The Green Climate Fund (“the GCF”) is a multilateral fund created to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set by the international community to combat climate change.

The GCF will contribute to the achievement of the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In the context of sustainable development, the GCF will promote the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

The GCF is governed by a Board, composed of an equal number of members from developed and developing countries. The GCF is operated by an independent Secretariat headed by an Executive Director and pursues a country-driven approach in its operations.

The GCF is intending to engage the services of an Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Consultant who will provide remote support involving desk reviews of environmental and social safeguards and related documents to the Secretariat in the conduct of environmental and social performance monitoring and evaluation of approved projects and programmes. The GCF welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates. 
 

Role

The ESS Consultant will provide technical expertise to support the GCF Secretariat’s monitoring and review of annual performance reports (APRs), and other related documents and provide timely and appropriate recommendations for improving project and programme safeguards’ implementation. The ESS Consultant will work closely with the GCF Secretariat and will provide substantive inputs on the environmental and social safeguards of approved activities drawing from subject matter knowledge and experiences in various safeguards standards such as those from international financial institutions, UN agencies, and multilateral development banks and organizations. The ESS Consultant will report to the designated Officer-in-Charge of the Sustainability Team through the Environment and Social Specialist with guidance from the Head of the Office of Risk Management and Compliance.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the guidance of the designated Officer-in-Charge of the Sustainability Team, through the Environment and Social Specialist, the ESS Consultant will be responsible for but not limited to:

•    Review adequacy of Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and relevant safeguards documents and provide report based on timely assessment and subject matter review on the extent to which approved projects and programmes are able to meet the requirements of the GCF environmental and social safeguards (ESS) and the Environmental and Social Policy and identify specific environmental and social safeguards issues that needs to be addressed including on stakeholder engagement and grievance redress; 
•    Identify any gaps in the project/programme safeguards during implementation and assess the adequacy of the implementation of relevant provisions in the funded activity agreements (FAAs), in the proposed measures to avoid, minimize and/or mitigate identified environmental and social risks and impacts in the safeguards instruments (e.g. Environmental and Social Management Systems/Frameworks; Environmental and Social Impact Assessments/Environmental and Social Management Plan/Action Plan (ESIAs/ESMP/ESAP) and other relevant documents;  and provide recommendations for addressing any identified gaps and for improving the safeguards management plans and environmental and social performance of the approved projects/sub-projects and programmes (including planned activities); and
•    Provide recommendations and technical support on issues relevant to safeguards implementation of approved projects and programmes, as may be required.

Required experience and qualifications

•    An advanced degree or equivalent in environmental and social sciences and engineering, conservation studies, environmental health, anthropology, sociology, infrastructure design including those related to hydrology and irrigation, coastal engineering, energy generation, labour relations and management, agriculture and natural resources, disaster management, occupational health and safety, forestry and land use, urban and country planning, land management, environmental and social impact assessment and planning, environmental law, economics, and policy development; 
•    Minimum (10) ten years of experience in environmental and social due diligence and review and monitoring safeguards of projects and programmes and the use of established safeguards standards such as the IFC Performance Standards and other international standards;
•    Demonstrated capacity to provide concise, to-the-point, and thorough reports of assessments, recommendations, or project or programme due diligence or performance reviews;
•    Previous experience working as a consultant, working remotely, for international organization or firm; and 
•    Demonstrated teamwork (ability to work with others to achieve more effective results), leadership (apply interpersonal influence to inspire others to move in a meaningful direction with competence and commitment), and conceptualization (developing viable solutions based on an understanding of institutional perspective and needs) skills. 
 

Administration of the roster

Potential applicants may be requested to participate in web-based or Skype interviews and may be asked to submit examples of previous work. Applicants who meet the requirements above will be added to the Environmental and Social Safeguards Consultant Roster for further consideration for work as opportunities arise. Depending on the needs of the GCF, candidates on the roster may be contacted to ascertain their availability and suitability to perform the work, following which contractual arrangements with various durations (from a few weeks up to one year, extendable) will be made accordingly.
 

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

Closing date for applications is 31 March 2021 (KST). Applications received after the closing date may not be considered.