Senior Climate Advisor – Sierra Leone Coastal Resilience Project

TITLE:  Senior Climate advisor – Sierra Leone Coastal Resilience Project 

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Program Development and Quality

LOCATION: Freetown, Sierra Leone (regular travel to coastal districts)

GRADE: 2

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months / renewable

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: (select only one)

Level 3:  the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work on country programmes.

BACKGROUND and ROLE PURPOSE:

Save the Children is recruiting a Climate advisor, to provide technical leadership and advice for the upcoming Sierra Leone Coastal Resilience Project (SLCRP), with a focus on mangrove conservation and restoration, and ensuring that all elements of the project address climate change impacts effectively. The role will include oversight and management of several critical consultancies and assessments related to mangrove conservation and restoration, so should have experience managing technical aspects of high-value consultancies.

The SLCRP will be one of the largest community-based adaptation projects ever delivered in West Africa. Mainly funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), it aims to strengthen the climate resilience of communities across five coastal districts of Sierra Leone. The project will do this by:   

1. Community mainstreaming of climate change adaptation through governance, partnerships, education and training,
2. Enhancing climate resilience of food production systems and value chains to secure food and livelihoods, especially for women, youth and children
3. Delivering ecosystem-based adaptation for coastal protection and natural resources

The project is ambitious in scope.  It will work in all five coastal districts and across 75 coastal communities; and covers several thematic areas, including: Governance; WASH; education; climate change adaptation; and the key focus areas of ecosystem management and livelihoods.Ecosystem management is a core component of the project that underpins the other project activities, and as such, the climate advisor will be one of the key project roles to ensure successful delivery of the SLCRP. 

The SLCRP is a partnership between the Government of Sierra Leone through the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), and Save the Children International Sierra Leone, supported by four other NGO implementing partners. The project will be managed by a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) which will sit within the Save the Children International Sierra Leone office, overseeing staff within the EPA and the other NGO partners. 

The Climate Advisor will report to the project director with a dotted line to the Program Development and Quality Director, and will be the chief technical advisor to the project overall, as well as working closely with the Government of Sierra Leone – especially the EPA and other agencies under the Ministry of Environment – to build capacity and support mangrove restoration and conservation elements.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: project director

Staff reporting to this post:

Direct: 0

Indirect: 0

Budget Responsibilities: N/A

Role Dimensions: The climate advisor will be responsible for providing technical advice to both the PIU and the Government of Sierra Leone, as well as technical management of mangrove-specific interventions for Save the Children. The advisor will work closely with other SCI technical advisors – particularly the livelihoods, health and education advisors – to ensure climate change considerations are embedded across all project activities.

Climate change technical leadership

• Act as a key focal point and advisor on all project-related climate change needs and interface with all implementing partners and stakeholders. Particularly: NGO and CBO implementing partners; relevant Ministries – including EPA, NPAA, NDMA, SL Met etc.; Technical working group; District Councils; Community Adaptation Committees, other related climate projects  (e.g. the GCF-funded SAP033 Enhancing climate information systems for resilient development in Sierra Leone); working closely and collaboratively with the project director and other internal technical advisors.
• Provide technical leadership in the implementation of the project’s  activities pertaining to climate change issues, including linkages to Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Health, and Education programming.
• Provide overall leadership within the PIU on the mangrove conservation and restoration activities, including working with ministries and consultants to develop restoration protocols and mangrove monitoring methods, quality assurance of deliverables of consultancies – especially around initial mangrove and coastal assessments – and improving knowledge on mangrove ecosystem management within the PIU and Government of Sierra Leone.
• Lead the development of  relevant technical materials/project outputs agreed as part of the work plan (project proposal), including training programs and manuals, community and Government needs assessments, selection of relevant online learning materials and adaptation of existing learning materials.
• Work collaboratively with EPA and Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) to provide technical inputs for development of primary school climate change module..
• Provide the most relevant and updated information related to climate change and nature-based solutions, especially in the context of West Africa, the wider continent and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), to support and improve project activities (in agreement with the PIU)
• Work with the project director, technical advisors from Save the Children Member offices and other relevant parties to provide technical expertise where necessary on climate change, develop Terms of References for technical consultancies, and lead on assessing bids – especially on those related to mangrove ecosystem management.
• Support the project director and work with the team in efficiently delivering the project; provide technical expertise on outputs, during key meetings and engagement with stakeholders and project partners. 

