Senior consultant for climate risk and vulnerability assessment and development of a strategy and action plan for climate resilient and green education services in Rwanda, Kigali Rwanda, 5 months at UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund: (Deadline 23 January 2024)
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Background
Rwanda is highly vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards including drought, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, strong wind, and landslides. These hazards cause physical, socio-economic, and environmental damages and losses. Moreover, over the last decade, the frequency and intensity of natural hazard-induced disasters have significantly increased due to increase in temperature, causing negative impacts on human development, properties, infrastructures, and the environment. According to UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI), which provides the first comprehensive view of children’s exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, Rwanda has a CCRI score of 5.7 out of 10 and ranks 57th out of the 163 CCRI countries and regions, placing children in Rwanda at High risk.
The data from the Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) indicates that the country has experienced 3,309 disasters between 2011 and 2019. Several disasters were also recorded in the first five months of 2020 with huge effects. Cumulatively, these incidents cause not only deaths but also a lot of damage and loss of livelihoods and infrastructure in Rwanda. The most severe of the recent disaster event was the 2nd-3rd May 2023 floods and landslides in the western and northern provinces of Rwanda. The floods and landslides impacted over ten districts and resulted in 135 deaths, 111 injuries, displacement of over 20,000 people and severe damages including residence houses, health facilities, schools, bridges, water supply systems, power plants, road and telecommunication infrastructure.
The climate crisis has a complex impact on children’s education. Studies indicate that climate change has a direct impact on the education sector primarily through mortality, disruption of schooling, and the destruction of infrastructure resulting from frequent disasters. It also has indirect impacts on the education sector through effects on food security, livelihoods, air pollution, water, health, and energy. For example, teachers and students are not able to attend classes regularly because of displacement, increased instances of diseases and psychological distress caused by climate change.
The education sector in Rwanda is being increasingly impacted by climate change. The recent (May 2023) floods and landslides, severely damaged forty-one schools, destroyed teaching and learning materials and directly affected many education staff and students. Over 6,000 students and their families were displaced to safe evacuation sites designated by the government, and nine students lost their lives. The cost of damaged school infrastructures was estimated to be 3.9 billion RWF for rehabilitation, while the cost of damaged teaching and learning materials was estimated at 723 million RWF. Supporting 5,253 students and teachers affected by the flood with lost learning materials and psychological support will also cost the education sector about 25 million RWF. The total cost of reconstructing the affected schools, supplying textbooks, and other materials is approximately 4.5 billion RWF, close to 0.5% of the total education sector budget for 2023/24. This cost of rehabilitation undermines investment in long-term quality improvement in the education sector in Rwanda.
According to a recent school leader survey carried out across all 30 districts of Rwanda, climate change was directly impacting the local communities and their schools. The key findings of this survey are as follows:
- 75% of school leaders reported their schools and/or local communities had been negatively impacted by climate change at least once in recent years, with the most frequent weather events including drought, strong winds and landslides.
- 52% of school leaders reported school buildings have experienced damage because of extreme weather events, with 74% of those leaders reporting having to divert funds from teaching and learning towards repairs.
- 21% of school leaders reported climate events to have had a significant impact on students’ attendance, with a further 58% reporting a small negative impact.
- 22% of school leaders reported a significant negative impact on students’ concentration, with a further 53% reporting a small negative impact.
The Ministry of Education, together with MINEMA, estimated the cost of rehabilitating damaged schools and plans have been developed to ensure the affected schools are supported. However, a shift is necessary from a response mode to an adaptation and mitigation mode. Future education programmes should focus on increasing resilience, adaptation, and implementation of impact mitigation strategies. An action plan along with a detailed cost analysis needs to be developed to ‘climate-proof’ the education sector and to accelerate climate-resilient and climate-smart education investments and actions in Rwanda.
It is against the above background that the Ministry of Education, with support from UNICEF, plans to hire a consultant to conduct a climate risk and vulnerability assessment for the education sector and develop strategies and actions for climate resilient and green education services in Rwanda.
Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
The purpose of the consultancy is to support MINEDUC undertake a climate risk and vulnerability assessment for the education sector to better understand how climate change is impacting, and will impact, the education sector in Rwanda and identify strategies and actions that can be implemented to mitigate the impact of climate change in the education sector. The specific objectives of this assignment are to:
- Assess the impacts of climate change on education sector in Rwanda.
- Assess the exposure and vulnerability of schools, and ability to adapt to the impact of climate change.
- Map schools located in high-risk areas that are likely to be affected by disaster; and
Develop a strategy and action plan for climate resilient and green education services in Rwanda.
Key Tasks:
The consultant will lead the following tasks, working closely with MINEDUC and UNICEF technical teams.
