Capacity building workshop facilitator

1. Introduction. 

The Green Climate Fund (“GCF”) is a multilateral fund created to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set by the international community to combat climate change.

GCF will contribute to the achievement of the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In the context of sustainable development, GCF will promote the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. GCF is governed by a Board, composed of an equal representation of developed and developing countries. The Fund is operated by an independent Secretariat headed by an Executive Director.

The Fund seeks to recruit a Capacity building workshop facilitator to carry out the tasks, duties and responsibilities, deliver the set deliverables and provide support to the hiring unit as detailed below. The consultant will join GCF team on  Remote based. The assignment is for  16 days over a 8 months-month period.

2. Role 

All accredited entities, including Direct Access Entities (DAEs) of the GCF, are required to establish their own grievance redress mechanisms (GRMs). One of the IRM’s functions is to build the capacity of such GRMs so that they are better equipped to handle complaints and grievances. As part of this effort, the IRM has been conducting training for the GRMs of DAEs over the past four years and has also developed comprehensive online learning modules on operating GRMs (link to the online learning modules: https://ilearn.greenclimate.fund/thematicarea/category?id=3) to assist the GRMs of DAEs.

The IRM’s Work Plan and Budget for 2023 includes a number of activities to build the capacity of GRMs of DAEs. In particular, the IRM has planned for the following:

• Based on the pre-existing online learning modules, facilitate two online capacity-building workshops – one for Asia and the Pacific and one for Latin America and the Caribbean – and one in-person capacity-building workshop in Africa. These workshops are pitched at the introductory level for GRMs that are newly established or are handling complaints for the first time or for those who wish to update their knowledge on the subject.
•  Offer individualised support to GRMs to assist them with the improvement and/or design of their policies/mandates and processes.

3. Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will be responsible for but not limited to:

Capacity building workshop:

Based on the content and structure of the pre-existing online learning modules, the consultant will design a series of workshops combining live sessions and self-instructed learnings. The core sessions will be led and facilitated by a consultant with demonstrated experience and expertise in both the field of setting up grievance redress mechanisms, as well as in conducting virtual trainings in grievance redress methods and techniques, including mediation, alternate dispute resolution and compliance review.

The virtual capacity building workshops must consist of the following elements/features:

• Two virtual workshops for cohorts from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Asia and the Pacific (APAC)
• Ten hours of online facilitated sessions per cohort (20 hours in total)
• Use of breakout rooms for engaged discussion in the live sessions
• If needed, guest speakers who are experts in the subject areas covered & special sessions, breakout sessions and case studies for key topics
• Assignments for participants based on the subject areas covered in the workshops
• Information and support before/during/after the course within agreed time limits
• Active communication with the IRM to arrange the logistics

The in-person capacity building workshop must consist of the following elements/features:

• One three-day in-person workshop for participants based in Africa (the exact location and dates of which are to be determined)
• Interactive learning experience and trust-building exercises for participants
• Joint sessions with civil society organisations
• Active communication with the IRM to arrange the logistics

Individualised support to DAEs:

The consultant will assist a select number of GRMs of DAEs with the improvement and/or design of their policies/mandates and processes for a total of 30 hours. This assistance must be provided with reference to best international practices (including the effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) and in accordance with the GCF’s requirements for GRMs set out in the GCF Environmental and Social Policy and any additional requirements imposed on the DAE as part of the GCF accreditation process. In particular, the consultant will use the guidance provided by the IRM to the Accreditation Panel (which the IRM will make available to the consultant) with regard to assessing the fit-for-purpose of the accredited entity GRMs. The scope of the support offered to the DAEs is limited to policy/mandate and procedural requirements only, and the consultant will need to explain to the DAEs that any additional aspects of their requests which are of another nature will be considered out of scope of this contract. The consultant will at all times present itself as an independent advisor to the DAEs. This part of the contract will be conducted at arm’s length from the IRM. Advice given to the DAEs must be clearly represented by the expert to the DAEs as not coming from the IRM. The consultant will further indicate that the IRM does not take responsibility for the advice given, nor does the IRM warrant that by following the advice given, the DAE will meet the requirements for establishing and/or operating a GRM as required by the GCF.

Timing of the different components of the contract:

The virtual workshop is expected to take place sometime between May and November 2023, and the in-person workshop in Africa is planned for July 2023.

The support offered to the DAEs can begin immediately after contract signing and can continue throughout the year till the end of the contract, in parallel with the workshop offered under this contract.

4. Expected outputs

In relation to each of the two components of this contract, the consultant will:

Capacity building workshops:

• Design and develop appropriate workshops for the instruction of the online modules.
•  Ensure the quality of the workshop so that they are culturally and gender responsive, and accessible to lay people.
•  Deliver two virtual workshops and one in-person workshop.
• Source and secure/directly contract additional facilitators if necessary.
• Source and secure (on a voluntary basis) appropriately qualified guest speakers for key topics.
• Develop, administer and review appropriate assignments for participants.
• Be available for one-on-one mentorship of the participants through mainly telephone calls or, alternatively, by emails, for up to 3 hours per cohort (3 hours x 3 cohorts = 9 hours of mentorship). The consultant will proactively seekinput from participants during and after the training to ensure that the content of the workshop is assimilated.
• Prepare a lessons learnt report for the IRM detailing the challenges faced by the GRMs and the facilitator. The report should also include suggestions on how to improve the workshop in the future.

Individualised support to DAEs:

• Set up one-on-one consultations with each of the DAE representatives to elicit further details regarding the support required.
• Prepare and deliver a short workshop (online) on the topic of developing a GRM’s policy/mandate and procedures for the DAEs requiring assistance.
• Prepare an assignment for each of the DAEs that is suited to their specific needs and requests, whereby the DAE representatives are required to prepare a first draft of the mandate/policy or procedures that they require.
• The assignment must include a timeline for delivery of initial drafts by each DAE; a timeline for the revisions and assistance that will be provided by the consultant; and a timeline for the final revision of the product (i.e. policy, TOR, handbook, procedure, protocol, etc.).
• Prepare a lessons learnt report for the IRM detailing the challenges faced by the GRMs and the steps taken to address those challenges. This report must identify opportunities for addressing common challenges faced amongst all the GRMs of the GCF’s accredited entities. In this regard, the report must include anonymised templates (based on the specific support offered to them) for GRM policy clauses and procedures which can be offered to other GRMs who face similar challenges.
• Fill out the timesheet provided by the IRM, indicating the hours worked and the details of the services offered to the DAEs.

5. Required Experience and Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, including law, alternative dispute resolution, conflict resolution, political science, or international relations. Master’s degree desirable;
• Excellent knowledge of grievance redress mechanisms, learning techniques, and virtual training;
• Demonstrated experience in delivering training and capacity development services to developing country stakeholders, including through innovative methodologies and approaches;
• Understanding of mediation and/or compliance review processes applicable to international grievance redress mechanisms;
• Demonstrated experience in developing policies and/or procedural guidelines for institutions, with a preference for specific experience in developing such policies/guidelines for grievance redress is desired;
• Prior experience working with stakeholders in developing countries; and
• Full professional proficiency in English is required. Professional competency in French and/or Spanish is a plus.

• The closing date for applications is 03 May 2023 (KST). Applications submitted after the closing date may not be considered.