VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT1

1. Project Background

1. The Government of Mongolia has received a grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific (JFPR) through the Asian Development Bank financing toward the cost of the Renewable Heating Demonstration in Remote Areas Project (the project). The project was effective on 6 March 2023 and will be completed by 31 December 2025. For more information about the project please visit the link below.

https://www.adb.org/projects/54360-001/main

1. The project will demonstrate renewable heating system viability in rural areas of Mongolia and build capacity to support scaled up use of cleaner heating technologies. The project will support deployment of renewable heating supply technologies and energy efficiency measures in buildings in two or more remote communities. The project will also build capacity among government officials and community members on measures to reduce coal consumption for heating while maintaining thermal comfort in Gers, single-family homes, and larger structures. The project will demonstrate approaches that can meet heating demand in extreme cold climates, be financially sustainable and effectively maintained even in remote regions, reduce air pollution, and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation.

1. Purpose of the Assignment

1. A civil society organization (CSO) will be hired to serve as implementing partner of the grant’s execution. The main purpose and objectives of the assignment are the following:
2. Lead the design and delivery of capacity building trainings for government officials, heating technicians, incorporating the technical inputs from the project management consultant (PMC);
3. Design survey materials to assess level of increased understanding from participation in capacity development activities;
4. Identify target audiences for the capacity development and community outreach events in coordination with MOE, PMU, PMC, aimag and soum officials, and building staff;
5. Lead implementation of the GAP;
6. Lead monitoring and evaluation efforts, including data collection on indoor temperatures before and after system installation, building occupant satisfaction, issues encountered during O&M phases, and actual costs after installation in close collaboration with the Ministry of Energy (MOE), Project Management Unit (PMU), and individual consultants.

1. Location and duration of the Services

1. The project will be implemented in Chuluut soum, Arkhangai aimag and Naran soum, Sukhbaatar aimag. The estimated duration of the consultancy service is 12 person-months on a continuous basis.

1. Scope of Services

1. The tasks included in the scope of services are the following:

(i) Capacity building for government officials,

(ii) Training for construction workers and heating technicians,

(iii) Awareness raising for community members and households,

(iv) Implement and monitor the Gender Action Plan,

(v) Assess, monitor, and report on project benefits,

1. Detailed tasks and/or expected output.

1. Capacity building for government officials.The CSO will lead the design and delivery of capacity building for government officials. Detailed tasks include, but may not be limited to, the following:

1. Support the PMU and MOE in identifying target government officials for aimag level training. This will include aimag governors and officials from surrounding soums, including but not limited to the soums where project activities will take place. Additional government representatives should include Ministry of Construction and Urban Development and Ministry of Occupational Health and Safety officials who are working at the aimag and soum levels;
2. Identify the different decision points where choices of building materials and heating systems are made and identify the analysis that would support consideration of wider choices, including those that would reduce the need for coal usage;
3. Develop training materials for building awareness of the benefits of incorporating energy efficiency and cleaner heating materials into building design, including the following:
4. Linkages between coal use, localized air pollution, and health impacts;
5. Energy efficiency measures that reduce head demand—the specific interventions, the costs, pay back periods, and how to source;
6. Cleaner heating options that can be deployed—the specific technologies, the costs, the capital and operations and maintenance cost implications, and where to source the equipment;
7. Role of energy efficiency in reducing heat demand and linkages with cost minimization of cleaner heat supply system in terms of both capacity and ongoing operations costs; and
8. The importance of operations and maintenance in realizing the benefits, including the use of thermostats to adjust temperature, and maintaining a sealed building envelope (i.e., not opening windows).
9. Seek review and input from the technical team members, including from the PMU and Project Management Consultants (PMC).
10. In coordination with MOE, PMU, and PMC, conduct training at aimag centers that include representatives identified in (i). At least two training courses should be held in each aimag where project activities will occur. For the second training, project details and benefits should be shared;
11. Develop a succinct awareness raising brochure directly targeting government officials; and
12. Ensure donor recognition in all trainings and printed and digital materials, including use of the logos Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific (JFPR) and Japanese Official Development Assistance.

