National Policy Dialogues to Strengthen National Coordination Mechanism for Climate Change Adaptation

The Swaziland Draft National Water Policy (NWP,2009) is the central water-related policy in the country, which together with the Integrated Water Resources Master Plan and the Water Act guides all the resources management and planning in the country. It is however noted that these key national policies do not adequately consider climate change. Also inter-sectoral coordination needs and mechanisms are not clearly defined. Currently there is very little focused dialogue in Swaziland within national institutions on expected climate change impacts on water resources. As a result, climate risks have not been adequately integrated into national plans and policies regarding IWRM, and effective adaptation, at all levels. The institutional capacity for IWRM also remains low. The National Climate Change Committee has not been gazetted and has limited competencies. The country is in the process of finalizing the National Climate Change Strategy and has initiated drafting of the Climate Change Policy which addresses most of the gaps in the other policies.
The Department of Water Affairs of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, is seeking the services of an International consultant to conduct national policy dialogues focusing on institutional needs for inter-sectoral cooperation and strengthening of national coordination mechanism on climate change adaptation.

Scope

Though key national dialogues with all relevant stakeholders, the scope of the assignment will facilitate the integration of climate risk management into key strategic national programmes as well as policies related to IWRM to ensure adaptation of the water sector to the predicted short, medium and longer-term impacts of climate change. Through the dialogues, an institutional needs assessment for inter-sectoral coordination mechanism will be carried-out with an aim of strengthening coordination among stakeholders, while also identifying gaps in institutional frameworks regarding climate change issues. Training of relevant stakeholders will be conducted and informed by the institutional needs assessment report for inter-sectoral coordination mechanism.

The International Policy Expert (Team leader) will be working with a team of local consultants to conduct the following tasks:

• Oversee the conducting of four (4) key national policy dialogue workshops with relevant actors (incl. Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy (MNRE), Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoEPD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Health MoH,  Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs (MTEA), National Climate Change Committee (NCCC), National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), National Meteorological Service (NMS), National Water Authority (NWA), River Basin Authorities (RBAs), Irrigation Districts (IDs), Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA), Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (SWADE), Swaziland Water Partnership (SZWP), Tripartite Permanent Technical Committee (TPTC), University of Swaziland (UNISWA) and other partners to identify tailor-made climate change responses;
• Review and facilitate integration of identified climate change responses into key national level policy documents (2003 National Water Policy, draft Integrated Water Resources Management Master Plan, draft National Land-use Policy,  National Disaster Risk Management Policy and Action Plan;
• Support the conduction of an institutional needs assessment for inter-sectoral cooperation and coordination, on climate change;
• Support the establishment/strengthening of inter-sectoral coordination mechanism through development and implementation of targeted capacity building and training as identified in the institutional needs assessment.

Deliverables:

• An Inception Meeting and Report with a complete work plan, clearly specifying how the assignment will be undertaken and clear tasks assigned to each member of the team. The report must not exceed five (5) pages.
• Report with key strategic policy recommendations for the following documents: 2003 National Water Policy, draft IWRM Plan and draft National Land Use policy and National Disaster Risk Management Policy and Action Plan) incorporating climate change;
• Policy dialogue workshop reports with key consultation outputs and attendance lists;
• Institutional needs assessment report with recommendations for institutional strengthening;
• Training reports, attendance lists and completed evaluation forms;
• Inter Sectoral coordination mechanisms report for climate change adaptation.

• Excellent data management, analytic, communication and writing skills;
• Good communication and presenting skills;
• Ability to work as a member of a team or team leader working with diverse experts;
• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Education:

• A PhD in the following areas of expertise (Policy/ law studies, Water Resources Management, Climate Change related studies, Environmental studies, Engineering or related disciplines).

• A minimum of 10 years working in the environmental, climate and water resources related aspects;
• Experience in policy drafting and procedures for gazetting;
• Understanding of the water sector in Swaziland and its institutional arrangements;
• Experience in water resources assessment, climate change adaptation and monitoring.

 Language:

• Fluent in English.

Note:

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.