Prolonged - I.P."ONIPM" Vacancy Announcement - climate change mitigation consultants

PUBLIC INSTITUTION “ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OFFICE”, PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT OF THE SECOND BIENNIAL TRANSPARENCY REPORT AND SIXTH NATIONAL COMMUNICATION UNDER THE UNFCCC

  VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Position Information

Project Title:

Job Title (part-time positions):

Duration of employment (part-time):

“Moldova: Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Combined Second Biennial Transparency Report and Sixth National Communication (BTR2/NC6) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)”

National Consultants, with responsibilities in tracking progress made in implementing and achieving the nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement; assessing policies and measures to mitigate climate change; developing GHG emission projections and assessing the total effect of mitigation policies and measures at sector and category source levels, including:

(1) Energy Sector, with following source categories:

1A1 Energy Industries

1A2 Manufacturing Industries and Construction

1A3 Transport

1A4 Other Sectors (institutional and public; residential; agriculture, fisheries and forestry)

1B2 Fugitive Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas

Memo Items: Aviation and Maritime

CO₂ emissions from biomass  

(2) Industrial Processes and Product Use Sector, with following source categories:

2A Mineral Industry

2B Chemical Industry

3C Metal Industry

2D Non-Energy Products from Fuels and Solvent Use

2F Product Uses as Substitutes for Ozone Depleting Substances

2G Other Product Manufacture and Use

 (3) Agriculture Sector, with following source categories:

3A Enteric Fermentation

3B Manure Management

3D Agricultural Soils

3F Field burning of agricultural residues,

3H Urea Application,

3I Other carbon-containing fertilizers

(4) LULUCF Sector, with following source and sink categories:

4A Forest Land

4B Cropland

4C Grassland

4D Wetlands

4E Settlements

4F Other Land

4G Harvested Wood Products

4H Other  

(5) Waste Sector, with following source categories:

5A Solid Waste Disposal

5B Biological Treatment of Solid Waste

5C Incineration and Open Burning of Waste

5D Wastewater Treatment and Discharge

5E Other

5F Long-term storage of C in waste disposal sites

1 September 2025 – 30 June 2026

II. Background 

The project aims to support the Republic of Moldova (RoM) to prepare and submit its Combined Second Biennial Transparency Report and Sixth National Communication (BTR2/NC6) that complies with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement (PA) reporting requirements while responding to national development goals.

Under the UNEP/GEF Project “Moldova: Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Combined Second Biennial Transparency Report and Sixth National Communication (BTR2/NC6) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)”, Moldova will receive support to prepare its BTR2/NC6 report and submit it to the UNFCCC by December 2026, in compliance with UNFCCC and PA reporting requirements and in alignment to national development goals, with built-in flexibility provided in light of its capacities. Moreover, the country will be supported to undertake a self-assessment and stocktaking exercise for preparation of the project proposal for the subsequent BTR development. 

Thus, the two expected outputs under the BTR2/NC6 project are as following:

Output 1: BTR2/NC6 report prepared and submitted to UNFCCC by December 2026.

Output 2: Self-assessment and stocktaking exercise for preparation of the project proposal for subsequent BTR3 under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement completed.

The content of deliverables produced under the first output must follow the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines (MPGs) for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement (FCCC/PA/CMA/2018/3/Add.2). Moreover, as adopted at COP 26 in Decision 5/CMA.3, the following will be observed: (i) outlines for the BTR & National Inventory Document (NID); (ii) the Common Reporting Tables (CRT) for reporting GHG Inventory and the Common Tabular Formats (CTF) for reporting the NDC progress, financial, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support provided and mobilized, as well as support needed and received (FCCC/PA/CMA/2021/10/Add.2). The BTR2/NC6 project will build on findings and recommendations from the technical expert review of the BTR1 and expert review of previous NCs and BURs.

