Livelihood Associate, (NPSA-6), Small Island Project

Bangladesh has a low-lying topography extremely exposed to sea level rise (SLR), cyclones, tidal surges, salinity intrusion, erratic rainfall, drought, and floods, causing it to be one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. The vulnerable communities who live on chars — small alluvial islands in rivers and the Bay of Bengal are particularly at risk from climate change. These communities have already experienced a number of climate change impacts including frequent tidal surges, increasingly intense cyclones, and saltwater intrusion into fresh water and soil. Furthermore, climate change is projected to adversely impact agriculture and other local livelihoods; fragile houses, access to drinking water, and rural infrastructure, including existing cyclone protection embankments. The impacts of climate change also disproportionately affect the poor and are especially severe for women and children, who are forced to spend a greater portion of their time on livelihood and domestic activities. Current projections indicate, with a 2⁰C increase in global temperatures, 50-year floods in the country’s three main river basins will become 40% more likely by 2025. The impacts of climate change on these islands are exacerbated by several baseline factors, including geographic remoteness, topographic position near sea level, limited public and private infrastructure to withstand climate impacts, poverty of local communities, and livelihood practices that are dependent on the availability of fresh water. On coastal chars (small offshore islands), the houses and livelihoods of communities are damaged by the increasingly frequent and intense cyclones, tidal floods, and saline intrusion from climate change, with inadequate protection from the fragile embankment system. On the inland riverine islands (riverine Charland), communities are experiencing increasingly erratic rainfall because of climate change, leading to changes in both floods and droughts that their current houses and livelihood practices are unable to withstand.

Resources sought from the Adaptation Fund (AF) will be invested in four components. Firstly, it will assist households to enhance the resilience of their houses and livelihoods to climate change-induced flooding, cyclones, saline intrusion, and droughts. Secondly, it will improve community-level infrastructure, including embankments with modern climate-resilient technology and effective local management practices. Thirdly, it will assist the Bangladesh Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) under the Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief (MoDMR), to enhance its activities in the remote coastal char targeted by the project to provide timely early warnings and effective emergency response. This will be done by expanding the programme’s coverage in the area, modernising its equipment, and making it fully gender sensitive. Finally, the technology, approaches, and knowledge generated by the project will be used to build the capacity of the local and national government; and communities to make climate-resilient investments and policies.

The Livelihood Associate (LA) will be responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the Project at the Upazila level, including the mobilization of all project inputs, and supervision over Community Development Assistants. The LA directly reports to the Project Manager in close consultation with the assigned UNDP Programme Specialist for all the Project’s substantive and administrative issues. Generally, the LA will support the PM and NPD and will be responsible for meeting government obligations under the Project, under the NIM execution modality. The LA will perform a liaison role with the government, UNDP, and other UN agencies, CSOs, and project partners at the local Upazila level, and maintain close collaboration. 

Key functions of Livelihood Associate (LA) are:

• Undertake overalloperational management for successful implementation of project activity
• Coordinate the teamto ensure the delivery of project outputs
• Support for training and awareness programmes
• Support for monitoring and reporting

Undertake overalloperational management at the local level for successful implementation of projectactivity

