Technical Specialist in the energy sector
About the Role
Title: Technical Specialist in the energy sector- PAF Bolivia
Job Opening ID: 250185
Job Network : Economic, Social and Development
Job Family : Environmental Affairs
Category and Level : Consultants, CON
Duty Station : PARIS
Department/Office : United Nations Environment Programme
Job Description:
I. Output 1. NDC implementation plan for the energy, forests, water, and agriculture sectors: Bolivia, through the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT by its initials in Spanish), is prioritizing efforts to achieve the 32 NDC targets in four sectors: energy, water, forests, and agriculture. This NDC implementation plan is the strategic and operational instrument allowing government institutions to integrate climate commitments and goals with prioritized actions in each sector and facilitate their fulfillment. Additionally, the Plan will allow the identification and analysis of financial, technical, and regulatory gaps in actions established in the NDC, and should take into consideration any relevant updates throughout the NDC 3.0 process. It will establish a detailed critical path for implementing climate actions and measure and monitor progress in achieving the NDC target. Product No.1 • One technical analysis of the existing regulations, governance structures (incl. stakeholder mapping), related plans and programs, available financial instruments, as well as the progress in the implementation of the NDC targets, especially for the energy sector in Bolivia while ensuring alignment with the NDC 3.0 update process. The analysis should include: (Activity 1.1 of the PAF project scope of work). Review of existing regulations: Identify and evaluate the policies, laws, and regulations that impact the energy sector, and analyze their alignment with NDC goals. Integrate updated data and methodologies from the NDC 3.0 process where available. Assessment of governance structures: Conduct a detailed mapping of stakeholders, including government institutions that are part of the Energy sector Working Group to understand their role in the implementation of the NDCs and their alignment with new roles or priorities identified under NDC 3.0. Analysis of plans and programs: Review national (PDES) and sectoral (PSDEI) plans, along with existing financial instruments, to evaluate their current and potential contribution to achieving NDC goals in the energy sector. Incorporate findings from the NDC 3.0 update process regarding gaps, opportunities, and subnational disaggregation of indicators. Progress in goal implementation: Complement and update the diagnosis of the status of energy sector goals (up to 2023). Including any updated baseline data or indicators proposed in the NDC 3.0. Propose solutions for additional data collection and necessary methodological adjustments to ensure alignment with the NDC 3.0 goals. Stakeholder consultation and document review: Conduct consultations with key stakeholders and perform a thorough document review, including government documents and grey literature, to support the analysis, ensuring consistency with inputs and findings from the NDC 3.0 process. Product No.2 • One analysis of the main institutional, technical, technological, and financing gaps, barriers, needs and priorities that may restrain the achievement of the energy sector NDC targets or hinder their effective implementation, including limitations in current roles, functions, and infrastructure, among others. This analysis shall be based on stakeholder consultations with both private and public actors and a desktop review of either government documents or peer-reviewed literature from academia or the development cooperation sector. Additionally, the analysis should identify opportunities to collaborate with women, youth, and indigenous peoples, and analyze how these groups can contribute to achieving the NDC energy targets. The analysis shall be informed by the energy roadmap being elaborated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which is expected to include a previous identification of the means of implementation and desirable scenarios, level of technical and financial information, potential identification, prioritization matrix, and a work plan defining roles, responsibilities, and timelines. (activity 1.4 of the PAF project scope of work). Product No.3 • A workshop report of a stakeholder validation process for 100 participants from the energy sector, following the participatory methodology developed by the Senior Project Manager to review and validate the barriers, gaps, and needs analysis conducted in the framework of product 2. The technical report shall compile the feedback and comments received during the workshop to use as input for elaborating the energy sector NDC implementation plan. (Activity 1.6 of the PAF project scope of work). Product No.4 • One final version of the gaps, barriers, needs and priorities analysis that integrates the feedback and information collected during the validation workshop corresponding to Product 3. The final version of the analysis must be approved by the APMT. (Activity 1.6 of the PAF project scope of work). Product No.5 • One technical document that includes a description of the lines of action required for implementing the existing energy sector NDC targets. The lines of action should be framed in specific and measurable long-term goals in line with NDC commitments and short and medium-term objectives that are achievable and that serve as milestones toward long-term goals. Additionally, each line of action shall include