Consultancy: Preparation of GCF Readiness proposal for four African countries (the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe), WCARO Dakar, Senegal, 3 months (40 effective wo

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Purpose of Activity/Assignment: Preparation of a GCF Readiness proposal focusing on DRR, education and intersectoral collaboration for four African countries (the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe).

How can you make a difference?

Background and purpose

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, and have expertise in the field of climate change, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you. For more than 70 years, UNICEF has been working in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. As the world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation and HIV and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

UNICEF works towards the realization of the rights of children as prescribed in the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Over the past decade, climate change - which affects all children’s rights - has become a top priority for UNICEF. As a matter of fact, the climate crisis is a child rights crisis.

UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa (WCARO), in partnership with UNICEF Country Offices and National Designated Authorities (NDAs) from four countries (the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe) is planning to develop of a multi-country Readiness proposal to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). UNICEF was confirmed as a GCF Delivery Partner for Readiness funding in February 2020.

These four countries are highly vulnerable to climate change – Guinea and Guinea-Bissau rank 4th in UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index (2021), the Gambia is globally among the top ten countries most vulnerable to coastal erosion and sea-level rise, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe are both LDCs and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – and all four share common challenges, including: vulnerability to similar climate impacts due to their geographical proximity (for the first three) and coastal/SIDS status; limited access to climate finance and institutional capacity, specifically in the areas of disaster risk reduction and inter-sectoral collaboration; and a lack of clearly defined climate investment plans and capacity to develop quality concept notes to access funding from GCF and other sources in a complementary manner.

UNICEF Country Offices in the four countries have recently strengthened their collaboration with NDAs, including by conducting Climate Landscape Analysis for Children in 2022 (Guinea) and 2024 (Guinea-Bissau), or planning to (the Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe). In all countries, UNICEF Country Offices are partnering closely with Ministries of Education, in view of building the sector’s climate resilience, through WASH in school programming, disaster preparedness, youth engagement and joint resource mobilization initiatives. In Guinea, UNICEF is currently contributing to the development of a new national DRR strategy. In Guinea-Bissau, UNICEF supported the Government in organizing a national dialogue on climate change in May 2024, paving the way for a revised climate policy framework. This included child and youth consultations, and the integration of youth representatives in the government delegation attending the fourth SIDS Conference from 27-30 May 2024.

The NDAs have requested UNICEF support to develop a GCF Readiness proposal addressing the challenges and barriers identified collaboratively with UNICEF and sectoral Ministries. A preliminary proposal outline – focusing on disaster risk reduction, the education sector and inter-sectoral collaboration - was drafted for some of the countries.

Scope of Work:

The purpose of the international consultancy is to facilitate efficient coordination of a multi-country Readiness proposal to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), covering the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe. This includes writing the proposal, from initial draft(s) to the final version. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience of GCF concept note/proposal writing, or equivalent, and understanding of the new Readiness strategy, and its implication for future submissions.

Number of Working Days: 40 (from June 15th to September 30th, 2024).

Activities, deliverables and timeline

The International Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Act as the primary point of contact between UNICEF WCARO, UNICEF Country Offices, the NDAs, other government partners, and any other stakeholders (including potential Direct Access Entities), primarily through written communication and virtual meetings.
• Manage the collection, analysis, and sharing of relevant data, information, and documents among stakeholders.
• Coordinate and facilitate online meetings, discussions, and workshops among all parties, ensuring that the consultancy’s objectives are met, especially consensus among the four participating countries, within the set timelines.
• Maintain continuous communication with all stakeholders to ensure coherence; make adjustments based on GCF new Readiness strategy; and address queries, concerns, and feedback from stakeholders promptly and effectively.
• Monitor the progress of the concept note preparation against the planned milestones, timelines and deliverables.
• Prepare monthly reports on the concept note preparation progress, challenges, and proposed solutions to UNICEF WCARO, UNICEF Country Offices and the NDAs.
• Ensure the confidentiality and security of all consultancy-related information.
• Develop and maintain a database on a spreadsheet of documents, reports, and correspondences.
• Facilitate knowledge transfer and skill development among the NDAs’ staff involved in the concept note preparation.
• Ensure that all outputs and deliverables meet the quality standards and requirements set by UNICEF WCARO.
• Develop theories of change as necessary.
• Prepare the proposal’s initial draft(s), which will include a proposed set a “full proposals” (including one regional and four single country proposals) and revise it to incorporate comments and feedback, until approval of the final version.

• Any other tasks as instructed by UNICEF WCARO, including the planning of country-level field missions (if required).

  Deliverables/Outputs****Delivery deadline****PAYMENT (%)Produce a monthly activity report with Programme Status and workplan for the next month.

Prepare an initial draft proposal (detailed outline)

Monthly report (Month 1), including Appendix 1 - Database or spreadsheet of information and documents and Appendix 2 - Stakeholders Engagement Plan Status.

Draft proposal (detailed outline)

15/07/202420%Produce a monthly activity report with Programme Status and workplan for the next month.

Prepare a revised proposal

Monthly report (Month 2), including Appendix 1 and Appendix 2

Revised proposal

15/08/202430%Produce a monthly activity report with Programme Status and lessons learnt.

Prepare a final proposal

Monthly report (Month 3), including Appendix 1 and Appendix 2

Final proposal

30/09/202450%Administrative and planning support:

The International Consultant will be home-based. All costs related to the work will be included in the financial proposal and subsequent contract. Daily monitoring and supervision will be provided by UNICEF Regional Climate Specialist, with support from the UNICEF Country Offices focal points, under the overall direction of UNICEF Regional WASH/Climate Resilience Advisor.

The consultant is expected to be able to work independently to organize and facilitate internal meetings, external meetings/roundtables, presentations stakeholder meetings.

The consultant is required to provide his/her own computer and communications equipment (laptops, telephones, etc.).

No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant/ contractor.

Consultant/Contractor will be required to complete mandatory online courses (e.g. Ethics, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Security) upon receipt of offer and before the signature of contract.

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

• Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
• The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.
• UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• At least 7 years of experience in project coordination or management, preferably in climate-related proposal development with international organizations.
• Excellent writing skills and demonstrated ability to communicate scientific and technical ideas clearly using simple, commonly accepted language.
• Proven experience in liaising with government partners.
• Comfort making presentations to clients and presenting information in a compelling, informative, and persuasive fashion.
• Proven experience working in (one or more) social sectors (DRR, WASH, Education, Health, etc.).
• Excellent attention to detail complemented by strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines.
• Ability to work in teams as well as independently.
• Experience in West and Central Africa Region context is considered as an asset.
• Intermediate to advanced experience with producing deliverables with Microsoft Office 365 programs including SharePoint, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Fluency in English (oral and written) and, ideally, French and/or Portuguese.

Other Requirements

• Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system /Most updated CV
• Motivation Letter;
• Academic credentials/certificates
• Consultancy technical proposal;
• Financial proposal that will include:
  • Costs for each deliverable and total all-inclusive (lump sum) fees for the whole assignment
  • Travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per ToR
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable
• Previously relevant consultancy products & final evaluations (if available)
• Indicate your availability
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 9 days ago - Updated 3 hours ago - Source: unicef.org