Principal Climate Change and Green Growth Officer, PECG2 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50104480
Location: East Africa Regional Hub, Nairobi, Kenya
Position Grade: PL4

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for ‘Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s Ten Years Strategy, High 5s priorities of “Light up and Power Africa”.
• The complex’s objectives are (i) to develop policy and strategy; (ii) to provide deep sector technical expertise to the Regions by gathering a pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted for their expertise on complicated transactions; (iii) to develop new financing instruments; (iv) to act as spokesperson to represent the Bank with external stakeholders on all aspects of “Light Up and Power Africa”.
• The Complex will focus on areas of Power systems, policy and regulation, renewable energy; and, Climate and Green Growth.

The Hiring Department
The Climate Change and Green Growth Department has broad objectives of:

• Mainstreaming climate change and green growth into Bank’s High 5s’ operations;
• Monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Bank’s climate change interventions through the Bank’s Strategic Framework on Climate Change and Green Growth;
• Managing access to the growing number of sources of Green and Climate Finance for all Operational Vice Presidencies within the Bank;
• Assisting African countries to develop and implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS), as well as to increase their access to global climate finance; and
• Leading all efforts within the Bank focused on minimizing and reversing the effects of Climate Change on the continent.

The Hiring Division

• The Climate and Green Growth Division is responsible for ensuring that all efforts within the Bank are focused on minimizing and reversing the effects of Climate Change on the continent, including advising Regional Member Countries on climate and green growth policies and strategies (including the NDCs and LTSs), mainstreaming climate change and green growth in Bank-wide implementation activities and providing support to the High 5s to meet their objectives.

The Position

• The position holder will work under the functional supervision and guidance of the Manager, Climate and Green Growth and in close collaboration with regional climate change and green growth officers based in the Regional Hubs, and the climate finance officers in the Climate Finance Division at the HQ. 
• The incumbent will be responsible for supporting the implementation of the Bank’s Climate Change and Green Growth strategic framework and related policies, procedures, and guidelines into the Bank’s operations both for private and public sectors. 
• The job serves all of the Operational Vice Presidencies, with a particular focus on the Eastern African region, in order to ensure that climate change and green growth considerations are mainstreamed in all Bank’s operations (strategies, policies, plans, programmes and projects) in East Africa.
• The holder of the position will also assist in ensuring that the Bank’s commitments as captured in the Climate Change and Green Growth Policy, Strategy and Action Plan, including the provision of USD 25 billion by 2025 and allocation 40% of project approvals as climate finance are met. Specifically, she/he will work with Task Managers and Investment Officers in the Regional Office to ensure that all projects and Country/Regional Strategy Papers in the region are based on climate-informed design and aligned with the Paris Agreement’s objectives, and that climate change and green growth opportunities are identified and tracked in each project.

Key Functions
Under the overall supervision and general guidance of the Division Manager, the incumbent will perform the following:

Climate Change and Green Growth Policy:

• Support the mainstreaming of climate change into Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) and Regional Integration Strategy Papers (RISPs) in the region in collaboration with Country/Regional Economists;
• Support the preparation of climate change/green growth action plans, documents, reports, operational guidelines, tools as requested by senior management, taking into account RMCs and Bank’s commitments including the implementation of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);  
• Assist and advise RMCs in East Africa on preparation and implementation of climate change and green growth strategies, policies and measures taking into account commitments to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Support the monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Bank’s Climate Change and Green Growth Policy, Strategy and Action Plan (CCAP) and related policies and strategies;
• Support the tracking and reporting on climate finance, with focus on the East African region;

Mainstreaming Climate Change and Green Growth in Projects and Programmes:

• Support the mainstreaming, implementation and monitoring of climate change and green growth considerations/elements in Bank’s operations in East Africa during the identification, preparation, appraisal, supervision and project completion stages as appropriate;
• Support preparation of the climate change technical sections required in the Project Concept Notes (PCNs) and the Project Appraisal Reports (PAR) and any other project related reports as appropriate in close collaboration with project teams;
• Support the implementation of the climate risk screening and Adaptation Review and Evaluation Procedures (AREP) functions of the Climate Safeguards System (CSS), and the Bank’s Greenhouse Gas Accounting tool for projects, as well as the joint MDB climate finance tracking methodology;
• Support Bank’s task managers and investment officers in the region to access climate finance from both internal and external trust funds for the implementation of eligible project components and activities in close collaboration with Climate Finance Officers, including participation in Trust Fund cluster meetings;
• Contribute to other climate change and green growth initiatives and activities carried out by the Department such as the Africa NDC Hub, and
• Liaise with other lenders to ensure consistency in the mainstreaming of climate change and green growth concerns throughout all aspects of the documentation for projects;

Capacity Building and Knowledge Management:

• Identify, assess, and monitor capacity building needs on climate change and green growth in the East African regional hub, including relevant RMCs;
• Support the design and organisation of training sessions for Bank staff and their counterparts in RMCs on the assessment and analysis of climate change and green growth issues in projects and programs (including the understanding of stakeholder needs; institutional and organization issues; and impact monitoring and evaluation of outcomes);
• Participate in and contribute to internal and external trainings and conferences on climate change and green growth as well as in other activities for advocacy, dissemination and knowledge building;
• Develop and/or contribute to the development of innovative knowledge products on sustainability, climate change and green growth; and
• Develop Economic and Sector Works (ESWs) on climate change and green growth;
• Undertake any other tasks as assigned by the Division Manager, Green Growth and Climate Adaptation.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• At least a Master’s Degree in Climate Change, Environment and Development, Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Development, Engineering, Energy economics and policy, Environmental Policy or related discipline;
• A minimum of Six (6) Years experience in a combination of climate change related areas, including: national and international climate policy; project development and management; environment and climate safeguard policy and enforcement; renewable energy policy and project implementation; climate change; climate risk management - adaptation/mitigation; green growth; trust fund management;
• An excellent knowledge and practice of mainstreaming climate change and green growth considerations in projects and programmes and good understanding of project operations of multilateral development banks or equivalent institutions, particularly in East Africa; 
• Experience in mobilizing climate finance for project implementation, climate risk management, and project management;
• Field operational experience in the area of implementing environmental policies, climate change adaptation and mitigation and green growth;
• Well-rounded understanding of critical issues in sustainable development, emerging climate change issues, green growth and sustainability concerns;
• Experience in Climate policies and measures, green and inclusive growth, greenhouse gas and climate risk assessment and management, 
• Excellent technical and analytical skills and established track record in operational and policy work on climate change, green growth and climate finance matters;
• Strong knowledge in supporting the mainstreaming of climate change and green growth into major development investments within the continent;
• Knowledge of climate change, green growth and climate finance issues facing regional member countries (RMCs), with particular focus on East Africa;
• Strong practical experience in applying tools and instruments for mainstreaming climate change, green growth and climate finance into development concerns in Bank operations.
• Experience in the private sector will be an added advantage
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing effectively in French or English, with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint). Knowledge of SAP and Bank-Wide Program Processing Schedule (BPPS) is desirable.