a description of the enabling conditions necessary to implement them, such as concrete action plans, including specific activities, schedules, implementing partners, including leading government institutions and other relevant stakeholders, and necessary resources (institutional, financial, technological, technical and operational). The identification and description of the lines of action shall be based on the UNDP energy sector roadmap expected to be delivered to the APMT in Q3-2024 and the final version of the barriers, gaps, and needs analysis. (Activity 1.7 of the PAF project scope of work). Product No.6 • One technical report detailing the progress in developing a financing strategy for implementing the energy sector NDC targets. The technical report shall be based on the energy sector roadmap under preparation by UNDP, which will identify core elements for elaborating a comprehensive financing strategy. (Activity 1.8 of the PAF project scope of work). Product No.7 • One energy sector NDC implementation plan that includes the activities and sub-activities needed, the institutions responsible, the level of priority, the list of stakeholders that should be involved, the envisioned implementation plan for all activities, and the resources required to achieve them (institutional, technical, technological, and financial). The NDC implementation plan shall be based on the findings from products 1 to 6 and shall be elaborated through a gender-based approach. (Activity 1.9 of the PAF project scope of work). Specific tasks and responsibilities: 1. At the start of the contract, elaborate a work plan that details the expected chronogram to deliver all products. 2. Elaborate a database of all documents reviewed and a record of all meetings and interviews conducted. 3. Comply with all products in a timely and coordinated manner. 4. Ensure that all project deliverables consider the progress of the NDC Update (NDC 3.0), ensuring consistency with inputs and findings from the NDC 3.0 process. 5. Ensure that through the delivery of the products, the project meets its objectives and achieves its expected outcomes. 6. Provide technical inputs to the AMPT during the elaboration of the products and integrate all feedback received before submitting a final version. 7. Support the Senior Project Manager in developing a methodology to elaborate and validate the NDC implementation plan from the energy sector perspective. The methodology shall be based on the understanding of current national and sectorial climate change goals, the national climate change policies, and governance structures and shall include the development of workshops and events to facilitate the participation of different stakeholders involved in implementing the NDC (Activity 1.2 of the PAF project scope of work). 8. Support the Senior Project Manager in organizing and facilitating one initial technical validation workshop for the methodology developed in Activity 1.2 with the relevant institutional and sectoral stakeholders, as needed (Activity 1.3 of the PAF project scope of work). 9. Support the integration of findings and methodologies from the NDC 3.0 update process into the energy sector NDC implementation plan, ensuring consistency between updated targets, baseline data, and implementation activities. 10. Collaborate with the NDC 3.0 update team to identify opportunities for disaggregating energy sector indicators at the subnational level and ensure their alignment with national priorities and the monitoring framework. 11. Support the Senior Project Manager in conducting one workshop to train key stakeholders on current regulations for the APMT and the operationalization of Article 57 of Law 300 regarding the Plurinational Mother Earth Fund (FPMT by its initials in Spanish) to create enabling conditions for territorial investment and resource mobilization (Activity 1.5 of the PAF project scope of work). 12. Support the Senior Project Manager in conducting and facilitating one validation workshop for 100 participants on the NDC implementation plan elaborated (Activity 1.10 of the PAF project scope of work). 13. Support the Senior Project Manager in integrating the final version of the NDC implementation plan in the Partnership’s Online Plan tool to monitor and track NDC progress and the Partnership Plan Narrative (Activity 1.11 of the PAF project scope of work). 14. Contribute to identifying synergies between the energy sector NDC implementation plan and new NDC 3.0 targets, particularly in identifying financing pathways and technical solutions. 15. Attend the inception workshop and all other virtual and in-person meetings related to project execution. 16. Attend coordination meetings with the APTM and UNEP to provide insights related to the execution of the project from the energy sector perspective. This includes supporting the Senior Project Manager in preparing briefs and summarizing barriers identified, lessons learned, and best practices associated with project execution. 17. Support the Senior Manager in elaborating narrative progress reports to serve as inputs for elaborating progress reports required by the NDC Partnership and UNEP. 18. Ensure coordination with the different stakeholders relevant to the project to ensure high-level coordination in preparing all products. 19. Attend meetings at the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth of Bolivia with sectoral entities or other stakeholders identified, as required by the Work Plan. 20. Support any other activity required by the APTM and UNEP related to the objective and scope of the PAF project.
