CONSULTANCY: Conduct Fragility Assessment

DUTY STATION

Home-based, Remote

COMMENCEMENT OF DUTY

19 May 2025
or as soon as possible thereafter NATURE OF APPOINTMENT

Variable (depending on needs of Department/Division)
20 working days over a period of 5 weeks

Organizational Unit

Project Development and Management Unit (PDMU)/Development Partnership Office (DPO)
Member Services and Development Department WMO is committed to achieving diversity and a balanced workforce. Applications are welcome from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities. The statutory retirement age after 1 January 2014 is 65. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The consultancy will be conducted entirely online, in close collaboration with key stakeholders, including National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), government agencies, development partners, and local communities.
The consultancy will be carried out over a period of 5 weeks, covering 20 working days, starting from 19 May 2025 and will include the following tasks:

a) Inception Report and Work Plan Development:

- Conduct an initial online consultation with WMO and AfDB to align expectations and confirm data collection requirements;

- Prepare an inception report, outlining the methodology, approach, and work plan.

b) Desk Review of Existing Fragility and Resilience Frameworks:

- Conduct a comprehensive literature review of existing reports, policies, and data sources relevant to fragility, climate risks, and resilience in the target countries;

- Identify gaps in information and propose additional data sources or consultations needed for a robust assessment.

c) Definition and Endorsement of Methodology:

- Develop a structured methodology for the fragility assessment, ensuring alignment with international best practices and organizational frameworks;

- Engage with key stakeholders, including national and international partners, to refine and validate the methodology;

- Incorporate a multi-hazard, systems-based approach to assess fragility in the context of climate change, disaster risk, and governance.

c) Stakeholder Engagement and Virtual Consultations:
- Engage with national governments, regional bodies, UN agencies, and civil society organizations to gather insights and validate findings;
- Organize and facilitate consultations, interviews, and focus group discussions as needed;
- Ensure participatory approaches that reflect local perspectives and realities.

d) Fragility and Resilience Assessment:
- Conduct in-depth analysis of political, economic, social, and environmental factors contributing to fragility in the targeted countries. The proposed analysis should be aligned with the latest quantitative and qualitative findings of the Country Resilience and Fragility Assessment (CRFA). The analysis should clearly identify the nature and extent of the capacities and pressures, derived from the CRFA indicators, and how they determine the selection of entry points for mitigating fragility/vulnerability and building resilience;
- Identify key drivers of risk and their implications for early warning systems, disaster preparedness, and climate adaptation;
- Consider as well (-) interventions based on needs assessment and understanding of the political space for reform, (-) capacity building to manage pressures identified through fragility analysis, (-) Leverage investments by other development partners;
- Draft the Project Fragility/Resilience Assessment Note as an annex to the PAR.
- Prepare the sections \"Opportunities for Building Resilience\" and \"Poverty Reduction, Inclusiveness, and Job Creation\", as well as the project Results-Measurement Framework (RMF) in the PAR.

e) Risk Analysis:
- Develop a risk matrix outlining potential risks and mitigation strategies for project implementation in fragile settings;
- Draft the risk management section of the PAR, incorporating findings from the fragility assessment.

f) Finalization and Submission of Final Deliverables:
- Present preliminary drafts of the above-mentioned documents to WMO and AfDB for review and validation;
- Integrate feedback to ensure assessments are contextually accurate and actionable.
- Submit the final document versions.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT

The consultant will provide the following deliverables to WMO:

1) 21 May 2025: Inception report finalized - specify methodology and work plan.

2) 2 June 2025: Brief stakeholder consultation report and Project Fragility/Resilience Assessment Note and Risk Matrix (see Annex 3-2 and Annex 4.2 of the PAR) submitted.

3) 6 June 2025: The first draft of the sections \"Opportunities for Building Resilience\", \"Poverty Reduction, Inclusiveness, and Job Creation\" and “Risk Management” of the PAR (see Section 3.C and Section 4.D of the PAR) submitted.

4) 20 June 2025: Consolidated versions of all documents submitted.

QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Advanced degree in Environmental Science, Climate Finance, Economics, Conflict Studies, Meteorology, Hydrology, Climatology, or a related discipline.
Experience
- At least ten years of relevant work experience in climate finance, research at the climate-peace nexus, climate change (adaptation and mitigation), green growth, and management consulting, preferably in Africa;

- Strong experience in developing and delivering climate change programs in development finance institutions, integrating a conflict prevention/peacebuilding lens;

- Demonstrable experience as a Climate Finance expert, developing and/or implementing innovative finance instruments;

- Good understanding of development economics in Africa;

- Understanding and experience working within the international climate sphere, such as COP negotiations, adaptation and mitigation priorities for Africa, the Paris agreement and other recent/evolving country and regional commitments.
Other requirements
Availability during the proposed period

The consultant will provide remote technical support, working closely with the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in Burundi, Cameroon, São Tomé & Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Languages
Excellent knowledge of English (both oral and written). Knowledge of other official languages of WMO would be an advantage.

(Note: The official languages of the Organization are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.) Candidates are encouraged to include references to proven analytical products developed under their previous working experience. Additional Information:
Payband C – apprx. 400 USD per day depending upon experience, knowledge and skills.

Focal point email for additional information: Lara Bethônico (lbethonico@wmo.int)

Applications should be made online through the WMO e-recruitment system at https://erecruit.wmo.int/public.
Do not send your application via multiple routes. Only applicants in whom WMO has a further interest will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit a written test and/or an interview. Date of issue of vacancy notice: