Institutional Officer, Sri Lanka

PURPOSE

Support the Government of Sri Lanka to establish and strengthen capacity to coordinate and guide the process of NAP implementation and revision by:

• Strengthening capacity of NAP national focal point (Climate Change Secretariat), Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Resources.
• Strengthening capacity of Six Sectoral Climate Change Cells to coordinate policy and technical aspects of climate change and ensure engagement of all relevant sectors (Six Cells covering 9 sectors).
• Establishing and strengthening capacity of National Working Group (NWG) for cross-cutting national adaptation needs.
• Establishing and strengthening capacity of Regional/Provincial Climate Cells.

ENGAGEMENT

• Acquire information/knowledge by participating in the assessment of program needs and resources to assist in programme design, development and implementation
• Engage in stakeholder mapping and support facilitation of discussion between investors, government and various stakeholders.
• Apply sufficient technical skills to acquire relevant information/knowledge from a variety of sources which are often difficult to access, in support of delivery of a good quality output.
• Understand project methodologies and is able to provide a wide range of contributions in support of delivery of components/workstreams in the country program.

DELIVERY

• Review adequacy of six Sectoral Climate Cells and depending on findings, propose adjustment require either incorporation of number to Sectoral Climate Change Cells or propose additional Sectoral Climate Cell(s) or both. Prepare assessment paper along with a set of recommendations.
• Develop NWG plan of adaptation actions on cross-cutting national issues with clear roles and responsibilities of each lead/appropriate agencies.
• Establish 9 provincial/ regional climate cells. Facilitate dialogue with Provincial Governments of highly climate vulnerable provinces about their interest of establishing Provincial/Regional Climate Cells, and on possible composition and size of the Cell such as representative of provincial councils, local government bodies, district and divisional secretariats in relevant areas, operational framework, roles and responsibility of Cell etc. A balance representation of men and women members will be suggested in the composition of each provincial climate cell.
• Establish a national network of research agencies and universities that are carrying out research on climate change adaptation to promote coordinated research and information dissemination.
• Organize and facilitate the dialogue with the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Research Council (NRC), and the Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy (SLCARP) as they are the three main government institutions that facilitate small and large grants for scientific research in Sri Lanka, for developing dedicated funding facilities for thematic research on climate change adaptation. Such as “specialized adaptation research and development fund”.
• Organize 3-5 targeted dialogues with private sector organizations and raised awareness about types of climate change adaptation actions relevant to their sectors as awareness is limited among the private sector and possible areas of collaboration. Three to five sectors will be identified based on vulnerability of sectors and high relevance of the sector to the private sector.

REQUIREMENTS 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in environmental/climate change policy, environment finance; natural resource management, Economics, development studies, public administration, or other closely related field.
• Preferably 5 years of work experience in climate change policy, environment and/or finance with 3 years of institutional capacity building experience.
• Good and demonstrated understanding and experience with the Government of Sri Lanka's commitments to the Climate Change Agenda, Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). Awareness of public funding allocation to the different relevant sectors is an advantage.
• Good understanding of global climate change negotiations and multilateral climate funds, different options for climate change mitigation and adaptation with deep knowledge of different GCF funding options.
• Demonstrated experience in multi stakeholder Government of Sri Lanka planning frameworks
• Demonstrated project management and evaluation experience in Sri Lanka;
• Good English communication (speaking, writing and presentation) skills, including publication of written material and ability to produce high-quality visual aids; and excellent local language skills

FUNCTIONAL

• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage publicly funded development assistance projects and lead a diverse NAP
• team of staff, consultants and service providers
• Ability to interact and form relationships with high-level government officials and partners
• Resourceful and able to develop and operationalize strategies to achieve outputs and outcomes

CORPORATE

• Understands and actively supports GGGI’s mission, vision and values
• Promotes an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership
• Processes and shares information easily and is excellent at problem solving
• Manages emotions and stress positively, builds rapport and resolves conflict easily

This position is open to Sri Lanka nationals only. The successful applicant would ideally take up the position as soon as possible, with a contract duration of 24 months.

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.