Consultant- Climate Strategy and Reporting & Monitoring Framework Development

Job Description

Title: Consultant- Climate Strategy and Reporting & Monitoring Framework Development

Company Name: Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women.

Vacancy: --

Age: At least 35 years

Job Location: Anywhere in Bangladesh

Salary: --

Experience:

Published: 2026-09-30

Application Deadline: 2026-10-30

Education:

Requirements:

Skills Required:

Additional Requirements:

• Age At least 35 years

6.0 Required Qualifications

• The assignment must be undertaken by a consultant or firm with demonstrated experience and knowledge in climate strategy development, green/climate taxonomy design, environmental management, MIS systems and institutional capacity building.

• Lead Consultant Qualifications:

○ Education: Advanced university degree in climate change, environmental science/management, development studies, economics, public policy, public health, or a related discipline.

○ Experience: At least 10 years of professional experience leading climate strategy, adaptation/resilience initiatives, or climate-related organizational reporting.

○ Familiarity with international climate fund access processes, and the ability to advise a Board credibly on their realistic timeframes and institutional demands.

• Deep understanding of Bangladesh’s climate risks, vulnerable populations, and development sector, specifically including the Bangladesh Green Taxonomy and Bangladesh Bank sustainable finance policies.

• Completion of at least three comparable assignments for microfinance institutions, NGO-MFIs, financial service providers, development agencies, or other multi-site organizations preferably in Bangladesh or comparable contexts.

• Demonstrated, evidenced experience of international climate fund processes. At least one team member must have worked directly on accreditation support, a readiness proposal, a funding proposal or concept note, or an equivalent institutional assessment for a multilateral climate fund such as the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund or the Global Environment Facility. Proposals must name the assignment, the entity and the role played; general familiarity will not be accepted.

• Demonstrated experience building data systems and integrating monitoring indicators directly into Management Information Systems (MIS) or core banking systems to drive decision-oriented reporting.

• Capacity to engage with senior management on strategy development and approval processes.

• Excellent analytical, facilitation and written English skills; working capacity in Bangla is strongly preferred.

• For firms/teams, a clear, well-structured team offering complementary expertise in climate strategy, MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning), organizational change, and gender/social inclusion.

7.0 Reporting and Supervision

• Primary reporting to the ICCAP Focal Person at Shakti Foundation.

• Regular coordination will be required with Shakti Foundation’s Microfinance Program, Human Resources (HR), Information and Technology (IT) teams and relevant operational units.

• The Consultant/Firm will submit brief monthly progress updates and meet the TWG at least monthly.

• The TWG will review deliverables, facilitate access to information and staff, and provide technical guidance. Key deliverables will be reviewed by ICCAP/ADA technical staff, where applicable, prior to acceptance.

8.0 Confidentiality & Ethical Conduct

All information, data, and outputs produced under this assignment shall remain the property of Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women and the ICCAP project. The Consultant/Firm must adhere to professional integrity and confidentiality standards throughout the engagement.

• Signed statement of accuracy and truthfulness

Submission Deadline and Method

• Interested local and international individuals, consultancy firms, and consortium of consultants are requested to submit their Proposals online at the following email [email protected] by Date: 31/10/ 2026 Time: 11.59 PM

• Email Subject line should clearly mention the Assignment Name as stated in the ToR

• Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered

• Contact information for clarification queries: fhossian@shakti.org.bd

Click here to know more - ToR_Shakti Foundation_Climate Strategy and MR Framework_V2_Reviewed by ISL_Sujan_Shakti.pdf

1.0 About the Organization

Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women (Shakti Foundation) is a national development organization and microfinance institution working across Bangladesh since 1992. The organization is committed to the socio-economic empowerment of disadvantaged women through social and financial inclusion. Beginning with a pilot urban microfinance program for slum-dwelling women in Dhaka, Shakti Foundation has strategically expanded its service network into rural areas and now serves more than 6 lac members through a nationwide network of 648 branches across 57 districts. Alongside microfinance, its programming spans health, climate change, financial inclusion and women’s empowerment, supported by an extensive field presence and community-based delivery platforms.

Shakti is registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh under the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Rules and with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms under the Societies Registration Act 1860. It is also licensed by the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) to operate its microfinance program.

Bangladesh faces escalating climate risks, including extreme heat, flooding, cyclones, salinity intrusion, water stress, ecosystem degradation and climate-sensitive health threats. These risks affect low-income women and other vulnerable populations disproportionately and can disrupt Shakti Foundation’s operations, assets, workforce, clients and service delivery. At the same time, Shakti Foundation’s reach creates opportunities to integrate climate resilience, environmental responsibility and low-carbon practices across programs and institutional systems.

Under the Inclusive Climate Finance for Vulnerable Communities in Asia Pacific (ICCAP) program, Shakti Foundation intends to engage a qualified consultant or consulting firm to develop an organization-wide Climate Strategy and a practical Monitoring & Reporting Framework. The assignment will translate climate commitments into prioritized, costed and measurable actions, with clear governance, indicators, data tools, accountability and reporting arrangements.

