Technical Lead – NDC 3.0 Development

Result of ServiceThe final deliverable of the Technical Lead will be to elaborate, develop, and produce the NDC 3.0 document itself, including all analytical inputs, modelling outputs, scenarios, costs, technologies’, and technical documentation necessary to inform and support its overall technical development and consolidation, in alignment with the country’s LTS. The Technical Lead will thus be responsible for ensuring the preparation of a robust, data-driven, and nationally validated NDC 3.0 document for The Gambia, ready for submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Work LocationThe Gambia or regional presence Expected durationPart-time / 73 working days Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe United Nations 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. The Climate Change Division is the lead Division charged with carrying out the functions of UNEP in the field of environmental Climate Change. To fulfill its mandate, the work of the Climate Change Division focuses on: working with Members States and Partners to accelerate and support a just transition by addressing mitigation and adaptation gaps through enhancing implementation capacity, access to finance and technology, and building resilience. The Climate Change Division promotes sustainable development and effective policies for climate stability; support action so that countries progress on decarbonization, dematerialization, and resilience pathways in line with their climate commitments, aspirations, and needs; and foster transparency in reporting. UNEP-CCC is a leading international advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development. Its work focuses on helping developing countries and emerging economies transition to low-carbon development pathways and supporting the integration of climate resilience into national development. UNEP-CCC is actively involved in the implementation of the UN Environment Climate Change Strategy and Energy Programme.To remain aligned with a pathway in which the rise in global average temperatures stays below 1.5°C, countries are expected to submit the third generation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.o) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat before COP30 . The first Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement has highlighted the urgent need for greater ambition, with the objective of reducing global GHG emissions by 43% by 2030 and further by 60% by 2035 compared with 2019 levels and reaching net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 globally. The Gambia submitted its second NDC to the UNFCCC in September 2021, covering the period 2021 – 2030, targeting a 49.7% emissions reduction by 2030 below business-as-usual The NDC 2.0 is supported by an NDC Update Report, an NDC Implementation Plan, and a costing. The country also submitted its Long-Term Strategy (LTS) for climate neutrality by 2050 and its first Biennial Update Report (BUR1) in 2024, with its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) in preparation. With support from the NDC Partnership, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through its Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC), is assisting The Gambia in developing its updated NDC 3.0 for a 2035 horizon. This draws on a stocktake of the current NDC, supported by Climate Action Africa (CAA), and additional technical support from the 2050 Pathways Platform to align with the LTS. The aim of this project is to enable The Gambia to implement increasingly ambitious mitigation and adaptation commitments aligned with the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement objectives, while also promoting socio-economic development, inclusive growth, and a just energy transition. To support this effort, a Technical Lead is being recruited to lead the technical and analytical work for the development of the NDC 3.0, working closely with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR), national stakeholders and UNEP. The consultant will be responsible for leading technical work regarding the modelling to be undertaken, supporting the overall technical development of the NDC, and contributing to in-country stakeholder sectoral consultations. The Consultant shall actively engage with relevant government staff throughout the assignment to ensure knowledge transfer. Objective: The objective of this assignment is to provide technical leadership in the development of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and climate change adaptation scenarios to inform The Gambia’s NDC 3.0. This includes the design and implementation of a robust modelling framework, the development of sectoral and economy-wide emissions and resilience pathways ensuring alignment with the Long-Term Strategy (LTS), the identification of feasible mitigation and adaptation options, and the preparation of analytical inputs to support government review, stakeholder engagement, and validation of both the mitigation and adaptation targets for inclusion in the final NDC 3.0 document. The objective of this assignment is for the Technical Lead to provide technical leadership and analytical inputs for the development of The Gambia’s NDC 3.0. The final deliverables will include robust, data-driven modelling outputs, scenarios, and technical documentation to support the overall technical development and consolidation of NDC 3.0, aligned with the country’s Long-Term Strategy (LTS), ultimately resulting in a nationally validated NDC 3.0 ready for submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat. The Technical Lead will work closely with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR), national stakeholders, and UNEP throughout the assignment. The consultant will lead the modelling and analytical work, contribute to stakeholder consultations, and actively engage relevant government staff to ensure knowledge transfer. Outputs, activities and deliverables: The Technical Lead will guide and contribute to the delivery of the following outputs: Output 1. Inception Report and Stocktake Workshop Activity 1.1 Develop an inception report including a summary of the proposed modelling methodology, data requirements, stakeholder engagement plan, work schedule, specific sectoral questionnaires, and the validated structure of NDC 3.0.- Activity 1.2 Provide technical leadership for the stocktake workshop, guiding sectoral leads in completing the sector-specific stocktake tools to assess the implementation status of measures under the current NDC 2.0. Deliverable 1: Inception Report Deliverable 2: Stocktake workshop report Output 2. Development and Validation of NDC 3.0 Activity 2.1 Develop coherent NDC 3.0 (2035) – LTS (2050) scenario and mitigation and adaptation measures including: o Contribute to the organization of stakeholder consultations (central, regional, local) to gather inputs on NDC 3.0 scenarios and mitigation and adaptation measures. Note that costs related to booking venue and catering services for the 4 consultations will be covered directly by UNEP. o Using the LEAP model developed for The Gambia’s Long-Term Strategy and the model used for the previous NDC 2.0 as a starting point (noting that the modelling software for NDC 3.0 has yet to be confirmed), assess data availability and collect data inputs for the model, including: sector level emissions, mitigation potential and emissions growth factors (e.g. economic growth, population growth, electricity availability, levels of transport demand, land use change and forestry, waste, industry, etc.). Develop techniques for estimating the factors behind emissions growth where data is not available by extrapolation of past trends, interpolation