Country:   PHILIPPINES Description of the Assignment:  Since 2014, the United Nations Development Program through its Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) Project, has been supporting the Philippine Government in articulating the financial resources it needs to maintain a healthy biodiversity portfolio in-country. BIOFIN in collaboration with Department of Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau has conducted the following assessments: 1) Policy and Institutional Review (PIR); 2) Public and Private Biodiversity Expenditure Review (PPBER); 3) Assessment of financial needs (cost and gap analysis of implementing Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP)). These assessments significantly contributed to the development of a Biodiversity Finance Plan.Based on insights gained from the results of the three BIOFIN assessments, this Plan acknowledges the importance of tapping additional financing to support the biodiversity agenda of the Philippines, mainly through the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP 2028-2040). This Plan transcends the focus on generating additional resources and identifies a range of “finance solutions” that leverage finance, fiscal and economic tools and strategies to improve the outcome of biodiversity objectives in the country. Financing solutions include a range of transformative actions: generating more financing to fund the PBSAP or associated planning documents; appropriate attribution of biodiversity expenditures in the budget; attaining cost effective budget execution by eradicating overlaps in biodiversity functions; eradicating expenditures that continue to or aggravate dissipation of biodiversity resources; and paving the groundwork for a responsive policy environment through greater awareness on biodiversity and biodiversity financing and enhancing institutional support towards monitoring of PBSAP.By virtue of RA 11292 or the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Act, the Seal is an institutionalized award, incentive, honor and recognition-based program that aims to boost local government units’ (LGUs) commitment to continuously progress and improve their performance along 10 governance areas. One of these governance areas is Environmental Management of which there are 3 indicators – solid waste management, wetlands conservation and green and open spaces. A cash incentive of PhP7M is given to winning cities and PhP5M to winning municipalities. There are 81 provinces, 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities in the Philippines. This finance solution encourages LGUs to invest in these indicators and their efficient implementation.The objective of the assignment is to estimate LGU investments in wetlands conservation and  green open spaces, among others by collecting, organizing, and analysing relevant financial and programmatic data covering the period 2015 up to present from the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) of the Department of Finance, Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD) and the Bureau of Local Government Supervision (BLGS) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), other relevant national and regional offices, and local government units (LGUs), as needed.The Consultant under the supervision of the BIOFIN Project Manager will:1. Obtain, review and organize LGU financial data from the DOF-BLGF and DILG that relate to wetlands conservation and green open spaces, among others (e.g. expenditure reports, Annual Investment Plans, DILG’s Full Disclosure Portal etc.);2. Access and analyze performance and program data from DILG related to the Environmental Management indicators of the SGLG;3. Identify relevant LGU programs and projects linked to wetlands and green spaces, among others using the SGLG assessment tools, guidelines and reports;4. Clean and code expenditure data to isolate amounts that can be attributed to wetlands conservation and green space development/maintenance;5. Support the development of an estimation methodology in consultation with BIOFIN, DOF-BLGF, DILG-BLGD and DILG-BLGS;6. Generate summary tables, graphs and narratives to present findings;7. Prepare presentation materials to support the inception meeting, draft report presentation, and final report presentation. These materials will summarize key methodologies, findings, and datasets for stakeholder review and validation.8. Attend related project meetings; and9. Submit reports to BMB and UNDP.QualificationsEducationDegree in Economics, Public Administration, Environmental Science, Statistics or related disciplinesExperience• At least 3 years of experience data collection, processing and analysis• At least 3 years’ experience in public finance and/or LGU programs/projects• At least 3 years’ experience working with international and national experts and institutions• Fluency in written and spoken English Period of assignment/services (if applicable):  50 days spread over 6 months ***Please see attached Terms of ReferenceProposal should be submitted directly in the portal no later than indicated deadline.Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via messaging functionality in the portal. UNDP will respond in writing including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry.Please indicate whether you intend to submit a bid by creating a draft response without submitting directly in the system. This will enable the system to send notifications in case of amendments of the tender requirements. Should you require further clarifications, kindly communicate using the messaging functionality in the system. Offers must be submitted directly in the system following this link: http://supplier.quantum.partneragencies.org  using the profile you may have in the portal. In case you have never registered before, you can register a profile using the registration link shared via the procurement notice and following the instructions in guides available in UNDP website: https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/resources-for-bidders.  Do not create a new profile if you already have one. Use the forgotten password feature in case you do not remember the password or the username from previous registration.Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Women, individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.