Project quality, monitoring and reporting

• Responsible for climate change technical oversight and guidance to implementation team to ensure that  project activities are technically sound, implementation methods are consistent with national and global strategies, bringing in good practice that is likely to achieve scale, as well as equitable and sustainable results.
• Provide technical expertise in designing and developing result-based indicators to track real-time lessons learned that can be integrated into the project for improvement and/or course correction of the interventions by working closely with the Project Director, as well as the wider PIU, MEAL and implementation teams.
• Raise any critical risks and issues with the Technical Working Group and follow up on agreed actions.
• Work with the Senior MEAL manager and staff to provide climate change technical leadership and practical support in the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems to demonstrate project progress, quality and impact and alignment with selected GCF result areas and logframe indicators.
• Ensure that reports and documents meet quality requirements and are submitted on time to Save the Children UK and SC Australia, including drafting relevant sections of reports and reviewing inputs from partners and other technical advisors to ensure consistency with climate change reporting.
• Support the development and effective operation of the project accountability mechanism.
• Ensure meaningful child participation is built into the implementation and monitoring of the project, advocacy strategies and communications plans.

Capacity building

• Support the design and delivery training for Government staff and implementing partners on relevant GCF technical requirements and climate adaptation more broadly, especially in a West African context
• Represent the project at national and international climate-related events (e.g. COP) and where appropriate promote the project and results, in agreement with the PIU
• Participate in and facilitate trainings at community-level, as well as with district government on climate change policies and delivering climate change projects 
• Build capacity within Save the Children International Sierra Leone to integrate climate change programming across all sectoral areas of operation
• Ensure all staff are aware of climate change impacts on children’s rights, and build internal capacity on integrating climate change programming and child’s rights
• Use findings from SLCRP to provide technical inputs to Save the Children strategic pieces (and guidance documents) that helps build overall capacities on relevant issues. 

Stakeholder relationship management

• Work closely with the Project Director and other key PIU staff to identify key stakeholders for the project, especially those with relevant climate change knowledge, e.g. academics and key government officials within environment ministries
• Attend stakeholder events on climate change in Sierra Leone and promote the project in such forums, maintaining a strong network
• Keep abreast of relevant international events on climate adaptation and maintain key contacts - especially relating to coastal ecosystems, mangroves, and ecosystem restoration - and attend such events where possible to liaise with relevant stakeholders
• Support the project director with stakeholder relationships and management more widely, and proactively as deemed necessary. 
• Identify and proactively establish and build strategic partnerships and networks, leading on technical engagement with partners to amplify impact.

Other

• Other significant duties, as may be assigned by the individual’s line manager; participation in required trainings, meetings, conferences and consultations
• Comply with all relevant Save the Children policies and procedures, including, but not limited to: fraud and anti-bribery, safeguarding and code of conduct, sexual harassment and gender equality, safety and security, finance, procurement, and human resources.
• Ensure all project activities are implemented in line with safe programming procedures and protocols.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships with their team, colleagues, other Save the Children offices and external partners and supporters
• values diversity and sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.

Inclusion:

•  Role model and promote Save the Children’s workplace behaviours and building an inclusive and equitable workplace. 

QUALIFICATIONS 

Required qualifications and/or accreditations

• University education (Degree,preferably Masters or PhD) in climate change, ecology, environmental science, marine biology, forestry, botany, conservation or related studies

Essential knowledge, experience and attributes

• At least 10 years’ experience working on climate change (adaptation and resilience) projects, either through academia, or through internationally-funded projects
• Experience working with international climate finance organisations such as Green Climate Fund or Global Environment Facility, or other large funders of climate change programs
• Experience in West Africa and understanding of the West African context 
• Previous experience as a chief technical advisor, climate change advisor or similar 
• Knowledge of mangroves or other coastal ecosystems and practical applications of this knowledge
• Proven report-writing skills, especially technically and relating to climate change, ecosystems or similar 
• Demonstrated strategic planning skills including strong time management, administrative and organisational skills 
• Experience of driving and monitoring the quality and impact of programmes and policy
• Experience with approaches complementary to climate change adaptation / mitigation, including disaster risk reduction (especially last mile dissemination of early warnings), WASH, health, education and livelihoods
• Demonstrated ability to build the capacity of non-technical program staff in evidence-based climate change approaches.
• Outstanding problem-solving skills and innovation mindset supported by strong analytical capability 
• Experience of managing or working closely with technical consultants, including quality assuring deliverables submitted
• Experience operating within a complex environment and dealing with ambiguity 
• High levels of behavioural flexibility and emotional intelligence 
• Excellent ability to engage and influence others across all levels of the organisation, Government and other stakeholders 
• Highly developed communication skills, written and verbal, and the ability to present information clearly and effectively to a wide range of internal and external audiences 
• The ability to effectively coordinate resources and drive outcomes  
• A willingness to travel to remote, coastal locations within Sierra Leone including  travel by boat .

Desirable knowledge or experience

• Knowledge and experience of the Government of Sierra Leone’s Nationally Determined Contribution, National Adaptation Plan and other key climate change documents
• Experience using or interpreting Geographical Information System (GIS) products
• Experience of child-centred approaches in climate change adaptation
• Experience of working closely with Government organisations, especially in Sierra Leone 
• Knowledge of, or experience working with the Green Climate Fund.

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive; the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.