DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS30 July 2025-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)
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ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
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WHY JOIN WFP?
WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
JOB TITLE: Сlimate Finance Proposal Development Lead
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Consultancy (Level IV)
UNIT/DIVISION: Climate and Resilience Service
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Home-based, with short term field missions
DURATION: Between 1 and 11 months, with a definite number of working days, depending on needs.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
Findings from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that climate change could increase the risk of hunger and malnutrition by up to 20 percent by 2050, and its impacts will be felt disproportionately on the most food insecure and vulnerable.
WFP is committed to step up the number and scale of its climate-related interventions to support adaptation efforts of vulnerable people and governments globally, focusing on food and nutrition security.
WFP is supporting governments to access climate finance from various bilateral and multilateral sources such as the Adaptation Fund (AF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The processes to design climate adaptation projects, draft the proposals and related documentation, review the proposals with the respective funds’ secretariats and submit them to the funds’ Boards need extra efforts, time and specific capacities. Therefore, WFP is building a roster of expert consultants that can be hired by Country Offices (COs) to facilitate the process of project proposal development.
This vacancy announcement is for a consultancy level IV that requires more than 12 years of experience. Candidates with less years of experience, are invited to apply to the vacancies for consultancy level II (5-10 years of relevant experience) or III (10-12 years of relevant experience) that are advertised in parallel.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Under the supervision of relevant WFP COs, with the support of WFP Global HQ (GHQ), the consultant will be responsible for leading the preparation of concept notes (CN), funding proposals (FP) and/or relevant annexes to be submitted either to the AF or to the GCF. These projects will focus on improving food security while enhancing adaptive capacities of communities, systems and governments.
The specific tasks of each assignment will differ for each project, depending on local context, background documentation and assessments available, WFP CO and government existing capacities and needs, availability of local consultants to support with specific in-country tasks, and requirements of the fund. A separate assignment-specific TOR will be prepared by the relevant Country Office each time a project is assigned to the consultant. A list of possible tasks is presented below (points 3 to 12):
Pre-feasibility/feasibility assessments: direct the development of a pre-feasibility and/or a feasibility assessment in a format and template previously agreed with WFP and acceptable to the fund, which includes: i. context analysis, including climate analysis, climate change related problem and impacts, key factors of vulnerability and barriers to adaptation, national policies and priorities, existing initiatives; ii. design the project theory of change and structure, defining project components, outcomes and outputs in coordination with the Country Office and relevant stakeholders; iii. justification for the proposed project, including an analysis of factors such as sustainability, alignment with national priorities, cost-effectiveness, coordination with other relevant initiatives, additionality as required. A summary of the content will then be included in the proposal. [estimated days needed: AF 15 days; GCF 20 days for each (pre-feasibility and feasibility)]
Coordinate work with in-house and external specialists, including in the process of drafting or fine-tuning TORs for external specialists. [estimated days needed: 3 days]
Guide and participate in stakeholder consultations at national/sub-national/local level to gather the information needed to the design of the project and the drafting of the proposal. [estimated days needed: 10 days in-country at each stage (CN and FP)]
Guide and participate in community consultations [at concept note stage] to assess communities’ vulnerabilities, capacities and needs in terms of climate change adaptation, discuss activities’ ideas, collect information on gender roles and specific vulnerabilities/needs, collect information on environmental and social risks – in collaboration with gender and Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) experts. [estimated days needed: 5 days in-country (field)]
Participate and validate community consultations [at funding proposal stage] to confirm/finalize project activities, receive feedback/concerns/approval from communities on the proposed activities, collect more information (if needed) on gender and ESS – in collaboration with the relevant experts. [estimated days needed: 10 days in-country (field)]
Lead the design of the project and subsequent drafting of the concept note and funding proposal, drafting all of the sections using the results from the pre-feasibility assessment, the consultations, and coordinating inputs from technical experts, gender and ESS experts when available, and CO. [estimated days needed: AF-CN 15 days; AF-FP 25 days; GCF-CN 15 days; GCF-FP 40 days]
Together with main stakeholders, and with support from CO/GHQ staff, define project implementation and management structure and mechanisms. [estimated days needed: 2 days in-country]
Lead the drafting of the proposal annexes, with inputs from CO/GHQ staff. [estimated days needed depend on the involvement of CO/GHQ staff and support provided. AF 5-10 days; GCF 15-20 days]
Ensure the concept note/funding proposal and its annexes are of high quality and comply with the AF/GCF policies and guidelines
Lead responses to AF/GCF Secretariats’ comments and amend the proposal and annexes accordingly, in coordination with CO/GHQ staff. [estimated days needed: AF-CN 5 days; AF-FP 5 days; GCF-CN (when necessary) 10 days; GCF-FP 10-20 days]
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
Specific deliverables will be defined for each project the consultant will work on. However, this is an indicative list of possible deliverables:
Pre-Feasibility Assessment.
Project concept note.
Full funding proposal based on AF/GCF templates.
Annexes to the AF/GCF proposal, which include:
Feasibility study
Project Theory of Change and logical framework
Economic and/or financial analyses
Detailed project budget
Implementation timetable
Environmental and social risk assessment and management plan
Summary of stakeholder consultations at national and local level
Stakeholder engagement plan
Gender assessment and action plan
Operations and maintenance plan
Procurement plan
Monitoring and evaluation plan
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
University degree with experience and training/courses in one or more of the following disciplines: climate change adaptation, natural resources management, environmental studies, agriculture and food security, development studies, economics, engineering, or related area.
Experience:
At least 12 years of post graduate, progressively responsible, job related experience in food security, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction or related area. The level of the consultancy will be defined based on the specific assignment and years of experience of the candidate.
Experience in humanitarian aid and/or development project design or implementation.
Proven experience and ability to draft project proposals for the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, and/or the Global Environment Facility.
Knowledge & Skills:
Familiarity with AF and/or GCF rules and regulations.
Proven ability to coordinate across multiple stakeholders.
Extensive, proven experience with community and stakeholders’ consultations.
Excellent communication skills.
Proactiveness.
Field experience will be regarded as an asset.
Familiarity with WFP and the UN system will be regarded as an asset.
Proficiency in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
Languages:
Excellent written and spoken English
Knowledge of other UN languages is highly desirable
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: global.inclusion@wfp.org
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.