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United Nations Development Programme/Government of Mauritius
Terms of Reference for the Preparation of a Community Development Plan in view of a
Project Proposal for the “Restoring marine ecosystem services by rehabilitating coral reefs
to meet a changing climate future” project
ASSIGNMENT:
DURATION:
DUTY STATION
Community Development Specialist for the Preparation of AFB Proposal for
Restoring marine ecosystem services by rehabilitating coral reefs to meet a
changing climate future
20 person days spread over an estimated 8 months
Mauritius
EXPECTED
STARTING DATE: 10 March 2017
Background
Following a call for proposals of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) in May 2015 for projects and
programmes to be funded by the AFB under the pilot programme for regional projects and programmes of
the Adaptation Fund, the UNDP Country Office for Mauritius and Seychelles with national stakeholders in
Mauritius and Seychelles have developed a pre-concept for a regional project. The pre-concept for the
project which endeavours to “restore marine ecosystem services by rehabilitating coral reefs to meet a
changing climate future” in Mauritius and Seychelles, developed in collaboration with Seychelles Ministry
of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Nature Seychelles and Seychelles National Parks Authority;
Mauritius Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, and Shipping, Mauritius Oceanography
Institute (MOI), Albion Fisheries Research Centre, UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme and the Mauritius
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), was approved in October 2015 to develop a
concept note. Subsequently, the concept note was approved by the AFB in October 2016 to develop the full
project proposal.
The final stage of the proposal process is the submission of the fully-developed regional AFB project
proposal as well as the UNDP project document in the UNDP project document template. The endorsement
of the concept does not create an obligation for the AFB for later funding. As such, the project proposal
needs to be of a high quality, in line with the requrements of AFB rules for the call and its strategic priorities,
to increase the odds of endorsement by the Board.
Objective of the Project
The main objective of the proposed project is to upscale and mainstream the rehabilitation of coral reefs
degraded by coral bleaching in order to restore essential ecosystem services in the face of climate change
threats and to generate knowledge about the most effective solutions for dissemination to SIDS and countries
within the wider region. The project responds to two of the three thematic focal areas namely 'Food Security'
and 'Disaster Risk Reduction' as: (i) the rehabilitation of degraded reefs will restore fish habitats by increasing
coral cover on degraded reefs thereby encouraging the recovery of reef associated fish communities
important as food to the local communities and; (ii) the rehabilitation of degraded reefs will restore the
protective barrier function provided by coral reefs through stabilising the reef substrate and planting corals.
The proposed project will have three components (excluding project management), namely:
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Component 1) Enhancement of food security and reduction of risks from natural disasters through
the restoration of degraded reefs in Mauritius
Component 2) Enhancement of food security and reduction of risks from natural disasters through
the restoration of degraded reefs in Seychelles
Component 3) Knowledge management and sharing, training and sensitization to build regional
capacity for sustainable reef restoration
Institutional Arrangement
The Project Proposal preparation phase will be coordinated through the UNDP Country Office in Mauritius,
which provides UNDP representation for both Mauritius and Seychelles under a single UN leadership with
shared programme support services. A Regional Steering Committee (RSC) will be established composed of
the stakeholders outlined below. The RSC will meet twice during the project preparation phase to ensure
regional aspects are taken on board and to achieve consensus, and at least annually during implementation,
if possible organized back-to-back with planned regional workshops for cost efficiency. The National
Steering Committees will be composed of the principal stakeholders outlined below for each country, as well
as other private sector, civil society and government organisations and will meet quarterly.
Once the project is approved, then in Seychelles, the project will be implemented by the Ministry of
Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC) which has the mandate for environmental, climate
change and energy policy and management. Other key national implementing entities (NIE) will include:
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Nature Seychelles (NS), an NGO that has pioneered terrestrial restoration of islands, been the
recipient of GEF-funds and other large donor funded projects. NS manages the Cousin Island Special
Reserve, the site of a 5,500 m2 restored reef, and is registered as a Private Educational and Training
Institute (under the Education Act);
Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA), which is responsible for the management of all state
owned terrestrial and marine protected areas. SNPA will build on its existing coral reef restoration
work and benefit from opportunities for further training for its staff.