- Consultation with key stakeholders, literature review and inception report
- Hold consultation meetings with MINEDUC, UNICEF and key stakeholders to ensure common understanding of the terms of reference of the assignment.
- Review relevant literature to understand the impacts of climate change in education sector in Rwanda. He/she will also review relevant education, environment and climate change policies, strategies, and plans.
- Prepare an inception report defining clear understanding of TORs, background review, methodology and detailed work plan (activities with timelines, including for key deliverables).
- Prepare and deliver a presentation for stakeholders to validate inception report and accept relevant comments provided.
- Field visits and consultations with relevant stakeholders
- Conduct a field visit to selected districts to be agreed with MIENDUC to understand the context and assess education infrastructure that are in areas vulnerable to climate change. The Ministry of Education has collaborated with the districts to pinpoint schools situated in high-risk zones, including those exposed to floods, and landslides. However, these data are not comprehensive enough for climate-resilient education sector planning. The consultant will review this data and conduct a baseline study, based on a representative sample, to identify schools and learning centres prone to natural hazards. These schools will be categorized by provinces and by their level of vulnerability to various natural hazards.
- Lead consultation (one-on-one as well as in a workshop) with relevant stakeholders in education sector and MINEMA to understand the impacts of climate change in education sector and propose interventions within education sector to adapt and reduce the negative impacts of climate change on education. These interventions may include retrofit interventions, system strengthening interventions and building and infrastructure interventions such as new standards and guidelines.
- Review ongoing programmes and actions in schools to identify good practices, including the materials and equipment used by schools for cooking, how schools manage water to prevent damage from rainwater, and the handling of chemicals from science laboratories and ICT waste disposal. Based on the review and analysis, the consultant will provide guidance on implementing energy-saving methods for cooking, estimating associated costs, strategies for chemical disposal, and techniques for rainwater management.
- Draft climate risk and vulnerability assessment report and strategy and action plan for a climate resilient and green education services
- Based on review and analysis of existing data and field assessments, the consultant will draft climate risk and vulnerability report, which will, inter-alia, include assessment of how education systems in Rwanda (including education infrastructure, equipment, staff, parents, and students) are being impacted by the climate change and natural hazards.
- The consultant will also develop the draft strategy and action plan for climate resilient and green education services detailing the strategies and actions required to mitigate the climate change risks on the education sector, especially the most vulnerable schools, and greening of schools and services. This plan will outline the specific tasks required, the cost for each activity, and the responsible departments, institutions, and partners.
- Present the draft assessment report and the strategy/action plan for a climate resilient and green education sector.
- Prepare a power point presentation to present the draft assessment report to MINEDUC, MINEMA, UNICEF and other key stakeholders and finalize the documents considering consulted stakeholders’ feedback.
Integrate feedback from stakeholders and submit hard and electronic copies of the final documents in a format ready for printing with illustrations, figures, maps, tables and charts.
Work Assignment Overview
Tasks/Milestone:
- Desk review and consultation with key stakeholders and submit an inception report clarifying understanding of ToRs and work plan with timeframe for key deliverables, methodology and instruments/tools for data collection
- Climate risk and vulnerability assessment (including consultations, field work, analysis etc.)
- Preparation of maps-based visualization and categorization of the schools located in climate change risks zones
- Preparation of the draft climate risk and vulnerability assessment report and action plan for climate resilient education services in Rwanda.
- Finalization of the draft climate risk and vulnerability assessment report and strategy/action plan for climate resilient and green education services in Rwanda considering feedback from stakeholders.
Deliverables/Outputs:
Payment 1: 10%
- Inception report submitted.
Payment 2: 30%
- Mapping report of the schools and their level of vulnerability to climate hazards
Payment 3: 40%
- Draft risk and vulnerability assessment report
- Draft risk mitigation strategies and action plan
- Presentation of the draft analysis and proposed mitigation strategies and actions
Payment 4: 20%
- Final risk and vulnerability assessment report.
- Validated strategy and action plan.
Duration and Duty Location
This consultancy will be completed within 5 months. The consultancy is home based but the consultant will have some days working in the office.
Selection Criteria
Applications shall be assessed based on their technical and financial proposals. Maximum scores for technical and financial applications will be 75% and 25%, respectively.
- An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Environment Science, Environmental Management and Natural Resources management, Disaster management, Climate change adaptation and resilience,
- At least eight years’ experience in climate change and environment sector, especially in similar works.
- To have performed at least three assignments related to climate change with proof documents.
- Knowledge of Geo-Spatial Information, Geodatabase Management, Environmental Modelling & Agriculture Remote Sensing, Land Surveying and Geospatial Project Management is desirable.
- Experience in working with educational institutions regarding environment and climate change adaptations and mitigation is desirable.
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks:
Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.
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