Fiji:GCF Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance Expert Consultant

Fiji

Organization: GGGI - Global Green Growth Institute
Location: Fiji
Grade: Consultancy - Individual Consultant F
Occupational Groups:
- Legal - Broad
- Environment
- Public Policy and Administration
- Climate Change
- Ombudsman and Ethics
- Natural Resource Management
Closing Date: Closed

Fiji:GCF Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance Expert Consultant

Based in Seoul, The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a model of economic growth known as "green growth", which targets key aspects of economic performance such a poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. GGGI works with countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. The organization partners with countries, multilateral institutions, government bodies, and private sector to help build economies that grow strongly and are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change.

Program Background

Fiji became a member of GGGI in 2014, and the GGGI office in Fiji was established in 2015 in Suva and is based within the Ministry of Economy. GGGI is currently supporting the Climate Change and International Cooperation Division (CCICD) of the Ministry of Economy, which is Fiji’s Nationally Designated Authority (NDA) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), in the delivery of Fiji’s first GCF Readiness Project: “Enhancing Direct Access to Climate Finance in Fiji”. The Readiness project aims to strengthen the capacity of the NDA and institutional procedures for climate action, prepare the Entity Work Programme and build the capacity of Fiji’s national accredited direct access entity (DAE), the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) and nominate the Ministry of Economy (MoE) as a second DAE and support capacity building and the submission of the application for accreditation to the GCF. The work described in this Terms of Reference fall under this Readiness project.

Fiji, as a Small Island Developing State, faces extreme climate vulnerability. The country is already experiencing the negative impacts of climate change, through changing weather patterns, including droughts and flooding events, and increasingly damaging natural disasters. The current average asset losses due to tropical cyclones and floods are estimated at more than FJD 500 million per year, representing more than 5% of Fiji’s GDP. Climate change will affect all areas of life for the people of Fiji, and the expected impacts include reduced agricultural and fisheries productivity, declining health outcomes, eroding shorelines and riverbanks, shortage of water and higher infrastructure costs.

The Fijian government therefore recognizes the importance of adapting to climate change and coordinating climate change related adaptation policies, strategies, plans, and activities to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of Fiji’s communities to the impacts of climate change and disasters. Fiji has put in place its Climate Change Policy and National Adaptation Plan and has prepared a Climate Vulnerability Assessment. Furthermore, while Fiji’s national CO₂ equivalent emissions make up a mere 0.006% of global emissions, the Fijian Government and other non-government stakeholders have already taken steps to achieve decarbonisation in the Fijian economy. Fiji has developed its NDC Roadmap setting a clear pathway to achieve its NDC targets and also launched the Fiji Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS) 2018-2050 at COP24, through which Fiji aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 across all sectors of its economy.

External financial and technical support is needed to achieve its adaptation and mitigation targets and Fiji has received funding from the GCF for the “Enhancing Direct Access to Climate Finance in Fiji” Readiness project which is being implemented by the CCICD with GGGI as the delivery partner. The Readiness project will:

Establish a coordination mechanism to govern and coordinate climate action and finance and strengthen the capacity of the NDA – Climate Change Division (CCD) of the Ministry of Economy – to take the lead role.
Prepare the Entity Work Programme of a national accredited direct access entity (DAE) – Fiji Development Bank (FDB) – aligned with the Country Programme which is being developed this year with assistance from WRI - which aims to result in a number of project concept notes to be submitted to the GCF.
Nominate of the Ministry of Economy (MoE) as DAE and support in their submission of application for accreditation to the GCF and facilitate Stage I accreditation. This will include carrying out gap assessment and preparing action plan for accreditation, followed by institutional and capacity building support, as required.
Provide institutional and capacity building support to accredited and nominated DAEs – FDB and MoE – to ensure compliance policies and procedures are in-place and capacities to manage, implement and oversee climate change projects and programs in line with the GCF fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards (ESS) and gender policy are built.

This assignment contributes to all four outcomes of this Readiness project, with a focus on specific deliverables for outcome 4 and providing support directly to the Fiji Development Bank (FDB).

The consultant will be based in Suva for large parts of the assignment and work as an embedded expert in the FDB. The consultant will report to the Manager Marketing & Business Development of the FDB pertaining to the operationalisation of the TOR and administratively/contractually to the GGGI country Representative for Fiji in Suva, Fiji and will liaise with and work closely with the Green Banking Unit of the Bank as well as other relevant Divisions of the Bank, other GGGI staff and consultants involved in different parts of this Readiness project and on other related projects, as well as the NDA/CCD where necessary.