In Mauritius the main NIE will be the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, and
Shipping (MOEMRFS), which has the mandate to provide an enabling environment for the promotion of
sustainable development of the fisheries sector and is responsible for the management of coastal waters and
any related activities being carried out within these, and specifically the following bodies under this
Ministry:
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Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI) established in 2000 to develop and strengthen
oceanographic research, within the maritime zone of the Republic of Mauritius, with technical
expertise and institutional capacity for both coral farming, species identification and coral genetics.
MOI will lead on research activities in the project, and the development of a land-based coral
nursery.
Albion Fisheries Research Centre (AFRC) established in 1982 under the MOEMRFSOI, and
responsible for stock assessment of marine resources, MPA management, ocean-based coral
farming/restoration and long term coral reef monitoring. AFRC will lead on the development of
ocean-based coral nurseries.
Scope of services
The consultant is expected to produce, in a timely manner and in full compliance with the set
deadlines, the reports relating to community development, with emphasis given to gender and youth
mainstreaming and empowerment, in relation to the project to support the Team Leader in the
development of the project design and the project document. Specifically, a community
development plan that identifies selected community needs, identifies roles and responsibilities,
establishes baselines, sets targets, identifies potential further sources of finance to assist with wider
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economic development and community development needs, will be required. This plan will help
the project communicate outcomes, which in turn will help manage community expectations. This
will be done by performing the following principal tasks:
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Assess how the project will benefit vulnerable groups, and coastal communities in general.
Assess how the project can empower women and youth in particular and produce a report
on the gender and youth assessment.
Develop a Gender and Youth Action Plan, based on the gender and youth assessment, for
the overall project.
Select potential communities to benefit from the project in collaboration with the Team
Leader and the project steering committee.
Review the UNDP and the AFB corporate gender mainstreaming requirements and assess
how to best address the specific Mauritian and Seychellois concerns to achieve the corporate
targets.
Carry out desk top research as required.
Liaise closely with stakeholders in Mauritius and Seychelles to ensure the relevance of the
proposed project interventions.
Identify roles and responsibilities of communities who would be participating in the project.
Develop SMART targets, baseline and mid-term and end-of-the-project targets in relation
to community development and gender and youth empowerment for the project.
Produce draft Community Development Plan by end March 2017
Revise the Community Development Plan and the Gender and Youth Assessment and
Action Plan according to comments from the team leader, UNDP and stakeholders.
Finalise all Plans and reports by mid May 2017
Deliverables
The consultant shall be responsible for the following, in collaboration with UNDP, and
stakeholders:
1. Activity Plan, in consultation with the Team Leader and UNDP
2. Draft Community Development Plan, Gender and Youth Assessment, and Gender and
Youth Action Plan for Mauritius
3. Final Community Development Plan, Gender and Youth Assessment, and Gender and
Youth Action Plan for Mauritius
4. AFB project proposal contents related to the above
5. UNDP project document contents related to the above
Time Frame
The Contract will start in March 2017 and be valid till end of September 2017.
Core Competencies:
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Demonstrates integrity/commitment by demonstrating highest levels of integrity and acts
in accordance with the Standards of Conduct for international civil servants;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
Promotes and demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s vision, mission, values and strategic
goals of UNDP
Building support and political acumen;
Building and promoting effective teams;
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Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.
Management and Leadership:
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Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback and
differing views;
Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Solicits feedback from team members about the impact of his/her own behaviour;
Ability to effectively plan, implement, monitor and evaluate own work.
Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:
Developing new approaches
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Seeks a broad range of perspectives in developing project proposals;
Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
Resource Mobilization
Developing tools and mechanisms:
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Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the
design of new approaches;
Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms.
