Climate Finance and Fragility (Short-Term Consultancy)

Duration: 1st September 2022 – 30th June 2023

Number of days: up to 90 days

Appointment Type: Short-Term Consultant

Location: Washington, DC (or remote)

Task Team Lead: Lindsey Jones

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Please send CV & Letter of Interest to [email protected] by 1st August 2022

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Background/Organizational Context:

Developing countries face an increasingly complex risk landscape, marked by interconnected hazards that threaten to roll back the development gains of recent decades and undermine efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030. In 2018, the WBG’s Board of Executive Directors endorsed management’s proposals to fully operationalize the Global Crisis Risk Platform (GCRP). The GCRP seeks to: (i) promote risk-informed investments in crisis prevention and preparedness; and (ii) strengthen institutional capacity for early response, especially where a combination of shocks amplifies impacts or spills across borders.

Housed within the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Group, the GCRP Secretariat provides analytical and convening services focusing on the interaction of various risk dimensions, including climate-related hazards, conflict and violence, food insecurity, health outbreaks, and macro-financial shocks. It works closely with the World Bank’s Global Practices (GPs) to support innovation and leverage knowledge and best practices to strengthen the way the Bank identifies, monitors, and manages risks.

A core area of GCRP’s work is in providing tailored guidance to WBG operations on delivery of climate action in FCV settings. Countries affected by Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) are amongst those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Yet, challenges related to institutional fragility, poor service delivery and lack of technical and financial resources, amongst other drivers, limit the ability of FCV countries to carry out large structural changes needed in adapting to the climate crisis. Adaptation is further limited as FCV countries account for only a fraction of global adaptation financing.

Key Duties and Accountabilities:

To support the GCRP’s work on scaling adaptation finance in contexts affected by FCV the Secretariat is seeking a consultant to deliver on knowledge gathering and synthesis activities in this area. In particular, the consultant will contribute to a series of knowledge products by reviewing existing evidence, surveying experts and developing novel conceptual frameworks aimed at strengthening the capacity of FCV stakeholders to access, mobilize and distribute adaptation finance.

Under the guidance of the Task Team Lead, the consultant will:

Review existing evidence on adaptation finance in FCV settings (20 days)

• Undertake a systematic review of current literature on barriers and entry points to scaling adaptation finance in FCV settings drawing on academic and grey literature sources.
• Gather data on committed and distributed flows of climate finance in environments affected by FCV across a range of funders and financial instruments (including GEF, AF, GCF, IFC, IDA, private sector contributions and others).
• Provide a synthesis of the current state of knowledge regarding key challenges and opportunities for increasing the capacity of FCV stakeholders to access, mobilise and distribute adaptation finance.

Design an expert survey on priorities for addressing adaptation finance bottlenecks (15 days)

• Draft and implement an expert survey soliciting inputs from relevant funders and recipients of adaptation finance (40-50 responses). The survey will gather opinions on common challenges and entry points for scaling adaptation finance in FCV settings using a range of quantitative and qualitative inputs.
• Analyze findings from the survey using descriptive statistics and content analysis to undercover key trends and priorities across stakeholder types and regions.

Develop a framework on scaling adaptation finance tailored to different FCV settings (15 days)

• Work with the TTL to develop a conceptual framework highlighting priority areas for strengthening adaptation finance across the FCV nexus. The framework will provide nuanced guidance on supporting financial delivery in settings affected by: high-intensity conflict, medium-intensity conflict, high institutional fragility as well as distinct geographic contexts such as Small Island Developing States (SIDS), amongst others.
• Carry out key informant interviews with experts across relevant GPs to understand financing priority areas for different FCV environments.

Contribute to GCRP knowledge products and outputs (40 days)

• Draft a Working Paper on barriers and entry points to scaling adaptation finance in FCV settings. The paper will draw on inputs from across the systematic review, expert survey and conceptual framework activities listed above. It will provide technical insights on priority areas of focus for relevant stakeholders involved in the supply of adaptation finance in FCV settings (20-30 pages).
• Draft a Knowledge Note, synthesizing findings from the working paper and providing high-level recommendations for funders and recipients of adaptation finance (3-4 pages).
• Contribute to a series of Best Practice Guides aimed at providing sector-specific advice on scaling adaptation finance in key areas. These will feature step-by-step guidance drawing on insights from the evidence review, surveys and interviews with GP experts. Up to 3 guides will be produced, with topics chosen after completion of the systematic review and with inputs from the TTL (5-10 pages each)
• Support wider GCRP knowledge and communication activities on adaptation finance in FCV settings. This includes drafting PPTs to summarize research findings, contributing to relevant written outputs (including blogs, briefs and talking points), and supporting GCRP webinar and outreach events on adaptation finance, working together with other GPs.

Selection Criteria:

• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in a related field (e.g., Economics, Natural Resource Management, Finance, Risk Management, Climate Science/Policy, Political Science, Security Studies).
• Minimum of 5 years of professional working experience and knowledge around issues related to climate change, FCV, risk financing and/or environmental policy.
• Knowledge and experience working on adaptation finance instruments is strongly desirable, alongside designing and running expert solicitation surveys.
• Proven ability to carry-out independent policy-relevant research, translate theory into practical applications, and adapt professional knowledge and technical skills to analyze, diagnose and propose solutions to policy issues and challenges related to climate change and FCV.
• Capacity to develop and apply conceptual and strategic frameworks, compile policy-relevant briefings, and carry-out data analysis.
• Candidates who bring direct personal and professional experience and background from diverse FCV or forced displacement affected backgrounds preferred
• Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, and team skills, and ability to think innovatively and strategically to find balanced solutions to complex development problems, with a strong client focus.
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision and to meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent oral and written fluency in English is required.