1. Training for construction workers and heating technicians. The CSO will lead the design and delivery of training for heating technicians and construction workers. Detailed tasks include, but may not be limited to, the following:

1. Support the PMU and MOE in identifying construction and heating supply companies and workers that could be involved in the target communities to construct and install per current specifications and who could be trained to adapt more efficient and cleaner approaches;

1. Identify the different decision points where choices of building materials and heating systems are made and identify the analysis that would support consideration of wider choices, including those that would reduce the need for coal usage;

1. Develop training materials for building awareness of the benefits of incorporating energy efficiency and cleaner heating materials into building design, tailored to these specific audiences, including the following:

1. Linkages between coal use, localized air pollution, and health impacts.
2. Energy efficiency measures that reduce head demand—the specific interventions, the costs, pay back periods, and how to source.
3. Cleaner heating options that can be deployed—the specific technologies, costs, capital, and O&M cost implications, and where to source the equipment.
4. Role of energy efficiency in reducing heat demand and linkages with cost minimization of cleaner heat supply system in terms of both capacity and ongoing operations costs; and
5. The importance of O&M in realizing the benefits, including the use of thermostats to adjust temperature, and maintaining a sealed building envelope (i.e., not opening windows).
6. Seek review and input from the technical team members, including from the PMU and PMC.
7. In coordination with MOE, PMU, and PMC, conduct training that include representatives identified in (i). At least two training courses should be held in each aimag where project activities will occur. One of the training courses should occur during the construction phase and highlight key differences between traditional approaches and those adopted during this project. Another training should take place when the system is in operation and should cover key elements associated with O&M, including that which should be adopted by the building owner and that which needs support from specialized technicians.
8. Develop a succinct awareness raising brochure directly targeting construction workers and heating supply technicians; and
9. Ensure donor recognition in all trainings and printed and digital materials, including use of the logos for JFPR and Japanese Official Development Assistance.

1. Awareness raising for community members and households. The CSO will lead the design and delivery of awareness raising for community members and households in aimag and soum centers. Detailed tasks include, but may not be limited to, the following:

1. Design an outreach plan to engage community members in the soums where project activities will take place about the nature and expected benefits of the project. This plan should include information about the links between coal combustion, air pollution, and health impacts and the benefits of transitioning to more efficient and cleaner systems;
2. Develop training for community members on means of reducing coal combustion through efficiency measures and of cleaner heating technologies that can be adopted in households. The training should include:
3. Links between indoor air pollution and health, in particular children and other vulnerable groups;
4. Lowest cost measures that can be adopted in residences to reduce heat loss and commensurately reduce coal consumption;
5. Options to reduce coal consumption and improve indoor air quality in residences, including use of more efficient stoves and adoption of heat pumps;
6. How to operate to avoid overheating the residence and regulating by opening doors and windows; and
7. Evaluating costs and performance and different sources to get materials and equipment for the home.
8. Conduct these trainings at the aimag level and involve soum households as much as    possible. At least two trainings should be held at each aimag.

1. Implement and monitor the Gender Action Plan. The civil society organization will lead the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the Gender Action Plan (GAP). Please visit the link below for GAP in the Project Administration Manual:

https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-documents/54360/54360-001-pam-en.pdf

Detailed tasks include, but may not be limited to, the following:

