Consultant (Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance)

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ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

JOB TITLE: Consultant (Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance)
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Special Service Agreement (SSA) - When Actually Employed (WAE)/Daily 
JOB GRADE: SSA-10
UNIT/DIVISION: Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Manila, Philippines
DURATION: 25 working days for the period of 3 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT: 

The World Food Programme (WFP) addresses the impact of climate change on hunger and malnutrition by building the resilience of communities and countries exposed to and vulnerable to increasingly frequent and severe weather and climate events. At the macro level, WFP is a leader globally in promoting and supporting disaster risk financing and sovereign insurance instruments and approaches that enable governments to extend coverage to vulnerable populations and rapidly deliver resources in the event of a major shock through people-centred approaches such as social protection, agriculture and disaster risk management. At the micro level, WFP supports households at risk of climate-related shocks to manage risks and reduce vulnerability through an integrated toolkit that includes access to micro-insurance, risk reduction and financial services. 

The Philippines is highly susceptible to climate-induced disasters, such as typhoons, floods, and droughts. Since the introduction of the Republic Act 10121 in 2010, known as the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act, the government has made good progress on early warning systems, evacuation plans, and capacities to manage large-scale disasters. The government has established a national DRRM fund and other adaptation and mitigation funds, and implemented various disaster risk finance mechanisms, such as Philippine Catastrophe Bond, Climate Risk Insurance, Philippine Catastrophe Insurance Facility (PCIF) and Anticipatory Action / Forecast based Finance. The Philippines hosts the board of the Loss and Damage Fund and is one of the Pathfinder countries in the Global Shield against Climate Risks.  

The government continues to strengthen the link of social protection programmes to crisis response. During the 2024 typhoon season, WFP and DSWD used the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to rapidly assist 4Ps households through direct deposits to their bank accounts, showcasing a strong example of how prearranged mechanisms (SOPs, legislation/policy, financing) can support shock-affected households before and immediately after shocks occur.  

WFP is increasingly strengthening its position as a strategic and technical enabler of sovereign disaster risk financing solutions in the Philippines, through a range of initiatives, including evidence generation, capacity building, consultations, advocacy and resource mobilization efforts. This entails a risk layered approach incorporating Anticipatory Action (AA), government quick response and contingency funds, macroinsurance (e.g., catastrophe bonds) and microinsurance tools for predictable support to impacted beneficiaries of these programmes. 

In this context, WFP is seeking an experienced Consultant with policy and technical expertise related to  Climate and Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (CDRFI) and people-centered delivery approaches. The role will be under the direct supervision of the Head of Emergency Preparedness and Response, with overall direction from the Deputy Country Director, with technical support and guidance provided by the Head of Programme and WFP's disaster risk financing team in the region and in HQ. The consultant will work closely with WFP's functional teams, especially with the social protection, emergency, climate and resilience teams, to ensure the work is aligned with WFP's country strategic plan. 

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Under the oversight of the Head of Emergency Preparedness and Response and in close collaboration with Social Protection and Climate Change teams, the Consultant is expected to undertake a scoping study. The study will build on existing literature, including the recent analysis undertaken by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, GIZ, the START Network and others. Under the supervision of the Head of EPR, the consultant will be tasked with the following key activities: 

• Devise a KII list and short methodology for semi-structured interviews (with governments, regional and country office representatives, and development partners). 
• Provide a landscape mapping of the most significant micro, meso and macro level CDRFI instruments currently being utilised or on offer in the Philippines. 
• Review the literature to identify the main barriers (e.g. regulatory and policy environment, financial resources, human capacity, political economy) that the Government, IFIs and other development partners are encountering in their efforts to utilise or scale up CDRFI in the Philippines.  
• Present an overview of the specific barriers and entry points WFP should consider when engaging with the CDRFI agenda in the Philippines.  
• Illustrate the overview with examples of when CDRFI was drawn on for shock response (to climate- and weather-related disasters, COVID or economic shocks). 
• Present a concise synopsis of the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF) work in the Philippines, including current focus, as well as some of the areas of interest or concern and opportunities/entry points for WFP as it engages directly or through the Government. 
• Provide a set of recommendations for the WFP Country Office to consider and take forward over the next 24 months, including support to the design of CDRFI instruments and policies, evidence creation and systems strengthening, engagement and next steps with local and regional insurance providers, and where appropriate, links with social protection systems and programmes. 

Only if time permits, the Consultant will support with: 

• Developing a climate risk financing strategy for WFP Philippines Country Office based on the scoping analysis and in line with CO's Climate Risk Management Strategy.  
• Developing donor proposals that will allow WFP to position itself in securing funding to implement the risk financing instruments analysed in the scoping exercise. 

METHODOLOGY: 

• Undertake a desk-based literature review including review of, but not limited to, existing documentation on CDRFI, Public Finance Management (PFM), and SRSP in the Philippines 
• Hold qualitative, semi-structured key informant interviews with a limited number of informants including prioritised with (list indicative and TBD): WFP in country and the region,  the World Bank (including colleagues from Global Shield Financing Facility), the Asian Development Bank, other UN agencies, Insurance Commission, PCIC, PIRA, SEADRIF, GSIS, government departments (DSWD, DFA, DA), resource partners (ECHO, GiZ, FCDO, DFAT). 

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAMES:

Deliverable 1: Short inception report (5 pages) including overview of the scope of the study, work plan, timelines, research methodology and KII list 

Timeline: 22/09/25

Deliverable 2: DRAFT CDRFI landscape analysis and recommendations for WFP (max 10 pages excluding annexes) 

Timeline: 28/11/25

Deliverable 3: FINAL CDRFI landscape analysis and recommendations for WFP (max 10 pages excluding annexes) 

Timeline: 12/12/25

Deliverable 4: Bibliography (white and grey literature) – By end of project

Timeline: 30/12/25

DURATION:  

The timeframe for this consultancy is between ASAP and 30/12/25, for a total of 25 days. 

MANAGEMENT:

The consultancy will be supervised by the Head of Emergency Preparedness and Response. The consultant will need to coordinate with the WFP Programme Policy Officer (Disaster Risk Financing), other teams in the CO and the region. 

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIRED EXPERIENCE:  

Education: Advanced University degree, or First University degree with additional years of experience and training/courses in one or more of the following disciplines: insurance, economics, climate, environmental studies, food security, development studies, emergency preparedness, or related area.  

Experience: At least ten years post-graduate, progressively responsible work experience in disaster risk financing, insurance, climate risk management, social protection and/or emergency preparedness, of which at least three years should be around CDRFI.  

Knowledge & Skills:  

• Experience having worked on one or more CDRFI instruments and public finance instruments 
• Knowledge of/experience in emergency preparedness and response 
• Knowledge of social protection systems including how to make them shock responsive/adaptive, and working with related government agencies 
• Excellent report writing and communication skills 
• Previous experience working with WFP, or broad understanding of WFP's mandate, considered an asset. 
• Proven expertise in preparing high-quality analytical proposals and reviews, with ability to analyse quantitative and qualitative information to understand social protection needs and identify solutions. 
• Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams, produce high-quality written outputs, and present information effectively in English. 

Languages:  

Fluency (level C) in English.

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