Description
Background: Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Mercy Corps implements a variety of programming throughout the Middle East and Europe in response to the diverse humanitarian and long-term development needs of the region. Mercy Corps has ongoing programs in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine, and Georgia. Mercy Corps is committed to delivering high quality, high impact programming that reaches communities or individuals in need, wherever they are. The impacts of climate change and water insecurity are growing across the region, exacerbating fragility, deepening inequality, and threatening sustainable development. Mercy Corps aims to strengthen its internal capacity and technical leadership to address these challenges while enabling local communities to thrive. Purpose / Project Description: As Mercy Corps works on growing its Water Security & Climate portfolio in MENA/Europe, we are seeking to establish a roster of Water Security & Climate experts with strong contextual knowledge and expertise in the region to support our country teams in designing and implementing impactful programming across humanitarian, early recovery, and development settings. This includes program design and proposal development, research and assessments, training and capacity building, and strategic technical guidance. Activities may vary depending on the assignment and could include literature reviews, analysis, strategic inputs, learning pieces, proposal support, or implementation guidance. Technical Coverage: This consultancy includes experts in the following thematic areas:
- Agricultural Water Management: including resilient agriculture and soil management practices as well as water-smart farming
- Irrigation Systems and Efficiency: design, upgrading, and promotion of sustainable irrigation solutions
- Rainwater Harvesting and Storage: for household, agricultural, and recharge purposes, including decentralized systems
- Groundwater Recharge and Conservation: managed aquifer recharge, protection, and monitoring of over-abstraction
- Wastewater Treatment and Reuse: for agricultural and economic uses, with an emphasis on quality.
- Nature-Based Solutions: landscape approaches for water retention, erosion control, agroforestry, wetland restoration, microclimate regulation
- Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus – integrated planning and systems approaches across sectors
- Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity: incorporating ecological functions and biodiversity into water and climate strategies
- Climate Mitigation: reducing GHG emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration through sustainable water management, or WEFE interventions
- Climate Finance and Resilient Investments: including design and supporting approaches to access finance for climate-smart and water-secure systems
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Market-Based Solutions: designing, brokering, or advising on PPPs, blended finance, and water service models
- Climate and/or Water Risk Assessment: On-the-ground and remote risk assessments to inform program design and implementation.
- Climate and Disaster Risk Insurance: designing and advising on insurance schemes to manage water- and climate-related risks, support anticipatory action, and promote financial resilience of vulnerable communities, farmers, and systems.
- Climate Information Services: supporting greater access to and uptake of services that provide critical information for supporting water and climate adaptation solutions.
- Anticipatory Action AA and Forecast-Based Financing FbF: analysing contexts, designing context specific AA and FbF structures and necessary supporting services.
Consultant Objectives:
- Support business development and donor engagement for water security and climate focused projects in the MENA/Europe region.
- Strengthen program quality by delivering training to country teams, partners or project participants, on water security and climate related topics.
- Provide technical guidance and support to country team during implementation, including developing tools, SOPs, and leading key activities.
- Contribute to Mercy C