Regional Climate Coordinator

Mott MacDonald is an employee-owned management, development and engineering consultancy serving the public and private sector around the world, with more than 16,000 staff worldwide.

Our International Development Services Unit, IDS, operates portfolios within the international development sectors of Environment, Climate, Water, Roads, Rural & Urban Development, Education, Health, Social and Economic Development in over 40 countries. Together we implement and manage projects in developing countries and emerging economies around the world, supporting national governments and municipalities in policy, planning, project design and delivery. We are committed to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to provide our expertise to improve the lives of people in need.

Mott MacDonald provides equal opportunities for all staff and ensuring no current or prospective employee feels disadvantaged because of their: age, nationality, caste, parental status, class, race or ethnic origin, colour, religious belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or marital status.

Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the British Embassy Kathmandu (BEK)as the Technical Assistance Provider for the “Nepal Climate Change Support Programme Phase 2 (NCCSP2), led by the Ministry of Forest and Environment. NCCSP was designed with an aim to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Nepal are able to adapt to the effects of climate change. NCCSP2 supports local governments design and implement climate resilient development plans (CRDPs), with higher level support provided to the MoFE and Provincial government. The climate resilient development planning process provides a climate risk screening approach that is aligned with the 7-step Palika planning and budgeting process.

NCCSP2 will operate in up to 52 Palikas in Provinces 5, 6 and 7. The aim of NCCSP2 is to:

• Support the poorest and most vulnerable communities and local enterprises in western Nepal to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change; 
• Use participatory, evidence-based processes to identify long-term adaptation priorities; and integrate these into Government of Nepal planning and policy; 
• Build the capacity of Government of Nepal to finance, design and deliver adaptation interventions; 
• Improve coordination of community-based adaptation interventions and generate evidence that can improve the quality of future adaptation planning

The objectives of the Technical Assistance to NCCSP2 is to support and build the capacity of the Government of Nepal to deliver the programme. The TA to the NCCSP2 comprises of 4 objectives:

1. Help the Government of Nepal (GoN) to deliver the programme effectively, efficiently, and economically through the provision of technical expertise
2. Reduce the fiduciary risk associated with the programme
3. Strengthen the capacity of the GoN to implement climate change adaptation programming today and in the future
4. Share learning from NCCSP with others and lead the coordination of partners working on climate change adaptation in Nepal

Job Description

The role of the Regional Coordinator will include coordination and monitoring of activities between Output Areas at Provincial and Municipality levels. The position will be based in the Provincial Headquarters in Surkhet and will have complementary skills in climate change, natural resource management, other infrastructure, livelihoods and social development. He/she will provide specialist expertise in one technical field as well as being able to work across disciplines with local authorities in their area of geographical responsibility. Frequent travel to rural municipalities throughout the project area will be required.

Reporting to the Team Leader, the Regional Coordinator is responsible for: 

• Ensuring a coordinated approach to all Output Areas across the rural and urban municipalities in the Province, and resolve problems related to coordination.
• Leading communication and stakeholder engagement activities with local and provincial government, civil society and private sector as well as BEK’s project coordination unit.
• Coordinating field activities for selection, quality assurance and monitoring of activities in all Output Area across the Province.
• Manage  the Palika Climate Coordinators (PCCs) to implement the TA cluster and work plans.
• Provide specialist support in own area of expertise where appropriate.
• Ensuring the timely submission of financial and technical progress reports from the PCCs and compiling all reports into one field report.
• Participating in programme review meetings. 
• Coordinate workshops, trainings, learning events and study tours when required
• Ensuring that monitoring and reporting of Provincial and Palika level activities is done in line with the M&E framework, and report this to the Deputy Programme Manager.
• Ensuring data is collected from the Palikas in the required formats supporting the Deputy Programme Manager.
• Working with staff in the Palikas to ensure that they understand the aims and processes of the project’s M&E framework. 
• Monitoring the quality and timeliness of data received from Palikas, alerting the M&E Manager and Deputy Programme Manager to any issues, and supporting staff to meet the project’s data collection requirements. 
• Quality assuring M&E data where needed. 
• Working closely with M&E manager, Deputy Programme Manager and Deputy Team Leader to generate reports to the client on technical progress. 
• Perform other duties as required by the programme

Note: This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description will be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder and line manager.

Candidate Specification

Required competencies and experience

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, environmental science/management, climate change, agriculture, forestry, natural resource management, social sciences or other relevant subject or equivalent. Master’s preferred.
• At least 7 years’ experience in natural resource management, climate change or related field in Nepal, including capacity building, and institutional strengthening and delivery 
• At least five years’ experience in programme management including coordination of multi-disciplinary teams including line management, preferably on a donor-funded international development projects (UK Aid experience is an advantage)
• Demonstrated experience monitoring and reporting on project activities 
• At least three years’ experience working with minority or disadvantaged groups, and a strong knowledge and sensitivity to the challenges of social inclusion
• Demonstrated understanding of the challenges of local governance and climate change 
• Strong communication, interpersonal and leadership skills, but also a team player with the willingness to learn and support the learning of others
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with Government at local and provincial levels to ensure effective implementation and sustainable management of LAPA projects 
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to manage competing priorities;
• Willing to travel extensively throughout the project area, including on foot as well as by jeep 
• Fluency in written and spoken Nepali and English is essential, and fluency in relevant local languages spoken in the project area would be a strong asset.
• Experience in usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is a must, other digital skills a strong advantage (e.g. MIS)

Women and locals from the working districts are strongly encouraged to apply