• Country: New York, USA
• No of vacancies: N/A
  
• Salary: N/A 
• Organization: UNICEF
• Gender: Both 
• Deadline: 2024-01-02

Purpose of Assignment:

In 2020, UNICEF committed to ‘shift’ all its WASH programmes to be Climate Resilient (UNICEF Guidance Note Climate Shift). In addition to this, UNICEF and Global Water Partnership (GWP), developed a UNICEF GWP Strategic Framework for WASH Climate Resilience.

This is a consultancy for an individual consultant in Climate Finance. The consultant will support the WASH staff at UNICEF headquarters, regional offices, and country offices to:

• review climate finance opportunities (including with IFIs), and finance ideas (idea/ concept notes)
• develop new and/ or review concept notes and proposals to strengthen financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, co-financing arrangements (including level of concessionality) and related financial models
• propose appropriate climate finance mechanisms (GCF, GEF, etc.), based on country context
• propose appropriate climate finance instruments (grant, reimbursable grant, etc.), based on project requirements
• monitor global climate finance trends (opportunities/challenges); provide periodic recommendations to management on emerging climate finance areas
• collaborate with project teams and external stakeholders, including potential co-financiers, partners, and project beneficiaries on the finance aspects of climate proposals
• collaborate with UNICEF internal climate experts
• support learning through documenting all finance-related changes, and enhancements to climate proposals with relevant citations to internationally validated sources in climate change

The Consultant will conduct capacity building/training to UNICEF/ external partners:

• Assist the government to enhance their capacity to budget for and monitor spending on climate initiatives
• Facilitate knowledge transfer on climate finance among UNICEF/ climate change stakeholders, on the principles of climate finance and the development of project ideas into bankable climate finance proposals, considering climate funding donors/ IFIs (consider most appropriate financing mechanism)
• Ensure all outputs/deliverables meet UNICEF quality standards

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

1)Inception report with work plan, deliverables, methodology By 10 Feb 24

2)7 Reviewed Ideas and concept notes (with climate finance opportunities)

3)7 Deep Dive country presentations and reports By 10 May 24

4)4 Reviewed Idea and concept notes (with climate finance opportunities)

5)4 Deep Dive country presentations and reports By 10 Mar 25

6)4 Reviewed Ideas and concept notes (with climate finance opportunities)

7)4 Deep Dive country presentations and reports By 10 Oct 25

8)8 Reviewed Idea and concept notes (with climate finance opportunities). To be added later (funding to be confirmed)

9)8 Deep Dive country presentations and reports. To be added later (funding to be confirmed) By 10 Mar 26

10)7 country reports each with

i)5 pages of strengthened financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, co-financing arrangements (including level of concessionality) and related financial models to support the 7 concept notes and proposals

ii)2 pages with the scope/ requirements for economic/financial models applicable to support these 7 concept notes and proposals

iii)1 page summary of feedback on reviewed financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, co-financing arrangements and related financial models in concept notes and proposals (weaknesses and strengths) and recommended changes made to the justifications and rationale to get the strengthened justifications By 10 Sept 24

11)4 country reports each with

i)5 pgs of strengthened financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, including details same as deliverable 10 i), to support the 4 concept notes and proposals

ii)2 pgs with the scope/ requirements for economic/financial models to support these 4 concept notes and proposals

iii)1 pg summary of feedback on reviewed financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, including details same as deliverable 10 iii) By 10 May 25

12)4 country reports each with

i)5 pgs of strengthened financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, including details same as deliverable 10 i), to support the 4 concept notes and proposals

ii)2 pgs with the scope/ requirements for economic/financial models to support these 4 concept notes and proposals

iii)1 pg summary of feedback on reviewed financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, including details same as deliverable 10 iii) By 10 Jan 26

13)8 country reports each with

i)5 pgs of strengthened financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, including details same as deliverable 10 i), to support the 8 concept notes and proposals

ii)2 pgs with the scope/ requirements for economic/financial models to support these 8 concept notes and proposals

iii)1 pg summary of feedback on reviewed financial justifications and rationale for climate finance, including details same as deliverable 10 iii)

To be added later (funding to be confirmed) By 10 Sep 26

14)PowerPoint presentations for 4 training sessions

15)4 virtual training sessions delivered (1 per region) By 10 Nov 24

16)Updated PowerPoint presentations for 5 training sessions

17)5 virtual training sessions delivered (1 per region)          By 10 Oct 26

Qualifications

Education:

1. Master’s degree/ Advanced degree in Environmental science, environmental management, engineering, sanitation, water resources, climate, agriculture, social science, finance, economics, or another WASH-related field. PhD advantageous

Language Proficiency:

1. Fluency in English
2. Proficiency in French, Spanish or Arabic a strong asset

Work experience:

1. At least 10 years of programmatic experience in WASH/climate finance/financing sector, of which are a minimum of 7 years in drafting and reviewing climate-related proposals or projects. Experience with IFIs advantageous

Competencies/Knowledge:

1. Strong knowledge and proficiency in the global finance landscape, instruments, and mechanisms
2. Demonstrated experience in provision of advice to national governments on climate finance
3. Demonstrated understanding of principles of climate finance and the requirements of the major climate funds
4. Demonstrated experience in development and delivery of capacity building sessions aimed at senior government officials
5. Ability to work collaboratively with multi-cultural teams and stakeholders.
6. Strong analytical, communication, and writing skills

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