Background

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was established as an operating entity of the UNFCCC financial mechanism, is expected to become the main global fund for financing climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. While it has been agreed that Direct Access will be one of the modalities for the disbursement of the funds, it is recognized that certain levels of capacity will be required of governments and other actors involved in accessing the GCF. For the GCF to succeed, national capacities and mechanisms need to correspond to the GCF requirements while also aligning with country planning, budgeting, programming and MRV systems.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Buildings (BMUB), UNEP, UNDP and WRI (“the Partners”) are implementing a GCF Readiness Programme (the Programme). The Programme is expected to offer needs-oriented support to countries for accessing and using the GCF once it is fully operational. The Programme will include (i) specific capacity building programmes in 9 target countries, (ii) the development of national project pipelines on the basis of existing and potential specific national plans and policies, (iii) the development of in-country monitoring tracking systems for climate finance and its effectiveness, together with feeding back shortcomings identified with GCF processes to support the work of the GCF Board.

In the selected countries, the proposed project targets the key domestic institutions responsible for ensuring climate finance is used effectively. This includes those with fiduciary responsibility for national and international funds received but also those institutions responsible for allocating finance and ensuring it achieves its intended purpose, such as Ministries of Environment, Finance, Energy, Development and Planning, etc. as well other climate-change related public institutions and local-level governments. The proposed project also targets private sector actors, civil society and financial institutions that will play a key role in the implementation of specific projects and civil society actors that may support government in developing capacity as well as mechanisms for monitoring and accountability.

In order to guide the implementation of the capacity building measures, a Country Readiness Plan will be developed by the Partners and validated by the government. The Readiness Plan will be informed by needs assessments of current national plans and policies, a scoping mission, and consultations with the government and other relevant stakeholders. The Partners have developed and plan to apply a uniform approach for country assessments and Readiness Plan development. The Readiness Plans will then be refined according to the results of the assessments, scoping mission, and consultations.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the assignment is to support the Partners during and immediately after the scoping mission with preparing the GCF Country Readiness Plan for either Uzbekistan, Kenya or the Philippines.

More specifically, the consultant(s) will facilitate this process by:

  • Strengthening and validating the analyses of climate finance readiness and capacity gaps of either Uzbekistan, Kenya or the Philippines  using the common country assessment tool;
  • Developing and validating the GCF Country Readiness Plan for either in Uzbekistan,Kenya or the Philippines to be implemented as part of the joint UNEP/UNDP/WRI GCF Readiness Programme.

Scope of Work:

The consultant(s) will work with the UNEP/UNDP/WRI mission teams for either Uzbekistan, Kenya or the Philippines during and after the scoping mission.

The tasks will include:

  • Study pre-mission report prepared by the partners that includes a draft country assessment and a preliminary capacity gap analysis and identify strengths, weaknesses, issues and opportunities;
  • Participate in scoping missions and provide substantive inputs to the discussions;
  • Based on mission outcomes and using the country assessment tool prepared by the partners, collect further information and undertake further analyses on key-issues with regard to the country’s readiness, including ongoing/planned activities from government and development partners to address these;
  • Strengthen the country assessment, including the capacity gap analysis, which identifies country specific needs with regard to climate finance readiness;
  • As mentioned in the BMUB TOR, the gap analysis being currently conducted by the UNEP National Climate Finance Institutions Support Programme (NCFISP or Fit for Funds) shall be used as a basis as well as any other experience the partners have made during the their climate finance support activities;
  • Based on the above analyses, develop the draft GCF country readiness plan.;
  • In the process, undertake stakeholder consultations (government, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector) through bilateral meetings and/or focus group discussions to assess whether interventions considered for the draft plan resonate well with stakeholders’ interests;
  • Identify activities that could be undertaken in Uzbekistan, Kenya  or the Philippines as part of the support package that the partners can provide to build GCF readiness;
  • Present the draft GCF country readiness plan including activities to be undertaken under the GCF readiness country programme to stakeholders during a validation workshop and seek feedback;
  • Finalize the GCF country readiness plan including activities to be undertaken under the GCF readiness country programme based on feedback received.
Outputs:
Written outputs for each country:
  • Final country assessment report that includes the capacity gap analysis;
  • A final GCF country readiness plan including activities to be undertaken under the GCF readiness country programme;
  • Minutes of Meeting of Validation Workshop.
Summary of stakeholder consultations and contact details that have taken place throughout the assignment.

Institutional arrangement
The Consultant(s) will directly report to and will seek approval/clearance of outputs from the Climate Change Policy Analyst based in HQ.
 

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

  • Demonstrated excellence in clear, concise and convincing writing and communication skills;
  • Highly organized with strong analytical and research skills;
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a collaborative team and process;
  • Ability to work with multiple stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines.
Corporate Competencies:
  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Master’s degree in finance, economics or other relevant subject.
Experience:
  • Minimum 7 years of experience in policy analysis, advice and capacity development related to climate and/or development finance, and public policy/finance/budget management in developing countries;
  • Expertise and experience in climate change and relevant sectors such as energy, forestry, agriculture, water and cross-cutting issues such as gender;
  • Relevant experience in the region;
  • Experience in project formulation is an asset;
  • Experience working for the UN is an asset;
  • Ability to work under pressure and time constraints.
Language:
  • Fluency in English;
  • Fluency in other UN languages is an asset.
Kindly note we will NOT accept any applications through this website.  For more information on how to apply for these consultancy assignments, please go to:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=17064 (Uzbekistan)
http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=17065 (Kenya)
http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=17066 (Philippines)