Climate Finance Specialist
English
The Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment promotes integration of innovative approaches in the activities of the Organization, for the sustainable use, management and conservation of natural resources for food and agriculture. OCB assists FAO Members in their responses towards the challenge of climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as the development of adaptive capacities of agriculture, fisheries and forestry for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and other natural resources. It provides a coordination role on climate change, biodiversity and the environment. The Office also serves as the focal point for a multidisciplinary and global approach to UNFCCC, CBD and topics on bioenergy as well as on Globally Important Agriculture Heritage Systems, ecosystem restoration and green and climate resilient agriculture.
The GCF is the largest international climate fund and a critical element of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The GCF is mandated to support developing countries raise and realize their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ambitions towards low-emissions climate-resilient pathways. There is growing international recognition that the sectors relevant to FAO mandate (including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other land use sectors) play a central role in responding to climate change, as these sectors are among the foremost priorities in the NDCs submitted by countries under the UNFCCC. FAO, as accredited agency of the GCF, has an important role to play in supporting its Member States to access and utilize GCF resources, as evidenced by the growing number of requests from government counterparts.
Tasks and responsibilities
The consultant will engage in the following areas of work, which are not limited to:
- Support development of GCF project ideas, concept notes and project proposals, working closely with other relevant FAO staff involved and providing systematic assessment of proposals vis a vis GCF requirements and suggesting revisions to enhance their quality
- Coordinate the quality documentation in preparation for proposal submission and for reporting requirements of the approved projects along with GCF and FAO project cycles
- Provide guidance on key sources of information and tools for project teams when developing their GCF projects and programs
- Develop guidance notes on specific topics as needed for FAO GCF intervention
- Review GCF policy documents
- Contribute to the updating of GCF related capacity development materials for FAO internal use and for countries and partners, and participate in delivering GCF related trainings
- Monitor FAO GCF project pipeline, tracking key metrics and progress on project development
- Execute funding liaison functions during formulation and implementation of assigned Funding Proposals and Readiness approved
- Participate in country missions for formulation and implementation support of GCF projects
Minimum Requirements
- Advanced university degree in environmental, agricultural, policy, or social sciences, natural resource management, economics, engineering or a related appropriate field
- One to four years (for CAT C), at least five years (for CAT B) and at least 15 years (for CAT A) of relevant experience in the review, design, formulation, implementation and evaluation of climate finance projects and programmes as well as
- in climate change for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors and others related to FAO mandate
- Working knowledge of English and French and/or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two, or of Arabic, Chinese or Russian (for consultants); working knowledge of English (for PSA)
