Support the review of the environmental and climate proofing assessments of water and/or wastewater projects in Croatia and Portugal eligible under the JASPERS mandate

Under the JASPERS mandate, the Environmental Advisory Division - ENVAD-specialists support Member States with the preparation of water/wastewater and flood/disaster risk management projects eligible for EU co-financing during the programming period 2021-2027 but also provides horizontal support to strategic planning and programming activities and on various topics of relevance to these types of projects.

The main objective of this assignment is for the consultant to support ENVAD experts with the review and appraisal of documentation related to the environmental and climate-related aspects of water/wastewater projects being prepared by Croatia and Portugal for EU co-financing during the programming period 2021-2027 (with final eligibility date 31 December 2030).

The main purpose of the assignment is to support ENVAD in fulfilling the JASPERS mandate of assisting Managing Authorities and Project Beneficiaries in EU Member States and in the candidate countries in the preparation of sound and bankable projects and bringing such projects as quickly as possible to maturity for approval of EU co-financing.

Task 1: Receipt and acceptance of requests for reviewing and assessing project documentation

Task 2: Review and assessment of documentation related to environmental and climate proofing studies of waste projects and plans

Task 3: Preparation and submission of Assessment Reports

Task 4: Support in the Preparation of JASPERS Guidance Notes and Action Completion Notes

Task 5: Capacity building support

At least a bachelor’s degree level, or an academic equivalent, in the field relevant to this Assignment, namely environmental engineer, ecologist or similar (minimum requirement)

General professional experience: at least 10 years’ experience in the field of environmental assessments related to the planning and assessment of projects (minimum requirement).

Specific professional experience:

At least 5 years of working experience in carrying out environmental assessments and preparation of environmental impact assessment reports (EIA, AA, assessment for compliance with the WFD, calculation of carbon footprint and Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk Assessments (CCVRA)) for water/wastewater projects (minimum requirement).

Working experience in at least 5 projects and/or plans involving the implementation of the SEA, EIA and Habitats, Birds Directives and WFD, out of which at least 2 projects co-financed by EU Funds (minimum requirement).

Working experience in at least 1 project involving an assessment of a project for compliance with the Water Framework Directive and exemptions under Article 4(7) in line with the relevant EC guidance (minimum requirement).

Experience in at least 3 projects performing AA screening and full AA in view of compliant SSCOs and in line with the Habitats and Birds Directives and the available EC guidance listed in Appendix 5 of these ATORs (minimum requirement).

Working experience in implementing relevant legislation and guidance documents (e.g., EC and national Guidance on the interpretation of the EIA, Habitats, Water Framework Directives, etc.) in Croatia or Portugal for at least 3 projects would be considered as an asset.

Language skills:

Fluency in written and spoken English is required (CEFR C1) (minimum requirement)

Fluency in written and spoken Croatian and/or Portuguese (CEFR C1) will be considered as an asset.