<< Back

This job listing is no longer active.
Please use our Environment Jobs Search to find current vacancies.

Title

Technical Review and Assistance - Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project.
Posted
Reference   (Please mention Stopdodo/Environment Jobs in your application)
Sectors Sustainability, Climate, CSR, EMS
Hydrology, Hydrogeology, Water Resources
Location Samoa - Australasia
Type Temporary / Contract / Seasonal
Status Full Time
Level Senior Level
Deadline 20/10/2011
Company Name UNDP
Contact Name Human Resources
Website Further Details / Applications
UNDP logo
Directory Entry : UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. For environmental jobs with UNDP visit their website. Or for more environmental jobs search environmentjobs.com
Also Listing:
Description
The UNDP/GEF PACC project is a four year $13m programme of action, which began implementation in February 2009 with financing from the Special Climate Change Fund. The project is executed by SPREP, who work directly with 13 National Implementing Partners (typically government entities based in each of the countries that is part of this project). In June 2011 the Australian Government provided additional funding of AUD7.3 million to complement and add value to the on-going PACC project.
 
Australia’s contribution will build on existing project delivery mechanisms established through the PACC in order to facilitate the replication and up scaling of practical adaptation measures and strengthen overall implementation of the project through increasing assistance for the programme support and knowledge management activities. The overall objective of the project is to enhance the capacity of the participating countries to adapt to climate change, including climate variability, in selected key development sectors. SCCF funds are in place to support capacity building and mainstream of climate change adaptation at the national level; and finance practical demonstration activities of adaptation approaches at the community level. Technical assistance and support, including knowledge codification and dissemination is supported through a regional approach.  
 
Specifically, the project is expected to deliver outcomes and outputs that include improved technical capacity to formulate and implement national and sub-national policies, legislation, regulations and costing/assessment exercises. Climate change risks will be incorporated into relevant governance policies and strategies for achieving food security, water management, and coastal development. At the national level, pilot demonstration activities will deliver adaptation benefits in the form of practical experiences in the planning and implementation of response measures that reduce vulnerability of communities to climate change and increase their resilience. These benefits will be integral for future replication and up-scaling, and also to identify larger-scale investment opportunities for climate change adaptation. The project will also foster regional collaboration on adaptation.  
 
Expected Project outcomes and outputs:
 
Details pertaining to the project are outlined in a UNDP project document including expected results (outcomes) and anticipated tangible deliverables. The PACC project highlights three main, closely interrelated outcomes, that are to be achieved:
 
Outcome 1: Policy changes to deliver immediate vulnerability- reduction benefits in context of emerging climate risks implemented.
 
At the project design stage, the following outputs were identified as the key deliverables:
  • Sectoral or national policies revised or developed to incorporate climate change risk and resilience aspects
  • Develop methodology and tools to assist Pacific Island countries mainstream climate change into their current national development plans and priorities. 
  • Climate change economic tools for evaluation of adaptation options developed and utilized.
 Outcome 2.Demonstration activities to reduce vulnerability in coastal areas (Cook Islands, FSM, Samoa and Vanuatu), crop production (in Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands) and in water management (in Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Tonga and Tuvalu) implemented to facilitate measures to assist people and communities to adapt to risks associated with climate change.
 
This outcome is mainly based on the consultations with communities and the national governments to identify the main impacts of climate change and define priorities of action. The implementation of these adaptation strategies aims to increase the resiliency of communities to climate change and provide examples that can be scaled up in the future.
 
The framework of PACC is centered in 3 main areas of action: coastal areas, water management and food security. Each country will define their adaptation strategies within these 3 areas aiming to maximize the direct benefits for communities and individuals.  
 
At the project design stage, the following outputs were identified as the key deliverables:
  • Development of technical guidelines for the relevant sector in each country 
  • Demonstration activities of the adaptation strategies selected in each country  
Outcome 3: Capacity to plan for and respond to changes in climate-related risks improved.
 
This outcome aims to compile all the results of the project, gathering best practices and technical aspects of adaptation to climate change. All this information will be then disseminated to increase the capacity at different levels to define strategies to adapt to climate change. This information at the community level can make an important difference in the capacity of communities to understand risks derived from climate change and have access to a range of actions that can be implemented, increasing their resiliency to climate change.
 
 
At the project design stage, the following outputs were identified as the key deliverables:
  • Technical advice for implementation of national adaptation
  • Best practices and lessons exchanged among countries through SPREP
  • Project website established and regularly updated

 

Duties and Responsibilities
The main result of this assignment is a report containing the following closely interrelated components: 
 
I.    Technical Evaluation:
 
The technical evaluation of the national and sub-national demonstration activities in the PACC Project will cover the following aspects: 
 
a)    Examine the extent to which the design of the overall PACC project allows for appropriate assessment of vulnerability and adaptation capacity and needs prior to the selection and implementation of specific adaptation-centred policies and measures and provide operationally viable recommendations for financing the requisite assessments with resources from the project budget;  
 
