NOTICE:
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Requires an
Independent Contractor for In-country
Coordination of the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Contractors wishing to indicate their interest in
undertaking the prescribed work detailed in the
Terms of Reference below can email:
1. A cover letter indicating interest in the
project and vision for the Caribbean Regional
Ocean Partnership and the deliverables listed in Appendix A.
2. A current curriculum vitae indicating relevant expertise and experience.
To: Aaron Hutchins, Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico
Program Representative <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Indications of interest and associated
information are due no later than June 29, 2012.
A short list will be derived based on the
experience and competence of the Contractor as
determined on the basis of submissions.
Contract Term: 12-15 months with an expected starting date of August 1, 2012.
Office Location: Department of Natural and
Environmental Resources, Coastal Zone Management Program, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1. Background
NOAAs Regional Ocean Partnership Program has
provided The Nature Conservancy (TNC) with funds
for Laying the Foundation for Regional Ocean
Planning in the U.S. Caribbean. Over the course
of the next 15-18 months, TNC will support
partner agencies in the USVI and Puerto Rico as
they build the capacity for multi-jurisdictional
marine spatial planning. The focus of this
project is limited to the US Caribbean
territories of the USVI and Puerto Rico but the
partnership will eventually expand to include the
neighboring island jurisdictions of the Dominican
Republic and the British Virgin Islands. Under
the aforementioned grant, TNC will support the
Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
(DNER) in Puerto Rico and the Department of
Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) in the
USVI, by funding two Contractor positions for the grant term.
Each Contractor will serve as the Caribbean
Regional Ocean Partnership (CROP) coordinator and
support provider for their respective government
agency and will be tasked with providing the
coordination and capacity necessary to advance
the CROP. The Contractors will provide DNER and
DPNR with the capacity needed to have dedicated
staff on the CROP and support the interagency
collaboration needed to enable the US Caribbean
territories to work multi-jurisdictionally toward
protecting marine biodiversity and confronting
the emerging threats of climate change, habitat
loss, overfishing, and land-based sources of pollution.
This project will leverage relationships TNC has
built with DNER through working collaboratively
on the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Programs
cooperative agreement. This Contractor will be
provided office space within the DNERs office of
Coastal Management in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2. Services
The Coordinator supports Puerto Ricos Coastal
Zone Management Program by providing technical
support and coordination services and reports
back to The Nature Conservancy and other regional
partners. This may include one or more of the following functions:
· Plans and facilitates Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership meetings
· Communicates with the Division of Coastal Zone Management counterpart in USVI
· Supplies Coastal Zone Management Program with
information from USVI counterpart
· Employs a full range of tools to communicate
across territorial jurisdictions to advance ROP initiatives
· Coordinates community engagement
· Collects data relevant to inform Caribbean ROP planning efforts
· Maintains steady communication with The Nature Conservancy on CROP progress
3. Terms of Reference
TNC is working with partners in Puerto Rico to
engage the appropriate qualified person to
conduct the in-country project coordination. The
Contractor will be selected based on
qualifications, ability to work in Puerto Rico,
and proposed approach to the scope of work. The
details of the contract will be finalized during
the signing of the contract between the Contractor and The Nature Conservancy.
4. Objective
To support Puerto Ricos Coastal Zone Management
Program in the coordination of activities related
to the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership for a 12-15 month period.
5. Scope of Services
It is anticipated that the contract will commence
as of August 1, 2012 or sooner and be completed
no later than July 30, 2013. A No-cost extension
of the grant may be pursued if necessary. The
Contractor will be responsible for working with
the Coastal Zone Management Program of Department
of Natural and Environmental Resources, an
in-country TNC representative, relevant partners,
and other relevant stakeholders in developing and
implementing the following activities and deliverables:
SERVICES
DELIVERABLES
Coordination Services.
Obj. 1. Work closely with local, territorial, and
federal government agencies in Puerto Rico to
support the implementation of the Caribbean
Regional Ocean Partnership (CROP) between the
USVI and Puerto Rico. Coordinate with the Coastal
Zone Management (CZM) programs of the USVI and
Puerto Rico on implementing the CROP.
1. Support the development and implementation of
the Governors Agreement formally establishing the CROP for the US Caribbean.
- Conduct literature reviews, data and
information collection to advance the CROP development process
- Facilitate meetings regarding CROP and
strategize how to engage and build partnerships
to advance coastal and marine spatial planning
(CMSP) and the CROP in Puerto Rico
- Ensure on-going updates and communications
between members in-between meetings in support of CROP activities
a) 2 meetings convened to strategize how to
engage and build partnerships to advance coastal
and marine spatial planning (CMSP) and the CROP in Puerto Rico
b) ratification of schedule 1 of the CROP
2. Forge the necessary relationships between
agencies, organizations, and stakeholder groups
essential to the successful development and
implementation of a Schedule 1 of the Governors Agreement and a formal CROP.
- Support the connection and integration of federal partners in the CROP
- Provide direct support and coordination with (DNER)
a) convene a meeting with federal partners to
discuss their integration and collaboration with
the CROP and prepare and distribute meeting minutes
3. Identify regional planning body members and
their respective roles with regard to the CROP.