Objectives/Purpose of the Assignment

The expert will support institutional and capacity building support to FDB as a direct access accredited entity to the GCF – to ensure compliance policies and procedures are in-place and capacities to manage, implement and oversee climate change projects and programs in line with the GCF fiduciary standards, environmental and social safeguards (ESS) and gender policy. Specifically, the expert will be focused on regulation and compliance. The expert will support FDB to develop required policies and train its staff on those policies by carrying out a capacity assessment for FDB and supporting in addressing the gaps identified, including assessing and implementing the enterprise risk management that has been already developed and also facilitate experience sharing on the accreditation process.

Scope of Work

GGGI is looking for a consultant who applies his/her specialized knowledge of climate change project development and the GCF and its procedures, policies and accreditation requirements to support the delivery of the Fiji Readiness Project “Enhancing Direct Access to Climate Finance in Fiji”. The expert will support the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) in institutional and capacity building, carry out a capacity assessment for FDB and support in addressing gaps identified.

He/she reports to the FDB Manager Marketing & Business Development pertaining to the operationalisation of the TOR and administratively to GGGI country Representative for Fiji in Suva, Fiji and supports close communication between GGGI and the FDB at all times for efficient, timely and well-coordinated implementation of the project.

The consultant will be responsible for the following activities and outputs:

The work would start with a kick-off meeting with FDB and GGGI to confirm the activities, approach and timeline and for FDB to provide information on its current work on GCF projects and status of the relevant policies, training and staffing. Then the activities would proceed as follows:

Activity 1: Undertake a capacity assessment of the FDB to identify the training needed to implement the GCF accreditation conditions, including the various new policies that have been developed to comply with GCF accreditation. This activity would include:

Carrying out a capacity assessment to identify the training needed
Writing a training needs report and a training action plan and consulting with FDB and integrating comments and feedback on the training action plan
Developing a capacity development framework in terms of structure and skills required within FDB in the short to medium-term to be able to effectively engage with GCF
Identify the obligations for the FDB under the Master Agreement and develop relevant reporting templates for implementation.

Activity 2: Deliver 6 training sessions covering the gaps identified under activity 1.This would involve developing training materials (presentations + facilitator notes) for mainstreaming of the policies developed as part of the accreditation conditions into training for FDB staff. This is anticipated to include but not be limited to training materials and training delivered on:

Information disclosure policy and implementation system
Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism policy
Gender policy
Entreprise risk management policy and control framework
Procurement policy for GCF funded projects, including a process/decision matrix
Operationalising the Master Agreement (responsibilities, type of reporting and frequencies)
Monitoring & Evaluation Framework include frequencies, reporting etc.

Some staff from the Ministry of Economy (MoE), Department of Environment and University of the South Pacific (USP) may also participate in these training sessions and should be invited via GGGI in consultation with the FDB.

A brief training report should be developed, noting number of female participants – a training evaluation form should be filled out by every participant – the template will be provided by GGGI.

Activity 3: Provide support for the development of an Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) policy, including drafting the ESS policy and internal procedure and templates necessary to assist FDB in upgrading its accreditation. This is to include but not limited to:

FDB ESS Policy, Process and Procedure Manual
FDB ESS checklist that can be given out to potential project/programme developers for ESS self-assessment.
Reporting templates and ESS assessment templates that can be used internally to ascertain project/programme categorisation (i.e. Cat ‘C’, Cat ‘B’ or Cat ‘A’).

Activity 4: Provide institutional and capacity support to address the knowledge gaps identified including on climate change project development considering GCF investment criteria, including:

Internal audit assessment and evaluation template for GCF funded projects
An annual audit plan and an annual audit report template
Draft M&E policy and reporting (including Financial reports) templates to assist FDB in implementing the requirements under the AMA
Develop progress report for the FDB in carrying out its functions as an accredited entity and implementing the GCF accreditation conditions.
Draft a Risk Register in line with the Bank’s Enterprise Risk & Management Policy that will be adjusted to suit specific project or programmes.
Participate in 2-3 meetings to share experience and lessons learned on the GCF accreditation process. This will provide useful information to other agencies and institutions that may wish to seek accreditation (MoE) and also assist the existing DAE (FDB) to assess its progress and learn from the experience so far. GGGI and other consultants will arrange these meetings and the consultant will be required to attend and contribute.