b)    Evaluation of the methodology that is (or to be) applied for the vulnerability assessment including extent to which :
  • Climate change information was (will be) integrated in the selection of any proposed policies and measures prior to their actual implementation. 
  • Efforts were made to analyse the underlying causes of vulnerability (both climate change related as well as those that are not climate change related including natural disasters, resources management, location, agricultural practices, capacity issues, etc)
  • Any assessments differentiated vulnerability by area, individuals or population groups, by temporal horizon (short-, medium- and long-term horizon), etc .
  • Criteria used to identify priorities for policy formulation and/or measures in the context of emerging climate change risks.
  •  Assess the extent to which the community demonstration activities have been used to inform the policy mainstreaming processes pursued under Outcome 1 of the project, and vice-versa, to what extent the policy and planning frameworks revised or being revised served to support the community demonstration activities.  
c)    Assessment of policies and measures that were selected for implementation. Following the conclusion of vulnerability assessments, ideally, a set of potential policies and measures would have emerged for implementation. The technical assessment will examine the extent to which the selection of the most appropriate option was motivated by:
  • Capacity of the option to decrease vulnerability in a specific sector and increase the resilience of an area and population group
  • Synergy of the policy or measure with general development strategies
  • Socio-economic/vulnerability analysis related to the implementation of the policies and measures
  • Comparative cost-benefit analysis including a cost-effectiveness analysis
  • Technical assessment/feasibility of the adaptation option
  • Environmental Impact Assessment  
d)    Assess to what extent the results of the demonstration activities have been communicated to national stakeholders (both community level and upwards national level)  
 
e)     Assess how the implementation of the demonstration activities (or will) incorporate cross-cutting issues such as gender.  
 
f)    To the extent possible, assess the benefits of the policies and measures in place or likely to be in place as a result of the UNDP/GEF project. The evaluation will provide an analysis of the observable changes and benefits to communities derived from the implementation of the adaptation policies and measures.  
 
g)    Capacity of national and community institutions to sustain the project results in the long term
 
h)     Lessons learned; what has worked or not and the lessons learned at community consultation and engagement level, institutional arrangements and technical assessments (V&A etc.) level.  
 
i)      Recommendations to further improve the demonstration activities
 
II.    Draft technical guide documenting the demonstration activities and experience to date
 
a)    Attached to the technical evaluation, assess to what extent the assessment, planning and implementation process associated with the demonstration activities have been systematically documented by project teams including SPREP.  
b)    Analyse information and documentation gaps in the demonstration activities process and make recommendations to overcome  
c)    In coordination with the national Coordinators and their team, compile and draft a technical guide documenting the process of formulating and implementing demonstration activities and experience to date, along the main steps (community consultations, assessment, planning design, and implementation), follow a generic outline, to be adjusted to the national and local circumstances.
  
The guides will be further completed by the national teams with the support from SPREP during the remaining duration of the projects, incorporating the experience from the full implementation of adaptation measures and completion of the demonstration activities.
  
III.    Plan for up-scaling and replication of the demonstration activities experience that can be implemented through additional funds
 
a)    Provide an assessment on the impact of additional resources on the management of PACC with regards to administration and implementation of up-scaling demonstration activities  
b)    Identify replication and up-scaling opportunities to extend the experiences of the ongoing demonstration activities in the pilot communities to additional areas and communities in the respective PACC project focus sectors (water, agriculture or coastal). An alternative option is to implement complementary measures in the current PACC target communities. 
c)    Draw up a replication and up-scaling plan, including the definition of the additional communities/areas, climate-change related issues to be addressed, adaptation measures to be implemented, with a budgeted work-plan for the period January 2012 – April 2014.

 

Competencies
  • Demonstrated knowledge and skills to develop environment and climate change project evaluation  
  • Good understanding of climate change adaptation and development issues in the Pacific
  • Experience in coastal adaptation, food security and water management and protection measures and related policy and planning processes 
  • Sound knowledge on project and logical framework development and analysis
  • Familiarization with GEF/UNDP project procedures highly desirable  
  • Strong interpersonal skills with ability to work under pressure and to establish and maintain effective work relationships with people of different backgrounds  
  • Excellent communication skills, reporting with ability to express ideas clearly, concisely and effectively, both orally and writing
  • Computer literacy in full Microsoft Office Package and web browser capability  
  • Ability to take initiative and to work independently as part of a team
 
 

 

Required Skills and Experience
A consulting team (drawn from International/regional and national pools) with the following qualifications shall be engaged to undertake the assignment. The team has the overall responsibility for collecting of documents, completing the desk review prior to the country missions and for submitting the interim and final documents and reports. The team leader will sign an agreement with UNDP and will be bound by its terms and conditions set in the agreement.
 
The team will ideally include a minimum of three experts with sound background on adaptation to climate change in the sectors of: water management, food security and coastal management.
 
The team will have to split for the individual country visits and it would be advisable to organize these visits according to the expertise of the members of the team.
 
 
Qualifications:
 
Education:
  • International/regional consultants with academic and professional competencies in sectors such as agriculture, water and coastal management and fields related to Climate Change Adaptation  

Experience:

  • The team leader should have a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience and other team members should have a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience.
  • Over 10 years of experience in assessing and supporting community-based development and related institutional processes

Language:

  • Excellent English writing and communication skills. The team must be equipped with own computing equipment
     Ability to assess complex situations, identify critical issues, and derive appropriate conclusions and recommendations.
  • Highly knowledgeable of participatory monitoring and evaluation processes, and experience in evaluation of technical assistance projects.
  • Ability and experience to lead multi disciplinary and national teams, and deliver quality reports within a given timeframe.
  • Familiarity with the challenges developing countries and small island states face in adapting to climate change
  • Excellent in human relations, coordination, planning and team work

Terms of Reference:
Add to My Account
<< Back