to fill data missing in a sequence, and splicing or combining data sources. ▪ Calculate base year emissions, base year emissions intensity for the target years and align these calculations with available standardized statistics such as national energy balances and/or national emissions inventories. ▪ Update existing mitigation and adaptation measures for the 2035 horizon and identify new mitigation and adaptation measures for 2025-2035 period (to the extent possible, to be carried out during the NDC 2.0 stocktake validation meetings for synergies with stocktake of progress against existing measures). Adaptation measures will take into account planned adaptation actions and strategies, including those being developed as part of the ongoing National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process. ▪ Run the model to develop baseline scenarios and sub-scenarios for the various sectors, using the 2010 GHG inventory as the foundation for establishing sector-specific emission trajectories. ▪ Run the model to develop a mitigation scenario that outlines The Gambia’s pathway to 2035, aligning with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, giving consideration to running different emissions-reduction scenarios that identify the mitigation pathways for both the unconditional and conditional contributions. This scenario will incorporate mitigation measures across all NDC 2.0 sectors (AFOLU, Energy, Waste, Transport, IPPU) while exploring with the government the potential inclusion of additional sectors. The mitigation measures, while set for 2035, must align with the LTS to ensure they contribute meaningfully to the net-zero emissions target. ▪ Define NDC targets, including key aspects such as the type of target, target year, reference point, scope, timeframe, and whether the targets are conditional or unconditional. ▪ Assess data gaps and estimations and conduct quality assurance checks of the data used in the model, and sensitivity analysis to check the accuracy of results. Check results by comparing modelling outputs to any previous work undertaken in the country and/or models from similar countries. Validate the results of the mitigation scenario. Activity 2.2 Contribution to a multistakeholder validation workshop and contribute to the finalization of the NDC 3.0. The objective is to ensure that all aspects of the NDC are well-understood, aligned with national priorities, and meet the required ambition levels. Following the workshop, the consultancy will incorporate the feedback and finalize the updated NDC 3.0 document, ensuring that it is ready for submission to the UNFCCC and that it reflects a consensus of the stakeholders involved in the consultation process. Activity 2.3 Contribute to the ICTU compliance as it relates to the modeling work as relevant. The information will be provided in the form of a table outlining all key information for the NDC 3.0 necessary for clarity, transparency, and understanding, which may include, as appropriate, inter alia, quantifiable information on the reference point (including, as appropriate, a base year), time frames and/or periods for implementation, scope and coverage, planning processes, assumptions and methodological approaches, including those for estimating and accounting for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and, as appropriate, removals, and how the Party considers that its nationally determined contribution is fair and ambitious, in the light of its national circumstances, and how. Deliverable 3: Completed submission of elaborated Excel files containing the data and calculations for GHG mitigation options across the identified sectors, accompanied by a detailed report describing the data sources, methodology, and selection criteria applied. The submission should also include all datasets collected, assumptions and default values used, and the reference materials consulted. Deliverable 4: Draft NDC 3.0 report covering all relevant work packages (mitigation, adaptation, means of implementation, MRV and etc) in accordance with NDC 3.0 guidelines and global best practices. The draft NDC 3.0 should contain updated and newly identified mitigation and adaptation measures through 2035, with estimated emissions reduction potentials and classification of actions as conditional or unconditional. It should also contain: ● BAU emissions projection, including a modeling dataset reflecting expected emissions under current policies; ● Baseline scenario dataset with detailed, sector-specific emissions data and assumptions; ● Development of indicators for monitoring the NDC, including protocols ● Integration of NDC 3.0–LTS alignment recommendations from the 2050 Pathways Project ● Integration of recommendations related to the incorporation of recent IPCC guidance, COP decisions, GST1 findings, and other relevant international updates into the NDC process. Deliverable 5: NDC 3.0 validation workshop: Present the draft NDC 3.0 document to stakeholders to obtain final feedback and incorporate it into the final version. In addition to the national-level validation workshop, select regional consultations may also be organized. Deliverable 6: Annex outlining all key information as per the ICTU guidelines. Deliverable 7: Final validated NDC 3.0 document Deliverable 8: Updated LEAP modelling data set The consultant/individual contractor will report to Clarine Ovando, Climate Advisor, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre and the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Copy the Director of the Climate Change Secretariate, MECCNAR in all correspondence. Qualifications/special skillso Bachelor’s degree in environmental management, Public Administration, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Economics, Political Science, or a related field (Required). o Postgraduate degree (Master´s) in Climate Change, Environmental Planning, Public Administration, Political Science, or a related field (Desirable). o Minimum nine (9) years of relevant work experience in working in the field relevant to climate change, climate change modelling, energy modelling, GHG emissions inventory (Required) with bachelor’s degree, or seven (7) years with a master's degree. o Minimum four (6) years of relevant experience modelling GHG mitigation measures with different software such as LEAP, GACMO or other modelling software; NDC and/or LTS and/or national climate strategy design and development, including identifying and defining climate targets, defining mitigation and adaptation measures, and aligning with national policies and priorities, and experience in capacity building and knowledge transfer related to these technical areas. (Required). o Demonstrated GHGs emission simulation and modelling skills for GHGs measurement and management. Demonstrated experience in area-based or sectoral-based GHG emission (Required) o Demonstrated experience in preparing policy and strategy reports for national governments and in the technical review of national reports and relevant international documents (Required). o In-depth knowledge of The Gambia’s climate change regulatory and planning framework, including processes and initiatives at the national and local levels (Required). o Experience working with public institutions in The Gambia related to climate change planning (Desirable). o Relevant experience integrating gender considerations into formulating, planning, and implementing projects or public policies will be considered an advantage. This includes designing gender-sensitive methodologies to collect and evaluate baseline data, evaluate products, and monitor project results where appropriate (Desirable). Languageso English (Required) 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.