Project Formulation Expert

Result of ServiceA fully developed and approved funding proposal for the Adaptation Fund. Work LocationHome based. Two field missions to Burundi will be required during the consultancy: one for stakeholder consultations and data collection, and another to present the draft project proposal for government validation. These missions will be arranged and paid for separately from this contract. Expected duration12 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesOrganisational Setting The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP's Climate Change Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Burundi is a small, landlocked country with abundant natural resources, including minerals and significant hydropower potential. However, years of conflict have severely damaged its economic structure, contributing to widespread poverty. The country and its people heavily rely on climate-sensitive economic sectors such as agriculture (primarily rain-fed) and animal husbandry. Agriculture accounts for 39.2% of Burundi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs almost 94% of the working population. Despite having the lowest per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally—ranking 188 out of 188 countries and contributing only 0.01% to global emissions—Burundi is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. According to the 2022 Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) index, Burundi ranks 165 out of 180 countries in terms of climate vulnerability, indicating that it is extremely vulnerable and unprepared to address the effects of climate change. The overall goal of the programme is to enhance the resilience of people and institutions in Burundi to climate change-induced flood and drought events. This will be achieved through the implementation of innovative adaptation technologies supported by information technology. In 2022, a technical assistance initiative funded by the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) demonstrated the effectiveness of a water-filled mobile flood barrier called SLAMSAM in improving resilience to flood and drought risks. This pilot project, successfully completed, was presented by the President of Burundi during COP27 in Egypt. Due to its success, it was decided to scale up this technology in Burundi to realize additional flood and drought adaptation benefits. A concept was developed and endorsed by the AF Secretariat at the 42nd Board Meeting, May 2024, to be funded through a large grant in the Innovation Facility. The objective of the innovation pillar of the Adaptation Fund Medium Term Strategy is to support the development and diffusion of innovative adaptation practices, tools, and technologies. This new $USD 5 million project will be implemented at one or more sites within the Imbo Basin through the following three components: 1. Planning flood and drought information technology and services. 2. Implementing innovative flood and drought adaptation tools, technologies, and practices. 3. Enhancing knowledge management, awareness creation, and information sharing on flood and drought risks. The vulnerable communities and social groups in the Imbo Basin are predominantly rural and rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. These groups include women, youth, family farms, landless laborers, and ethnic minorities. With a population density of 400 inhabitants per km², the Imbo plain is one of the most densely populated regions in the country. The population primarily consists of small-scale farmers and pastoralists who depend on rain-fed agriculture and traditional farming methods. The programme will upscale innovative technologies to enhance resilience to flood and drought risks, including tailored flood and drought information systems with weather monitoring equipment, hydrodynamic modelling software, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology for enriched data analysis. It will also implement the water-filled mobile flood barrier (SLAMDAM) to prevent flooding and harvest water for drought mitigation, supported by solar-powered irrigation systems and cold storage facilities for crop preservation. The interventions aim to improve the efficiency of the agricultural value chain, increase productivity and income, strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to climate change, and promote gender equality. These measures will enable the cultivation of crops during three seasons instead of two, boosting agricultural production. The increased agricultural output will support consumption within the country and contribute to export opportunities. For the implementation of this programme UNEP will act as the Implementing Entity, while the Office Burundais pour la Protection de l’Environnement (OBPE) will serve as the Executing Entity. After addressing four rounds of comments between September 2023 and February 2024, the Adaptation Fund endorsed the large innovation project concept note. The endorsement included a request that the fully-developed proposal address the following recommendations: • Provide an alignment table demonstrating alignment with the Fund’s strategic results framework. • Ensure that the budget includes capacity-building measures for irrigation systems and solar-powered cold storage, with an indicative timeline for activities to change the behavior of farmers and pastoralists. • Specify the exact project sites where interventions will be implemented and include outcomes of consultations with target communities. • Clarify maintenance agreements for concrete interventions with suppliers. • Include a Gender Assessment and Gender Action Plan. Building on the successful pilot of a water-filled mobile flood barrier (SLAMDAM) funded by the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) and presented during COP27, this project aims to scale up innovative technologies such as flood barriers, tailored flood and drought information systems, and solar-powered irrigation systems. These measures will enhance agricultural productivity, strengthen resilience, and promote gender equality in the densely populated Imbo Basin, home to some of Burundi’s most vulnerable communities. The consultant will lead the development of the funding proposal, ensuring alignment with the Adaptation Fund's strategic priorities