ET Consultant - Senior Economist and Finance Specialist, Climate Change, Loss and Damage

At COP27 and CMA4, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) established funding arrangements to assist developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate change. This decision included the creation of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), with a focus on providing support to affected nations.

At COP28 and CMA5, the COP/CMA formally approved the Fund’s Governing Instrument, designating it as part of the UNFCCC’s financial mechanism and placing it under the guidance of both COP and CMA. The decision authorized the FRLD’s Board to secure a hosting arrangement with the World Bank as an interim trustee for four years, which includes hosting the Fund’s secretariat. The World Bank has agreed to act as trustee and administer the Trust Fund in line with the COP/CMA’s stipulations. The FRLD Secretariat, hosted by the World Bank in Washington, D.C., supports FRLD governing bodies, manages institutional relations, aids in strategy, policy, and program development, and oversees management systems.

The FRLD Secretariat, led by the Executive Director (ED), coordinates FRLD’s strategic activities across its governing bodies, including the Board, and the World Bank (as Trustee and Secretariat host), and other stakeholders. It also drives thought leadership, manages portfolio risk, and develops initiatives to mobilize resources.

The Senior Economist will lead the design and development of i) the direct budget support framework; ii) the screening mechanism for functional equivalency. This includes leading analytical work required for programming and operations, including conducting quantitative and qualitative economic analyses and advising on economic and financial aspects of projects/programmes and activities financed by the Fund.

The Senior Economist will report directly to the Program Manager of the Programming and Country Engagement team and work closely with the Knowledge, Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning team in the FRLD Secretariat.

Duties and Accountabilities

• Lead the design and development of a bespoke FRLD budget support policy framework for the FRLD, including coordinating inputs from relevant Secretariat teams, ensuring alignment with the Fund’s Governing Instrument and the Decisions of the Fund Board.
• Lead the design and development of a simplified and streamlined screening mechanism to determine functional equivalency of countries and implementing entities, including overseeing the work of other consultants/consulting firm in this regard.The mechanism must be designed to ensure alignment with the requirements of the Governing Instrument regarding functional equivalency to fiduciary and ESS standards.
• Contribute to the drafting of the FRLD’s Operations Manual for the start-up phase (Barbados Implementation Modalities)
• Conduct analytical work and provide policy advice on economic and financial issues and challenges related to FRLD’s programming and operations
• Provide advice on economic and financial aspects of projects/programmes and review direct budget support proposals/funding requests
• Support the preparation of the annual high-level dialogue including policy briefs and other research analysis.
• Support the engagement with the Trustee regarding access modalities and direct budget support
• Prepare presentation materials and talking points for internal discussions in the Secretariat, as well as external consultations with the Board, observers and other stakeholders.
• Advise the Program Manager in the setting up of required structures and capacities for implementing the proposed direct budget support framework and streamlined screening mechanism.