Climate Policy and Planning Specialist (Nepal)

About Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ADPC is an intergovernmental regional organization with a vision to reduce disaster and climate risk impacts on communities and countries in Asia and the Pacific by working with governments, development partners, international organizations, NGOs, civil society, private sector, media, and other key stakeholders. Established in 1986 as a technical capacity building center, ADPC has grown and diversified its expertise across social and physical sciences to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction across a broad range of specialist areas. With over 100 staff from 19 different nationalities and a wide range of professional expertise from atmospheric scientists to social scientists with experiences from all levels of engagement typically required for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Resilience (CR) in an effective manner. ADPC is a competent regional resource center and has seven thematic departments: ADPC Academy, Risk Governance, Climate Resilience, Urban Resilience, Health Risk Management, Preparedness for Response and Recovery, Geospatial Information.

These are supported by Finance, Human Resources and Administration, and Strategic Planning departments. In addition to the departments, ADPC works on three cross-cutting themes: Gender and Diversity, Poverty and Livelihoods, and Regional and Transboundary Cooperation through permanent working committees. ADPC Strategy 2020 guides the organization in providing comprehensive risk reduction support to countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. ADPC recognizes the importance of examining the linkages between disaster risk management, poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainability, rights-based approaches, climate change and regional cooperation. For details please refer to ADPC website at http://www.adpc.net/

Background

Disasters take a huge toll on the development agenda of SAR countries. Between 2000 and 2017, disasters in South Asia incurred estimated damages of US$ 149.27 billion. Public expenditure is under stress by the repeated need to reallocate capital budgets away from long term development planning and towards reconstruction activities in post-disaster environments. For example, since 2005, Pakistan has suffered losses on the order of US$ 16 billion due to natural disasters. In Bangladesh, 2007 Cyclone Sidr resulted in damages and losses of US$1.7 billion, or 2.6 per cent of GDP. To increase resilience and achieve climate commitments, there is a need for a transformational shift towards policies and institutions that enable climate-resilient investments. Investing in more resilient infrastructure is both profitable and urgent as disruptions are extremely costly for governments, households and private sector and large ongoing investments in infrastructure assets will have long-lasting repercussions as poor maintenance and natural disasters result in a vulnerable stock. With the financial support from the World Bank Group, ADPC will be implementing a five years’ project, titled “Climate Adaptation and Resilience Project for South Asia” (CARE).

The project aims to create an enabling environment for climate resilience policies and investments across South Asia. This objective will be achieved through enhanced regional cooperation and knowledge exchange for climate resilience and adaptation and mainstreaming of resilience and adaptation in national policies, plans and investments. Scaling up the climate resilient policy, planning, and financing is vital to satisfactorily implement all the required components of the project. It would involve review of national policies to support in development of climate resilient frameworks in planning and financing. Accordingly, a highly qualified and experienced Climate Policy and Planning Specialist will be required to support in reviewing national reports and frameworks. S/he will be selected on competitive basis following World Bank Procurement Regulations. The objectives of this consultancy service are to:

• Country technical lead in reviewing, updating, and enhancing public policy and planning mechanisms related to climate resilience including institutional and related public expenditure.
• Provide technical inputs in reviewing relevant country documents to highlight gaps in climate resilience with focus on public policy on climate resilience including planning mechanisms and public expenditure in Nepal.
• Lead in facilitating cooperation between the Nepal Planning Commission, with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Forest and Environment (MOFE), the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA) and other critical public sector agencies in Nepal to identify gaps and develop an action plan for climate and disaster-risk informed investment.
• Lead in the implementation of LAPA in a pilot province.

