Grant Implementation Expert

Terms of Reference (TOR) for functions under a National Personnel Service Agreement

Grant Implementation Expert 

1.            Position Information

2.      Office/Unit/Project Description 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network. It is an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build better lives.

The Climate Change and Environment Portfolio’s strategy is focusing on promoting change at scale through investing in national capacity to respond in addition to piloting and prototyping development solutions that have the potential to lead to transformational change. Also, a key element of the strategy is to apply the integrated ecosystem approach, to help establish mechanisms to value ecosystem services with a view to address the market failures to fully reflect the true value of ecosystem services.

The portfolio strategy requires the establishment of programmatic partnerships, as a cross-cutting area, ‘with different ministries, international organizations (inter alia UNEP, EU, UNIDO, WB, EBRD and FAO), universities and CSOs, collaboratively adding value to the ongoing work of these stakeholders. The Climate Change and Environment (CCE) Portfolio focuses on three programmatic areas that complement each other: 1-Natural Resource Management contributing to sustainable environment management and conservation of natural resources in production landscapes, within the general framework of the ecosystems approach; 2- Climate Change and Disaster Resilience (including chemicals and waste) strengthening institutional capacities for analysis and risk management for resilience with a specific emphasis on climate change, and 3- Cooperation with relevant stakeholders to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The overall objective of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Change Action in Türkiye (LCA) Project is to support Türkiye in its efforts to combat climate change through increased implementation capacity at the local level, which will ultimately contribute to sustainable, low-carbon, and climate-resilient development. 

The overall outcome of the Project is the improvement of Türkiye’s local climate change mitigation and adaptation capacity, achieved through activities spanning five distinct components (Components A to E). 

Component E focuses on providing Technical Assistance to the EU–Türkiye Climate Change Grant Programme (EU-TR CCGP). The Grant Programme is implemented directly by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change (MoEUCC), while UNDP provides technical assistance in support of its implementation.

Projects under the the Climate Change Grant Programme address at least one of these priority areas: 

• In line with the priorities of the existing national adaptation and mitigation action plans between 2024-2030, 
• Promoting resilient and low-carbon cities and sectors, 
• Implementing adaptation and/or mitigation actions in line with existing local or national climate strategies. 

As an additional element, all projects include a component (set of activities) on strengthening the communication between stakeholders and “raising awareness within the society”. 

The approximate total amount allocated to the grant programme under Grant Component is EUR 15,114,913.23.

Any grant requested under this call for proposals fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action: 

Minimum percentage: 50 % of the total eligible costs of the action 

Maximum percentage: 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action A total of 25 grant projects has been contracted within the framework of the EU – Türkiye Climate Change Grant Programme. The projects are implemented across 15 cities in Türkiye, including Mersin, Çankırı, İzmir, Sinop, Konya, Ankara, Bursa, Çanakkale, Bolu, Malatya, İstanbul, Muğla, Isparta, Kahramanmaraş, and Diyarbakır, as well as in Warka (Poland). 

Technical assistance under Component E supports the effective implementation and monitoring of the Grant Programme, including the operation of the Grant Management Information System (MIS), monitoring and evaluation arrangements, monitoring activities, reporting processes, capacity-building and consultative activities, follow-up of grant implementation processes, institutional learning, and the documentation and dissemination of programme results.

In this context, UNDP intends to engage a Grant Implementation Expert on a retainer basis to provide technical, analytical and operational support to the Grant Manager, Grant Expert and Project Team in relation to the implementation, monitoring, reporting and other related processes of the EU-TR CCGP, based on needs arising throughout the implementation period.

Beyond the LCA project, the Expert may also be requested to provide contributions to other projects as deemed relevant to his/her expertise.

3.      Objective and Scope of Work 

UNDP will engage a Grant Implementation - Expert to provide professional, technical, analytical and operational support to the implementation, monitoring, reporting and overall technical assistance provided to the EU–Türkiye Climate Change Grant Programme under Component E of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project.

The Expert will work in support of the Grant Manager, Grant Expert and Project Team and will contribute to grant-related processes through review, analysis, preparation and consolidation of documentation and information, monitoring and reporting support, operational follow-up and other related activities. The Expert's functions will not include managerial, supervisory and/or representative functions.

The assignment will be implemented on a retainer basis. The Expert will be engaged on an as-needed basis through individual Service Requests issued by UNDP during the contract period. Each Service Request will define, as applicable, the specific assignment, scope of services, expected output(s), estimated level of effort, timeframe, reporting requirements, place of performance and any travel requirements.

The generic functions described below establish the overall areas within which services may be requested. They are indicative and not exhaustive and do not constitute a predetermined set of assignments or deliverables. Depending on the implementation needs of the Grant Programme, an individual Service Request may cover one or more of these functions.

