ETHIOPIA: ENHANCING CAPACITY BUILDING FOR GENDER-RESPONSIVE CLIMATE FINANCE

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 BACKGROUND

To guide a shift towards sustainable recovery across the African continent, the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government adopted in February 2022, the AU Green Recovery Action Plan (GRAP 2021-2027). The AU GRAP focuses on Five (5) key thematic areas: Climate Finance, Clean Energy, Nature Based Solutions, Sustainable Agriculture, and Green and Resilient Cities with a focus on Water and provides a framework for sustainable economic recovery from the pandemic. The development of the AU-GRAP took into consideration the African Union Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE), which encompasses matters concerning economic empowerment, particularly ensuring that women’s voices are amplified, and their concerns are fully addressed through effective implementation of legislation and proper financing of gender equality work. This process also considered other regional protocols to ensure alignment with AU member states’ commitments. In collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) will take a gender-responsive approach to help operationalize the GRAP through the Transformative Climate Finance Program (TCFP) funded by the Global Affairs Canada. The TCFP is being piloted in seven African Union Member States (MS) and three Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The TCFP will specifically target the challenges exacerbating the marginalization of women and youth in accessing climate finance. The implementation of the TCFP will be conducted in reference to the following three outcome areas:

• Strengthening the AUC’s ability to implement the AU GRAP
• Enhancing skills of national and regional policymakers to develop inclusive green growth policies, plans and programs in alignment with their nationally determined contributions and climate change strategies
• Improving the ability for governments and partners to access climate finance for Africa’s green recovery, aimed at initiatives that support women and youth

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

In support of the execution of the Transformative Climate Finance Program (TCFP), the implementation process of the African Union Green Recovery Action Plan (AU-GRAP) is taking a holistic and comprehensive approach in strengthening the seven pilot MS and three RECs efforts to mainstreaming gender responsive approaches within their green recovery and climate finance mobilization efforts.Building on the engagement and lessons learned across the seven MS and three RECs, this consultancy assignment seeks to build on previous engagements to enhance skills of national and regional policymakers notably in enhancing institutional capacity and equipping governments and partners with the necessary skills and knowledge to design, implement, and monitor inclusive green growth programming; while navigating the complex climate finance landscape.This consultancy assignment will target two MS and three RECs at the secretariat levels. The engagements with the identified stakeholders will assess and develop capacity building training focused on accessing green investment opportunities at the regional levels, as well as develop tailored strategies to advance inclusive green growth interventions at two identified MS. 

The objective of this consultancy is to enhance the skills of national policy makers to implement inclusive green growth policies and strengthen regional economic institutions’ capacity in mobilizing and accessing climate finance.Through targeted assessments, capacity-building strategies, and innovative tools, this assignment aims to:

• Strengthen the institutional capacity of three RECs and two MS to mainstream gender-responsive approaches in green recovery initiatives and climate finance; building on existing findings and direct engagement with stakeholders
• Develop actionable capacity-building strategies and training materials tailored to the needs of stakeholders, notably in implementing gender-responsive climate finance within green growth policies
• Oversee the development process of innovative visualization and digital tools for monitoring, evaluating, and sustaining inclusive and gender-responsive interventions
• Develop sustainability and inclusion assessment tool to assess impact, sustainability, risks and opportunities

The following are the key deliverables of the consultancy:    

1) Capacity Building Strategy Development:

• Conduct in-depth assessments on inclusive and gender responsive green growth policies, plans and programs in two selected sites, building on existing findings and further engagements with program focal person ()
• Support the development of inclusive climate finance and resource mobilization strategies for three RECs at the secretariat level.
  • Hold engagement workshops for each site to validate the capacity assessment results.
  • Develop capacity building strategies for each site with prioritized activities and action plans for the effective implementation of gender-responsive and inclusive climate finance within green growth policies and programs
  • Develop gender-responsive M&E framework to monitor and track progress in implementation of capacity improvement interventions and to inform learning and refining during implementation
  • Hold virtual engagements to validate the capacity building strategies and gender responsive M&E framework
  • Develop and deliver Training packages on climate finance and inclusive green growth policy and planning to relevant partners
  • Develop communication materials and resources resulting from this capacity building assessment and strategy development

2) Communication and visualization: 

• Provide technical feedback and oversee the development process of the gender-responsive roadmap and journey-map visualization platform in collaboration with an assigned consultancy firm
• Conduct a focus group with youth to provide recommendations for strengthening the impact of the gender-responsive responsive and inclusive toolbox
• Provide technical feedback throughout the creation process of the visualization platform and tools.
• Develop communication materials as well as innovative and visual tools for AU-GRAP resources

3) Monitoring and evaluation:

• Develop a sustainability and inclusive assessment tool to assess the long-term impact of the toolbox resources including gender and inclusion-related risks and potentials

Additional Activities (5 guide+21 toolbox):The gender and social inclusion expert will provide additional support throughout the AU-GRAP activities in the following areas:

• Supporting the development and operationalization of the AU-GRAP gender-related activities across MS and RECs.
• Collaborating in the development and delivery process of the gender-responsive toolbox resources to relevant partners.

Expected Outcomes

• Enhanced institutional capacity of three RECs and 2 MS in implementing inclusive green growth initiatives and access to climate finance
• Increased awareness and understanding of gender-responsive approaches among key stakeholders
• Accessible and innovative visualization tools and communication materials that convey the impact of the AU-GRAP resources
• A sustainability and inclusion assessment tool that measures gender responsiveness, inclusion and long-term impact 

EXPERTISE REQUIRED

• At least a Masters’ Degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Public Health, Development Studies, or any relevant field with focus on gender, diversity, equity and inclusion, Climate Finance, Environmental Studies, Natural Resource, Economics, Agriculture, or related field.
• Proven experience designing and undertaking situational analysis studies around the inclusion of gender and social inclusion in green growth, climate change, agriculture and/or related fields in Africa.
• A significant experience developing training modules on inclusion and gender-responsive strategies in climate actions.
• Exceptional abilities in writing reports as evidenced by significant publications in books, reports and/or journals.
• Strong capabilities in data collection, analysis, and synthesis to identify trends, gaps, and actionable insights.
• Documented experience working and liaising within the African continent and/or with diverse contexts and cultures.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION 

The followings may be included in this section: 

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Proposed one‑page work plan, indicating applicant’s understanding of the TOR; approach to the assignment; the indicative timeline to achieve deliverables.