Background

With its unique capital mandate and focus on the LDCs, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries. UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF works to invest and catalyse capital to achieve the sustainable growth and inclusiveness of the LDC economies as envisioned by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs (2022–2031). UNCDF strives to accelerate financing for development in the LDCs by seizing the untapped opportunities of these markets with their unique human, natural and other assets. To achieve this, guided by the principles of shared responsibility, ownership, and leadership of the LDCs, UNCDF:

• supports countries to achieve three strategic gamechangers: catalyze capital; strengthen market systems and financing mechanisms; and accelerate inclusive, diversified, green economic transformation;
• through capital and development triggers: financing & investment support; and development support;
• applied across five flagship areas, including two well-established areas of inclusive digital economies and local transformative finance and three emerging areas of women’s economic empowerment; climate, energy, and biodiversity finance; and sustainable food systems finance.

The European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) is an integrated financial package supplying financial capacity in the form of grants, technical assistance, financial instruments, budgetary guarantees, and blending operations worldwide. In 2022, UNCDF was selected to support investments under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). This will be through a Guarantee Facility for Cities, which will be an example of the support to cities advocated for by the Malaga Coalition for a financial ecosystem that works for cities and local governments. This facility will support transactions in secondary cities and river basins in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia to pilot and test innovative and scalable infrastructure financing solutions. The pipeline would consist of sub-sovereign transactions sponsored by public entities, such as local governments, utilities, and regional water management organizations. These transactions will be accompanied with regulatory reforms to solve market failures and leverage additional financing from the market. The programme will focus on the 1) financing of infrastructure in secondary cities; and 2) financing of transboundary water infrastructure by linking capital mobilization to legal and regulatory reforms. In particular, EFSD+ will use pilot projects to identify areas of reforms needed for proper market functionality, and the pilots will be used to define market parameters of valuation, risk metrics, and regulatory process of bond issuance to allow other commercial participants to scale the interventions.

There is a long list of investment projects that are currently being considered under the EFSD+, and examples of the types of deals that will be facilitated by the EFSD+ guarantee facility include the Tanga Water Infrastructure Green Revenue Bond in Tanzania and the Blue Peace Bond in West Africa. The Tanga Bond supports Tanga Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority through the entire project development (e.g. preparation of the transaction to be investment-ready), governance structuring (e.g. SPV), green bond verification and certification, bond structuring, and market sounding and listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange – revenue bond issuance process backed by a financeable project. These transactions are included for illustrative purposes, and they are not yet submitted for the EFSD+ formal approval, but indicate the work currently underway. The Tanga bond is the first transaction of its kind in municipal water infrastructure in the Tanzanian Stock Exchange. This project will double the water production capacity to service existing customers and 6,000 new customers and effectively eliminate the current water demand gap standing at 24%. As a green bond, it will meet global standards, such as International Capital Market Association and Climate Bond Initiative for sustainable water management systems through investment in protecting water sources (e.g. the Zigi River). On the policy side, the Tanga Bond spearheads an initiative by the Government of Tanzania to develop a domestic capital market capacity for local infrastructure finance.

Similarly, and at a larger ticket size, the Blue Peace Bond builds on progress in transboundary water basin management to provide the larger infrastructure at scale that can sustainably deliver water to the rapidly growing towns and cities and the Gambia River Basin. The four governments along the Gambia River Basin are committed to an innovative sub-sovereign vehicle that will mobilize international finance for the anchor project linked to a masterplan of small, medium and large investments in both the public and private sectors. This is the first proposed bond in Africa that finances transboundary water infrastructure, and under this initiative, UNCDF will work with transboundary water entities to suport peaceful collaboration along the shared bodies of water.

(Note: Please note that UNCDF and EU agreements on the EFSD+ are ongoing. Tentative timeline of finalization is mid-2023.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables

Under the direct supervision of the LoCAL Facility Manager and in close collaboration with UNCDF’s technical teams, the consultant will carry out the following specific tasks:

(a) Inception report. Define overall approach for the assignment for the selection of the projects to test the climate filter, testing of the climate filter in all its elements, and presenting the final results and recommendations to UNCDF. The report will be based on a review of UNCDF’s relevant documentation, including (i) the climate filter tool report prepared by Climate Finance Advisors (CFA), (ii) EFSD+ application form and its project document, (iii) LTF’s existing tools and practices for investment impact measurement and screening (e.g., Dual Key), and (iv) the project documents of the long list of investment projects. Consultations with UNCDF’s team will be held to further refine objectives and scope of the selection and testing phase. The Inception Report is expected to be validated and peer reviewed by UNCDF and relevant partners.

