Adaptation Local Consultant

Result of ServiceThis consultant would be responsible for developing the adaptation component, specifically related to the water, agriculture and forestry sectors. Additionally, given the possible addition of 2 new sector to the NDC 3.0 (namely waste and industry), the consultant will need to support the exploration and development of any adaptation-related targets, gathering baseline data and identification of indicators as it relates to these new sectors. Work LocationHybrid: home-based + in-person activities at APMT and MMAYA offices in La Paz, Bolivia Expected duration6 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesBolivia has requested support for the revision and update of its NDC targets, framed within the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. The need to review the 32 NDC targets (2021-2030) arises in response to new challenges and opportunities identified in the agriculture, water, energy, and forestry sectors, along with the inclusion of other key sectors such as waste and industry. This update ensures that Bolivia upholds its international commitments while strengthening its capacity for adaptation and mitigation in the face of climate change. This gives rise to the need for a local adaptation consultant to focus on the adaptation aspects of the NDCs. Bolivia expresses a holistic vision in their approach towards interventions to face the climate crisis (articulating a focus on integrating joint mitigation, adaptation, losses and damages, and integral development of the country under one umbrella). However, to maximise effectiveness in the setting of achievable and ambitious targets, and for the identification of viable indicators to track progress towards achieving these targets, clear focus on the adaptation component is distinguished in key sectors (namely water and agriculture) in the NDC. The adaptation consultant will support the reviewing, updating and validations of all climate change adaptation related targets and the associated indicators for tracking progress. In cases where indicators are not adequately identified, new indicators will be proposed and included into the monitoring and evaluations framework/system. Throughout UNEP's work, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change marks a turning point to an emerging climate regime that brings all the states and actors together to a new global platform to address the growing risks to our planet. According to IPCC reports, warming in the climate system is unequivocal, as is human influence. At a global level, Bolivia is among the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change throughout its territory and in its cultural, social, productive, energy, and industrial structure. The climate crisis poses high risks for human, economic, social, productive, and natural systems, and the negative ecological, economic, and social impacts are expected to be exacerbated. According to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI), Bolivia is the tenth most vulnerable country globally, considering the impacts of extreme climate events and associated socioeconomic data. Historically, Bolivia has been exposed to floods and droughts. Approximately four out of 10 people live in flood-prone plots, and more than 16% of the population live in areas at risk of drought. During the last decade, Bolivia’s weather patterns have undergone significant changes: extreme rainfall, floods, landslides, and droughts have pushed the poorest and most marginalized communities beyond their ability to respond and have significantly affected the state of watersheds and other climate-sensitive landscapes. Poverty persists at 55% and is much higher in rural areas than in urban areas at 31%, concentrated in the Altiplano and Valles. Poverty can be attributed to poor access to land and services, both social and productive, and the marginalization of women in organizations and restrictions on women's activities outside the home. Women continue to have less access to decision-making, training, and other services despite their growing role in production. Despite the confluence of the climate crisis and the socioeconomic conditions of the country, Bolivia has made efforts to advance towards a more comprehensive development with a growth in annual public investment in the last 14 years from 629 (2005) to 3,769 million US dollars annually (2019), highlighting that there is a more significant international commitment to confront the climate crisis, including managing losses and damages. Additionally, Bolivia has committed to reducing its carbon emissions and increasing its climate resilience by updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which maintains the characteristic ambition of the first document and commits Bolivia to take actions aligned with a trajectory consistent with the global goal of limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 °C, with climate justice in the framework of the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, in light of national circumstances. At the same time, the actions resulting from the contributions raised in the update of the NDCs will increase the country's adaptive capacity, strengthen its resilience, and reduce its vulnerability to the climate crisis. The NDC update also includes a commitment to greater transparency in monitoring the proposed adaptation, mitigation, and implementation goals. Through the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT, given its acronym in Spanish), Bolivia is prioritizing efforts for the revision and update of the country’s NDC targets. The need to review the 32 NDC targets (2021-2030) arises in response to new challenges and opportunities identified in the agriculture, water, energy, and forestry sectors, along with the inclusion of key sectors such as waste and industry. This update ensures that Bolivia upholds its international commitments while strengthening its capacity for adaptation and mitigation in the face of climate change. By updating the baseline data and indicators, Bolivia strengthens its ability to measure and monitor progress more accurately, contributing to the coherence between national policies. Planning instruments and the Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) are currently under development. In this regard, the goal is to leverage existing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions modelling analyses and identified mitigation actions, ensuring that the NDC 3.0 targets are both realistic and achievable, while maximizing the efficiency of mitigation actions. This strategic integration between NDC 3.0 and LT-LEDS will enable the identification of synergies and opportunities for efficiency, strengthening both the planning and implementation process, avoiding duplication, and enhancing national efforts towards low-emission development. Furthermore, the integration of a gender perspective ensures that climate policies are inclusive and equitable, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and international demands for social and climate justice. Similarly, by aligning the NDC targets with the sectoral greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories following the IPCC methodology, Bolivia improves its technical capacity to report progress transparently, ensuring greater alignment with international monitoring and reporting requirements. Finally, the inclusion of new sectors and the alignment of targets with