The deliverables for these activities will be:

Training needs assessment report and training action plan and reporting templates required under the Master Agreement.
Capacity development framework in terms of structure and skills required within FDB
Training materials for mainstreaming of the policies developed as part of the accreditation conditions (gender, procurement, etc.)
Six training sessions delivered. Report on institutional support and training sessions for FDB staff (including MoE & Department of Environment and USP staff where appropriate) including on gender, procurement, ERM, master agreement responsibilities and reporting, Monitoring & Evaluation etc. (noting number of female participants – a training evaluation form should be filled out by every participant – the template will be provided by GGGI)
Draft ESS policy and procedures and necessary templates
Internal audit assessment and evaluation template for GCF funded projects
An annual audit plan and an annual audit report template
Draft M&E policy and reporting (including financial reports) templates to assist FDB in implementing the requirements under the AMA
A general Risk Register for GCF projects/programmes aligned to the Bank’s ERM Policy
One progress report for the FDB in carrying out its functions as an accredited entity and implementing the GCF accreditation conditions.

In addition, the consultant will:

prepare a brief quarterly report regarding all activities’ and deliverables progress against a workplan and
support the preparation of the interim and final reports to the GCF.

The consultant should ensure close coordination and consultation with FDB at all times and actively take the initiative to coordinate between the FDB, GGGI and other consultants hired under this Readiness project. Costs for any meetings and workshop venues and catering will be covered separately from this contract.

The consultant will organize regular bi-weekly meetings with GGGI and FDB to review progress against activities, discuss and plan immediate next steps, pose questions which may arise and receive feedback and guidance. Brief notes from these meetings will be prepared and circulated so actions agreed can be followed-up. These meetings may sometimes be every 3 weeks or monthly depending on other activities and availability of GGGI and NDA staff.

Output/Reporting Requirements/Deliverables

Payment Schedule

No.	Deliverable	Deadline	% of Payment
1	Development of Workplan and workplan presented and discussed with GGGI and FDB	Within 2 weeks of contract signing	5%
2	Training needs assessment report and training action plan and reporting templates required under the Master Agreement.	30^thOctober 2020	10%
3	Capacity development framework in terms of structure and skills required within FDB	31^st November 2020	5%
4	Training materials for mainstreaming of the policies developed as part of the accreditation conditions (gender, procurement, etc.)	31^st December 2020	10%
5	Six training sessions delivered. Report on institutional support and training sessions for FDB staff (including MoE & Department of Environment and USP staff where appropriate) including on gender, procurement, ERM, master agreement responsibilities and reporting, Monitoring & Evaluation, etc	By end June 2021	10%
6	Draft ESS policy and procedures and necessary templates	31^st January 2021	15%
7	Internal audit assessment and evaluation template for GCF funded projects	28^th February 2021	10%
8	An annual audit plan and an annual audit report template and general Risk Register for GCF projects/programmes aligned to the Bank’s ERM Policy	31^st March 2021	5%
9	Draft M&E policy and reporting (including financial reports) templates to assist FDB in implementing the requirements under the AMA	31st May 2021	15%
10	One progress report for the FDB in carrying out its functions as an accredited entity and implementing the GCF accreditation conditions.	31^st July 2021	5%
11	Inputs into interim project reports to GCF x 2	By June 2021	5%
12	Inputs into end of project report to GCF	By August 2021	5%
		TOTAL	100%

Qualifications/Experience/Expertise

Master’s degree in relevant field such as economics, finance, climate change, environmental management, engineering, international development or equivalent experience
Minimum 8 years relevant professional experience in policy development and/or project management in international development, climate change, climate financing or other relevant areas
Experience supporting national, regional or international / financing institutions with building capacity to apply international best practice standards to increase access to finance for sustainable development and/or climate change (such as GCF accreditation, ISO Certification, etc.);
Experience in developing ESS and other internal organisational policies (M&E, procurement, etc.)
Knowledge of GCF policies, standards and procedures, including ESS and gender policies and requirements for accreditation;
Experience in developing training materials and delivering training on related topics
Experience in the GCF accreditation process is highly desirable;
Experience coordinating working groups and following-up on actions
Analytical, problem-solving, and strategic skills
Fluent in English with excellent written English
Demonstrated ability to build collaborative working relationships with government counterparts
Demonstrated capacity to facilitate in-depth, outcome oriented, stakeholder dialogues
Commitment to gender equality and awareness of gender aspects of sustainable development

Additional Information

Contract type: Full-time, and deliverable-based
Contract duration: August 2020 - September 2021
Contract value: up to USD 126,000 (plus travel expenses where necessary)

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This vacancy is now closed.
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