CONCORD Europe, the European confederation of NGOs working on sustainable development and international cooperation, representing more than 2,600 NGOs, is seeking to recruit a consultant to support our advocacy in follow-up to the European Union’s Voluntary Review (EUVR) of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , in particular to organise an event following up on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD).

Background

Since the adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (hereafter, the 2030 Agenda), the world now has a global framework for achieving sustainable development and equality for all. The principles enshrined in the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) themselves are universal, which means that all countries are expected to achieve them, not only at home but also without impacting negatively either on other countries or on future generations. The latter impacts are often the most neglected as, unfortunately all too often, Member States’ and EU policies do have negative repercussions on people’s well-being and on the environment in third countries, especially in the Global South. That is why Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) is so important and why it is crucial that it be high on every government’s or institution’s agenda at all levels of decision-making, and that the instruments and mechanisms to monitor progress be institutionalised. Whereas in recent years, political commitment and capacity to implement PCSD in the EC has wavered, PC(S)D has gained considerable momentum in the past year, with urgent calls to action having been adopted in the form of a report and resolution from the European Parliament, as well as Council Conclusions.

For CONCORD, the main objectives for PCSD are: to foster synergies across policy areas and between sectors; to ensure that today’s policies do not undermine the well-being or sustainable development of future generations; to identify and address trade-offs, or negative spillovers, both between domestic policies and in domestic policies that affect people and the environment in other countries, especially lower income countries and countries in the Global South. CONCORD Europe has worked on PCSD for many years, but since 2022, it has been working on the development of the EU Voluntary Review to the UN High Level Political Forum 2023, asking for it to be a transparent, meaningful process allowing civil society to effectively monitor and influence the reporting on PC(S)D by the European Commission (EC) and Member States (MS). 

Aims, objectives and scope

The EU doesn’t have a compass in the form of an overarching strategy guiding its SDG action, clarifying how the EU aims to achieve the 2030 Agenda in Europe including targets, timelines, and roadmaps. With less than 7 years to 2030, the EU urgently needs an overarching strategy or action plan to guide its SDG implementation. It should include a mechanism for guaranteeing PCSD (SDG 17.14) across all EU policies, in order to address key areas of incoherence and negative impacts on partner countries. Subsequent to the adoption of the EU VR, CONCORD would like to make use of the built-up momentum to call for follow up actions on the results of the EU VR to address the gaps in implementation and PCSD. The EU VR does not go far enough with regard to outlining the action that needs to be taken by the EU to move towards a better implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The EU VR should be the start of renewed EU action and commitment to Agenda 2030. We would like this consultancy to be part of the advocacy efforts towards the EU making new commitments based on the gaps identified in the EU VR.

This consultancy has the objective of organising an advocacy event on behalf of CONCORD in October 2023. The event should ideally be an invitation-only roundtable format with ca 30 participants (likely under Chatham House rules). It should create an opportunity to exchange with EC and MS representatives, and identify recommendations and next steps for different EU stakeholders (EC and its services, EU MS, CONCORD) in follow-up to the EU VR to achieve a course of action that would address the gaps identified and build on good practices with regard to PCSD. The consultant should prepare the event with CONCORD members and the CONCORD secretariat, and secure the constructive participation of the relevant stakeholders. 

Specific duties and responsibilities 

• Conduct desk research into the issues outlined above. 
• Agree the focus of the advocacy event with CONCORD’s PCSD workstream members.
• Liaise with and secure the participation of relevant EU and MS stakeholders to the advocacy event.
• Design the concept and background material of the advocacy event.
• Coordinate with PCSD workstream and CONCORD board members, CONCORD secretariat and external stakeholders to ensure smooth delivery of the event. 
• Based on this, draft a report summarizing the event and develop general recommendations for the EU (including Member States) and CONCORD.

Deliverables

• A breakfast advocacy event in the week of 24 October, bringing together key stakeholders at EU level in the field of PCSD, with CONCORD Board members.
• An event summary and key recommendations for follow-up by different stakeholders including CONCORD’s PCSD workstream. 

CONCORD Responsibilities

• The consultant will be able to count on some support from the CONCORD secretariat for logistics and liaison with members. 
• The consultant will have a concordeurope.org e-mail address to implement the consultancy.

Budget

The total consultancy budget cannot exceed EUR 12,000 including VAT (+/- 20 working days).

Timeline

The assignment would be carried out between August and early November 2023. A first draft of the concept note should be finalised with members in September for comment and review. The final event summary and key recommendations should be submitted by early November.

Skills and Qualifications 

• Proven understanding of PCSD and PCD.
• Sound knowledge of EU Agenda 2030 related structures and international cooperation policies.
• Demonstrated experience of organising multi-stakeholder dialogue.
• Demonstrated experience of successful EU advocacy.
• Understanding of the member-led NGO network environment and experience in working with NGOs or with civil society.
• Excellent English writing and synthesising skills; ability to write about complex issues in an engaging way.
• 10+ years of relevant work experience.

Application Procedure 

Interested applicants are invited to submit the following documents to the online portal below: 

• CV outlining your relevant expertise for this assignment 
• Price quote and short proposal (max. 2 pages) on how you plan to undertake the organisation of this event, including which participants you would want at the event.

Should you have any questions regarding this call, please contact Celia Cranfield. Please include ‘CONCORD PCSD Consultant + your name’ in the subject of the email.

Interviews will be held on a rolling basis to fill the position by mid-August.

CONCORD is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, colour, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are made entirely on merit.