1. When planning for community outreach and capacity development activities, ensure that the share of women is at least that stipulated in the GAP. As needed, identify different pools from which to ensure gender balanced training, and arrange on days/times that are less likely to encounter obstacles for women’s participation.
2. Training should be done in a gender-sensitive manner. Methods and materials should also be gender sensitive. Where possible, use women as examples and imagery where technical work is performed; and
3. Ensure all information and insights collected under the project are gender disaggregated and analyze trends and make recommendations based on trends.
4. Assess, monitor, and report on project benefits. The civil society organization will lead the design and delivery of training for heating technicians and construction workers. Detailed tasks include, but may not be limited to, the following:
5. Develop tools to assess the extent of increased understanding because of participation in community outreach and capacity development activities. Use these tools during the capacity development and awareness raising activities and incorporate the findings into improving methods to improve future offerings.
6. Implement approach for monitoring temperature in buildings where grant activities take place and design a tool to collect user experiences from the change in the building envelope and heating design. The assessment should be both qualitative and quantitative, and data should be reported disaggregated by gender; and
7. Distill lessons from the initiatives into a knowledge product, including lessons learned and ways in which such activities could be used in Mongolia in the future and evolve to increase effectiveness.
8. Assist the PMU to prepare and monitor the labor retrenchment and reemployment plan if required.The civil society organization will screen the impacts and design the capacity building options for those who may lose jobs due to introduction of new heating technology such as coal stoker, plumber, mechanic, etc
9. Identify profile of the affected workers (age, gender, educational level, etc.), the number of jobs and income to be lost because of RE heating, from Governor’s office, health center, high school and the primary school, cultural center, the kindergarten, etc.
10. Interview selected group of people who may lose their jobs after the RE demonstration and identify their interest for potential re-training opportunities, if possible, in RE sector.
11. Identify other supporting measures for those who don’t intend to work in the RE sector.
12. Assist the PMU to prepare a labor retrenchment and reemployment plan; and
13. Monitor the implementation of the labor retrenchment and reemployment plan.

1. Minimum Qualification Requirements:

1. The CSO will have extensive demonstrated experience conducting education and outreach campaigns on environmentally sustainable development for a wide range of audiences.
2. The CSO will have experience partnering with government or multilaterals to incorporate international knowledge and practice for the benefit of Mongolians. If the CSO have a full-time social and gender officer/specialist, it will be an advantage.

1. Key Expertise Required: Proposing CSO will determine the number and the nature of experts they will require to achieve the objectives of the contract, and the duration (in person months) of their inputs, in accordance with their proposed approach and methodology. However, the client requires that at minimum the following key positions to be included in the proposal: (i) Team Leader, (ii) Field manager/Technical Coordinator, (iii) a Gender and Social Development Specialist;

• Team Leader (Full-time, 12 months).

As team leader, the consultant will have overall responsibility for delivering the three outputs outlined. S/he will have overall responsibility for delivering the following tasks according to agreed deadlines:

(i) Assist in the overall organization of the project related documents;

(ii) Guide, supervise, and coordinate the work of all team members; and

(iii) Take overall responsibility for preparing reports and consolidating reports prepared by all team members.

(vi) Oversee the team’s development of documents such as ADB guidelines, PAM, GAP, project DMF, training modules and staff terms of reference.

(vii) Lead capacity building including training, coaching and mentoring, field immersion and development of information education materials.

(viii) Coordinate with the various technical assistance stakeholders, address any contract implementation issues that may arise, and ensure the timely delivery of contract outputs;

Qualifications required:

At least 5 years or more of experience in designing/implementing and monitoring capacity building activities. Strong organizational and time-management skills. Advanced university degree in energy, civil engineering, society, sociology, management and administration. Degree or professional qualifications in management desired. Preferably with experience in heating system and energy efficiency and a degree or qualification in the field. Excellent written and spoken English language and communication skills.

• Field Manager (full-time, 12 months).

Plays a key role in the implementation of the CSO capacity building trainings, quality assurance, and monitoring of activities’ implementation. She/he is also involved with  capacity development and relationship building with corresponding Aimag, Soum governors  and heat technicians involved in the technical assistance, with the aim of building alliances, networks and collaborations at the local level:

(i) Responsible for the successful, timely and high-quality implementation, monitoring and overall supervision of the capacity building trainings;

(ii) Ensures results-based management;

(iii) Ensures good coordination and communication amongst the team members implementing different activities, local stakeholders, and the training participants;

(iv) Responsible for defining and implementing realistic and consistent work plans established in consultation with the training mentors;

(v) With the guidance of the Project manager, oversees the supervision of the training mentors;

(vi) Liaises with local level government partners and CSOs involved in the capacity building, encouraging their involvement, and ensuring sharing of information and transparency;

Qualifications required: Demonstrated experience of at least 3 years working on capacity building trainings. Experience with curricula development, training and facilitation preferred. University degree in development, human rights, social work, sociology or other relevant subjects. Exceptional ability to communicate via written products, oral communications, presentation and public speaking skills.

