Climate Adaptation Innovation Specialist (Short-Term Consultant)

BACKGROUND

• The Adaptation Fund (AF), a trust fund housed within the World Bank, was established by the parties to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are parties to the protocol and are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), through a dedicated team of officials, provides secretariat services to the Fund’s governing body, the AF Board. As of January 1, 2019, the Fund also serves the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement.
• One of the innovative features of the AF is that countries can have direct access to the funds through an accredited National Implementing Entity (NIE), without involvement of multilateral agencies such as development banks or UN agencies.
• The Adaptation Fund (the Fund) Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) was approved by the Adaptation Fund Board (the Board) in October 2017 and focuses on three main pillars: Action; Innovation; and Learning and Sharing. The MTS implementation plan outlines expected results, outputs, and activities that will be undertaken to put the MTS into action, indicators for measuring performance and a tentative budget and timeline.
• The objective of the innovation pillar of the MTS is that innovation for effective, long-term adaptation to climate change will be accelerated, encouraged and enabled. This objective will be supported through the establishment of an Innovation Facility, which will include small and large grants. The small grants will be awarded to vulnerable developing countries through two routes: directly through NIEs particularly to those countries that have accredited NIEs, and through a MIE aggregator delivery mechanism to other entities (organizations, groups, associations, institutions, businesses, agencies, etc.) that are not accredited with the Fund.
• The expected results of the small grants for innovation are:
  • New innovations encouraged and accelerated: Development of innovative adaptation        practices, tools and technologies encouraged and accelerated; and
  • Evidence base generated: Evidence of effective, efficient adaptation practices, products and technologies generated as a basis for implementing entities and other funds to assess scaling up.
• To increase understanding of requirements for innovation small grants, the Secretariat will develop an online training that will familiarize project proponents with the process and criteria for designing high-quality innovation proposals. The training will be conducted in a self-paced modality.
• The intended audience for the training are NIEs accredited with the Fund, designated authorities/focal points and other government officials, as well as interested private sector and other relevant stakeholders. The course will feature a primer in innovation using various learning methods, exercises and case studies.
• The AF is recruiting a Short-Term Consultant – a Climate Adaptation Innovation Specialist to provide support in preparing the content of the training. The expert will report to the Senior Climate Change Specialist.

SCOPE OF WORK

Before embarking on developing the training, the consultant is expected to liaise closely with the projects team of the AF to gain an understanding of for the current state of the small grant innovation portfolio as well as to define the output that would optimally match the needs of the potential project proponents. The successful candidates will be expected to carry out the following duties and responsibilities:

Role of the Consultant

• Stocktaking of existing materials developed by the Fund, including policies and guidelines, project proposal materials, and relevant Board documents and decisions as a basis for the training;
• Prepare training materials for how to apply AF requirements and criteria to develop high-quality innovation proposals. The training will aim to: i) introduce innovation, particularly in the context of climate-sensitive sectors; ii) clarify AF objectives and criteria for innovation small grants; iii) introduce the AF project cycle and approval process; iii) provide an overview of AF innovation proposal preparation documents and templates; iv) feature case studies and examples where innovation has been addressed successfully in the AF portfolio and the wider climate change adaptation community; v) highlight some of the challenges and opportunities related to designing high-quality innovation project proposals; and vi) help direct the audience to further resources;
• The training materials will draw on guidance from the AF projects team and the knowledge management officer, as well as experiences from existing projects developed by accredited national implementing entities. Case studies related to successful design and implementation may include concrete AF projects as well as other projects relevant for adaptation and innovation;
• The training materials will be developed covering examples related to adaptation challenges in the various sectors and thematic areas relevant to innovation under the AF, such as social innovation and innovative adaptation financing, advancement of gender equality and inclusion of youth, focus on communities, water and food security, urban adaptation, disaster risk reduction and nature-based solutions; and
• The training materials would be delivered in the form of i) slide presentation(s) with a written and recorded narration, and ii) a training manual.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Climate Adaptation Innovation Specialist

• Master’s degree in environmental science, natural resources management, environment policy, development or related disciplines;
• Minimum four years of relevant professional experience;
• Familiarity with the work of the Adaptation Fund, funding modalities, operations, procedures and the AF Mid-term Strategy (MTS) will be advantageous;
• Solid understanding of innovation in development, including in climate change projects as they relate to project design and implementation;
• Experience in designing innovative climate change adaptation projects would be an added advantage;
• Experience in designing training or workshop materials relevant to climate adaptation would be an added advantage;
• Ability to deal with sensitive or time-sensitive issues, in a prioritized manner; and
• Excellent written communication and document preparation skills in English is required, ability to speak in French and/or Spanish is an added advantage.

DURATION

The work is expected to begin immediately and be completed before 15 June 2020. Contract duration will be 20 working days, with a possibility of follow-up work, and candidate is expected to work remotely/ home-based.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should email their CV and letter of interest by May 7, 2020, to the Adaptation Fund Board secretariat: afbsec@adaptation-fund.org. Please be sure to copy Saliha Dobardzic sdobardzic@adaptation-fund.org. Interviews will be conducted virtually.