International Climate Change and Coastal Adaptation Specialist

International Climate Change and Coastal Adaptation Specialist

The EPA is Liberia's principal authority for environmental management. It coordinates, monitors, supervises, and consults with relevant stakeholders and sector Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions (MACs) on all activities related to protecting the environment and sustainable use of its natural resources. 

The Government of Liberia (GoL), through the EPA and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and with funding from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), received funding for the project “Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities in Sinoe County of Liberia (ERVCCS).” EPA is the project's Executing Entity. It is financed by a GEF Trust Fund grant and co-financed by UNDP and the GoL. 

The project aims to build on existing projects to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities and their livelihoods to the impacts of climate change, focusing on women and youth. Specifically, project interventions include 1) Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation Planning, 2) Supporting Innovative Technologies for Climate Information and Communication Management, 3) Introducing Hybrid Adaptation Solutions, and 4) Supporting Resilient Livelihood Diversification through Training and Improved Access to Finance. The majority of the above interventions will target all coastal counties in Liberia. In contrast, hybrid adaptation interventions will be explicitly implemented in Sinoe County, one of the country’s most vulnerable coastal counties. The impacts of climate change, combined with non-climatic drivers, such as sand mining, the expansion of agricultural areas, unsustainable fishing, pollution, and inadequate drainage systems, compromise the resilience of Liberian communities' ecosystems along the coastline. Consequently, local communities and ecosystems are experiencing increased coastal flooding and erosion, saltwater intrusion into groundwater supplies, waterlogging of inland areas, and sedimentation of rivers and freshwater resources due to Sea Level Rise (SLR) and higher-intensity rainfall events. 

The vulnerability of communities and ecosystems occurs through I) inundation and consequent damage of coastal infrastructure, II) loss of fishery and agriculture-dependent livelihoods, III) decrease in stable income generation for coastal communities, IV) increase in conflict and competition over resources within communities, V) decrease in food and nutrition security, VI) increased risk of vector- and waterborne diseases through waterlogging, and VII) increased pressure on surrounding ecosystems to compensate for the reduced provision of services from coastal, wetland and mangrove ecosystems. In addition, the vulnerability of Liberia’s coastal communities and their resilience to climate change, particularly in Sinoe County, is exacerbated by the limited capacity of the GoL to provide essential services and adequate support for, among other things, water and sanitation, healthcare, utility-scale energy, and road infrastructure. 

As a result, coastal communities in Liberia are threatened by damaging floods and erosion, both of which are increasing due to sea level rise and other impacts of climate change, such as increasingly intense rainfall events and the current limited financial and technical capacity at the national and county levels to address these threats.

The scope of this task includes facilitating the workshop, drafting changes to the reports, as well as delivering and documenting recommendations. It covers residents from the affected communities, statutory and commonwealth district superintendents and commissioners, county officials, the city government, research institutions, and local and international organizations.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's in Environmental Science, Economics, Coastal and Marine Engineering, Sustainable Development, Environmental Management, Climate Change, or other closely related fields
• At least 10 years of professional experience in organizational learning, strategic planning, and/or workshop design and facilitation
• Previous experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa in a cross-cultural context or a similar region of the world
• Demonstrated ability to design, facilitate, and lead workshops
• Demonstrated ability in strategic thinking and planning exercises
• Demonstrable analytical skills
• Demonstrated skills in online facilitation using a web-based platform
• Excellent English and French oral and writing skill

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES ·

• Critically and technically review the final Multi-criteria Analysis and Vulnerability Mapping reports developed by the International Climate Change and Coastal Adaptation Specialists. ·
• Attend an acquaintance meeting with the PMU staff ·
• Draft guidelines for the development of validation techniques during the presentation of the inception report. ·
• Facilitate the validation workshop and lead the presentation during the validation ·
• Record validation minutes and draft changes to the report, where necessary
• Deliver recommendations for rectification of would-be inconsistencies, errors, or gaps during the data collection process, methodology selection, data processing, and data analysis for the drafting of the VAM and the MCA. ·
• Quality control/validation procedures will be developed to ensure accuracy and validity, and responsible scientific and institutional correspondents will be identified to strengthen the objectivity and independence of control and validation procedures. ·
• Produce a follow-up workshop report summarizing the discussion, key outcomes, and stakeholders’ decisions regarding the reports.

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SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
Interested candidates should submit a CV, Technical & Financial Proposal, and a one-page cover letter to the below address and by email at maldonakarway1@gmail.com, and cc: princessblango@gmail.com, indicating their suitability for the post. Please indicate “International Climate Change and Coastal Adaptation Expert for Report Validation” in the subject line.

ATTENTION:
Maldona K. Karway
Procurement Officer
Enhancing the Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities in Sinoe (ERVCCS)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
302-A Bright Building
Old CID-Road, Mamba Point

1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

*Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply!

The deadline for submitting applications is 4:00 PM on August 14, 2025. Any submissions received after this time will not be considered. Only applicants who satisfy the requirements outlined in the terms of reference will be evaluated.