Consultant- MENA/Europe Regional Water Security and Climate - Remote

Description

This consultancy is home-based and can be carried out remotely from any location within a timezone close to the MENA region.

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.  Mercy Corps implements a variety of programming throughout the Middle East and Europe in response to the diverse humanitarian and long-term development needs of the region. Mercy Corps has ongoing programs in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine, and Georgia. Mercy Corps is committed to delivering high quality, high impact programming that reaches communities or individuals in need, wherever they are. The impacts of climate change and water insecurity are growing across the region, exacerbating fragility, deepening inequality, and threatening sustainable development. Mercy Corps aims to strengthen its internal capacity and technical leadership to address these challenges while enabling local communities to thrive.

Purpose / Project Description:

As Mercy Corps works on growing its Water Security & Climate portfolio in MENA/Europe, we are seeking to establish a roster of Water Security & Climate experts with strong contextual knowledge and expertise in the region to support our country teams in designing and implementing impactful programming across humanitarian, early recovery, and development settings. This includes program design and proposal development, research and assessments, training and capacity building, and strategic technical guidance. Activities may vary depending on the assignment and could include literature reviews, analysis, strategic inputs, learning pieces, proposal support, or implementation guidance.

Technical Coverage: This consultancy includes experts in the following thematic areas:

• Agricultural Water Management: including resilient agriculture and soil management practices as well as water-smart farming

• Irrigation Systems and Efficiency: design, upgrading, and promotion of sustainable irrigation solutions

• Rainwater Harvesting and Storage: for household, agricultural, and recharge purposes, including decentralized systems

• Groundwater Recharge and Conservation: managed aquifer recharge, protection, and monitoring of over-abstraction

• Wastewater Treatment and Reuse: for agricultural and economic uses, with an emphasis on quality.

• Nature-Based Solutions: landscape approaches for water retention, erosion control, agroforestry, wetland restoration, microclimate regulation

• Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus – integrated planning and systems approaches across sectors

• Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity: incorporating ecological functions and biodiversity into water and climate strategies

• Climate Mitigation: reducing GHG emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration through sustainable water management, or WEFE interventions

• Climate Finance and Resilient Investments: including design and supporting approaches to access finance for climate-smart and water-secure systems

• Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Market-Based Solutions: designing, brokering, or advising on PPPs, blended finance, and water service models

• Climate and/or Water Risk Assessment: On-the-ground and remote risk assessments to inform program design and implementation.

• Climate and Disaster Risk Insurance: designing and advising on insurance schemes to manage water- and climate-related risks, support anticipatory action, and promote financial resilience of vulnerable communities, farmers, and systems.

• Climate Information Services: supporting greater access to and uptake of services that provide critical information for supporting water and climate adaptation solutions.

• Anticipatory Action AA and Forecast-Based Financing FbF: analysing contexts, designing context specific AA and FbF structures and necessary supporting services.

Consultant Objectives:

• Support business development and donor engagement for water security and climate focused projects in the MENA/Europe region.
• Strengthen program quality by delivering training to country teams, partners or project participants, on water security and climate related topics.
• Provide technical guidance and support to country team during implementation, including developing tools, SOPs, and leading key activities.
• Contribute to Mercy Corps’ Evidence and Learning agenda by developing research, learning pieces or case studies focusing on water secure and climate resilience interventions.

Consultant Activities:

Consultant activities will vary by assignment and might include one or more of the following:

Proposal Development and Design:

• Collaborate on business development work at country level, in collaboration with Institutional Donors Engagement (IDE) Team, Technical Resources and Quality team (TRaQ), regional and country focal points;
• Advise country teams on climate and water security integration in concept notes, proposals, and donor presentations, strategy documents and research
• Develop or review assessments and prepositioning documents, ensuring they align with programmatic and donor strategic objectives
• Train country teams on integrating climate risk and water security into program design

Analysis and Assessments:

• Conduct climate risk, water security, or ecological assessments.
• Prepare literature reviews and evidence briefs on water security and climate-related themes.
• Support or lead the development of data collection tools and analysis methodologies.
• Lead validation workshops and provide recommendations for program or strategy improvement.

Program Quality & Capacity Building

• Provide technical support to ensure programs are adequately addressing water and climate dynamics in the most effective and efficient manner.
• Develop relevant SOPs and technical guidelines to ensure teams are undertaking best practices for addressing water and climate dynamics in programs.
• Design and deliver tailored training or workshops on water security and climate approaches at the country or regional level

Consultant Deliverables:

Specific deliverables and timeline will be determined based on the needs of each assignment. These will be discussed and agreed between the consultant, the program and the country or regional technical team at the start of the assignment.

Deliverables could include at least one or more of the following:

• Climate risk, vulnerability or water security assessment

• Climate adaptation or water security strategic documents

• Concept notes, proposals, or pre-positioning materials

• Policy briefs on water security and climate resilient approaches

• Technical training materials and delivery reports

• Presentations for internal and/or external audiences

• Research, learning products, or case studies for external or internal dissemination

Timeframe / Schedule:

Consultancy timeframe / schedule will be determined based on the needs of each assignment. These will be discussed and agreed between the consultant, the program and the regional team at the start of the assignment.

The Consultant will report to:

MENA-E Regional Technical and Evidence Director and work closely with the MENA-E Regional Water Security and Climate Advisor.

The Consultant will work closely with: Regional Technical and Evidence and Learning team, Country Directors, Directors of Programs, Program Managers, Regional and Global Business Development teams.

Required Experience & Skills:

• Advanced degree in water resources management, geography, hydro-climatology, environmental science, climate adaptation (or resilience), or related fields.

• A least 7 years of technical experience in climate adaptation, mitigation, water resource management, or agriculture and irrigation systems, ecosystem service and related activities.

• A least 5 years’ experience with business development, donor proposal writing and strategic advisory portions.

• Experience working in the MENA and/or Eastern Europe is required, including humanitarian and fragile context.

• Strong writing and communication skills;

• Demonstrated ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative research

• Demonstrated experience in conducting trainings and workshops

• Very strong English skills, Arabic or Russian skills preferred

Application:

To apply, please submit your CV, sub-sector specialty/expertise, and daily rate.

Team Engagement and Effectiveness

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Safeguarding & Ethics Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

SDG Impact