Job: Consultant

Location: Washington
Deadline: Tuesday, 12 November 2013

With an area of 163,820 square kilometers (km2) and a population of approximately 541,638, Suriname is the youngest sovereign country in South America. The capital Paramaribo, where more than half of Suriname's population is concentrated, is situated in the coastal plain near the mouth of the Suriname River. The interior of Suriname (the Hinterland), which extends to the Amazon Rainforest, is sparsely inhabited, predominantly by Amerindian people and Maroons. There are about 217 villages in the interior, of which many can only be reached by boat or plane.

1.2 Suriname's economy performs well on most accounts when compared with regional benchmarks. Although still dependent on gold, oil, and bauxite, recently rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates show stronger contributions from the services sector, mainly in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail subsectors over the last four years. GDP growth in 2012 was around 4.5%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects a medium-term average growth rate of 4.7%, assuming that Suriname's oil refinery capacity expands by 2015.

1.3 The electricity sector in Suriname is based on contractual arrangements between the GOS and public and private companies. The responsibility for energy policy and supervision of the sector is assigned to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNH). Energiebedrijven Suriname (EBS) is a state-owned company under the supervision of the MNH. Since 1973, EBS operates the system under a 50-year countrywide concession covering transmission, distribution and commercialization of electricity. EBS receives supply from the Afobaka Hydropower Plant (Afobaka HPP) under the terms of an agreement between the GOS and Suralco, the bauxite and aluminum company that owns the facility. EBS owns thermal plants fueled with diesel and fuel-oil and purchases electricity from Suralco and the state oil company Staatsolie.

1.4 The electricity system in Suriname consists of individual networks. Paramaribo and the surrounding areas are interconnected by the Electricity Supply Paramaribo and Surroundings (EPAR) grid. With a peak demand of 130-MegaWatt (MW) and an annual electricity consumption of 730-GigaWatt hour (GWh), the EPAR system is by far the largest in Suriname. The smaller Electricity Nieuw Nickerie (ENIC) grid is operated by EBS in the western part of Suriname. Six island-grids exist in main towns in the coastal plains, powered by thermal generators on a 24-hour basis. Private mining companies rank second and third in terms of annual consumption (Suralco 429-GWh at Paranam; and IAMGOLD (118-GWh in the Rosebel area). About 428,000 people (79% of the total population) in Suriname receive electricity from these grids. The remaining population is partially served through rural electrification services.

1.5 The Government of Suriname (GSU) worked with IDB's technical units to identify the priority areas which are pivotal to Suriname's development and where IDB can provide specific support. Among these areas the IDB and the MNH agreed on the importance of moving forward activities related to the development of the energy sector's institutional and normative framework. Based on this, a sector strategy is being devised with support from IDB, to design and establish a SEFS. The objective of this framework is to increase the efficiency, transparency, sustainability and accountability of the power sector. The necessity to establish tariff schemes consistent with the financial sustainability of the electricity sector, and the introduction of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) technologies will play a key role in the framework.

II. OBJECTIVE

2.1 The objective of this consultancy is to provide support to the Energy Division (INE/ENE) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in preparation, execution, supervision and evaluation ENE's operations in Suriname. The consultant will also support ENE's operations in issues related to his areas of support to projects in Suriname, such as Development Effectiveness and Progress Monitoring Reports (PMR).

III. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

3.1 The Consultant shall perform the following activities:

1. Collaborate in planning and executing activities.
2. Collaborate in project design activities such contributing to drafting Proposals for Operational Development (POD), Monitoring and Evaluation Plans, Terms of references (ToRs) for specific consultancies and any other related documents.
3. Provide technical advice and perform quality control reviews of energy operational documents for accuracy, clarity, conciseness and consistency;
4. Coordinate, plan and execute meetings with other IDB departments, external consultants and all relevant stakeholders.
5. Follow up on status of the reports and products regarding operations in Suriname.
6. Review and evaluate proposals, reports and publications developed by external consultants and coordinate the comments and approval by the IDB.
7. Collaborate with ENE's staff in Development Effectiveness Matrix (DEM) and advise team leaders on the preparation of Progress Monitoring Reports (PMR).
8. Provide technical advice for the development of feasibility studies to establish a commercial supply chain for Natural Gas (NG) in the Caribbean region.

IV. REPORTS

4.1 The consultancy will be in a monthly basis, therefore, no specific reports are required.

V. COORDINATION

5.1 The consultant will work under the coordination of Alejandro Melandri (INE/ENE), alejandrome@iadb.org (x1938)

VI. CHARACTERISTICS

6.1 Type of Consultancy: Individual.

6.2 Modality: Defined term consultant (18 months)

6.3 Place of work: The work will be performed at the IDB headquarters, 1300 New York Av, NW Washington D.C. If other locations are needed, trips to those locations will be arranged with the administrative assistant on a time and expenses basis agreed.

Qualifications

I. QUALIFICATIONS

7.1 Education: Engineering background is required and Master's degree or equivalent required in areas related to energy.

Experience: Minimum of five (5) years of relevant work experience, ideally at the IDB or another comparable institution. Knowledge of project cycle in multilateral organizations and field work experience in development projects are desired.

More Info and Application