The combined BTR2/NC6 Report is expected to include the following content:

·        National inventory report of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases; 

·        Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;

·        Information related to climate change impacts and adaptation under Article 7 of the Paris Agreement;

·        Information on financial, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support needed and received under Articles 9–11 of the Paris Agreement;

·        Other relevant information, including: Research and Systematic Observation; Education, Training and Public Awareness; and Gender Mainstreaming into the Climate Policies;

·        Publication and submission of report, and other project execution support.

III. Organizational Context

The project is executed by the BTR2/NC6 Project Management Unit (PMU) established by the Public Institution “Environmental Projects National Implementation Office” (P.I. “EPNIO”) of the Ministry of Environment (MoEN), on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, and in consultation with the UNEP.

As national executing agency, the PMU established by the P.I. “EPNIO” is primarily responsible for the planning and management of the project activities, accounting, reporting, monitoring and evaluation of the project. 

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the National Project Manager (NPM) and that of the Climate Change Mitigation and MRV Systems Thematic Working Group Coordinator, the incumbents will provide technical knowhow for capacity assessment and for developing:

·        Chapter 2: ‘Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement’, which aims to provide a description of the Republic of Moldova’s national circumstances and information on institutional arrangements relevant to implementing and achieving the NDC economy-wide emissions reduction targets, GHG emissions and removals projections and any other information relevant to tracking progress made in implementing and achieving its NDC.

Information to be provided in this chapter includes but is not limited to:

·        National circumstances and institutional arrangements;

·        Description of the Republic of Moldova’s nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, including updates;

·        Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving its nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, reported in a narrative and common tabular format, as applicable;

·        Mitigation policies and measures, actions and plans, including those with mitigation co-benefits resulting from adaptation actions and economic diversification plans, related to implementing and achieving a nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;

·        Summary of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, concerning the reporting years corresponding to the Party’s most recent National Inventory Report, in a tabular format;

·        Projections of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, as applicable, presented in graphical and tabular formats;

·        Other information relevant to tracking progress made in implementing and achieving its NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;

·        Specific flexibility provisions applied;

·        Information on areas of improvement in relation to reporting over time.

The above proposed scope of work is categorized into the following five main deliverables:

1.2.1. The section on the Republic of Moldova’s national circumstances and institutional arrangements in place to track progress made in implementing and achieving its NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement compiled:

-        Describe the national circumstances relevant to progress made in implementing and achieving its NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, including: (a) Government structure: roles and responsibilities of different levels of government and relevant interministerial decision-making processes or bodies; (b) Population profile: total population, density and distribution; (c) Geographical profile: area, latitude, land use and ecosystem; (d) Climate profile: temperature distribution, annual temperature variation, precipitation distribution, climate variability and extreme events; (e) Economic profile: gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita (expressed in domestic currency and purchasing power parity), GDP by sector and international trade patterns; and (f) Sector details: (i) Energy (by fuel type, where appropriate): energy resource base, production, market structure, prices, taxes, subsidies and trade; (ii) Transportation: modes (passenger and freight), travel distances and fleet characteristics; (iii) Building stock and urban structure: profile of residential and commercial buildings; (iv) Industry: structure; (v) Agriculture: structure and management practices; (vi) Forest: types and management practices; (vii) Waste: waste sources and management practices.

-        Provide information on the institutional arrangements in place to track progress made in implementing and achieving its NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, including those used for tracking internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, if applicable, along with any changes in institutional arrangements since its most recent biennial transparency report;

-        Provide information on legal, institutional, administrative and procedural arrangements for domestic implementation, monitoring, reporting, archiving of information and stakeholder engagement related to the implementation and achievement of its NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement.