(b) Climate filter testing draft report. Take stock of the climate filter tool, select 3 priority projects that have the potential to make a substantial contribution to the mitigation of and/or adaptation to climate change, and test the climate filter on a restricted number of infrastructure projects to be considered under the EFSD+ facility. The test will serve to assess the filter and validate its applicability and replicability across UNCDF supported infrastructure assets. Adjustments and refinements will be done by the incumbent(s) on the filter as needed.

(c) Climate filter testing final report and PowerPoint. Present the final results of the testing of the climate filter tool for each investment project in the format of a short narrative report and a visualized PowerPoint summary to be used in high-level meeting with the EU. Make final recommendations based on the testing results for each investment and general suggestions to apply the climate filter tool to other UNCDF investments in the future.

Payment Terms and Indicative Schedule

Monitoring and Progress Controls

A schedule of days worked, outputs produced, and costs incurred will be monitored by the UNCDF LoCAL Facility Manager. The consultant is expected to be fully connected via Internet, email and telephone so all the tasks will be conducted via electronic means. The consultant will be home-based and possess necessary communication facilities at their own premises. There will be a briefing and debriefing and regular discussions between the Consultant and the LoCAL Facility Manager during the assignment as needed.

Payments are made to the consultant based on receipt of the Certificate for Payment (CoP) and acceptance of the agreed deliverables by the LoCAL Facility Manager after discussion and clearance at the regional/country level.

Competencies

• Owns a comprehensive knowledge and experience working with programme support to development projects, particularly in LDCs and at an international organization.
• A strong understanding of climate change issues and sustainable/impact investing.
• A proven ability to work in a collaborative manner with a diverse group of stakeholders in the delivery of high-quality products/outputs

Required Skills and Experience

Language: Fluency in English is required.

Required skills and experiences:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in the fields of impact investing and climate finance, with a focus on green and climate portfolios
• Proven experience in developing and implementing green/climate finance and socially responsible investment practices and standards for international organizations and institutions
• Proven expertise in structuring investment vehicles with green/climate objectives, including designing and implementing impact measurement frameworks
• Proven experience with conducting in-depth desk reviews on climate finance
• Excellent writing and analytical skills

Desired skills and experiences:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience in organizing and facilitating consultations and workshops
• Work experience in LDCs and/or developing countries is an asset
• Sensitivity to diverse opinions and difficulties arising from differing social and cultural perceptions

Evaluation

Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions. The following selection method will be used: Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals. The overall combined score will be 100 points, where weight distribution shall be 70% technical (30% Desk Review + 40% interview) and 30% financial.

Step I: Screening/Longlisting: Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the required criteria will be longlisted:

• Postgraduate degree in Environmental Management, Sustainable Finance, or related fields.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant progressive experience related to impact investing and climate finance, with a focus on green and climate portfolios.
• Proven experience in developing and implementing green/climate finance and socially responsible investment practices and standards for international organizations and institutions.
• Proficiency in English.

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review (100 points X 30%). UNCDF will conduct a desk review process to shortlist and technically evaluate candidates as per the following criteria:

Criteria Description Score (points)

1. Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant progressive experience related to impact investing and climate finance, with a focus on green and climate portfolios: 25
2. Proven experience in developing and implementing green/climate finance and socially responsible investment practices and standards for international organizations and institutions: 25
3. Proven expertise in structuring investment vehicles with green/climate objectives, including designing and implementing impact measurement frameworks: 25
4. Proven experience with conducting in-depth desk reviews on climate finance: 25

Total score is 100. Only applicants achieving minimum 70 points shall be invited for an interview.

Step III: Technical interviews (100 points x 40%). A competency-based Interview shall be conducted with the top three or four candidates who score the highest in Step II (minimum of 70 points). Candidates will be tested on the same key work areas, in greater depth, namely:

• Relevant experience
• Sector Technical Knowledge
• Programme Development and Management
• Understanding of the mission

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Step II: Desk Review and Step III: Interview will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step IV: Financial Evaluation: The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Step V: Award of the Contract:

The award of the Contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable vis-à-vis the requirements of the TOR and the project operating environment; and Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical criteria (70%) and financial criteria (30%) specific to the solicitation.

Additional institutional arrangement: Review time required will be 2 weeks after the submission of report considered as satisfactory.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Required documents are listed below. The interested parties should accomplish the online submission form and upload the CV with sample of past work in this jobsite; the Letter of confirmation and availability (financial proposal) must be submitted through [email protected] with the subject line: VA 113038 – International Consultancy services to support UNCDF to test a climate filter for climate-related infrastructure projects under the EFSD+ guarantee facility for Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (see click here for document) – encrypted or password protected
2. Personal CV or 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;
3. A sample of past work that demonstrates the required competencies relevant to this assignment;
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price based on the deliverables (Same document as #1)