- Identify potential members of the regional planning body
- Identify roles of regional planning body members
a) convene meeting or regional
planning body, prepare and
distribute meeting minutes
b) submit a report on the vetting
process through which the
regional planning body were
identified, selected and roles
defined
4. Consistent reporting on CROP progress.
a-c) submit bi-monthly written
reports of all activities,
describing who was engaged,
meetings attended, outcomes,
next steps and identifying key
strategic decisions that should
be considered
SERVICES
DELIVERABLES
Facilitate Capacity Building.
Obj. 2. Build capacity within DNER to ensure the
foundation is in place for regional coastal and
marine spatial planning (CMSP). Support DNERs
Coastal Zone Management Program in its coastal
zone planning efforts as they relate to the CROP.
5. Assist with developing the foundation for
regional CMSP through review of implementation
gaps and needs within the Coastal Zone Management Program.
- Provide support to DNERs Coastal Zone
Management Program to effectively implement the CROP
- Provide support to DNERs Coastal Zone
Management Program to effectively develop the CROP data management center
a) outline the implementation gaps and needs of DNERs CZM
Program in a report
b) hold working meetings with PR CZMP to organize the
CROP visioning process
c) work with CROP data manager to identify current
uses, potential uses, emerging and future uses, conflicts and
compatibility of uses based on uses and resource characterization.
d) identify relevant decision support tools, boundaries definitions,
and GIS-based electronic libraries which may be applicable to the
CROP
e) support the development of progress indicators for the CROP
6. Support efforts to identify sustainable
finance mechanisms and establish a regional data portal for the CROP.
- Assist the CROP in the collection of relevant
geospatial and socio-economic data
- Support the CROP in the development and
implementation of a regional data portal
a) work with the CZM programs in
Puerto Rico and the USVI in the
production of a report on the
sustainable finance mechanisms
for the CROP
7. Keep TNC informed on progress of CROP and
participate in CMSP processes in Puerto Rico.
a) participate in regular, bi-monthly, conference
calls and web-based meetings with TNC staff
8. Consistent reporting on CROP progress.
a-c) submit bi-weekly written
reports of all activities,
describing who was engaged,
meetings attended, outcomes,
next steps and identifying key
strategic decisions that should
be considered
6. Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
· Bachelors degree and 3-5 years experience in
natural resource management or equivalent
combination of education and experience
· Experience communicating with the public and/or
media both in writing and verbally.
· Experience using common software applications
such as Word, Excel, Web browsers, etc.
· Spanish/English fluency
· Ability to communicate and work closely with
scientists, private sector representatives, and policy makers
· Familiarity with principles of marine spatial planning and conservation
· Knowledge of current trends and practices in coastal zone management
· Completing tasks independently with respect to timeline(s)
· Managing time and diverse activities under
deadlines while delivering quality results
· Makes independent decisions based on analysis, experience, and judgment
· Performs tasks with minimal supervision
· Provide a variety of information to territorial
partners and others, contributing to progress on
the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership
· Work and communicate effectively with a diverse
group of people, including scientists,
policy-makers, and private sector
representatives, providing and obtaining needed information
· Collaborates with a wide range of partners to identify research needs
· Ability to explain the Caribbean Regional Ocean
Partnership to technical and non-technical audiences
· Communicates project goals and objectives
· Excellent communication skills via written,
spoken and graphical means in English and Spanish
· Working knowledge of common software
applications (e.g.; Word, Excel, Web browsers)
7. Reporting
Contractor will provide regular updates to TNC
via email, phone calls, and at the regular
meetings. These updates will include verbal
presentation and written summary of activities
provided to Puerto Ricos Coastal Zone Management
Program. All written reports as identified in the
scope of services will be issued in Word format
and will each take the form of two hard copies
and two electronic copies, one each submitted to the project manager at TNC.
8. Administrative Framework
The contract manager who will administer all
aspects of this contract will be TNCs Virgin
Islands-Puerto Rico Program Representative. This
is a fixed price contract with compensation to be
based on proposal for project approach,
qualifications, proposed budget and deliverables.
The contract is not to exceed a total price of
US$43,500. Inter-regional travel will be a
necessary part of this contract and the cost of
such travel including transportation,
accommodation, as well as administration costs,
any required taxes etc., are to be incurred by
the Contractor as part of this contract.
9. Administrative Framework
The fee for the contract will include all
international and local travel expenses, and
printed materials. Costs of conference calls,
venue, travel and meals for the participants in
the ROP meetings will be covered by The Nature
Conservancy exclusive of the contract. An initial
advance payment of $3,000 of the contract value
will be provided upon signature of the contract.
All other payments will be made upon receipt of
deliverables as identified in contract.
10. Additional Information
· This is a contract and does not include benefits
· The Contractor will be provided with office
space within the offices of Department of Natural
and Environmental Resources, Coastal Zone
Management Program, San Juan, Puerto Rico
· The Contractor must provide their own computer and any other supplies
Contact: Aaron Hutchins
The Nature Conservancy
3052 Estate Little Princess
Christiansted, USVI 00820
Phone: 340-718-5575
Fax: 340-718-1613
Email:
<file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\ngraff\Local%20Settings\Temporary%20Internet%20Files\Content.Outlook\6D2O8YHL\[email protected]>[email protected]