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:
In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter
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Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge
and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in
work assignments;
Client Orientation:
Contributing to positive outcomes for the client:
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Anticipates client needs;
Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the
clients and service provider;
Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective;
Solicits feedback on service provision and quality.
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QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
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Proven experience in projects related to community development and empowerment.
Experience in gender assessment and development of the gender action plans leading to
gender empowerment
Minimum postgraduate degree in a relevant subject
Experience in Western Indian Ocean states and/or SIDS will be highly advantageous.
Experience with UNDP/AFB projects/policies would be an advantage
Strong synthesis skills to present succinctly findings of researches and analyses relevant
to the project interventions
Evidence of being able to build strong relationships with local communities and national
stakeholders, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to
critical feedback; consensus-oriented.
Highly developed inter-personal, negotiation and teamwork skills, networking aptitude.
Ability to work independently with minimum supervision as well as to work as part of
a team under the guidance by a team leader for the best team performance.
Regional and national knowledge, in particular on social and community development,
is highly desirable.
Excellent English drafting and communication skills.
Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments
The financial offer should be quoted as a lump sum amount, all-inclusive (professional fee, travel
by the most direct and economic route, DSA, insurance).
The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. Payments will be effected
based on deliverables:
Deliverable
Estimated
Payment
completion date term
Approval required
Submission of activity plan by
10 March 2017
10%
UNDP
Draft Community Development Plan, 30 March 2017
Gender and Youth Assessment report
20%
UNDP and
Committee
Steering
Final Community Development Plan, 20 April 2017
Gender and Youth Assessment report
10%
UNDP and
Committee
Steering
Final Gender and Youth Assessment 15 May 2017
Action Plan report
20%
UNDP and
Committee
Steering
Project proposal for Adaptation Fund September 2017
Board.
20%
Adaptation Fund Board
Project document for UNDP
20%
UNDP
September 2017
Recommended Presentation of Offer
The following documents are requested:
a) Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the
template provided by UNDP;
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b) Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as
the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3)
professional references;
c) Technical offer: Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the
most suitable for the assignment (including his/her experience using Financial Planning
and Budgeting), and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the
assignment; and
d) Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported
by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided by UNDP.
Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer
The Combined Scoring method will be as follows:
 Technical Evaluation will be weighted at a maximum of 70%, and
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Financial Evaluation will be weighted a max of 30%;
Technical Evaluation criteria:
Criteria
Education
Experience in the formulation of donor-funded projects.
Familiarity with UNDP and or AFB projects, either during the
formulation or implementation.
General Experience in community development, youth and
gender empowerment
Experience in gender mainstreaming and empowerment
Experience in Western Indian Ocean states and/or SIDS,
preferably in Mauritius
IT skills (MS Office)
Methodology for the assignment
TOTAL max.
Max.
Point
5
10
10
10
10
5
20
70
Candidates scoring 70% or above in the Technical Evaluation will be short-listed.
Financial Evaluation Criteria:
The financial offers will be evaluated giving the lowest price proposal 30 marks and marking the
other more expensive proposals reverse proportionally to the cheapest offer.
Final Evaluation
The final scoring of short-listed candidates will take into account the technical Evaluation and the
Financial Score:
Criteria
 Technical score
 Financial score
Weight
70%
30%
The candidate ranking highest shall be selected.
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Max. Point
70
30
LANGUAGE
The language of the assignment shall be English. All deliverables shall be in English language.
Therefore, excellent English communication skills (oral, written, and presentation) are essential.
Knowledge of French will be an advantage.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: 5 March 2017
Annexes to the TOR
The Project pre-concept and the concept which has been approved by the AFB can be downloaded
on the local UNDP website on http://mu.undp.org
Approval
This TOR is approved by:
Signature
Name and Designation
Satyajeet Ramchurn, Environment Programme Officer
Date of signing
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