UNDP Jobs - 45678- Consultancy on Developing Capacity in Climate Risk

Consultancy on Developing Capacity in Climate Risk Management

Location :

GAMBIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-May-2014

Application Deadline :

24-Apr-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

4 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Gambia Government has received funding from the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Least Developed Countries Fund (LDC-F) for the project Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Areas and Communities to Climate Change.The project is being executed by the National Environment Agency, on behalf of The Gambia Government, in partnership with the UNDP Country Office (CO), which is the GEF’s Implementing Agency for the Project. The ultimate objective of the project is to reduce the Gambia’s vulnerability to climate change and associated risks through, among others, institutional strengthening and capacity development.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the National Project Coordinator of the project, the consultant is assigned all of the following responsibilities:

Improving the roles of key institutions in the SRDRM

This activity, in short, is intended to legally and institutionally strengthen institutions in delivering SRDRM.

Assess the laws and regulations, particularly related to the coastal zone, that define the statutory mandates of NEA and MoW for their adequacy in SRDRM as a tool for climate risk management;
Where SRDRM is not adequately addressed, or not addressed at all, propose an entire framework for these laws and regulations in order to fully cater for SRDRM;
Specifically review the & MoW’s codes of practice for building and other civil works and provide a new framework that better accommodates SRDRM;
Specifically review the membership and regulatory role and duties of the CME-WG of the NEA in order to better accommodate matters of SRDRM;
With the above review as basis, produce a framework for a national policy on SRDRM that will be fully developed later;
Present the revised laws and regulations, the revised MoW’s codes of practice for construction, the revised roles of the CME-WG and the developed policy framework before the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) and invited experts;
Present as in ‘6’ above but before a national validation workshop for finalisation and adoption by Gambia Government.

Develop.ing the Capacity of MoW for the implementation of SRDRM

This activity is focused on MoW as the Gambia Government institution responsible for the supervision of civil works; the importance of partner institutions in this regard is, nonetheless, highly recognised. The ultimate objective is to create a national core team of experts in SRDRM.

Review the MoW’s existing capacity in climate risk management, SRDRM in particular, and produce an Institutional Needs Assessment (INA) that clearly spells out institutional capacity development needs with respect to SRDRM;
The focus should be on human resources, equipment needs and the entire institutional structure. Measures that need to, or could, be addressed by the Project should be clearly spelled-out;
Identify, in collaboration with MoW, the key partner institutions in the implementation of SRD measures and identify a core team from these institutions for training in SRDRM;
Develop and deliver a focused training program, complete with training materials, tools and a training guide on designing, costing, budgeting, planning and implementing SRDRM strategies for the core team identified above;
Conduct training workshops for about 50 selected technical staff from government institutions on the principles of SRDRM;
Conduct training workshops for about 200 extension and field workers, nationwide, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Community Development, NEA and MoA, NGOs etc. on the principles of SRDRM and how local community participation is critical to a sound SRDRM policy;
These training workshops shall be conducted at regional levels.

Competencies

Excellent team player with good interpersonal skills;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Ability to accommodate additional demands at short notice;
Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;
Strong strategic planning, results-based management and reporting capabilities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least a Master’s degree in the design of climate change and development or related fields.

Experience:

This assignment requires at proven expertise in review and drafting of policy and legal documents backed by proven expertise with at least 5 years in SRDRM;
Expertise in institutional needs assessment is an added advantage.

Language:

Excellent communication skills in the English language required.