Based on UNCDF’s Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) Board decision and considering the growing number of countries and respective local government authorities (LGAs) interested in adopting the LoCAL mechanism, an increased demand has emerged for the standardization of indicators and metrics to guide and ensure effective promotion of local resilience and climate smart investments at the subnational level through LoCAL/PBCRGs, while setting up a benchmark for standardized comparability among participating LGAs and LoCAL countries. 

This endeavour complements international efforts to support cities and regions, both in rural and urban areas, in the promotion of de facto resilient communities and sustainable development pathways. ISO 37120 Sustainable Development of Communities: Indicators for City Services and Quality of Life, for instance, defines a comprehensive set of 100 indicators that enables any city, of any size, to measure and compare its social, economic, and environmental performance in relation to other cities from around the world, currently being applied by more than 60 cities worldwide. Likewise, ISO 37123 Indicators for Resilient Cities is currently being developed within ISO to create standardized metrics for resilience to assist local governments to determine their exposure to and capacity to cope with potential hazards, extreme events or stresses while maintaining their essential functions and safeguarding their population.

ISO creates documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. Therefore, LoCAL as an ISO standard to help local governments address climate change is a solid base on which to create public policy or adopt a standard mechanism for local governments that meets international commitments and addresses the many challenges that climate change brings. 

Accordingly, UNCDF is seeking expertise to develop proposal for a new field of technical activity as per ISO’s rules, regulations, directives and guidelines, to be submitted to the responsible ISO’s Technical Committee in support of LoCAL becoming a standardized mechanism for local governments for promoting climate change resilient communities and local economies.

For detailed descritpion of job description and to apply click here: https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=84134