Within the scope of the assignment, the Grant Implementation Expert may be requested to perform the following generic functions:

• Provide technical, analytical and operational support to the implementation, monitoring, reporting and follow-up of grant projects under the EU-TR CCGP.
• Support the Grant Manager, Grant Expert and Project Team in the preparation, review, consolidation and follow-up of grant-related documentation, information and implementation processes.
• Support the review and assessment of narrative, financial, progress, interim and final reports submitted by Grant Beneficiaries, together with relevant supporting documentation, through the MIS and/or other applicable reporting arrangements.
• Prepare and/or contribute to monitoring reports, programme progress reports, review notes, assessment notes, checklists, management summaries, briefing notes, presentations, trackers, analytical documents and other grant-related reporting and management outputs.
• Support the operation and use of the Grant MIS, including the review, recording, follow-up and consolidation of information and documentation submitted or generated during grant implementation.
• Support the operation of the Grant Programme's monitoring and evaluation arrangements, including the collection, review, consolidation and analysis of information relating to implementation progress, outputs, results, indicators, risks and other programme performance information.
• Support the tracking and consolidation of indicators and other quantitative and qualitative information reported by Grant Beneficiaries and contribute to programme-level analysis and reporting.
• Support desk-based and field-based monitoring of grant projects, including review of project documentation, preparation for monitoring visits, participation in site visits and meetings, documentation of findings, and preparation of monitoring reports, notes and follow-up recommendations.
• Support the review and follow-up of notifications, modification and amendment requests, implementation changes and other contractual or implementation-related matters submitted by Grant Beneficiaries, including preparation of technical observations, analyses and recommendations for consideration by the responsible parties.
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies, implementation risks, compliance issues and matters requiring clarification or follow-up in grant-related information and documentation and provide relevant inputs and recommendations to the Grant Manager, Grant Expert and Project Team.
• Support quality assurance of reports, documents, information and other materials produced or submitted in connection with Grant Programme implementation.
• Support communication, information exchange and coordination among UNDP, Grant Beneficiaries, the End Recipient, Contracting Authority and other relevant stakeholders concerning grant implementation, reporting, monitoring and related processes.
• Support the organization and delivery of meetings, consultations, trainings, workshops, guidance sessions and other capacity-building or information-exchange activities related to Grant Programme implementation.
• Prepare or contribute to guidance notes, presentations, training materials, templates, checklists and other tools intended to facilitate grant implementation, monitoring, reporting and compliance.
• Support the preparation, revision and application of grant implementation procedures, guidelines, reporting arrangements, monitoring tools, templates and other programme documentation, as required.
• Contribute to project- and programme-level reporting relating to Component E, including preparation and consolidation of inputs for progress reports, monitoring reports, donor reporting and other reporting requirements.
• Support the preparation and consolidation of information concerning Grant Programme achievements, results, challenges, risks and implementation progress for management, reporting and communication purposes.
• Support the identification, analysis and documentation of lessons learned, good practices, implementation experiences and programme achievements and contribute to the preparation of compendia, case studies, lessons learned reports, dissemination materials and other knowledge products.
• Support grant closure processes, including review and consolidation of relevant implementation, monitoring and reporting information and preparation of related documentation and programme-level inputs.
• Support the organization and implementation of Grant Programme events and related activities where technical or grant implementation input is required.
• Undertake other grant implementation support assignments falling within the overall scope and purpose of this ToR, as specified through individual Service Requests issued by UNDP.

The Expert may be requested to revise or further develop outputs prepared under individual Service Requests on the basis of comments provided by UNDP and/or relevant Grant Programme stakeholders.

Final approvals, formal contractual decisions, certifications and other functions vested in UNDP, the Contracting Authority, End Recipient or other authorized parties shall remain with the respective authorized entity and shall not be exercised by the Grant Implementation Expert.

If required by UNDP, the Grant Implementation Expert may be requested to provide additional consultancy services on topics related to her/his consultancies area.

5.      Institutional Arrangement

UNDP will provide the Grant Implementation Expert with all relevant background documents and information required for the completion of assignments. UNDP is not required to provide any physical facility for the work of the Expert. However, depending on the availability of physical facilities and operational requirements, such facilities may be provided at the discretion of UNDP and/or in cooperation with MoEUCC. UNDP will facilitate meetings between the Expert and relevant stakeholders, when needed.

All documents, information and data provided to the Grant Implementation Expert are confidential and cannot be used for any other purposes or shared with a third party without prior written approval from UNDP.

The language of outputs will be specified in the relevant Service Request. Depending on the nature of the assignment, outputs may be required in English and/or Turkish.

The Grant Implementation Expert shall be responsible for the accuracy, consistency and reliability of the information and analysis provided under the assignment and for appropriately identifying the sources of information used.

The Grant Implementation Expert shall report to the Grant Manager of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project under the overall supervision of the Project Manager and will work in close collaboration with the Grant Manager, Grant Expert, Project Team and other relevant stakeholders.

The specific technical focal point, expected outputs and reporting arrangements for each assignment may be further specified in the relevant Service Request.

Outputs prepared under a Service Request shall be submitted to UNDP for review and acceptance in accordance with the requirements and timeframe specified in the respective Service Request. Where revisions are requested, the Expert shall address the comments within the timeframe agreed for the respective assignment.

Place of work for the assignment is home-based and Ankara. Grant Implementation Expert will be expected to be present in MoEUCC (Grant Component Contracting Authority and Directorate of Climate Change) or UNDP premises at certain times when necessary. All travel, accommodation and living costs in duty station (home based and Ankara) will be covered by the Grant Implementation Expert. In case travels to other cities specified in the Projects DoA and/or other unforeseen travel out of the duty station is needed, the travel and accommodation costs of these missions will be borne by UNDP. The cost and terms of reimbursement of any travel authorized by UNDP for Expert must be negotiated prior to travel.

5.            Competencies

6.            Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA