Climate Change Specialist (Programming) – GF

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.     

The Adaptation Fund is an innovative financing mechanism set up by the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with the purpose of financing concrete climate change adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties, serving the landmark Paris Agreement. At the request of the COP, the GEF is providing secretariat services to the Adaptation Fund Board (the Board), through a dedicated team. Since becoming fully operational in 2010, and up to 30 June 2023, the Fund’s overall project approvals including project formulation and Readiness grants amount to US$ 1,059.7 million in 110 countries.

The Adaptation Fund was the first international climate fund to enable direct access to its resources by developing countries’ national organizations. Through direct access, National Implementing Entities are able to directly access financing and manage all aspects of climate adaptation and resilience projects, from design through implementation to monitoring and evaluation. In 2014, the Adaptation Fund launched the Readiness Programme for Climate Finance, designed to capture and share the growing experiences of AF direct access and other climate finance in order to strengthen the capacity of national and regional entities to receive and manage climate financing.

The Adaptation Fund is governed by its Board, which normally meets twice a year. The Board consists of two subcommittees, one of which – Project and Programme Review Committee (PPRC) – is dedicated to reviewing project/programme proposals as well as policy proposals designed to support programming. Currently, the Adaptation Fund secretariat runs three project and programme review cycles a year, coordinated by Senior Climate Change Specialist who leads the Programming team. The team is responsible for: managing the project/programme review cycle process, including communication, liaising with and support to the Fund’s implementing entities, Board and AF’s NGO community, as well as other stakeholders; technical review process and within specific timeframes, assuring compliance with criteria and Fund’s policies are met – notably, the Environmental and Social Policy and Gender Policy; operations with relevant World Bank systems and Fund’s website (ensuring transparency); support in the preparation of project agreements; and carrying out the administrative and financial due diligence. The Programming team also regularly carries out quality review and improvement efforts, including training and clinics for the technical reviewers, trainings and webinars for the national implementing entities, some of which is under the aegis of the Readiness workstream and in collaboration with the Readiness team, and e-learning packages, in collaboration with the Knowledge Management (KM) team.

Currently, the Adaptation Fund is implementing its second Medium-term Strategy (MTS-2), covering the five-year period 2023-2027, and which is underpinned by its work in three pillars: Action, Innovation and Learning-and-Sharing. The implementation plan of the strategy is the guiding document that lays out the expected outcomes and outputs under the pillars in the remaining years covered by the MTS-2. This includes, among others, rollout of funding windows that would further support locally-led adaptation, programmes that utilize and build capacity for devolved decision-making and implementation, and developing options for supporting the funding of NAP and NDC implementation programmatically through the various windows of the Fund.
The Programming team also takes leadership in organizing the PPRC meetings and materials, together with the other secretariat’s teams, as needed. Together the teams collaborate on, among other, policy work, pertaining to the project/programme review process and post approval processes, which include monitoring and reporting. 

The Secretariat is recruiting a Climate Change Specialist to provide support as well as leadership, as needed, to key activities managed by the Programming team. S/he is expected to have strong technical background and operational experience with projects in developing countries. S/he will support the team leader of the Programming team in coordinating the project/programme review cycle process, PPRC support, and broadly technical and policy work, including, notably project review and work related to Environmental and Social Policy and Gender Policy matters.  S/he will be expected to support maintaining key partnerships and flow of information, including at UNFCCC and other relevant fora. S/he will be expected to collaborate within the Programming team as well as with other teams at the Fund, and with external stakeholders, while, at the same time, s/he will be expected to take leadership and work autonomously on specific tasks, as needed. S/he will be expected to advise, mentor and provide direction to the junior members of the team.

S/he will report to the Team Leader for Programming and Innovation.

 

Duties and Accountabilities

The successful candidate will be expected to carry out the following duties and responsibilities: 
• Under the supervision and guidance of the Programming team lead, and in collaboration with other staff, help coordinate the project/programme review cycle process, including technical review of proposals, ensuring compliance with Fund policies, the preparation of PPRC meetings and materials, Board documents (including operational guidelines, tools, reports, and other), other technical outputs, knowledge products, talking points, presentations and other materials to support the effective delivery of the Fund, jointly with the RBM team, innovation team, and other secretariat’s teams.
• Provide strategic and technical inputs to the development of the safeguards policies under the Fund and their operationalization. 
• Play an active role in engagement on technical matters with Fund’s implementing entities, Board and AF’s NGO community, as well as other relevant stakeholders, collaborating closely within the Programming team, and other teams of the secretariat, as needed.
• Support the coordination of portfolio development and play key role in operationalization of the medium-term strategy of the Fund in areas of concrete adaptation action. This includes support to the coordination of review of project and programme proposals submitted to the Fund. 
• Representing the Fund, including independently, in various fora, including but not limited to, meetings convened under the UNFCCC and its subsidiary bodies, meetings of other climate funds, regional and sub-regional workshops, technical conferences and workshops, and bilateral meetings with governments, implementing agencies and other stakeholders.
• Provide support to the team and take on leadership roles, as needed, to enhance operations of the Fund, including improving the proposal handling processes and interface, use of relevant World Bank systems and Fund’s website. 
• Liaise with other teams, such as the Readiness team, KM team, and/or other, as needed, to support capacity building efforts, internal and external, trainings, webinars, knowledge products and other. 
• Support the programming team leader in the coordination of the team, including recruitment and mobilization of consultants, mentoring of the junior staff and managing the team dynamic as to ensure productive and cohesive collaboration.
• Backstop the senior members of the Programming team during their periods of absence, as needed.
• Lead and support, as needed, productive dialogue and positive relationships with key stakeholders, including developing country governments, climate change negotiators, national, regional and multilateral agencies involved in climate finance, think tanks and civil society. 
• Help identify and engage, as needed, on emerging issues potentially relevant to the Fund.
• Other tasks as required.

Selection Criteria

• Possesses Master’s degree in natural resources management, social policy, economics, environment or other field relevant to adaptation to climate change, and at least 5 years of relevant experience.
• Has substantial experience in adaptation, with extensive field experience in developing countries strongly preferred. 
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the UNFCCC and international climate finance architecture, of climate change, adaptation issues and solutions, and a solid knowledge of the global discourse on climate change, including the UNFCCC process, IPCC reports and other relevant climate change fora.
• Demonstrates an advanced understanding of the relationship of adaptation or resilience to national sustainable development or economic or social development at various scales.
• Exceptional experience and technical skills in adaptation and climate finance, including reviewing, developing, and/or evaluating adaptation projects, preferably with an international finance organization. 
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate teams of staff and consultants under strict time pressure, while ensuring quality delivery.
• Extensive experience in engagement with and maintaining effective relations with a wide range of stakeholders (Governments, international organizations, multilateral and bilateral development agencies, developing country partners, NGOs, indigenous groups, scientific communities) would be desirable. 
• Familiarity with locally-led adaptation in practice preferred. 
• Demonstrated ability to address a range of issues related to global and national sustainable development (climate change adaptation and resilience-building would be highly desirable). 
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and to rapidly analyze diverse information from varied sources.
• Demonstrated ability and the necessary organizational skills to take initiative, personal ownership, and accountability to meet deadlines, work under pressure, balance competing demands and achieve agreed-upon results.  
• Demonstrated political awareness and ability to diplomatically handle sensitive situations with target audiences and to otherwise cultivate effective, productive client relationships/partnerships. 
• Excellent presentation and written communications and editing skills; strong command of English; ability to communicate, verbally and in writing, in other UN languages would be highly desirable, especially French and Spanish. 
• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.
• Ability and willingness to travel.
 

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

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