2.0 Project Context

The Inclusive Climate Finance for Vulnerable Communities in the Asia Pacific (ICCAP) is a five-year regional project implemented by a consortium of three partners: Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), the Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). The project aims to improve and scale up access to both public and private climate finance flows through Financial Service Providers (FSPs) to vulnerable communities across the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Lao PDR, and Nepal. The project is financed by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) as part of the German Government’s international climate finance commitment.

In Bangladesh, ADA is providing technical assistance to partner FSPs, including Shakti Foundation, to strengthen their capacity to integrate climate considerations into financial products, institutional strategies, operations, and monitoring systems.

Under Work Package 2, Activity 1.2 of the ICCAP Technical Assistance Grant, Shakti Foundation will develop and implement a Board-approved Integrated Climate Strategy covering climate finance and green internal operations; a Shakti climate finance taxonomy aligned with the Bangladesh Green Taxonomy; and a monitoring and reporting system that is embedded in Shakti's core ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and supported by a practical tracking tool for internal operations, with staff trained to use it.

3.0 Objective

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide Shakti Foundation with an evidence-based and implementable climate strategy, together with a monitoring and reporting system that enables the organization to plan, track, learn from and communicate its climate-related performance and results.

Specifically, the consultancy will:

• Define a climate vision, strategic objectives and a 5-year roadmap aligned with Shakti’s institutional mission and its focus on women (Action 1.2.1).

• Develop an institutional climate finance taxonomy aligned with the Bangladesh Green Taxonomy and contextualized to Shakti Foundation’s target clients, priority sectors, financial products, and operational model (Action 1.2.2).

• Develop an internal Green Operations Strategy to strengthen Shakti Foundation’s environmental performance, with a focus on paper reduction, energy efficiency, waste management, and other relevant operational measures (Action 1.2.3).

• Facilitate stakeholder workshops, board presentation and formal approval of an Integrated Climate Strategy (Action 1.2.4).

• Establish a Climate Monitoring and Reporting Framework by defining standardized indicators for the climate portfolio covering climate finance and green internal operations, along with standardized reporting templates and practical data requirements (Action 1.2.5).

• Specify the data requirements for, and quality-assure, the integration of taxonomy and climate finance indicators into Shakti’s core ERP system by Shakti’s IT team (Action 1.2.6).

• Establish an Excel-based tracking system for internal green operations indicators to support regular data collection, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of Shakti Foundation’s environmental performance (Action 1.2.7).

• Strengthen institutional capacity by building the knowledge and skills of relevant Shakti Foundation staff to implement the Climate Strategy and M&R Framework, collect and manage climate-related data, track indicators and effectively use reporting tools and dashboards (Action 1.2.8).

4.0 Expected Outputs

• Inception Report, including the detailed work plan and allocation of professional days.

• Board-approved Integrated Climate Strategy for Shakti, incorporating climate finance vision, objectives and strategic roadmap.

• Shakti Climate Finance Taxonomy aligned with the Bangladesh Green Taxonomy, with loan categorization codes, ERP tags, application guidance, product mapping, pilot results and an indicative portfolio estimate.

• Internal Green Operations Strategy with baseline assessment, targets, costed measures and green office guidelines.

• Stakeholder Consultation Reports and Board Presentation.

• Climate Monitoring and Reporting Framework, including indicator reference sheets and three core reporting templates.

• ERP Data Requirements Specification, test scenarios and ERP Integration Review Note.

• Tested Excel Internal Operations Tracking Tool and User Guide.

• SOP Manual, Training Materials and Training-of-Trainers Completion Report with cascade plan.

• Final Assignment Report and Handover Package.

5.0 Duration and Working Modality

• Duration: 6 months from contract signing

• Work Approach:

○ Evidence-Based Assessment: Conduct comprehensive desk reviews, data-gap assessments, and climate risk/vulnerability analyses that merge credible secondary data with institutional and community-level experiences.

○ Participatory Engagement & Co-Design: Facilitate key-informant interviews, field visits, and focused co-design sessions across all levels—from frontline staff and community stakeholders to program/support functions—to ensure deep institutional ownership of the strategy and monitoring frameworks.

○ Iterative Development & Testing: Utilize a feedback-driven process to draft, validate, and practically pilot-test strategies, monitoring indicators, and tools before finalization.

○ Capacity Building: Deliver targeted training and capacity-building initiatives to ensure the organization can seamlessly implement and sustain the new frameworks.

○ Ethical & Inclusive Integration: Mainstream gender equality, social inclusion, safeguarding, "do-no-harm" principles, data protection, and ethical participation throughout all phases of the assignment.

○ Alignment by design: outputs are developed against international climate finance conventions from the outset, so that they remain usable as Shakti's funding base widens, without substantial rework.

• Field Requirements: Field engagement at selected branches is required for the operations baseline, pilot testing and staff training.

• Coordination: Close coordination with Shakti Foundation Technical Working Group and ICCAP focal persons. A Technical Working Group (TWG) will be formed, comprising representatives from Shakti Foundation Climate Change Program, Microfinance Operations, Finance and Accounts, IT, Administration, Procurement, Human Resources and relevant operational units.

• Shakti will provide access to relevant institutional data, systems, staff and branch locations, subject to its confidentiality and data protection requirements.

• The Consultant/Firm is responsible for its own logistics, equipment, travel and workspace arrangements unless otherwise agreed.