1.2.2. The section providing a description of the Republic of Moldova’s NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreements, including updates compiled:

-        Describe the current NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, against which progress will be tracked, including any updates to information previously provided:

(a)    Target(s) and description, including target type;

(b)    Target year(s) or period(s), and whether they are single-year or multi-year target(s);

(c)    Reference point(s), level(s), baseline(s), base year(s) or starting point(s), and their respective value(s);

(d)    Time frame(s) and/or periods for implementation;

(e)    Scope and coverage, including, as relevant, sectors, categories, activities, sources and sinks, pools and gases;

(f)     Intention to use cooperative approaches that involve the use of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes under Article 6 towards NDCs under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;

(g)    Any updates or clarifications of previously reported information (e.g. recalculation of previously reported inventory data, or greater detail on methodologies or use of cooperative approaches).

-        Provide information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving the current NDC, including information on the qualitative or quantitative indicators selected to track progress towards the implementation and achievement of the updated NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, including, as relevant: net GHG emissions and removals, percentage reduction of GHG intensity, relevant qualitative indicators for a specific policy or measure, mitigation co-benefits of adaptation actions (e.g., hectares of reforestation, percentage of renewable energy use or production, share of non-fossil fuel in primary energy consumption and non-GHG related indicators).

-        Technical capacity building, including participation of project staff and national consultants in regional/international workshops and trainings on national determined contributions, mitigation policies and measures and their effects and projections, as appropriate.

1.2.3. The section on the mitigation policies and measures, actions and plans, including those related to implementing and achieving a nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement compiled:

-        Provide information on mitigation policies and measures, actions, and plans, including those with mitigation co-benefits resulting from adaptation actions and economic diversification plans, related to implementing and achieving the NDC.

-        Provide information on its actions, policies and measures, by sector (energy, transport, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, LULUCF, and waste management), to the extent possible, in a tabular format, including: name; description; objectives; type of instrument (regulatory, economic instrument or other); status (planned, adopted or implemented); sector(s) affected (energy, transport, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, LULUCF, waste management or other); gases affected; start year of implementation; implementing entity or entities; costs; non-GHG mitigation benefits; how the mitigation actions interact with each other, as appropriate;

-        Provide, to the extent possible, estimates of expected and achieved GHG emission reductions for its actions, policies and measures in the tabular format;

-        Describe the methodologies and assumptions used to estimate the GHG emission reductions or removals due to each action, policy and measure, to the extent available;

-        Identify those actions, policies and measures that are no longer in place compared with the most recent BTR, and explain why they are no longer in place;

-        Identify its actions, policies and measures that influence GHG emissions from international transport;

-        Provide information about how its actions, policies and measures are modifying longer-term trends in GHG emissions and removals;

-        Provide information, to the extent possible, on the assessment of economic and social impacts of response measures.

1.2.4. The section providing the information on projections of GHG emissions and removals (time coverage, structure, NDC indicators, methodologies) compiled:

-        Describe the methodologies used to develop the projections, including information on: models and/or approaches used and key underlying assumptions and parameters used for projections (e.g. gross domestic product growth rate/level, population growth rate/level); changes in the methodology since the Party’s most recent BTR; assumptions on policies and measures included in the ‘with existing measures’ and in ‘with additional measures’ projections; sensitivity analysis for any of the projections, together with a brief explanation of the methodologies and parameters used;

-        Provide the ‘with existing measures’ and ‘with additional measure’ projections (in graphical and tabular formats), including projections on the sectoral basis and by gas, as well as for the national total (provided with and without contribution of LULUCF sector), using a common metric consistent with that in the national inventory report, presented relative to actual inventory data for the preceding years;

-        Provide projections of key indicators to determine progress towards its NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement.

1.2.5. Chapter 2: ‘Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement’ and common tabular formats for the electronic reporting of the information necessary to track progress in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement compiled:

-        Compile Chapter 2: ‘Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement’;

-        Compile the CTF tables in English with information necessary to track progress in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;

-        Organize a national workshop to present the obtained results on the information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving the NDC under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, to all interested partners and relevant stakeholders, policy makers, decision makers and with participation of the representatives of civil society and environmental NGOs.

