| Overview : Title: Economic Specialist Project Name : Development of a DDR and CCA Resilience Strategy for Public Investments in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Duty Station: Home Based Expected Places of Travel (if applicable): Travel to Turks and Caicos Islands Duration of Assignment: 44 non- consecutive days over a period of 3 months Background:- The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is a 417 km2 multi-island territory. It is the largest of the British dependent territories in the Caribbean, comprising 40 islands and cays. Despite its comparatively large size, the islands are sparsely inhabited, with a total population of approximately 52,570 in 2017. Most of the population resides on the two principal islands, Grand Turk, which is the administrative capital, and Providenciales which is the business centre of the islands. There are nine (9) ministries in TCI including the Office of the Premier. In September 2017, over two-week period, some islands of the Caribbean were hit by dangerous and destructive Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) were also damaged by both natural events. To address the negative impact of the hurricanes in the country, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working with the Government of TCI and relevant agencies in efforts to move away from relief and delve into recovery efforts. A multi-pronged approach to the Government’s coordination and planning capacity and restoration of livelihoods has been recently adopted in the field of disaster recovery. On the project implementation side, the livelihoods component will focus initially on providing cash for work through the debris clearance phase as well as providing financial and technical support to some small and medium sized enterprises/businesses that were devastated by the consecutive hurricanes which is to support the economic recovery of private sector in these islands. Although, the launching of the national recovery plan by the government has been delayed due to lack of reliable data in the post-disaster period, recovery efforts will continue as soon as possible. UNDP has supported data analysis for social needs assessment by utilizing data from the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Disaster and Emergency (DDME) and the impact of the hurricanes on the private sector in the Islands. The research results will feed into the overall Damage and Loss Assessment (DALA) being done by UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. The data analysis will enable the government and other end users, such as the private sector, to develop recovery plans and allocate budgets on a prioritized basis. As part of the recovery support, and at the request of the Government of TCI, UNDP is deploying an Economic Specialist in TCI to: 1) Integrate Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) imperatives into Public Investment Projects and Programmes; and 2) Develop a Financial Protection Strategy (FPS) that incorporates DRR and CCA. Scope of Works:- The Economic Specialist will contribute to the overall national recovery process by enhancing the national capacity of TCI Government, specifically the Ministry of Finance, to incorporate DRR and CCA into public investment and planning systems. Additionally, this consultant will develop a Financial Protection Strategy to support strengthening of resilience. Specifically, the Economic Specialist is expected to undertake the following duties and responsibilities: Assess the Government’s current policy framework(s) for mainstreaming DRR and CCA in public investment programmes and projects. The work is expected to include the following activities: - Identifying how to mainstream climate change into the budgetary process in present: The existing budgeting system in TCI offers an opportunity to mainstream DRR and CCA into the budgetary process. The consultant will examine the opportunities to mainstream DRR and CCA into the public investment programmes and projects to support the implementation of climate actions and targets.
- Reviewing institutional arrangement and its capacities: The consultant is expected to review institutional arrangements for promoting an integration of DRR and CCA policy priorities into budgeting and expenditure management including within and across key ministries and stakeholders. Focus should be given to proportions of climate and/or disaster funding managed by the state versus non-state sectors (insofar as this can be estimated with available data) as well as estimate the balance between mitigation and adaptation funding; and
Assess the extent to which DRR and CCA has been addressed in key current and pending public investments, including the classification of a risk management portfolio, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance. The work is expected to include the following activities: - Budgetary allocation and actual expenditure: The consultant will review the financial management systems for allocating and spending DRR and CCA related expenditures. This will involve the integration of DRR and CCA objectives within the budgetary process, including as part of budget planning and implementation. The consultant will undertake trend analysis on both budgeted and actual expenditure as well as examining the balance between recurrent versus the capital budget.
Application of a methodology to incorporate disaster risk management into public investment and planning systems. The work is expected to include activities as follows: - Defining climate change adaptation and DRM expenditures: The absence of a national definition on climate change and DRM expenditure constrains stakeholders in tracking resources allocated for financing climate and DRM actions. The consultant will make use of existing and inclusive methodologies such as public expenditure review (PER) tools to define climate change and DRM -relevant expenditure that is appropriate in the TCI context (i.e. as approved by the Government of TCI), such as UNDP’s Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR).
- Suggest recommendation on how to integrate DRR and CCA objectives in overall process: The consultant will review and provide recommendations regarding how the integration of climate change and disaster risk management objectives should be addressed within the budgeting process, including as part of budget planning, implementation, expenditure management and financing.
Facilitate a workshop targeting the staff of the Ministry of Finance and associate agencies to train key personnel in charge of mainstreaming DRR and CCA in public investment programmes and projects: - Workshop planning and organization: Workshops should consist of a total of 2 days, targeting participants from the Ministry of Finance and other relevant government agencies. The consultant is required to carry out workshop planning and composition work under the supervision of the TCI government and UNDP.
- Conducting session(s) for capacity enhancement: Through the workshop, the consultant will provide TCI government officials with capacity building sessions on how to mainstream DRR and CCA issues in public investment programmes and projects. Such a workshop may include the current management framework of TCI government as well as DRR and CCA operation management methodology within the context of basic budget management.
Development and validation of a Financial Protection Strategy (FPS) The Consultant will be expected to work with the Ministry of Finance and other MDAs of the TCI Government and consult with a diversity of other stakeholders including the private sector, civil society organizations and international development partners as necessary. Application Procedure:- | 
