The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a financial operating entity of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which is established to contribute to the collective efforts of the international community to combat climate change. The GCF plans to fund programmatic approaches that provide an opportunity for a transformational shift in countries’ climate resilience and green economies, prioritizing a balanced approach between adaptation and mitigation. The GCF can be accessed directly by National Implementing Entities (NIEs) from developing countries and/or through accredited international and regional Implementing Entities (IEs). The Board of the Green Climate Fund has started Accreditation of National and International institutions for direct access. UNDP serving as the GCF Accredited Entity, an adaptation program approach has been proposed for possible funding by the GCF.

The proposed project is entitled Resilience of water, agriculture and food systems in Southern Africa. The objective of the programme is to strengthen climate resilience and agro-ecological sustainability of water, agriculture and food systems in Southern African countries of the SADC bloc. Targeted countries within the SADC bloc include Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. The preferred solution is to apply an integrated systems’ approach to support countries within the proposed programme to adapt water resources management and agricultural production to climatic stressors that improves water productivity in agriculture, reduces and reverses land degradation and interlinked degradation of freshwater sources, and builds the resilience of vulnerable communities.  

The concept note will be submitted to the GCF through UNDP, which is an accredited UN Agency by the GCF.

Within this overall background, UNDP is seeking a technical expert to support project formulation to work with UNDP to prepare the concept note package in time for submission.

To validate and help finalize the project design, a detailed pre-feasibility study (PFS) is to be undertaken by a team of specialists that includes, a lead Concept Note (CN) expert, a team of land use and biophysical scientists, a value chains’ expert, an Environment and Social Safeguards Specialist, a Finance and Investment specialist, a Gender Specialist. The team of specialists will provide the pre-feasibility analysis required to formulate a concept note, and other annexes accompanying the CN