and UNEP’s programmatic objectives. The consultant will also facilitate stakeholder engagement, including field-level consultations with vulnerable communities, and prepare all required annexes, including environmental, social, and gender safeguards, to meet the Adaptation Fund’s quality standards. The consultant will report to the UNEP Task Manager for this project and receive overall supervision from the UNEP Adaptation Portfolio Manager. Additionally, the consultant will work closely with focal points from the Office Burundais pour la Protection de l’Environnement (OBPE) and the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Livestock in Burundi. Duties and Responsibilities: The proposal should be prepared based on the endorsed concept note and with the involvement and validation of national and local stakeholders. Field-level consultations should take place among the communities to be supported, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock who is the focal point of the AF. The information gathered should be location-specific and quantitative as far as possible. Data and information should be recent and referenced. The proposal should incorporate the following key aspects: 1. Refinement of project design • Refine the climate change adaptation problem statement through consultations with communities and national stakeholders, validating and strengthening the climate rationale in the Concept Note. • Develop the solution tree and clearly define the proposal’s focus based on consultations. • Refine the Theory of Change, incorporating drivers, risks, and assumptions. • Identify and prioritize project implementation sites through objective criteria and government consultations. Document the rationale for site selection and consultation outcomes. • Prepare project maps, including GIS-based maps for intervention locations where necessary. 2. Technical details of interventions • Provide technical specifications for key activities, including dimensions, capacity, and expected lifespan (e.g., irrigation systems, solar-powered cold storage, flood barriers). • Link interventions to climate change risks, quantifying benefits such as reductions in crop losses or increases in water availability. • Quantify direct and indirect beneficiaries for each activity, including gender-disaggregated data and vulnerable group analysis. 3. Environmental, social, and gender safeguards • Work closely with the contractor responsible for developing the Gender Assessment and the Gender Action Plan, ensuring gender-responsive outputs and outcomes. • Work closely with the contractor responsible for developing the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), addressing identified risks (e.g., SS4 deemed moderate in SRIF) and complying with UNEP and Adaptation Fund requirements. • Integrate the findings from the GAP and the ESMP into the activity plan and budget of the project and into all relevant narrative sections of the report. 4. Stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing • Develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan that includes mechanisms for feedback, grievance redress, and conflict management. • Ensure meaningful consultation with vulnerable and marginalized groups, specifying whether separate consultations were conducted. • Address how lessons learned will be disseminated and shared with a broader audience. 5. Budget and cost-effectiveness • Develop budget tables at the activity and output levels, including budget notes and cost estimates for key interventions (e.g., irrigation systems, solar-powered cold storage). • Conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of the proposed measures and the project overall, comparing alternatives with quantitative data. 6. Implementation and management • Complete programme management arrangements including governance and organization, financial and programme risk management, compliance with the Gender Policy. • Provide an indicative timeline for capacity-building sessions (e.g., frequency, duration, expected outcomes) to change behavior beneficiaries such as farmers and pastoralists. • Include details on maintenance agreements, specifying when and how they will be established with suppliers. 7. Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting • Develop a log frame with clearly defined outcome indicators, tentative targets, and output targets aligned with the Adaptation Fund’s Results Framework. • Draft a monitoring and evaluation plan, including a budgeted framework. • Include a procurement plan for each year of the project using UNEP’s Umoja format. 8. Alignment • Include an alignment table demonstrating consistency with the Adaptation Fund’s strategic results framework. • Complete all sections of the Adaptation Fund proposal template, ensuring alignment with UNEP and Adaptation Fund guidance and quality standards. 9. Timeline • Provide a GANTT chart mapping activities against the timeline of project implementation. • Address feedback from at least 3 rounds of comments from UNEP and 3 from the Adaptation Fund, resubmitting revisions within 10 days. Deliverables Deliverable 1: GANTT chart with project development workplan and milestones including intermediary outputs relating to sections of the Funding Proposal template Deliverable 2: Updated activity plan integrating mission findings, preliminary ESS and gender findings, draft budget, updated theory of change, logframe and project maps with sites identified Deliverable 3: Draft Funding proposal with all annexes for UNEP first review Deliverable 4: Draft Funding proposal ready for UNEP PRC review, addressing PRC review comments and final funding proposal for submission to Adaptation Fund Deliverable 5: Responses to three rounds of Adaptation Fund comments Qualifications/special skillsA master's degree in environmental studies, climate finance, climate science, agriculture and water resources management, international development or related field is required. -Minimum of 7 years of experience in climate change adaptation, proposal development, and stakeholder engagement is required. -Proven track record of successful Adaptation Fund proposals or similar funding mechanisms is required. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French language is desirable. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.