The Government of Malawi has received financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and NORAD towards the cost of FARMSE, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for the recruitment of consulting services provided by an individual consultant as part of the post of Environmental and Social Management Consultant. The use of any IFAD financing shall be subject to IFAD’s approval, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the financing agreement, as well as IFAD’s rules, policies and procedures. IFAD and its officials, agents and employees shall be held harmless from and against all suits, proceedings, claims, demands, losses and liability of any kind or nature brought by any party in connection with FARMSE.

The overall goal of FARMSE is to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods and enhance the resilience of rural households on a sustainable basis. The Programme’s development objective is to increase access to, and use of, a range of sustainable financial services by rural households and micro, small, and medium enterprises. FARMSE is a ten-year programme beginning July 2018 and finishing in June 2028. The total cost of the programme is US$103 million with IFAD contributing US$72 million, with US$31 being contributions from the Government of Malawi, private sector partners and NORAD.

Rationale for the Environment Consultant

FARMSE previously prepared an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF). However, following the programme’s re-orientation toward the Blended Rural Financing Facility (BRFF), the ESMF requires review and conversion into operational instruments for Participating Financial Institutions’(PFIs). Integrating Environmental, Social and Climate (ESC) risk management into financial-intermediation processes will ensure that all BRFF-supported investments comply with IFAD’s Environmental, Social and Climate Assessment Procedures (SECAP 2017) and the Government of Malawi’s environmental and financial-sector regulations

The program is looking for an individual consultant to support with development of specific guidelines to effectively integrate ESM into rural financial services under the BRFFs. The aim is to assess long-term financial risks and opportunities related to ESG issues as a core component of building a resilient and sustainable portfolio for the specific purpose of enhancing long-term risk-adjusted returns

Duties and responsibilities of the Consultant

Under the overall guidance of the FARMSE Programme Coordinator, and working closely with the Social Inclusion Coordinator, the Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Review and analyze the existing FARMSE Environmental, Social and Management Framework (ESMF), BRFF operational manual and IFAD SECAP 2017 to identify alignment gaps and lessons learned
• Develop a structured ESG integration guideline defining screening criteria risk categorization mitigation hierarchy and decision-making thresholds applicable to Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs)
• Develop guidelines for use by PFIs during on boarding of clients to support investments decisions that are climate friendly in so doing building more resilient portfolios
• Design governance mechanisms (e.g., ESG Committees, focal persons) and capacity-building plans to institutionalize ESG integration at PMU and PFI levels.,
• Perform an analysis to identify the most relevant ESG risks and opportunities for the BRFF specific lending portfolio and business strategy
• Define clear roles and responsibilities across business units, including credit analysis, risk management, and client relationship teams
• Support the development of steps that will help in creating or refining a governance structure such as ESG Committee that would oversee ESG matters
• Develop a scoring methodology overlay to systematically assess borrower’ ESG performance during the appraisal processes
• Create a tailored ESG considerations and weighting factors for different industries and asset classes to ensure relevance and effectiveness
• Map out how ESG assessments will be incorporated at each stage of lending process, form initial due diligence and credit analysis to loan pricing and portfolio management
• Revise the existing credit assessment and due diligence processes to systematically identify, assess and quantify material ESG risks

Qualifications

The assignment is to be carried out by an individual consultant with a minimum of Master’s Degree in Natural Sciences, Environment/ Climate change or Social Sciences or other related qualifications. The consultant should also have the following added attributes:

• A minimum of five years’ experience from similar assignments
• Knowledge of the Malawi environment and climate change sector and its relevant policies.
• Knowledge of environmental, social and climate analysis tools and their application in development program.
• Proven five years’ experience in gender responsive and social inclusive programming;
• Excellent analytical, communication and report writing skills.

• Review and analyze the existing FARMSE Environmental, Social and Management Framework (ESMF), BRFF operational manual and IFAD SECAP 2017 to identify alignment gaps and lessons learned
• Develop a structured ESG integration guideline defining screening criteria risk categorization mitigation hierarchy and decision-making thresholds applicable to Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs)
• Develop guidelines for use by PFIs during on boarding of clients to support investments decisions that are climate friendly in so doing building more resilient portfolios
• Design governance mechanisms (e.g., ESG Committees, focal persons) and capacity-building plans to institutionalize ESG integration at PMU and PFI levels.,
• Perform an analysis to identify the most relevant ESG risks and opportunities for the BRFF specific lending portfolio and business strategy
• Define clear roles and responsibilities across business units, including credit analysis, risk management, and client relationship teams
• Support the development of steps that will help in creating or refining a governance structure such as ESG Committee that would oversee ESG matters
• Develop a scoring methodology overlay to systematically assess borrower’ ESG performance during the appraisal processes
• Create a tailored ESG considerations and weighting factors for different industries and asset classes to ensure relevance and effectiveness
• Map out how ESG assessments will be incorporated at each stage of lending process, form initial due diligence and credit analysis to loan pricing and portfolio management
• Revise the existing credit assessment and due diligence processes to systematically identify, assess and quantify material ESG risks

• Excellent analytical, communication and report writing skills.

• Master’s Degree in Natural Sciences, Environment/ Climate change or Social Sciences or other related qualifications.
• A minimum of five years’ experience from similar assignments
• Knowledge of the Malawi environment and climate change sector and its relevant policies.
• Knowledge of environmental, social and climate analysis tools and their application in development program.
• Proven five years’ experience in gender responsive and social inclusive programming;