- Location: Nicaragua
- City: Managua
- Contract Type: Individual Consultant (Daily Rate)
- Grade Individual: Consultant 4
- Salary scale: Individual Consultant Scale
- Contract Duration: 4 months
- Deadline: 01/08/2024
- Job Reference: 100010811
INTRODUCTION TO GGGI
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Project: CRPM-C1 (100%)
- Duty Station: Managua, Nicaragua
- Contract Duration: (01) Sept 2024 – (31) Dec 2024
- Number of Workdays Estimated (internal purpose only): 50 days
- Consultant Level: Level 4
- Total Fees: USD 10,000 (USD 200/day)
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a model of economic growth known as “green growth”, which targets key aspects of economic performance such a poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. GGGI works with countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. The organization partners with countries, multilateral institutions, government bodies, and private sector to help build economies that grow strongly and are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change.
Nicaragua is highly vulnerable to climate change and faces several environmental, geographic and social challenges that exacerbate its vulnerability as well as the impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters. This vulnerability is due to environmental and socioeconomic factors, including Nicaragua’s geographic position along the path of Atlantic hurricanes, high levels of poverty, and production systems that largely depend on natural resources.5 These conditions have implied significant losses and damages to the economy, ecosystem services and human lives annually. Average annual losses due to hydrometeorological disasters are estimated to be approximately USD 301.75 million (between 1994 and 2013), equivalent to an average annual loss of 1.72% of GDP1.
The agriculture, husbandry and forestry sectors, a key driver of food sovereignty, security, and employment, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Agriculture (including livestock) generates around 20% of the country’s GDP2 and is the primary source of livelihood for 90% of the rural population. The forestry sector contributes to 1% of the country’s GDP with forests covering 25.7% of the national territory3.  
Around 90% of the foods consumed locally, and 56% of agricultural exports are produced by small farmers, who face conditions of poverty and extreme poverty (63% of the rural population is poor and around 27% is extremely poor)4 Moreover, 45.84% of the national territory is considered to be highly vulnerable due to its dependency on few available crops.5 Women farmers face additional challenges in accessing agricultural markets due to the persistence of structural gender inequality in terms of participation in agricultural activities, land ownership, and access to and control of agricultural resources
To reduce the vulnerability of the country and increase its resilience it is necessary to transit from the ad hoc implementation of individual adaptation projects, to streamline adaptation into policies and to plan with a medium and long-term perspective. National Adaptation Plans (NAP) provide the framework to mainstream adaptation in all sectoral policies and foster adaptation in the long-term.
The NAP process seeks to identify medium- and long-term adaptation needs, informed by the latest climate science. The NAP approach was established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework (CAF) and re-emphasized in the Paris Agreement. Crucially, NAPs follow a continuous iterative process that is country-driven, participatory, and transparent. The two overarching objectives of NAPs are to:
- Reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change by building adaptive capacity and resilience.
- Integrate adaptation into new and existing national, sectoral, and sub-national policies and programmes, especially development strategies, plans and budgets.
The NAP of the agriculture, husbandry and forestry sectors in Nicaragua will seek to integrate adaptation considerations in country national and sectorial policies, incorporating the vision and perspective of the most vulnerable groups, and foster fostering the participation of private stakeholders by providing them with adaptation capacities and financial schemes to reduce the vulnerability of the agriculture, husbandry and forestry sectors, key to increase the resilience of Nicaragua’s food security and economy. The NAP will establish institutional, planning, and programming environments that enable sectoral-level adaptation, allowing for the identification, design, and implementation of adaptation investments in line with national priorities. This initiative will generate knowledge about key vulnerabilities and establish coordination mechanisms for effective planning and execution of actions for resilience
In Paris in 2015, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) was requested to expedite support for the formulation of NAPs and the implementation of programs, projects and policies identified in the NAPs in developing country Parties. Through the GCF Board decision B.13/09, paragraph (e), the GCF provides financial support for the formulation of NAPs through its Readiness and Preparatory Support Program.
Thanks to GCF funding for NAP development, GGGI is supporting the Government of Nicaragua with their NAP development. Currently, GGGI is supporting Mexico, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Rwanda with their NAPs following differentiated approaches due to national circumstances.
OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The Consultant will be responsible for providing technical support to the Secretariat for Climate Change of the Presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua (SCCP in Spanish) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) in the progressive improvement of the concept note for GCF NAP proposals following feedback from GCF.
DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE
The consultant will perform the following activities:
- Reports with recommendations and corrections of the concept notes for NAP, following feedback from GCF, SCCP and MARENA.
- At the end of the assignment the consultant shall submit the Final Report which should reflect the outcome of all activities prepared by the consultant.
Suggested methodology and competition requirements
- The consultant can use primary and secondary sources of information to support Nicaragua’s NAP formulation.
