NDC Partnership In-Country Facilitator – Philippines (Partnerships Specialist) - Retainer Homebased

Country Context: 

Recognizing the country-driven model, conditioned on a country-defined process of NDC formulation, the Republic of the Philippines joined the NDC Partnership in November 2017. The Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), appointed as focal points, closely collaborated with the NDC Partnership and developed a platform for enhanced global cooperation leading to access of key resources for NDC formulation. During the reconstruction phase of the NDC development, the NDC Partnership provided technical assistance support for economy-wide analysis and emission scenario building and development of NDC models for the agriculture and transportation sectors, a pivotal output in the finalization of the country’s NDC. 

In 2021, the Philippines submitted its First NDC to the UNFCCC. The NDC conveys a target of reducing and avoiding GHG emissions by 75% in the sectors of agriculture, wastes, industry, transport, and energy from 2020 to 2030, wherein, 2.71% is unconditional, while 72.29% is conditional. Subsequently, to support the NDC, lead sectoral agencies identified Policies and Measures (PAMs) to reduce/avoid emissions towards achieving these commitments. Further, the NDC articulates the Philippines’ aspirations to peak its emissions by 2030 in the context of accelerating a just transition of its sectors into a green economy. 

To achieve these goals, the Philippines plans to actively access the means of implementation such as climate finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity building under the Paris Agreement. The country recognizes the importance of engaging all stakeholders in the implementation, updating, and monitoring of its NDC to ensure its success. 

Through the NDC Partnership Plan, PAMs and NDC targets covering areas on capacity building; resilience, risk and vulnerability; NDC integration; MRV; and finance, investments, and feasibility studies, can be supported by the NDC Partnership through its development and implementing Partners. 

The NDC Partnership Plan, through its institutional and technical capacity support, has been a significant input in the overall NDC Implementation Plan (NIP), the country’s roadmap and set of strategies for carrying out the Philippines' NDC, and which is currently in progress with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The NIP acknowledges the Partnership Plan's capacity-building outcome as an essential mechanism for delivering the PAMs, emphasizing that the implementation of a comprehensive technical assistance program developed by the NDC Partnership country program will offer additional support. 

In 2024, the Philippines accepted the invitation from the NDC Partnership to be among its Steering Committee Country Members and designated its representatives from the CCC and NEDA. In this context, the government has requested for an NDC Partnership In-country Facilitator (hereinafter referred to as “Facilitator”) to support the CCC for:

1. Supporting day-to-day operations related to technical assistance for NDC Partnership extending any other support needed by CCC to coordinate with development partners and support unit;

2. Overseeing the coordination, tracking, and monitoring of the support provided by development partners on the above points; and populating and regularly updating Philippines’ monitoring/reporting tool for NDC Partnership Plan;

3. Supporting the coordination of the development and preparation of projects and concepts for potential funding by donors; 

4. Assist in preparing concept notes and/or proposals to access NDC Partnership financing for the unfunded activities of the NIP;

5. Engage with partners in country to link needs to services and resources in accordance with NIP, including by providing the key national government agencies’ inputs on alignment of partners’ country strategies with priorities and gaps identified in the NIP;

6. Identifying new opportunities for technical assistance and other types of support that will enhance the government’s enabling frameworks and capacities for coordinating the implementation of the country’s NDCs;

7. Providing technical guidance and expertise for the Philippine’s NDC Steering Committee Representatives in preparation for the NDC Steering Committee meetings and relevant discussions; 

8. Building the institutional capacity of the CCC for the enhancement, monitoring, and reporting of the NDC Partnership Plan; and

9. Extending any other advisory support needed by CCC to coordinate development partners on NDC related matters.

Facilitation Model

The Facilitator will work from the offices of the CCC. As the lead policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change, the CCC coordinates activities related to the fulfillment of climate commitments, including the NDC.

