Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert

2.    Office/Unit/Project Description 

The Climate Change and Environment Portfolio’s strategy is focusing on promoting change at scale through investing in national capacity to respond in addition to piloting and prototyping development solutions that have the potential to lead to transformational change. Also, a key element of the strategy is to apply the integrated ecosystem approach, to help establish mechanisms to value ecosystem services with a view to address the market failures to fully reflect the true value of ecosystem services.

The portfolio strategy requires the establishment of programmatic partnerships, as a cross-cutting area, ‘with different ministries, international organizations (inter alia UNEP, EU, UNIDO, WB, EBRD and FAO), universities and CSOs, collaboratively adding value to the ongoing work of these stakeholders. The Climate Change and Environment (CCE) Portfolio focuses on three programmatic areas that complement each other: 1-Natural Resource Management contributing to sustainable environment management and conservation of natural resources in production landscapes, within the general framework of the ecosystems approach; 2- Climate Change and Disaster Resilience (including chemicals and waste) strengthening institutional capacities for analysis and risk management for resilience with a specific emphasis on climate change, and 3- Cooperation with relevant stakeholders to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The overall objective of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Change Action in Türkiye Project is to support Türkiye in its efforts to combat climate change through increased implementation capacity at the local level, which will ultimately contribute to sustainable, low-carbon, and climate-resilient development. The Project has one major outcome that will result from the five outputs as shown below:

Outcome: Türkiye’s local climate change mitigation and adaptation capacity is improved. 

• Output 1: Climate risk assessment capacity is improved at local, regional and national level.
• Output 2: Local climate adaptation planning capacity is improved.
• Output 3: Local decision-making and implementation capacity for climate action is enhanced. 
• Output 4: Public awareness and local stakeholder capabilities and collaboration to implement climate actions are improved.
• Output 5: Technical Assistance to Climate Change Grant Programme is provided.

In light of the above, a Junior Short-term Expert will provide support services for urban climate change assessments and assist the project team with data analysis, the development of Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAPs), the preparation of vulnerability and risk assessment guidelines for cities, and the development of interactive decision-making tools. The expert will also assist in organizing workshops, conducting stakeholder engagement activities, and contributing to capacity-building initiatives for local authorities and stakeholders within the project scope. For further details, please see below. The Junior Short-term Expert will provide expertise on a daily basis based on the needs and necessities of the projects within the scope of work in item 4. 

Acronyms and abbreviations 

Unless otherwise noted;

• UNDP refers to United Nations Development Programme Country Office in Türkiye,
• The Assignment refers to the present Assignment,
• CCE refers to Climate Change & Environment
• MoEUCC refers to Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change
• DCC refers to Directorate of Climate Change 
• TAT refers to Technical Assistant Team
• The Project Manager refers to Project Manager of EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project

3.    Scope of Work 

UNDP will mobilize a Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert to provide professional support on the fields mentioned below. His/her functions will not include managerial, supervisory and/or representative functions.

The objective of the assignment is to provide specialized consultancy on urban climate change, technical advisories, methodology development, implementation strategies, and stakeholder mapping. The focus will be on areas including but not limited to local climate change action planning, urban vulnerability and risk assessments, and public awareness in the context of urban settings. The organizational structure of experts involved in the Project is demonstrated below.

The overall outcome of the Project is the improvement of Türkiye’s local climate change mitigation and adaptation capacity, achieved through activities spanning five components (Components A to E).

• Component A emphasizes a comprehensive climate risk assessment at multiple levels within Türkiye. By evaluating current conditions and projecting future climate scenarios, the objective is to bolster the readiness of local authorities. The outcome will be improvement of climate risk assessment capacities at the local, regional and national level through the formulation of vulnerability and risk assessments tailored for multiple cities/regions. 
• Component B aims to bolster the climate change response capacities of cities in Türkiye. By establishing a solid regulatory framework and facilitating the development of Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAPs), this component provides a structured methodology to improve local climate planning capacity against the challenges posed by climate change.
• Component C aims to enhance local decision-making capabilities with respect to climate action. By introducing interactive, digital tools integrated into the climate change platform (İklim Portal), local authorities will be equipped with data-driven resources. These tools are designed to align with national standards and offer guidance, streamlining the decision-making process. Overall, this component aims to enhance local decision-making and implementation capacity for climate action.
• Component D is dedicated to elevating public awareness and enhancing the capabilities of local stakeholders. Through a thorough analysis of current capacities and targeted capacity-building initiatives, municipalities and other stakeholders are positioned to strategize and implement local climate actions more effectively. Overall, this component aims to ensure that public awareness and local stakeholder capabilities and collaboration to implement climate actions are improved.
• Component E focuses on extending Technical Assistance to the Climate Change Grant Programme. This initiative is designed to amplify the adoption of climate change plans at a local level. Although the grant program's direct management falls under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change (MoEUCC), UNDP will provide technical support.