Statement of Intent

The Climate Policy and Planning Specialist will play an essential role in Nepal to ensure National expertise is available with a strong understanding of the processes key requirements, and stakeholders involved in developing development policy and plans to mainstream climate change. The Climate Policy and Planning Specialist will work closely with the Climate Policy and Planning Specialist in ADPC-Bangkok. The Climate Policy and Planning Specialist will be based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Note: It is not the intent of this Terms of Reference to cover every aspect of the position requirements, rather to highlight the most important areas of personal and joint responsibilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Climate Policy and Planning Specialist shall provide the following inputs:

Technical Review and Support

• Assist and coordinate in organizing inception meeting/ consultations/ workshops in Nepal related to public policy and planning for climate resilience.
• Co-lead (along with the Country Climate Finance Specialist) in review, of the Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA).
• Provide support in reviewing documents on the country’s Climate Change Financing Framework (CCFF).
• Provide inputs to develop a Nepal Action Plan for Climate and Disaster Risk Informed Investments supplemented by a National Appraisal and Approval Framework.

LAPA Development

• Lead identifying, reviewing, and assessing the current status of country guidelines on local climate and disaster resilience developed for Nepal which complements the federalization process.
• Lead in the co-development of provincial adaptation plan with local government, women’s group, CSOs, PWD groups, children’s group, and other stakeholders and integrate into sub-national development planning process and existing local DRR strategies.
• Provide technical inputs into supporting the development of an implementation plan to roll out the climate change financing framework (CCFF) in the pilot province Tools and Guides Development.
• Support the Climate Finance Specialist (ADPC country staff) in the development of National Guidelines for Nepal on Climate Finance and Planning by conducting preparatory review on climate policy and planning documents including country status on the implementation and develop an outline of Nepal Climate Policy, Planning and Finance National Guidelines.
• Co-lead with the Climate Finance Specialist (ADPC country staff) in the establishment of a national technical working group (TWG) on Climate Finance and Planning composed of representatives from Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA), and other relevant government agencies and members of the Climate Change Network Nepal, including the development of a terms of reference and a draft roadmap to support the development of National Guidelines on Climate Policy, Planning and Finance.
• Co-lead with the Climate Finance Specialist (ADPC country staff) in the development of a draft on the National Guidelines on Nepal Climate Policy, Planning and Finance supplemented with a roadmap for guideline process and implementation with the TWG including the process of sharing and submitting to the Nepal Planning Commission for review and approval.
• Provide technical support in the analysis of the current status of the National Climate Change Budgeting and Planning in Nepal Performing other relevant tasks as assigned by the Project Director, Country Project Lead and Climate Policy and Planning Specialist (Regional).

Qualifications

• A master’s degree of higher in Climate Change, International Development, Political Science, Public Administration or a relevant social science degree.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in climate change and resilience and development policy analysis, and at least 5 years’ experience in policy and planning for resilient development.
• Strong analytical skills and solid understanding of climate science, global frameworks, climate adaptation/resilience strategies, climate-informed policies and planning frameworks and sectoral interventions, global and national framework of climate services.
• Knowledge of latest climate policies, frameworks such as Nepal’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), National Adaptation Plans (NAP), Local Adaptation Plan of Action Framework (LAPA), and other compliance and obligatory documents in the country relevant to climate adaptation and resilience.
• Knowledge of national laws and government.
• Proven research and analytical work.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and capacity to work under pressure and short deadlines.
• A professional relationship with the MoP and the MoFE is an advantage.
• Cross cultural awareness and ability to work amongst a diverse group of staff, and partners.
• Required computer proficiencies: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams.
• Experience in training, capacity building and facilitating high-level discussions.
• Excellent English proficiency in oral and written communication, including a demonstrated track record in technical report writing and ability to communicate technical matters effectively to a general audience.

Reporting Relationships

The Climate Policy and Planning Specialist will report to Country Project Lead for the day to day activities and maintain close coordination with the ADPC’s Country Representative in Nepal. The technical oversight will be provided by the Climate Policy and Planning Specialist (Regional) at the Bangkok office through the PIU. The specialist will also coordinate with the other CARE project specialists at the regional and national level to carry out different activities under the project.

Selection Method

The consultant will be selected in accordance with ADPC’s recruitment process and in compliance with the World Bank Procurement Regulations.