Background

The Green Climate Fund (GCF)—a critical element of the historic Paris Agreement—is the world’s largest climate fund mandated to support low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways. As an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), GCF contributes to the goal of keeping an average global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius.

The Fund seeks to engage a Program and Technical Advisor – Eastern Europe and Central Asia to carry out the tasks, duties and responsibilities, deliver the set deliverables and provide support to the hiring unit as detailed below. The consultant will join GCF team on Remote based. The assignment is for an initial 180 days over a 12-month period.

Role

The Consultant will be responsible for but not limited to:

• Provide advice, guidance, and clarifications to NDAs and focal points, to Accredited Entities and Delivery partners, and to other relevant stakeholders on GCF policies, procedures, and templates related to enhancing pipeline development and readiness opportunities with the GCF;
• Support and/or lead national level capacity assessments of developing country government institutions (i.e. NDA, Finance institutions, GCF Direct Access Entities) to identify readiness needs to engage with the GCF/access climate change finance;
• Undertake missions to the relevant countries as and when required to address pipeline development, Readiness-related requests of the countries, sometimes as part or larger GCF missions;
• Prepare Statement of Work agreed between NDA (of target country) and GCF, and in the case that travel becomes possible, submit mission reports at the conclusion of GCF missions;
• Lead the development of first draft readiness proposal (or reviews and records of inputs made into a draft readiness proposal), and where applicable an action plan;
• Review of Funding Proposals Concept Notes that are submitted to the Regional Desk as Deliverables of Readiness Proposals and advise the relevant entities on how to advance them in the pipeline;
• Contribute to and/or develop briefing notes, background papers, and/or other materials liaising with appropriate stakeholders to inform national processes, strategies, and/or GCF-led initiatives;
• Contribute towards building the EECA Regional Desk’s knowledge of countries and the region through knowledge-sharing opportunities, activities, and/or deliverables that could deepen the national and regional understanding and decision-making capacity of Secretariat-based staff;
• Other relevant deliverables that will be mutually agreed between the Regional Manager and the Consultant
• Support development of country programs, helping NDAs and partners apply the Guidance note, review drafts and work with secretariat teams to ensure timely reviews and processing.
• Contribute to consultative processes with the country of pipeline development and readiness support.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will be responsible for but not limited to:

The Consultant will be responsible for but not limited to:

• Provide advice, guidance, and clarifications to NDAs and focal points, to Accredited Entities and Delivery partners, and to other relevant stakeholders on GCF policies, procedures, and templates related to enhancing pipeline development and readiness opportunities with the GCF;
• Support and/or lead national level capacity assessments of developing country government institutions (i.e. NDA, Finance institutions, GCF Direct Access Entities) to identify readiness needs to engage with the GCF/access climate change finance;
• Undertake missions to the relevant countries as and when required to address pipeline development, Readiness-related requests of the countries, sometimes as part or larger GCF missions;
• Prepare Statement of Work agreed between NDA (of target country) and GCF, and in the case that travel becomes possible, submit mission reports at the conclusion of GCF missions;
• Lead the development of first draft readiness proposal (or reviews and records of inputs made into a draft readiness proposal), and where applicable an action plan;
• Review of Funding Proposals Concept Notes that are submitted to the Regional Desk as Deliverables of Readiness Proposals and advise the relevant entities on how to advance them in the pipeline;
• Contribute to and/or develop briefing notes, background papers, and/or other materials liaising with appropriate stakeholders to inform national processes, strategies, and/or GCF-led initiatives;
• Contribute towards building the EECA Regional Desk’s knowledge of countries and the region through knowledge-sharing opportunities, activities, and/or deliverables that could deepen the national and regional understanding and decision-making capacity of Secretariat-based staff;
• Other relevant deliverables that will be mutually agreed between the Regional Manager and the Consultant
• Support development of country programs, helping NDAs and partners apply the Guidance note, review drafts and work with secretariat teams to ensure timely reviews and processing.
• Contribute to consultative processes with the country of pipeline development and readiness support.

Required Experience and Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree, with a preference for the fields of developmental studies, climate change or climate finance.
• At least 13 years of experience in institutional strengthening and proposal development in developing countries, in the field of climate change.
• Institutional strengthening at the government level
• Proposal development – particularly in the field of climate change capacity building, mitigation, adaptation
• Project management/implementation on climate change projects in developing countries
• Monitoring and evaluation experience
• Experience in Eastern Europe and Central Asia region
• Experience in working in climate change development/inter-governmental organization
• Strong networks with government and private sector actors as well as other relevant stakeholders of the GCF involved in climate change responses in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions;
• Excellent understanding of the regional and countries’ economic, political, and social contexts;
• Government diplomacy

Applications from women and nationals of developing countries are strongly encouraged.

Please indicate your earliest availability to take up the assignment.

The closing date for applications is 03 October 2023, 11:59 PM (KST). Applications submitted after the closing date may not be considered.