IV. Key Tasks / Results Expected 

Key Tasks: 

• To perform activities under supervising and report to the National Project Manager (NPM) as well as to the Climate Change Mitigation and MRV Systems Thematic Working Group Coordinator in all aspects of program implementation;
• To carry out the necessary studies and implement the activities as outlined in the project document and personal TOR;
• To provide required materials and information to Climate Change Mitigation and MRV Systems Thematic Working Group Coordinator, according to TOR, including in electronic format;
• To contribute to training activities organized during project development;
• To assist Climate Change Mitigation and MRV Systems Thematic Working Group Coordinator in preparation of the reports on the completion of assessments and analysis of issues.

Key Deliverables: 

·        Chapter 2: ‘Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement’ of BTR2/NC6 Report of the RoM to the UNFCCC;

·        Contribution to the developing pf the List of Acronyms, Abbreviations and Units, Executive Summary and Bibliography of the BTR2/NC6 of the RoM to the UNFCCC;

·        Common tabular formats (CTF) for the electronic reporting of the information necessary to track progress in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement.

V. Recruitment Qualifications 

Education: 

Master’s Degree in Environmental Sciences, Biology, Agriculture, Forestry, Energy, Industry, Economics or another relevant field. Additional trainings and certifications in project related activities would be an advantage.

Experience: 

·        At least 3 years of professional experience in technical activities related to climate change, GHGs emission accounting and analysis (energy, industrial processes and products use, agriculture, LULUCF and/or waste sectors), mitigation actions and their effects on sectors of the national economy (energy, industry, buildings, transport, agriculture, forestry and waste);

·        At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in projects with similar tasks (elaboration of national communications, biennial update reports and national inventory reports; establishing domestic monitoring, reporting and verification systems; implementation of low emissions development programmes and elaboration of nationally appropriate mitigation actions);

·        Experience in analysis and use of data sets using various tools and instruments (e.g., MS Excel, IPCC reporting guidance and software) demonstrated by previous assignments;

·        Excellent knowledge of GHG inventory, GHG projections, MRV systems, carbon budgets, etc. demonstrated by previous assignments;

·        Knowledge of principles, legal and normative framework regulating the MRV systems under the UNFCCC, other relevant international conventions and protocols demonstrated by previous assignments will be a strong advantage;

·        Strong analytical and report writing skills demonstrated by previous assignments;

·        Strong communication and teamwork/coordination skills demonstrated by previous assignments.

Language Requirements:

Excellent oral and written communication skills in Romanian are required. Good communication skills in English would be an advantage.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1.       Technical proposal (please indicate the position, sector / category for which the incumbent is applying) explaining why the candidate is most suitable for the work, including information on previous similar assignments;

2.       Financial proposal (in USD), specifying a fee per day;

3.       CV, including past experience in similar projects.

Financial proposal

The Financial Proposal shall specify a daily lump-sum fee (indicating if it is negotiable). Payments will be made quarterly, based on the actual number of days worked, subject to the submission and approval by the Climate Change Mitigation and MRV Systems Thematic Working Group Coordinator, as well as by the National Project Manager (NPM), of activity reports around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables specified in the TORs. 

While submitting the Financial Proposal it is to be noted that the project “Moldova: Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Combined Second Biennial Transparency Report and Sixth National Communication (BTR2/NC6) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)” is included into the List of ongoing technical assistance projects covered by international treaties for the application of income tax exemptions, excise duties, customs duties, duties for customs procedures, taxes for goods which, in the process of use, cause environmental pollution, and the application exemption from VAT with the right of deduction for the goods and services intended for them, in accordance with the stipulations of the Government Decision No. 246 of 08.04.2010 on the application of the zero VAT rate to deliveries of goods, services performed on the territory of the country and the granting of fiscal and customs facilities for ongoing technical and investment assistance projects, which fall under the scope of international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.

Documents should be submitted by email on cancelaria@onipm.gov.md, no later than Tuesday, 15 August 2025, by 5:00 PM. Only those shortlisted will be contacted.