This involves working with the Sectoral Agencies of the Philippines to refine its objectives for support over time coordinating the implementation of the NDC Partnership Plan; and serving as an anchor to assist the NDC Partnership in communicating and coordinating services at the country level. The Facilitator will also liaise with the NDC Partnership Support Unit for vertical information-sharing, including contributing to and accessing knowledge products. The following responsibilities are part of the in-country Facilitator role in the Philippines: 

• Support to NDC 

1.1. Support the Philippines and the NDC Partnership Support Unit in sustaining and strengthening NDC Partnership in-country engagement; 

1.2. Strengthen coordination, tracking, and monitoring mechanism(s) for the support provided by development partners on the NDC Partnership Plan, and the Philippines’ monitoring/reporting tool for the plan; 

1.3. Advise the government on potential and appropriate implementing and development partner/s for each action/priority and identifying the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder;

• Mobilization of resources for implementation 

2.1. Support the country in exploring, following up on and in mobilizing partner support for its needs and priorities (and update those along the way as needed following the government’s guidance) along with a preferred process for coordination of country engagement under the NDC Partnership, as proposed and agreed upon by the Sectoral Agencies of the Philippines; 

2.2. Engage with partners in the country to link needs to services and resources in accordance with the NDC Partnership Plan including by providing the government’s inputs on alignment of partners’ country strategies with priorities and gaps identified; 

2.3. Identifying further needs for Technical Assistance for priority based on NDC Partnership Plan; 

2.4. Support project development and preparation for potential funding by donors; 

2.5. Assist the government in preparing concept notes to access financing for unfunded priorities in the updated NDC Partnership Plan.

• Coordination and communication with key stakeholders 

3.1. Ensure that communications relevant to NDC Partnership engagement are shared with relevant national and international level stakeholders, including building and maintaining long-term collaborative partnerships. 

3.2. Facilitate periodic coordination and information exchange among partners in the Philippines, with the aim of leveraging and mobilizing their respective advantages in support of the implementation of NDC Partnership Plan; 

3.3. Assess progress outcomes of the NDC Partnership in-country engagement and make recommendations for adjustments; 

3.4. Collaborate with the Support Unit to document changes in the operating context and provide support to CCC and stakeholders in decision-making processes; 

3.5. Oversee the coordination NDC Partnership scoping missions to The Philippines and take the lead on the implementation of its recommendations; 

3.6. Coordinate and participate in the NDC Partnership’s conferences, trainings and other activities at the global, regional and national levels. 

• Organize and support NDCP-related meetings as needed 

4.1. Facilitate national country specific multi-stakeholder NDCP dialogues, which may serve one or more of the following objectives: 

4.1.1. Intersectoral multi-stakeholder dialogues to promote a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches in implementing NDC Partnership Plan;

 4.1.2. Support the government in conducting meetings among development partners and other key stakeholders, in order to maximize synergies, avoid duplication and mobilize support for identified needs and gaps for successful NDC Partnership Plan implementation; 

4.1.3. Multi-stakeholder dialogues with the private sector and/or civil society organizations; 

4.1.4. Multi-stakeholder dialogues within specific sectors or on a certain topic (i.e., Measurement, Reporting and Verification [MRV], gender equality, etc.); 

4.2. Provide support needed by NDC Partnership Focal Points to coordinate development partners; 

4.3. Provide technical guidance for the participation of the Philippine Representatives to the NDC Partnership Steering Committee Meetings.

• Identifying lessons learned and results 

5.1. Lead the tracking of in-country engagement and provide periodic progress updates to the NDC Partnership and NDC Partnership Focal Points of the Philippines 

5.2. Liaise with the Support Unit to access and/or feed into global knowledge products; 

5.3. Assist the Support Unit in identifying and disseminating information on best practices and lessons learned from in-country engagement.

• Capacity building

 6.1. Conduct ongoing capacity development (i.e., technical assistance and formal/informal on-the job training) of the government in preparation for fully taking on the facilitation role in the future.