- Meetings with GGGI’s team and relevant entities if needed through interviews, workshops, discussions groups with stakeholders and relevant authorities, such as the Secretariat of Climate Change of the Presidency and the Environmental Ministry, will be necessary to validate and prioritize the actions that will be developed.
- Technical integrated work is considered decisive for the achievement of the objectives.
- It is the consultant’s responsibility to attend all required technical events and meetings.
- All relevant technical papers, reports, and other documents prepared from the start to the end of the assignment shall be attached to the Final Report.
- The final report must be approved by the GGGI.
- The Consultant shall consider the comments and necessary revisions proposed. Within 14 days from the receipt of the comments or modification proposal from the GGGI, the Consultant shall prepare and submit the final versions of the report. 
Reports and Coordination
The consultant’s work progress will be monitored primarily through periodic review meetings. These review meetings will tackle subjects such as the overview of the contractual objectives, the development of activities, detailed information milestones, actual achievements made against the timeline initially set, and any other relevant progress details.
All reports or results must be written in English, except the final report which must be delivered in English and Spanish, in accordance with GGGI’s formatting requirements, and must be sent in electronic copy along with the detail of the products associated with the deliverables, including attendance lists of the concertation spaces, memory aids generated and complete sets of raw data and research materials.
All deliverables (documents with their annexes and infographics, schematics, tables, diagrams, cartography, and the other graphic aspects developed to facilitate the understanding of the technical contents) will be delivered in a digital medium, in open files that allow their editing.
Supervision
The consultant will be supervised by the Central America Representative and Sustainable Landscapes Lead.
EXPERTISE REQUIRED
The consultant must meet the following requirements:
- Must be a Nicaraguan citizen or foreigner who can reside and work in Nicaragua with a valid work permit.
- Professional with a postgraduate degree in natural sciences, engineering, applied economics (e.g. climate change, environmental), biology, geography, or environmental science (management).
- Relevant professional experience of preferably 5 – 8 years in climate change adaptation.
- Professional experience of at least six (6) years in the field of climate change adaptation, of which four (4) years are in projects´ formulation, adaptation planning, M&E for adaptation, implementation of adaptation actions, mainstreaming of adaptation in national policies, EWS, and development of technical aspects of a NAP.
- Knowledge in the development of climate policy, strategy or plans at national and subnational level.
- Proven experience developing funding proposals related to environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and climate change adaptation for international funds or multilateral development banks.
- Proven experience working with International Finance Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks, or other international organizations is an advantage.
- Expertise to ensure a gender transformative approach to the NAP
- Proven experience in conducting risk and vulnerability assessments is highly desirable.
- Experience coordinating large climate change adaptation programs/projects at the national or international scale;
- Previous work experience in LAC countries’ public sector institutions, international organizations or private sector companies working on climate change adaptation initiatives is highly desired;
- Experience designing and conducting stakeholders’ consultation processes is an advantage;
- Fluent in English and Spanish (written and verbal, minimum B2 level)
- Proven experience in water and food security, EWS, flood management, and NbS and EbA is highly desirable.
- Strong skills in assertive communication.
- Ability to produce deliverables with minimal supervision.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered Application. Cover Letter, and CV must be sent in English, only applications in English will be evaluated. A consortium, or a firm may not be engaged for the individual consultant assignment.
SOCIAL AND SUSTAINABILITY SAFEGUARDS
GGGI as an institution abides by its project-level Sustainability and Safeguards Rules (SSR) for all projects aligned with international standards for Environmental and Social Safeguards. The SSR is aligned with commonly recognized international standards for Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS), i.e. the WB Performance Standard, that ensures project level safeguarding of communities and people impacted by GGGI activities. GGGI has integrated project level Environmental and Social Safeguards into its Project Cycle Management (PCM) with mandatory Preliminary Gender and Social Assessments and ESS Screening of all projects to identify and manage risks.
In addition, GGGI’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy 2021-2025 provides a framework toward achieving the principle of “Leaving No One Behind” in the transformation towards green growth, guiding GGGI’s approaches to the mainstreaming of gender equality and poverty reduction in GGGI Mexico’s Program. This also includes the implementation of the GGGI Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction Policy Markers on all projects. GGGI’s Corporate Results Framework requires gender disaggregated indicators for participation in GGGI Capacity Building events.
GGGI’s Child Protection Rules and GGGI Rules on Sexual Exploitation ensure safeguarding of children impacted by GGGI activities or in contact with GGGI contracted personnel, with GGGI taking a zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation. GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. All procedures mentioned above are accompanied by guidelines and capacity building efforts. GGGI also provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, embracing diversity in all its forms, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life. We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply. GGGI promotes equal opportunities for all including persons with disabilities.
All GGGI’s policies are available for open consultation under the following link: https://gggi.org/policy-documents/