Since the establishment of a representative office in 2011, HSF has focused its work in Vietnam on social and environmental policies for sustainable development.

Since 2020, HSF has been providing support to the Institute of Strategy and Policies on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), the think-tank under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to conduct research and provide policy recommendations on circular economy.

The circular economy (CE) is an approach that focuses on managing and recycling resources in a closed loop to minimize the generation of waste to replace a linear economy. CE can be an important lever to achieve the goals of policymakers such as generating economic growth, creating jobs while reducing environmental impact. Recognizing the benefit of a circular economy approach, the Vietnamese Government has designated circular economy as one of the development directions for the country in the period 2021-2030. Article 142 of the Law on Environmental Protection of 2020 is also dedicated to circular economy, stating that the Government shall elaborate on criteria, a roadmap, and mechanisms for encouraging the implementation of circular economy in conformity with the national socio-economic conditions.

To support ISPONRE in drafting detailed regulations on circular economy in the guiding documents for the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, HSF and ISPONRE have agreed to jointly identify TWO national experts on circular economy.

2. OBJECTIVE(S)

Through this ToR, TWO national experts (Expert A and B) on Circular Economy are to be identified.

The national experts will work closely with ISPONRE and provide technical expertise on circular economy policy and business models.

3. SPECIFIC TASKS

*Expert A (65 full working days):

Proposing priority areas for the national action plan to implement circular economy based on the assessment of the current situation in Vietnam (25 full working days);
Draft national action plan to implement circular economy (20 full working days);
Participate in stakeholder consultation workshops and revise action plans (5 full working days);
Develop a synthesis report outline and coordinate with Expert B to complete the synthesis report (15 full working days).

*Expert B (45 full working days):

Proposing a set of criteria to evaluate the implementation of the circular economy based on international experience and the current situation (including institutions, information systems, and resources) in Vietnam (20 full working days);
Proposing to improve the organizational system and add new statistical indicators to evaluate the implementation of the circular economy in Vietnam (10 full working days);
Collaborate with Expert A to complete the relevant content in the synthesis report (15 full working days).

4. SCOPE, TIMELINE and REMUNERATION PACKAGE

The contract for Expert A covers a maximum of 65 full working days.
The contract for Expert B covers a maximum of 45 full working days.
Renumeration is subject to qualifications and experience but is capped to a maximum of 220 USD per day for each expert.
The contract duration is from August to November 2021.
The workload will vary significantly across the contract duration.
Payment will be made in 2 milestones

5. QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Expert A:

- Ph.D. degree in natural resource management, environmental economics or related fields or extensive professional experience in the context of policy advice related to CE;

- Have 10-15 years of experience in researching and/or consultancy services in environment management or environmental economics, statistics;

- Excellent understanding of circular economy, SCP tools and sustainable development policies;

- Good command of English.

Expert B:

- Master’s degree in natural resource management, environmental economics or related fields; Ph.D. and/or extensive professional experience are strong assets;

- 7-10 years of experience in researching and/or consultancy services in environment management or environmental economics, statistics;

- Excellent understanding of circular economy, SCP tools and sustainable development policies;

- Good command of English.

6. APPLICATION FORMAT

Documents to be submitted are:

a. Cover Letter indicating the motivation and suitability for this position (max. 2 pages);

b. Technical Approach that includes a suggested daily rate (max. 1 page),

c. Comprehensive CV including references.

d. Language: English.

e. Format: PDF, one single file.

Interested individuals/consulting firms/teams are requested to send the application documents separately for each Expert position to Ms Ngoc-Mai Trinh (Mai@hss.de). Please indicate as the subject of the application: “CE National Expert A/B” and also direct potential questions to the mentioned email address.

Deadline for submission is 15th August 2021 at 5pm Hanoi time.