• Gender and Social Development Specialist (7 months intermittent).

Responsible for ensuring that the gender- and social inclusion dimensions of this project are effectively implemented, monitored, and reported on. Particularly, s/he will work in close coordination with the Team Leader and the Field manager:

(i) Provide the gender expertise to the team including identifying the gender issues relevant for consideration by the PAM, recommending relevant gender-sensitive indicators that should be included in data gathering, and analyzing the data gathered using gender lens.

(ii) Recommend gender-sensitive financial inclusion activities for the participants, and social empowerment through capacity building and training in life-skills activities. Provide technical expertise on the creation of gender-sensitive knowledge products.

(iii) Implement, monitor and report in accordance with the grant requirements, the gender and social inclusion elements of the GAP.

Qualifications required: The specialist should have a master’s degree in gender studies, social sciences or equivalent and at least 3 years of relevant professional experience in social development, gender or related areas. She/he should have formal training in gender analysis and gender planning, and demonstrated experience, skills, and expertise in gender mainstreaming in capacity building trainings. 

• Independent Intermediate Master Trainers 

The consulting entity will engage an external expert Trainers to develop appropriate curricula for corresponding Aimag and Soum government official, heating technician, residents. After each training regularly update the curricula based on the demand. S/he is not to be involved in the project’s implementation nor be associated with the consulting CSO. Independent intermediate Trainers will have sound experience in relevant fields including heat and renewable energy assessment and design, review and evaluation of community development programs. Key responsibilities of the expert will include:

Qualification of Master Trainers

A. The master trainer of clean heating (1 person-month intermittent) must have (i) at least 5 years of experience in heating system design and installation, including experience with cleaner heating systems; (ii) an advanced degree in thermal energy and renewable energy; and (iii) experience working with similar stakeholder groups (e.g., government, domestic construction companies, etc.).

1. To train with soum and aimag government on planning and execution of building efficiency and cleaner heating interventions. In addition to existing building materials and other technical data, soum development plans should be understood to ensure they would not adversely impact the project outputs and outcomes
2. Provide technical inputs for the various capacity development activities, tailoring for the relevant audiences considering their specific opportunity/impact area and level of technical knowledge;
3. Provide inputs for awareness raising brochures;
4. Should knowledge of installation be identified as a key constraint, develop a needs assessment and link training on such activities with the capacity development program;
5. Develop guidelines for proper system maintenance to ensure sustained performance of the clean heating system. Incorporate into an overall O&M handbook along with the building O&M guidance. Provide training for those responsible for heat system maintenance in coordination with the CSO. Provide periodic support on necessary maintenance and spot check prior to and post the heating season with feedback on actual O&M activities

B. The master trainer of energy efficiency (1 person-month intermittent)  must have (i) at least 5 years of experience in the design and implementation of energy efficiency projects; (ii) Advanced degree in energy, civil engineering and energy auditor or energy efficiency manager preferred; and (iii) experience working with similar stakeholder groups (e.g., government, domestic construction companies, etc.).

1. To train with soum and aimag government on planning and execution of building efficiency and cleaner heating interventions. In addition to existing building materials and other technical data, soum development plans should be understood to ensure they would not adversely impact the project outputs and outcomes
2. Provide technical inputs for the various capacity development activities, tailoring for the relevant audiences considering their specific opportunity/impact area and level of technical knowledge;
3. Provide inputs for awareness raising brochures;
4. Should knowledge of construction/installation be identified as a key constraint, develop a needs assessment and link training on such activities with the capacity development program;
5. Develop guidelines for proper building maintenance to ensure sustained performance of the refurbished building. Incorporate into an overall operations and maintenance (O&M) handbook along with the clean heating supply O&M handbook. Provide training for those responsible for building maintenance in coordination with the CSO. Provide periodic support on necessary maintenance and spot check prior to and post the heating season with feedback on actual O&M activities;

1. Key Outputs/Deliverables with Milestones

Interested firms should submit their EOI and materials through the ADB Consultant Management System before 11:59 P.M. on September 10, 2024.