The Green Finance and Technology Center (The Green Center) hereby invites eligible applicants to indicate their interest in the William R. Moomaw Fellowship for On-the-job training (OJT) focusing on « GCF Direct Access and Country Ownership of Funding Operations in Africa »

Background:

Direct Access Entities (DAEs) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are sub-national, national or regional organizations that are accredited to channel GCF resources through approved funding proposal focusing on the eligible geographical scope. Due to the country ownership inherent in the DAEs, they are nominated for accreditation by the National Designated Authorities (NDAs) or focal points of the respective country(ies).

The principle of country ownership enshrined in the GCF Governing Instrument and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have made the provisions for DAEs to be prioritized for accreditation, technical support and funding operations. GCF is implementing coordinated support and capacity enhancement measures to meet the objectives of the DAEs prioritization. These include (i) Readiness and Preparatory Support Program, (ii) Project Preparation Facility, (iii) Simplified Approval Process and (iv) Enhanced Direct Access.

Recent publication by the Green Center indicates that although DAEs represent over 70 percent of accredited entities in Africa, they only account for about 10 percent of the amount of GCF resources mobilized through the funding proposals window 1 . The Green Center is committed to helping generate evidence-based information that would underlying effective strategies and measures to enable DAEs meet the intended objectives for direct access and national ownership of GCF projects and programmes that supports the Paris Agreement.

The objective of the study is to help address among others, these key questions:

What are the critical challenges and capacity constraints hindering several national institutions nominated by their NDAs to get accreditation and what measures are required to expedite the accreditation process for DAEs in Africa?

What critical capacity gaps needs to be addressed to improve project development and to scale up the amount of climate funding by DAEs through funding proposal- especially the SAP window?

How could African countries focus on DAEs for their climate funding without the trade off for the proliferation of micro and small scale projects as indicated by the Green Center recent publication?

How are the GCF targeted supports and technical assistance programs helping to address the capacity challenges from accreditation processes, project development, funding proposal and funded activity engagements and implementation?

What institutional structures, skills and competencies are needed to improve the capacity of DAEs to scale up climate change funding for relevant climate activities that support their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)?

1 Houedegnon, P. 2024. The Green Climate Fund in Africa : What is different and what is not different ? The Green

Finance and Technology Center.

The OJT Fellowship is a six-month residential and intensive training with the following major duties and responsibilities:

• Build a database of key parameters from GCF documents and DAEs interviews for analysis.

• Undertake research and analysis of the data by using the appropriate methodology(ies), analytical tools, and research framework.

• Work with the Green Center under the guidance of experienced climate finance mentors to respond to GCF, DAEs and reviewers comments and requests for further information, and submission of revised materials taking into consideration the comments and guidance.

• Coordinate the design, publication, and dissemination of the study as the lead author and make presentations at both virtual and in-person events for knowledge sharing.

The applicant must have:

• At least a masters’ level university degree in Engineering, climate modeling, Economics, Geography, Information Technology or in other relevant field.

• At least 2 years of relevant professional experience working in one or a combination of the following: (i) disaster risks management, (ii) climate change adaptation, and (iii) climate finance.

• Sound understanding of the current global climate finance architecture, the governing instrument of the GCF and related policies and criteria such as the Investment Criteria. 

•Strong analytical, conceptual, and strategic skills. High degree of initiative and strong record of performance with low supervisory requirements to function effectively. Strong inter-personal skills and commitment to work in a team-oriented and multicultural environment. Strong oral and written proficiency in English since GCF concept notes, PPF and funding proposals are currently required in English.

• Recommendation from a DAE to work with for the preparation of the concept note, PPF and the funding proposal and good knowledge of the country of focus for the CREWS project.

Application package including cover letter, resume/CV and letter of recommendation for a DAE should be sent to Director@thegreencenter.org.   Please, note that interest expressed by an applicant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Green Center for selection. There will be interviews to guide the final selection of the OJT cohort. 

The Green Center is dedicated to facilitating the deployment of green finance and technologies on the globe, particularly in Africa. The OJT Fellowship is named in honor of Professor William R. Moomaw, the Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University who played an instrumental role in the academic and professional development of the Founder of the Green Center and Sponsor of the OJT. Through the OJT fellowship, the Green Center collaborates with other experienced green finance and technology experts across the globe to provide on-the-job training and mentorship of Fellows as a way of giving back and raising the next generation of experts in Africa. The Green Center provides a round-trip ticket and accommodation for the six-month residential and intensive OJT training and mentorship program. There will be 2 cohorts each year focusing on specific green finance and technology themes. This cohort is focusing on CREWS.