Net Zero Adaptation Fund Consultant

Net Zero Adaptation Fund Consultant

Unit: Net Zero Climate Services

Consultant: 6 months, full time 

BACKGROUND

Winrock International is recruiting a consultant for the Net Zero Adaptation Finance (NZAF) project.  This consultant will play an overall leadership coordination role on the project.  The NZAF project is an innovative, global project led by Winrock International and FAO to increase integration of climate change adaptation into net-zero carbon projects. Primarily oriented towards the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector, the NZAF project is intended to foster the development and implementation of AFOLU projects, especially in the context of least developing countries (LDCs). The project creates an innovative screening tool (Outcome 1) that identifies areas where climate change adaptation can be integrated into net-zero carbon projects, accelerating the uptake of climate considerations in projects – both to reduce climate impacts on carbon reduction projects and to increase adaptation benefits in the targeted areas. To incentivize adding climate change adaptation components, especially for implementation in the AFOLU sector in LDCs, Outcome 2 provides blended financing to assist projects in covering the costs and reducing the risks of integrating resilience and adaptation. Outcome 3 is oriented toward generating best-practices reports and continuous improvement of Outcomes 1 and 2, as well as feeding into an upscaling strategy.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Project Coordinator (PC), reporting to Winrock’s Sr Director of Private Sector Engagement will oversee daily implementation, management, administration, and technical supervision of the project, on behalf of the Operational partner and within the framework delineated by the PSC. They will be responsible, among others, for:  

• Ensuring a high level of collaboration among participating institutions and organizations at the national and local levels. 
• Ensuring compliance with all agreement provisions during the implementation, including on timely reporting and financial management.
• Coordination inputs from Winrock staff. 
• Coordination and close monitoring of the implementation of project activities.Tracking the project’s progress and ensuring timely delivery of inputs and outputs.  
• Providing technical support and assessing the outputs of products generated in the implementation of the project, approving and managing requests for provision of financial resources using provided format in agreements annexes. 
• Monitoring financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports. 
• Ensuring timely preparation and submission of requests for funds, financial and progress reports to FAO as per agreements reporting requirements. 
• Maintaining documentation and evidence that describes the proper and prudent use of project resources as per agreements provisions, including making available this supporting documentation to FAO and designated auditors when requested. 
• Implementing and managing the project’s monitoring and communications plans. Organizing project workshops and meetings to monitor progress and preparing the Annual Budget and Work Plan.  
• Submitting the six-monthly Project Progress Report (PPR) with the annual workplan and budget to the PSC and FAO. Preparing the first draft of the annual Project Implementation Reviews (PIR). 
• Submitting technical and financial reports to FAO and facilitating the information exchange between the OP and FAO, if needed. 
• Informing the project steering committee and FAO of any delays and difficulties as they arise during the implementation to ensure timely corrective measure and support. 

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, international development or an environment-related field required. Graduate level degree in one or more of the same fields is preferred.

Experience and Position-Specific Skills:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience with an emphasis on project finance
• Minimum of 1-2 years of experience in greenhouse gas accounting and climate adaptation
• Minimum of 3 years of project management experience and high level of expertise in project management tools
• Demonstrated experience supporting and managing complex projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong meeting facilitation skills
• High degree of accountability and self-management
• Ability to manage competing priorities. 

 Duration:

• This is expected to be a six-month engagement to launch the NZAF project – there is potential for future work based on performance

Deliverables:  This consultancy will be driven by day-to-day management of the responsibilities mentioned above, along with the NZAF’s projects primary initial deliverables including:

• A detailed workplan for year one
• Development of initial adaptation metrics for screening tool
• Initial design of updated screening tool based on Winrock’s existing WinRes tool
• Develop and launch stakeholder engagement campaign
• Develop project monitoring and evaluation system
• Scope of work and letter of agreement for second phase of project to begin at the end of the first six months

Please, no calls. Your application will be reviewed and we will reach out for additional information. 

Winrock is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and value diversity and inclusiveness. Winrock recruits, employs, trains, promotes and compensates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law.

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