Applications open for Climate Fellowship Grant – Nepal

It provides opportunities for young, qualified, and enthusiastic youth to work closely with the provincial and municipal governments to gain in-depth experience in DRRM, Climate Change and Adaptation (CCA), and Disaster Information Management System (DIMS).

Climate Fellowship Grant provides an opportunity for young people to work with the provincial and local governments to strengthen their climate and disaster-related plans and policies. With the increasing and intensifying extreme climate events, DRRM has been a priority of all three tiers of government. However, there is a gap in the implementation and localization of the prepared plans and policies on DRRM and CCA.

Through Climate Fellowship, young people will act as a connecting bridge to transfer the technical capacities and bridge the data gap that exists at the provincial and local levels to support informed decision-making. Young people are the critical stakeholders in fighting climate change, responding to extreme climate events, and transforming a better world for living as they are at the forefront of climate action. They are also the ones to face the collective impacts of climate change actions and inaction. They can be advocates to revitalize public connections, raise awareness, and generate innovative ideas to adapt to the climate crisis.

Benefits for Climate Fellows

• Climate Fellowship Grant of NPR 300,000.00 (Three Lakhs Nepalese Rupees)
• Note: Inclusive of Monthly Stipend, Travel Allowance, Meeting Facilitation, Training Cost etc.)
• Capacity building training and orientations including a five-day residential training on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA), Local Disaster and Climate Resilient Plan (LDCRP), Disaster Information Management System (DIMS) and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI)
• Opportunity to work closely with Mayor, CAO, elected representatives, IT professionals, and Government officials at working stations
• Opportunity to participate in workshops/trainings/seminars organized by Government of Nepal (GoN), and respective municipality
• Opportunity to broaden understanding on social issues and enhance their ability to engage in meaningful dialogue with people from different backgrounds
• Graduation ceremony at the end with the completion certificate
• Potential job placement within YI-Lab, partners, and related organizations

Climate Fellowship Duration

• Five months

Key Responsibilities of the Climate Fellows

Climate Fellows will be responsible for:

• Supporting assigned municipality to strengthen the Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan
• Conducting Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA) at assigned municipality together with the municipal government
• Supporting the development of Local Disaster and Climate Resilient Plan (LDCRP) of the assigned municipal government
• Supporting assigned province or municipal government to administer and operationalize level Bipad portal
• Collaborating with the IT Officer (ITO) and DRR Focal Person for day-to-day capacity transfer
• Working closely with the provincial and municipal personnels to compile DRR related datasets and standardize and integrate them into Bipad Portal
• Working with the provincial and municipal personnels to map and validate critical infrastructure datasets like education, health, finance, governance, tourism, industry, communication, and more
• Reporting and documenting the progress/challenges and sharing the lessons learnt

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

To be eligible as Climate Fellows, the individual must:

• Be 29 years old or younger Nepali citizen at the time of nomination
• Have a Bachelor’s degree in Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Geomatics Engineering, Development Studies, Natural Resources, Crisis Management, or related field
• Preferably local from the project municipalities or anyone willing to relocate to the project municipality
• Prior knowledge in Disaster/Climate/DRRM/CCA and related discipline
• Interested to work with government officials (Provincial and Municipal)
• Have a strong knowledge of technology that includes mobile apps, web app, MS Office packages
• Have excellent communication skills with fluency in Nepali and English language. Knowledge of local language would be a plus. preferably in local language of selected municipalities as well
• Be passionate to learn Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) through DRRM/CCA
• Posess outstanding personal character and integrity
• Have teamwork and collaborative skills
• Have ability to work in a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary team
• Passionate to work with local communities and people belonging to minorities.

For more information, visit Youth Innovation Lab (YI-LAB).