Consultant at The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

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Consultant

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Employer: The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

Employment: Full-Time | Contract

Place of Work: Addis Ababa - Ethiopia

Posted date: 1 month ago

Deadline: Submission date is over

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INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page.

BACKGROUND

GGGI’s engagement in Ethiopia began in 2010, prior to its formal establishment as an international organization. Since then, it has played a pivotal role in supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) to conceptualize, operationalize, and advance its Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy. GGGI has provided embedded technical advisory services across key government ministries—including the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Planning (MoP), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), and Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE)—to ensure that CRGE principles are effectively mainstreamed into national planning and investment frameworks.

Notably, GGGI has been instrumental in the establishment and institutionalization of the CRGE Facility and has supported the successful mobilization of climate finance from major international sources, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF). It has also contributed technical leadership to the development and revision of key national policy instruments such as Ethiopia’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS), National Adaptation Plan (NAP), and the national Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework.

Between 2011 and 2019, GGGI led the technical coordination of Ethiopia’s CRGE implementation progress review, providing a foundation for data-informed climate action planning. More recently, GGGI launched its Ethiopia Country Planning Framework (CPF) for 2023–2027, which is fully aligned with the GoE’s climate priorities and strongly complements the objectives of international development partners, including the FCDO.

Key targets under the current GGGI Ethiopia CPF include:

• Supporting the mobilization of over USD 150 million in climate finance;
• Assisting the Ministry of Finance in upgrading its accreditation status with the Green Climate Fund from a USD 50 million to USD 250 million ceiling;
• Facilitating the creation of over 7,000 green jobs and improving climate resilience for at least 80,000 people;
• Enabling the restoration and sustainable management of 20,000 hectares of agricultural land and 30,000 hectares of forest landscapes;
• Advancing gender-responsive climate actions and ensuring equity in climate programming;
• Developing frameworks to promote Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and expanding access to green financing instruments.

Through its strong technical partnerships and commitment to green transformation, GGGI continues to serve as a key advisor and catalyst for climate-resilient development in Ethiopia.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

[REDD+ Investment Program Phase Two (RIP-II)]

The second phase of the REDD+ Investment Program (RIP-II) represents a strategic continuation and scale-up of interventions initiated under RIP-I. This three-year initiative builds on the positive lessons and successful practices from the first phase, with an enhanced focus on delivering systemic impact through innovation, inclusive governance, and results-based implementation. RIP-II is structured to accelerate progress toward Ethiopia’s climate and development targets, particularly its commitments under the updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which include ambitious goals for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, forest cover expansion, and GDP growth driven by green sectors.

To realize these overarching objectives, RIP-II is organized around four interrelated outcome areas:

1. Forest Sector Transformation and Private Sector Engagement – Enhancing institutional capacity, improving forest governance, and enabling stronger participation of the private sector in sustainable forest management and value chain development.
2. Scaling Up Conservation of Biodiversity and Carbon-Rich Natural Forests – Expanding conservation efforts in high-carbon stock areas and biodiversity hotspots, while integrating community-based forest protection mechanisms.
3. Restoration of Degraded Landscapes and Promotion of Diverse Commercial Plantations – Implementing large-scale restoration of degraded forest ecosystems and establishing mixed-species plantations with commercial and ecological value.
4. Strengthening MRV Systems and Piloting Results-Based Payments – Advancing Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) capabilities to support transparent carbon accounting and enable access to performance-based climate finance instruments.

The Global Green Growth Institute is one of three key Technical Advisory Partners (TAPs) supporting the implementation of RIP-II. Within its mandate under the program, GGGI is tasked with spearheading the design and development of a forest sector financing strategy. This strategy aims to mobilize sustainable financial resources to support a wide spectrum of forest sector priorities—including the protection and regeneration of existing forests, afforestation and reforestation programs, and the promotion of green enterprises and value-added forestry services. Through this assignment, GGGI will help enhance the financial architecture required to deliver lasting impacts in forest conservation, rural livelihoods, and climate resilience.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

1) Overall Objective: To develop a comprehensive Revolving Fund Guideline that enables the design, operationalization, and long-term sustainability of revolving fund mechanisms to support forest conservation, restoration, and livelihood diversification at the community level.

2) Specific Objectives:

1. To review national and international experiences with revolving funds in forestry and rural livelihoods.
2. To assess financing needs and gaps in selected RIP-II regions related to forest-based SMEs and community-based restoration.
3. To propose fund structure, governance, capitalization strategies, disbursement modalities, and monitoring frameworks.
4. To prepare a practical and user-friendly guideline for government and community stakeholders.
5. To provide recommendations for pilot implementation under RIP-II.

SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work for this consultancy is comprehensive and strategic, designed to guide the establishment of a sustainable, transparent, and community-responsive revolving fund mechanism under RIP-II. The consultant will be expected to undertake the following key tasks:

1. Desk Review and Literature Synthesis:

• Conduct an in-depth review of global and local experiences with revolving funds, with a focus on applications in forestry, natural resource management, and rural livelihoods.
• Analyze successful case studies, including the Green Future Farming (GFF) in Ethiopia, Water for Asian Cities Revolving Funds, and FAO National Forest Fund frameworks.
• Review relevant legal, institutional, and financial documents, including Ethiopia’s forest sector development strategies, CRGE implementation plans, and climate financing frameworks.

2. Contextual Assessment and Stakeholder Consultations:

• Identify financing needs and opportunities across RIP-II target regions, particularly related to forest-based enterprises, community livelihood initiatives, and restoration cooperatives.
• Engage with key stakeholders through structured interviews and focus group discussions—including Ethiopian Forestry Development (EFD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), regional bureaus, PFM cooperatives, and community members.
• Map institutional and governance capacities of local actors to manage revolving funds, including legal and operational feasibility.

3. Design of Revolving Fund Framework:

• Define the structure and operational modality of the revolving fund—covering fund management hierarchy, roles of implementing entities (e.g., EFD, woreda bureaus, cooperatives), and governance safeguards.
• Propose capitalization models (e.g., seed funding from RIP-II, donor grants, carbon revenues, community contributions) and fund replenishment strategies.
• Develop eligibility criteria, disbursement rules, loan sizes, interest rates, repayment periods, and reinvestment mechanisms.
• Integrate risk mitigation mechanisms, including insurance, loan guarantees, and performance-based conditionalities.

4. Guideline Development:

• Draft a comprehensive and practical Revolving Fund Guideline, integrating technical tools such as fund application templates, loan monitoring checklists, and operational procedures.
• Ensure the guideline is user-friendly and accessible for community institutions, woreda officials, and implementing partners.
• Include institutional arrangements for reporting, monitoring, and evaluation of fund performance and impact.

5. Capacity Building and Validation:

• Facilitate a national validation workshop to present the draft guideline and solicit inputs from national and regional stakeholders.
• Provide a capacity development session for EFD and RIP-II partners on implementing the revolving fund.

6. Finalization and Handover:

• Revise the guideline based on stakeholder inputs and finalize all deliverables.
• Submit all relevant documentation including consultation summaries, workshop proceedings, and digital tools.

DELIVERABLES

• Inception Report – with work plan, methodology, consultation schedule (due: week 2)
• Interim Technical Note – summarizing financing gaps, global practices, and emerging models (due: week 4)
• Draft Revolving Fund Guideline – including proposed structure, capitalization and management arrangements (due: week 7)
• Validation Workshop Facilitation – presentation of draft guideline to stakeholders (due: week 8)
• Final Guideline Document – incorporating stakeholder feedback and practical implementation tools (due: week 10)

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Advanced degree in Development Finance, Forest Economics, Rural Development, Public Policy, or related fields.
• Minimum of 15 years of experience in forest finance, SME development, or rural livelihood programs.
• Proven experience in developing operational guidelines, manuals, or financing instruments.
• Familiarity with REDD+, CRGE, or climate-related financial instruments in Ethiopia.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English; Amharic proficiency is an advantage.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and report-writing skills.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1) Logistical Support

The GGGI shall provide transportation and pay DSA for the consultant during authorized travels to the regional states for data gathering.

2) Confidentiality and Proprietary Interests

The consultant shall not either during the term or after termination of the assignment, disclose any proprietary or confidential information related to the consultancy or the Government without prior written consent. Proprietary interests on all materials and documents prepared by the consultants under the assignment shall become and remain properties of the MOF. This assignment will be administrated by GGGI, and all relevant GGGI rules, policies and procedures will apply.

3) Evaluation Criteria

Upon the advertisement of the Procurement Notice, qualified Individual consultant is expected to submit both the Technical and Financial Proposals. Accordingly, the consultant will be evaluated based on Cumulative Analysis as per the following conditions:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable as per the Instruction to Bidders (ITB) of the Standard Bid Document (SBD), and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. In this regard, the respective weight of the proposals are:

1. Technical Criteria weight is 70%
2. Financial Criteria weight is 30%

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