The Green Climate Fund (“GCF”) is a multilateral fund created to make a significant and transformational contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set by the international community to combat climate change. The mission of the GCF is to assist developing countries to respond to climate change while bringing prosperity to their peoples.

Established in 2010, the GCF invests in transformational climate projects in the developing world. Itmakes an ambitious contribution to global climate action and channels significant financial resources into developing countries to help build low-emission and climate-resilient societies.

The GCF’s diverse workforce is advancing its mission from its headquarters in South Korea. Our talented staff make unique contributions to the Fund, enriching the institution through their combined expertise and professional commitment. 
The Readiness Technical Assistance Consultant for Africa will work remotely for up to one year and be available on an on-call basis. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a multilateral climate finance system that offers stimulating challenges.

Role

The Readiness Technical Assistance Consultant for Africa will report to the Regional Lead for Anglophone and Lusophone Africa and will have as key role to support developing countries to identify their institutional readiness needs (in terms of accessing GCF resources), identify action plans to address these needs through the GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme and support NDAs/DAEs and national Delivery Partners to develop good quality GCF Readiness proposals. This is a part-time and remote-based consultancy.

Duties and responsibilities

At the request and guidance of the Regional Lead for Anglophone and Lusophone Africa, s/he will be responsible for:

•    Providing specialized technical assistance to the National Designated Authorities (NDAs) and Direct Access Entities (DAEs) – and to the developing country’s Readiness Delivery Partners as 

     may be required by the GCF – in developing or strengthening Readiness Proposals that meet GCF requirements, for submission to the GCF. 

•    Conducting in-country missions when required to provide such technical assistance with the aim of also building capacity in the countries.

•    Additional supportive tasks as assigned by the Regional Lead for Anglophone and Lusophone Africa or the Deputy Director of Country programming from time to time. These can be expected

     to include:

•    Providing research and analytical capacity towards development and strengthening of a credible knowledge database on the climate policy and strategic context in the countries of Africa, and

     towards building a comprehensive understanding of country programming needs that will serve to produce or promote the development of a prioritized pipeline of projects/programmes.   

•    Contributing professional advice and intellectual expertise in the proposition of key measures that will contribute to informing African countries in transitioning towards a development pathway

     aligned with the GCF’s strategy and the goals of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

Deliverables:

For each specific assignment, the Readiness Technical Assistance Consultant will be requested to produce and seek approval of a work plan from the Regional Lead for Anglophone and Lusophone Africa (or Deputy Director of Country Programming, as may be required from time to time). When the work plan targets development of GCF Readiness proposals, deliverables will be expected to include, as applicable: 
   
•    National level capacity assessments of relevant developing country institutions (e.g. NDA, finance institutions, GCF Direct Access Entities);
•    Aide Memoire agreed between NDA (of target country) and GCF, and mission reports for missions undertaken; and
•    Draft readiness proposal, or record of inputs made into a draft readiness proposal being strengthened. 

In addition to the quality of deliverables, the consultant’s performance assessments may also be linked directly to:

•    Client satisfaction ratings (to be assessed periodically/annually);
•    Number of draft readiness proposals delivered to NDAs.
 

Required experience and qualifications 

•    Minimum of Master’s degree in economics, engineering, environment, climate change, international development, business administration, or related fields;
•    At least 10 years of relevant work experience in climate change related planning or project development in an international setting;
•    Extensive operational experience in providing specialized climate change-related technical assistance to government officials and/or government organizations in developing country contexts;

     similar experience with civil society and private organizations will be a plus.
•    Proven track record in institutional strengthening and proposal development at the government level, particularly in the field of climate change capacity building (mitigation and adaptation); 
•    Experience in African Countries, including African SIDS and LDCs;
•    Excellent communication skills and the ability to prepare and communicate complex information in written format; and
•    Fluency in English and in Portuguese is essential; excellent language skills in other UN languages is highly desirable.
 

Necessary skills:

•    Excellent levels of oral and written communication (English)
•    Computer literacy
•    Ability to work independently
•    Experience in working across cultures and in multi-cultural international environments, preferably in the African context. 

• Applications from women and citizens from developing countries are strongly encouraged.
• Closing date for the application is 14 February 2020 (KST). Application received after the closing date may not be considered.