Work Location
Home Based
Expected duration
6 months
Duties and Responsibilities
Throughout UNEP’s work, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change marks a turning point to an emerging climate regime that brings all the states and actors together to a new global platform to address the growing risks to our planet. According to IPCC reports, warming in the climate system is unequivocal, as is human influence. At a global level, Bolivia is among the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change throughout its territory and in its cultural, social, productive, energy, and industrial structure. The climate crisis poses high risks for human, economic, social, productive, and natural systems, and the negative ecological, economic, and social impacts are expected to be exacerbated. According to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI), Bolivia is the tenth most vulnerable country globally, considering the impacts of extreme climate events and associated socioeconomic data. Historically, Bolivia has been exposed to floods and droughts. Approximately four out of 10 people live in flood-prone plots, and more than 16% of the population live in areas at risk of drought. During the last decade, Bolivia’s weather patterns have undergone significant changes: extreme rainfall, floods, landslides, and droughts have pushed the poorest and most marginalized communities beyond their ability to respond and have significantly affected the state of watersheds and other climate-sensitive landscapes. Poverty persists at 55% and is much higher in rural areas than in urban areas at 31%, concentrated in the Altiplano and Valles. Poverty can be attributed to poor access to land and services, both social and productive, and the marginalization of women in organizations and restrictions on women’s activities outside the home. Women continue to have less access to decision-making, training, and other services despite their growing role in production. Despite the confluence of the climate crisis and the socioeconomic conditions of the country, Bolivia has made efforts to advance towards a more comprehensive development with a growth in annual public investment in the last 14 years from 629 (2005) to 3,769 million US dollars annually (2019), highlighting that there is a more significant international commitment to confront the climate crisis, including managing losses and damages. Additionally, Bolivia has committed to reducing its carbon emissions and increasing its climate resilience by updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which maintains the characteristic ambition of the first document and commits Bolivia to take actions aligned with a trajectory consistent with the global goal of limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 °C, with climate justice in the framework of the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, in light of national circumstances. At the same time, the actions resulting from the contributions raised in the update of the NDCs will increase the country’s adaptive capacity, strengthen its resilience, and reduce its vulnerability to the climate crisis. The NDC update also includes a commitment to greater transparency in monitoring the proposed adaptation, mitigation, and implementation goals. Through the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT, given its acronym in Spanish), Bolivia is prioritizing efforts to achieve the 32 NDC targets in four sectors: energy, water, forests, and agriculture. Therefore, the country seeks support to elaborate a comprehensive NDC implementation plan as the strategic and operational instrument that will allow government institutions to integrate climate commitments and goals with prioritized actions in each sector and facilitate their fulfillment. Additionally, the Plan will allow the identification and analysis of financial, technical, and regulatory gaps in actions established in the NDC. It will establish a detailed critical path for implementing climate actions and measure and monitor progress in achieving the NDC target. Considering the above, UNEP and the government of Bolivia, through the APMT, designed the project “Develop the NDC implementation plan, including the integration of roadmaps, gap analysis, and financial strategy for prioritized sectors” for the Partnership Action Fund (PAF), funded by the NDC Partnership (Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership). The fund supports NDC enhancement and implementation by reinforcing technical expertise and capacities to address gaps in developing country members. The PAF will complement the NDC Partnership’s implementing and development partners’ existing support offerings to catalyze further climate action. Therefore, this project will support the implementation of the country’s NDCs for their transparency and legitimacy by elaborating a comprehensive NDC implementation plan focused on four prioritized sectors: energy, water, forests, and agriculture. In this sense, UNEP is recruiting a Technical Specialist in the energy sector in Bolivia to support the delivery of all project activities and deliverables from the water sector perspective. The consultant will be supervised by UNEP’s NDC Action Global Coordinator and will work at the APMT located in La Paz, Bolivia. The consultancy allows for a hybrid work model, enabling the specialist to work remotely for up to 50% of their time while participating in in-person activities such as meetings and stakeholder engagements as required. This arrangement will be coordinated and approved by the Director of Mitigation of the APMT.
Qualifications/special skills
ACADEMIC • Bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, Industrial Engineering, Energy Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Political Science, or a closely related field (Required). • Postgrad courses in Environmental Management, Environmental Sciences, Renewable energy, Climate Change, Economics, Energy Policy, Political Science, or a closely related field (Desirable).
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE • Minimum three years (3) of relevant work experience in climate change mitigation and/or adaptation in the energy sector (Required). • Proven knowledge of climate policy, climate finances, institutional arrangements, and/or legal and public policy to the energy sector in Bolivia. (Desirable). • Experience working with the public institutions in Bolivia related to climate change planning and energy (Desirable). • Experience integrating gender considerations into formulating, planning, and implementing projects or public policies will be considered an advantage. This includes designing gender-sensitive methodologies to collect and evaluate baseline data, evaluate products, and monitor project results where appropriate (Desirable). • Experience in preparing policy and strategy reports for national governments and in the technical review of national reports and relevant international documents. (Desirable).
LANGUAGE • Fluency in Spanish (Required). • Confident in English (Desirable).
SPECIAL SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE PROFESSIONALISM • Management of the gender, intercultural and human rights approach of indigenous peoples. • Management of Office tools and digital platforms. • Excellent writing and teamwork skills. • Proactive capacity, responsibility and commitment. • Excellent understanding of national climate change commitments. • Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to climate change, indigenous peoples and adaptation planning. • Ability to identify, analyze and participate in resolving issues/problems. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work, and manage conflicting priorities. • Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. • Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results. • Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. • Shows persistence when faced with complex problems or challenges. • Remains calm in stressful situations. TEAMWORK • Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. • Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise. • Willing to learn from others and supports final group decisions, even when they may not entirely reflect own position. • Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
PLANNING AND ORGANIZING • Develops clear goals consistent with agreed strategies. • Identifies priority activities and assignments, adjusting priorities as required. • Allocates appropriate time and resources for completing work. • Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning. • Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary. • Uses time efficiently