climate finance reinforces NDC 3.0, facilitating investment in concrete mitigation and adaptation projects, and promoting greater climate ambition at both national and subnational levels. This contributes to the strategic alignment between national low-emission development commitments and the goals of the international community. Considering the above, UNEP and the government of Bolivia, through the APMT, designed the project “Enhancement of NDC (NDC 3.0)” for the Partnership Action Fund (PAF), funded by the NDC Partnership (Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership). The fund supports NDC enhancement and implementation by reinforcing technical expertise and capacities to address gaps in developing country members. The PAF will complement the NDC Partnership's implementing and development partners' existing support offerings to catalyze further climate action. Therefore, this project will support the update of the country's NDCs to include additional prioritized sectors to the current four: energy, water, forests, and agriculture, as well as increasing ambition, including gender perspective and defining GHG targets for all the measures within the NDC. In this sense, UNEP is recruiting different local experts in Bolivia and a few international positions to spearhead the execution of the project activities and support the government, the Project Manager and Sr. Advisors at UNEP-CCC on specific topics, in this case, the inclusion of a local consultant on adaptation. The local consultant on adaptation will report to the Local Coordinator to articulate the activities on the ground and to the Adaptation Specialist at UNEP-CCC who will guide the approach of the consultancy. Also will work in close collaboration with the local team, MMAYA and APMT located in La Paz, Bolivia. The consultancy is product-based and allows for a hybrid work model, enabling the consultant to work remotely while participating in in-person activities as described in the workplan. The Adaptation local consultant will provide technical support in the updating process of Bolivia´s NDC 3.0, in line with the national roadmap and in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Water, APMT, the national consultant team, UNEP-CCC, and relevant sectoral actors. Although the overall duration of the assignment will be from May to October 2025, the critical phase of NDC development must be completed by August 2025, as established by the MMAyA, which is leading the process. 7-month contract. The consultant is expected to work from home and have regular meetings at the Ministry of Environment and Water and Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT) of Bolivia. Each payment will be disbursed upon deliverables and invoices duly approved by the Project Manager. The final payment will require a final evaluation duly signed by the Project Manager. PHASE 1: Review and update of Baseline Data and Indicators Project Outputs: o Validation of Baseline Data and Indicators for the 32 NDC Targets (2021-2030) o Engagement of key stakeholders, including sub-national governments ● Consultant Activities: o Review and update of the Baseline Data and Indicators related to the NDC adaptation targets (2021-2030), including methodological fact sheets for each adaptation target. o Participate in stakeholders’ and subnational governments’ engagement PHASE 2: Baseline Studies for Potential New Sectors and Proposal for NDC 3.0 Targets ● Project Outputs: o New sectors with targets for NDC 3.0 o Institutional diagnosis for these sectors, including engagement of key stakeholders, including sub-national governments o Investment plan necessary to achieve the new targets and validate it by the different institutions involved, including the private sector ● Consultant Activities: o Analyze adaptation-related baseline studies for potential new sectors (namely waste and industry), explore and develop adaptation-related targets, gather baseline data and identification of indicators as it relate to these new sectors. o Collaborate with the local team and the adaptation expert at UNEP-CCC to identify institutional gaps (roles, functions, infrastructure), as well as regulatory, technological, and financial aspects of the new sectors and to develop an investment plan. PHASE 4: GHG Emissions Targets ● Project Outputs: o GHG emissions reduction targets for the NDC 3.0 o Updated monitoring and reporting system ● Consultant Activities: o Define the alignment of NDC targets with risk and vulnerability data by related sectors. o Where possible, coordinate with the team preparing the 4th National Communication. o Defined adaptation targets and indicators well documents in the consolidated document and final proposal for NDC 3.0. o Contribute with UNEP-CCC experts with the adaptation data collection necessary to update the monitoring and reporting module of the existing Climate Change Monitoring System (SMTCC) PHASE 5: Validation and Consolidation ● Project Output: o Updated and validated NDC 3.0 ● Consultant Activities: o Work closely with all other project consultants, to finalize the information in the NDC 3.0, ensuring that the adaptation-related targets and indicators are accurately documents. o Support the Project Manager and UNEP-CCC to elaborate a concrete implementation and communication strategy, including all the national circumstances. The local consultant will provide on-the-ground support, working closely with and under the guidance of international experts and assist in logistics, literature review, data gathering, stakeholder consultations, stakeholder coordination, report compilation, workshop coordination and delivery. Responsibilities include: ● In coordination with MMAYA, APMT and UNEP support the process of literature review and data gathering to facilitate the updating of adaptation-related NDC targets and baseline data, as well as the development of indicators to track progress towards achieving the targets. ● Support the delivery/coordination of the training or consultations related to the development of the adaptation components of the project ● Acting as a direct, on-the-ground liaison between the Bolivian government and the project team ● Supporting project management activities for planning, coordination, and execution ● Managing workshop logistics, including supporting the delivery and compilation of reports. ● Providing procurement assistance International travel will be required. Qualifications/special skills● Advanced university degree, preferably in the natural sciences or engineering, with postgraduate studies in climate change and/or related fields (master’s or equivalent). ● Minimum two (2) years of relevant work experience with a master's degree, or four (4) years with a bachelor's, on climate change adaptation related issues, monitoring and evaluation systems under the enhanced transparency framework of the Paris Agreement, working in Latin-American countries (required). ● Having been linked to the monitoring of Nationally Determined Contributions is a strong advantage. ● Minimum three (3) years of relevant experience in consulting work related to climate change (required). ● Concrete experience in Bolivia is an asset. ● General knowledge about building resilience in the local/national context, contributing to climate change adaptation scenarios, their monitoring and evaluation. Languages● Fluency in Spanish (Required). ● Confident in English (Required). Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.