Extended Term Consultant Job #: req35585 Organization: World Bank Sector: Climate Change Grade: EC2 Term Duration: 1 year 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Washington, DC,United States Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): French, Spanish Closing Date: 2/23/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.
Unit Context
Climate change will greatly affect the poorest people in the world, who are often hardest hit by weather catastrophes, desertification, and rising sea levels and least able to respond. In some parts of the world, climate change has already contributed to worsening food security, reduced the predictable availability of fresh water, and exacerbated the spread of disease and other threats to human health.
Helping the most vulnerable countries and communities adapt to increasing challenges of climate change is an imperative for the international community, requiring significant resources to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Adaptation Fund is an innovative financing mechanism set up by the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with the purpose of financing concrete climate change adaptation projects and programs in developing country Parties. At the request of the COP, the GEF is providing secretariat services to the Adaptation Fund Board (the Board) on an interim basis, through a dedicated team. Since becoming fully operational in 2010, the Board has approved over 190 projects and programs worth more than USD 1.2 billion in over 100 countries.
Launched under the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC, the Adaptation Fund has been formally serving the Paris Agreement since 2019. The Adaptation Fund is implementing its second medium term strategy (2023-2027) that rests on the three pillars of adaptation action, innovation and learning/knowledge management.
The Adaptation Fund supports country-driven projects and programs, innovation, and global learning for effective adaptation. All of the Adaptation Fund’s activities are designed to build national and local adaptive capacities while reaching and engaging the most vulnerable groups, and to integrate gender consideration to provide equal opportunity to access and benefit from the Fund’s resources. They are also aimed at enhancing synergies with other sources of climate finance, while creating models that can be replicated or scaled up.
The Secretariat is recruiting an Extended Term Consultant (ETC) to support the Fund’s work on portfolio management, results, and evaluation. S/he will play a key role in the timely and quality management of the Fund’s portfolio of projects and programmes in line with the Fund’s operational policies and guidelines. S/he will also support the review of funding proposal compliance with the Fund’s strategic results framework and support review of evaluations and development of management responses.
The ETC position reports to the Lead for Results Based Management and Knowledge Management.
Duties and Accountabilities
The successful candidate will be expected to carry out the following duties and responsibilities:
Portfolio and results management
• Support the technical review of project/programme performance reports submitted annually by AF IEs as part of the Fund’s reporting requirements. Support the review of other project-related reports, such as changes to projects, submitted by the IEs.
• Participate in portfolio development and play a key role in the operationalization of the medium-term strategy of the Fund. This includes the review of the project and programme proposals submitted to the Fund.
• Support the tracking, timely completion, and quality assurance of reviews done by other members of the AF Secretariat.
Interface with Programming team and the AF Evaluation unit
• Provide cross functional support to the AF Programming team on project/programme review cycle process, including technical review of proposals, ensuring compliance with Fund policies including Strategic Results Framework, Evaluation Policy and Budgeting for evaluation.
• Support evaluation-related activities that the Secretariat reviews, including review of and inputs into evaluation concept notes, evaluation drafts, related knowledge products, and other evaluation deliverables developed by the Independent AF evaluation unit. Evaluations could include ex-post evaluations, thematic evaluations, fund-level evaluations, and project and programme level evaluations.
Review of Environmental and Social Safeguards Compliance
• Provide technical support to the Secretariat and the Fund’s stakeholders for the implementation and compliance of the Fund’s Environmental and Social Policy during project implementation and reporting
• Analyse areas of project non-compliance with the Environmental and Social Policy and help identify solutions to ensure compliance.
• Provide technical support to the Secretariat to ensure complaints received regarding non-compliance with the Fund policies are managed timely, consistently, and effectively
Others
• Represent the Fund in various fora, including but not limited to, meetings convened under the UNFCCC and its subsidiary bodies, meetings of other climate funds, regional and sub-regional workshops, technical conferences and workshops, and bilateral meetings with governments, implementing agencies and other stakeholders.
• Lead and contribute to the preparation of Board documents, strategy and policy documents, talking points, and other materials to support the effective delivery of the Fund portfolio, and the mobilization of additional resources for the fund.
• Support the Secretariat in preparing operational guidelines and tools, documents and other assignments as may be required.
• Provide support in other strategic and operational areas of the Secretariats work as it related to results and knowledge.
Selection Criteria
• Possesses a master’s degree in environmental or social sciences, engineering and/or management, environmental policy and economics, social development, or other field relevant to adaptation to climate change, and at least 5 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated relevant experience in the areas of environmental and social management system, environmental and social safeguards policy, due diligence, implementation of references, and tools for applying standards and action plans.
• Proven experience in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating adaptation projects, programs, and policies in developing countries, with expertise in qualitative and quantitative MEL methods, such as literature reviews, portfolio analysis, theory of change development, case studies, statistical and econometric analysis, and handling large datasets.
• Demonstrates track record in implementation and monitoring of projects/programmes in the field of environment, climate change and/or development.
• Demonstrates experience in managing effective relations with a wide range of stakeholders (Governments, international organizations, multilateral and bilateral development agencies, developing country partners, NGOs, indigenous groups, scientific communities).
Desired experience
• Experience in developing countries, working with those most vulnerable to climate change impacts;
• Demonstrates ability and the necessary organizational skills to take initiative, personal ownership, and accountability to meet deadlines, work under pressure, balance competing demands and achieve agreed-upon results;
• Extended knowledge of the Adaptation Fund and of UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol and climate change and other environmental international regimes and policies;
• Extended knowledge on operational aspects of institutions (policies, governance, and accounting);
• Fluency in a UN language other than English would be desirable, especially French and Spanish.
WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.
Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.