National capacity needs assessment consultant (Nepal)

About Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ADPC is an autonomous international 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) 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 the 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.

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, temperature rise resulted in rapid retreat of glaciers with incidences of Glacial lake outburst flood, and an increase in the frequency of other extreme events such as floods in terai and the drought-like situation has adversely impacted Nepal is facing during the last few years.

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 the 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 with a focus on Nepal as one of the project countries by providing advisory services, standards development and building capacity on the current needs and priorities of beneficiaries in the country for climate adaptation and resilience. 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.

The project would require the services of a National Capacity Needs Assessment Consultant in Kathmandu, Nepal, to lead capacity needs assessment (CNA) understanding the key capacity needs to support climate-risk management solutions being developed through the project activities and key priorities of the beneficiaries in Nepal. The CNA will target the staff within the Government’s beneficiary Departments/ Ministries and assess their capacity on implementing technical interventions on climate-risk management solutions.

The overall objectives of this consultant position are to conduct the Capacity Needs Assessment of the staff within the Government’s beneficiary Departments/ Ministeries1 in Nepal on implementing technical interventions on climate-risk management solutions and support ADPC Country Office in Nepal in strengthening the management capacity of the country project team under the CARE project.

Statement of Intent

The National Capacity Needs Assessment Consultant will be responsible for leading the capacity needs assessment activities of the CARE project in Nepal.

The National Capacity Needs Assessment Consultant 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 National Capacity Needs Assessment Consultant will work under the supervision of the Project Director and take advice from Capacity Development Specialist and coordinate closely with Resilient Agriculture Specialist, Integrated Water Resource Management Specialist, Climate Resilience Specialist, Climate Policy and Planning Specialist, and Climate Public Finance Management Specialist to perform the following:

• Develop Survey Plan and Guideline for conducting Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) of the staff within the Government’s beneficiary Departments/ Ministeries1 on implementing technical interventions on climate-risk management solutions
• Develop CNA design by identifying target groups to be trained, interviewees, survey methods, and schedule
• Identify problems and capacity needs of selected Ministries/Departments1 in line with the climate-risk management solutions being developed through the project in Nepal by collecting, organizing, and analyzing data and information for the assessment of capacity needs in-line with the CNA design
• To conduct validation workshop for with beneficiary Ministries/ DepartmentsError! Bookmark not defined. to finalize the analyzed results
• Develop and share CNA Report with beneficiary Ministries/ DepartmentsError! Bookmark not defined. and key stakeholders
• Develop Capacity Development Plan with identified training courses for Ministries/DepartmentsError! Bookmark not defined. based on CNA Report
• Develop modules on Climate Change Adaptation, on implementation of key policies related to the focus sector in Nepal
• Perform other relevant tasks as assigned by the Project Director and Capacity Development Specialist

Qualifications

• A master’s degree or higher in climate change adaptation, disaster management, international development, organizational development, behavioral science, or any other related fields;
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in climate resilience, adaptation and mainstreaming of resilience and adaptation in national policies, plans, and investments; Experience working with government institutions in Nepal is an advantage; relevant academic experience is an advantage; Experience in translation of research findings into concrete recommendations and outputs; Knowledge and experience in the different stages of training development and management, especially capacity needs assessment/ training needs assessment;
• Thorough understanding and knowledge of climate resilience, adaptation and mainstreaming of resilience and adaptation in national policies, plans, and investments, as well as relevant international and national and other frameworks on climate resilience and DRR;
• Excellent drafting/writing ability; Excellent interviewing and listening skills; Fluency in spoken and written English; Excellent capability to write training needs assessment reports including a demonstrated track record in training material development; Experience with Microsoft Office programs and ICT tools; Experience using online collaborative platforms such as Skype, Zoom, WebEx and Microsoft Teams; Fluency in Nepali is preferred;
• Objective and analytical; Results-driven; Strong sense of commitment; Efficient; Capable of working under time pressure; Proven track record of delivering on time; Good interpersonal skills; Willingness to work in a team, respect the importance of other disciplines, and keen to learn from and contribute to various disciplines; and
• Willing to travel periodically in the country and region.

Reporting Relationships

The National Capacity Needs Assessment Consultant will report to the Project Director, CARE, and work under the guidance of the Capacity Development Specialist, along with maintaining close coordination with ADPC’s Country Office in Nepal. The Consultant will also work in close coordination with the PIU.

Contract Duration

The contract duration will be for 6 months. The consultant’s performance will be reviewed quarterly.