• Implement the activities of the project in Char Fasson Upazila of Bhola District and Gangachara Upazila of Rangpur District and monitor progress against the approved work plan.
• Coordinate the production of project outputs, as per the project document in a timely and high-quality fashion.
• Provide support and inputs to operationalize the livelihood interventions for the targeted households and report to the project manager on the progress. 
• Provide technology, skills, and materials to selected households for making their incomes and livelihoods resilient to flooding, cyclone, and saline intrusion. The alternative income-generating activities will be implemented by engaging local govt partners, e.g., DAE, DoF, DLS, etc. 
• Ensure quality implementation of climate-resilient housing, rainwater harvesting, solar, nano grid, repair and maintenance of embankments, cyclone preparedness program, Farmer’s Field Schools, etc. key interventions of the project. 
• Jointly assess and select the beneficiaries based on standard selection criteria. This assessment will include consultations with the local community and will prioritize woman-led households and those caring for the disabled and the elderly. The support will benefit the most vulnerable inhabitants of the Chars by assisting them to gain skills and access income-generation opportunities, thereby improving their overall adaptive capacity. 
• Conduct preliminary site-level scoping studies on the development of alternative livelihoods, that specifically focus on the most vulnerable populations (i.e., women-led households and the landless).
• Coordinate all project inputs and ensure that they adhere to UNDP procedures for the nationally executedproject.
• Perform appropriate project management actions to ensure output and outcomes as outlined in the projectdocument and Annual Work Plan.
• Facilitate administrative support to subcontractors and training activities supported by the Project.
• Ensure efficient programmatic and financial delivery of the project.
• Carry regular, announced, and unannounced inspections of all sites and the activities of the Project Implementation Units.
• Ensure all environmental parameters to make the infrastructure climate-resilient and environment-friendly using local resources. 

Coordinate the teamto ensure the delivery of project outputs

• Coordinate the work of field staff, consultants, and sub-contractors ensuring timing and quality of outputs.
• Maintain close coordination with project staff, DOE, Upazila-level co-management committees, and local-level stakeholders.
• Encourage staff and partners to activelyinclude women in the project,including activity design and planning, budgeting, formal communitygovernance and advocacy,outreach to socialorganizations, training, participation in meetings; and access to program benefits.
• Assist community groups, municipalities, CSOs, staff, students,and, others with the development of essentialskills through trainingworkshops and on-the-job training therebyincreasing their institutional capabilities.
• Coordinate the recruitment and selection of project personnel, consultants, and sub-contracts, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications and overseeing all contractors’ work.
• Solve problems on-site as per the guidance of Project Manager.

Support for Training and Awareness Programmes

• Organize, support, and facilitate capacity-building training programmes for communities, partner agencies, LGIs, GoB, etc.
• Conduct pre- and post-evaluation of the training and develop training reports or any event report in the standard format.
• Ensure regular coaching and mentoring support for the direct beneficiaries after the classroom-based training. 
• Support running Farmers Field School, Demonstration, and Adaptation learning centers. 
• Assist to organize awareness programs, meetings, workshops, etc., and organize the programme for visitors as required.

Support for Monitoring and Reporting

• Prepare progress and other monitoring reports-based format provided by the M&E Officer.
• Prepare and submit weekly, and monthly all other types of progress reports, case studies, good practices, and photos of all field programs; Provide information to prepare monthly,quarterly, and annual progress reports, Project Performance Reporting, etc. as per UNDP/Donor guidelines.
• Collect information about the communities and direct beneficiaries during baseline, midline, and end-line surveys of the project.
• Participate and collaborate with consultancy firms for any kind of study, survey, or assessment of the project. 
• Prepare and keep a database of project activity with the beneficiary.
• Prepare and keep adaptation resource inventory and impact analysis.
• Provide substantive support to the Project Manager for overall project implementation.
• The Livelihood Associate will also perform any other jobs as requested and required by the NPD, Project Manager, PMU, or other project authority from time to time as and when required.

Institutional Arrangement

The Livelihood Associate directly reports to the Project Manager and closes technical consultation with the assigned UNDP Programme Specialist-Environment and Energy, UNDP County Office.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

• Familiarity with the UNDP projects management approach, as well as with the Government rules/regulations;
• Demonstrated previous working experience in a project team;
• Familiarity with the administrative, social, and environmental context of the Upazila;
• Extensive experience  in   vulnerability   and  adaptation   needs assessments at the community level and regarding the formulation and implementation of community-based climate change adaptation measures;
• Experience mobilizing community members for development projects and activities;
• Demonstrate good knowledge and skills in Information Technology, in order to support the development and maintenance of the database system of the project;

•  Previous experience in similar positions will be an advantage.

• Excellent knowledgeof English and Bangla, both written and verbal.