Within the scope of the assignment, Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert shall perform the following generic functions (but not limited to):

• Support the Key Expert in developing the draft legislation and the methodology for LCCAPs in Türkiye
• Assist in drafting reports, guidelines, and technical documents in coordination with the Key Expert, ensuring all documents meet quality standards.        
• Conduct literature reviews, gather information on best practices, and summarize findings relevant to urban climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Support the Key Expert in urban vulnerability and risk assessments in selected cities, including data collection, analysis, and documentation.
• Assist in analyzing data related to climate change impacts, risks, and vulnerabilities using relevant software and methodologies.
• Help in organizing and conducting workshops and training sessions, including preparing materials, coordinating logistics, and taking notes.
• Contribute to the development and testing of interactive decision-making tools by providing technical and logistical support.
• Assist in stakeholder mapping, engagement activities, and follow-up communications to ensure comprehensive participation and feedback.
• Provide technical support for project activities, including preparation of presentations and assessments. Support the Project Manager in lesson learning, reporting, and other relevant activities
• Support the Project Manager in reviewing and drafting the relevant parts of the annual progress reports, quarterly short notes, as deemed necessary
• Participate in Project related workshops, trainings, conferences, etc.
• Participate in meetings to be held at DCC’s premises or online meetings, as deemed necessary
• Participate in bi-annually Project Steering Committee Meetings, monthly Operation Coordination Unit Meetings, quarterly Technical Advisory Committee Meetings (online or in-person), contribute to the presentations, etc., as deemed necessary
• Ensure the technical quality and compliance of all related reports and activities 
• Make necessary revisions to the reports upon request from the Project Team

The above-mentioned duties and responsibilities are indicative and subject to further detailing throughout the contract duration. The services required will be developed by the Project Manager and the time schedule for each assignment will be determined by UNDP in consultation with the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert.

If required by UNDP, the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert may be requested to provide additional consultancy services on topics related to her/his consultancies area.

4.     Institutional Arrangement

UNDP will provide the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert with all relevant background documents. UNDP is not required to provide any physical facility for the work of the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert. However, depending to the availability of physical facilities (e.g. working space, computer, printer, telephone lines, internet connection etc.) and at the discretion of the UNDP in cooperation with MoEU such facilities may be provided at the disposal of the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert. UNDP, in cooperation with MoEU will facilitate meetings between the project consultants and other stakeholders, when needed.

All document and data provided to the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert are confidential and cannot be used for any other purposes or shared with a third party without any written approval from UNDP.

Reports shall be submitted in Turkish with an executive summary in English. The Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert shall be solely liable for the accuracy and reliability of the data provided, links to sources of information used.

The Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert shall report to the Project Manager of EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project under the overall supervision of the CCE Portfolio Manager and work in close collaboration with the Project staff.  After submission of the deliverables outlined by the Project Manager, UNDP may have some comments and revision requests on the deliverables. The reports shall be submitted to the Project Manager for final approval. The Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert shall address the comments of UNDP and shall revise the deliverables as per the comments within at most 10 calendar days following notification of comments by UNDP to the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert. All the reports are subject to approval from the Project Manager for the continuation of monthly remuneration to the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert.

5.Competencies

6. Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

The following table demonstrates the required qualifications of the candidate to be recruited for this assignment. The required qualifications of this expert are as follows:

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7.         Travel: 

Place of work for the assignment is home-based and Ankara. All travel, accommodation and living costs in duty station (home based and Ankara) will be covered by the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert. In case travels to other cities specified in the Projects DoA and/or other unforeseen travel out of the duty station is needed, the travel and accommodation costs of these missions will be borne by UNDP. The cost and terms of reimbursement of any travel authorized by UNDP for Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert must be negotiated prior to travel. The respective travels of the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert may either be;

• Arranged and covered by UNDP CO from the respective project budget without making any reimbursements to the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert or
• Reimbursed to the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert upon the submission of the receipts/invoices of the expenses by the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert and approval of the UNDP. The reimbursement of each cost item subject to following constraints/conditions provided in below table;
• covered by the combination of the above options

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2. The following guidance on travel compensation is provided per UNDP practice. 
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As per UNDSS rules, the Junior Urban Climate Change Support Expert is responsible for completing necessary online security trainings and submitting certificates and travel clearance prior to assignment-related travels.