81306139 - Urban Water Catalyst Initiative (UWCI) Pilot Project (UPP)

The Urban Water Catalyst Initiative (UWCI) will be implemented by the organisations of GIZ and KfW on behalf of the German Government and VEi on behalf of the Dutch Government. In a first step the UWCI will be operationalised though the UWCI Pilot Project (UPP) which will test the implementation concept and offering in selected utilities in the "Early Engagement Phase". GIZ is the lead implementing agency of UPP, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The objective of UWCI is to support water utilities to improve their technical, corporate and financial performance with the goal of achieving creditworthiness and securing an affordable and sustainable financing package that meets the utility"s realistic investment needs over the next five to ten years. This process is called "utility turnaround" and is a process of transformational change through which the utility"s performance is substantively improved. A Contractor is required for providing contractual and technical management of short-term experts during the "Early Engagement Phase" of the UWCI Pilot Project. The tasks of the Contractor are divided into the following work packages: Work package 1: Building up the international short-term expert (STE) pools of trusted advisers The implementing organisations of the UWCI have already started to pre-select trusted advisers on a short list of about 20 experts based on selection criteria, interviews and expressed interest of the experts. This short list of trusted advisers needs to be further extended with suitable candidates to make a minimum number of 30 experts, who will be part of a STE pool for trusted advisers. The selection of the additional 10 trusted advisers by the contractor will be based on specific selection criteria provided by UPP. The number of 30 experts shall cater for flexibility in case of limitations of availability of experts and for providing enough experts in the matching process (WP 2).

Work package 2: Matching of trusted advisers with CEOs of partner utilities Utilities that have been selected for entry to the programme in the UWCI Pilot Preparation Phase will sign a contract and then receive support of a trusted adviser during the "Early Engagement Phase" which is expected to last between 6 and 12 months. The trusted adviser for each participating utility will be selected by the CEO of the partner utility from a pool of senior advisers. In terms of matching the trusted adviser with a CEO of a partner utility, each utility shall be offered the choice of 3 potential trusted advisers by the contractor based on pre-defined criteria provided by UPP. Each CEO will then select one appropriate and acceptable expert by their choice. The contractor will then make contractual arrangements with the selected trusted adviser with a standardised ToR over a specific period depending on size, complexity and development process of the Compact. The standardised ToR will be developed by the contractor and shared for approval to UPP. Work package 3: Onboarding of trusted advisers and additional experts The trusted adviser will be expected to travel to the location of the utility and have in-person meetings and engagements with the utility CEO and key stakeholders. A key purpose of these visits is to build relationships and trust in order to develop a strategy, a business plan, a 100-day quick win programme, specifications for a technical assistance programme and drafting a Compact between the utility, it"s owner and UWCI, At least three visits are anticipated, at the beginning, middle and end of the assignment. In-between visits, the adviser is expected to be in regular (e.g. bi-weekly) contact with the utility CEO and other stakeholders to facilitate support and make progress. In addition, the trusted adviser will support the CEO of the partner utility to request for additional experts for the other STE pools, if needed for the key milestones of the "Early Engagement Phase" like strategy and business development and climate vulnerability assessment within the available resources. Work package 4: Support on key milestones for Early Engagement Phase (see chapter 1.2) in preparation of the Compact (Board approved strategy and business plan, a 100-day quick win programme and climate vulnerability assessments). The trusted adviser will support and advise the CEO and his team in the review of the utility"s strategy and business plan, a "100-day quick win" programme and climate vulnerability assessment. This may be supported by additional assistance of specialised experts from the STE pools 2, 3 and 4. An important component of this process will be to identify important skill and knowledge gaps within the utility and how best these can be filled, particularly on the top management level. Work package 5: Support on drafting and signing of Compact Agreement The trusted adviser shall facilitate the development of commitments of the utility and the utility owners for the compact agreement during the onsite visits and remote support.