The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), under the Program for Climate Smart Livestock (PCSL), seeks to recruit a consultant to develop a composite index and tool for the long-term tracking of adaptation to climate change in livestock systems. The composite index will be constituted by several elements that enable the assessment of adaptative capacity factors and adaptive actions. The consultancy will be carried out under the supervision of and with input from the current adaptation tracking team. The consultant will, therefore, be expected to maintain regular communication with the team and keep them informed at each stage of the iterative process.

Background:

PCSL is an initiative across Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya) that aims at creating a better understanding of climate change mitigation and adaptation in livestock systems. One of the objectives of the PCSL is to build the capacity of governments to monitor and report on progress and effectiveness of adaptative actions. Therefore, the end-users of the ensuing adaptation tracking index and tool will be government officers within the livestock sector.

Scope of Work:

The consultant will build on ongoing research that seeks to understand climate change adaptation across the diverse livestock production systems in Eastern Africa. This research has formed the basis for the development of the draft indicator sets which the consultant will use to design the adaptation tracking index and tool. Working under the supervision of the existing team on adaptation tracking, the consultant is expected to:

• Review and refine the indicator sets
• Construct indices based on the indicator sets and the conceptual framework that will be provided
• Design a composite index that can show progress in climate change adaptation across temporal and spatial scales
• Integrate the index into a tool that allows the integration of datasets and visualization of progress in the state of adaptation within the livestock sector across space and time
• Support the testing and refinement of the tool using datasets held by state and non-state actors e.g., periodic national and sub-national surveys and census on livestock, periodic national and subnational socioeconomic surveys, downscaled climate data
• Support the development of a survey tool for collecting data for relevant indicators that are not covered by the existing datasets
• Document the development of the adaptation tracking indices and tool and write a user manual for application of the tool
• Support the training of selected government officials in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia on the use of the developed index and tool to track adaptation to climate change in livestock systems

Final products:

• A composite index for adaptation tracking
• A tool that can be used to integrate data sets to visualize progress in adaptation to climate change in livestock systems
• A manual documenting the process of developing the adaptation tracking index and tool
• A user manual for the application of the adaptation tracking index and tool

Consultancy Fee:  Lumpsum or by mutual agreement based on agreed milestones and deliverables

Post location: Consultants base station

Duration: 20 working days

Expected places of travel: Kenya, Uganda and (potentially) Ethiopia

Essential skills and qualifications

• Master’s degree in data science or any other field relevant for the assignment
• At least 10 years’ experience developing indices and data integration tools that draw upon diverse social and environmental data sources
• Knowledge of climate change adaptation in Eastern Africa’s livestock systems is a significant advantage
• Knowledge of GIS or remote sensing is an added advantage
• Fluency in written and spoken English