The Backstopping Consultancy aims at supporting the SDC East Asia Division in the fulfillment of the defined objectives in the 2 partnerships with Asian Development Bank (AsDB) and Mekong River Commission (MRC) through specialized, flexibly employable and well-networked expertise. While the WFPF Contribution is managed directly from the SDC EAD Division Berne, the support to the MRC is managed by the Swiss Cooperation Office (SCO) in Vientiane, Laos.

Backstopping for SDC’s WFPF Contribution: — Liaise with concerned SCOs in the Mekong and CAREC Region and ensure that they are informed and consulted where necessary for the fulfilment of the mandate as described in the points below. Ensure that lessons learned from existing cooperation activities between SCOs and AsDB in Water for Food (e.g. Uzbekistan) are taken into consideration for the fulfilment of the mandate,

— Provide written comments and recommendations for Swiss funded interventions on Water for Food in AsDB and in particular for the annual WFPF donor meetings, where the Annual Report, the strategic direction of the WFPF and its Annual Program of pipeline projects are discussed, and, upon request, participate in donor meetings on behalf of or with SDC,

— Write comments and recommendations for draft proposals on Water for Food received from Project Officers in AsDB’s regional departments with special consideration to Gender Mainstreaming, Conflict Sensitive Program Management as well as Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction,

— Liaise with AsDB’s Project Officers involved in water for food projects in the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division as well as in the Mekong and the CAREC Region (in Manila or in the respective AsDB Resident Missions) and exchange every 3 months on the further elaboration, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the WFPF financed Water for Food projects in these 2 regions, as well as in identifying potential projects that can be supported by WFPF,

— Support AsDB in identifying suitable consultants or staff for AsDB operations upon request,

— Participate in at least one mission (appraisal, supervision or evaluation of a WFPF financed project) per year with contributions derived from Swiss and AsDB experiences in water for food in the Mekong and the CAREC Regions,

— Engage in knowledge exchange with AsDB on Water for Food (with special consideration to Gender Mainstreaming, Conflict Sensitive Program Management as well as Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction) related to research, studies, publications, seminars, workshops and conferences led by AsDB,

— Contribute to AsDB’s knowledge work with experiences on Water for Food either directly or through other members of the Swiss Water Partnership,

— Contribute directly or indicate suitable speakers from Swiss Water Partnership members to AsDB organized seminars, workshops and conferences,

— Share knowledge gained and experiences made through the interactions with the AsDB with the members of the Swiss Water Partnership,

— Support eligible civil society or governmental partners of Swiss Water Partnership Members in the field to submit financing requests to the WFPF-funded Facility for Pilot and Demonstration Activity (PDA).

Backstopping for SDC’s MRC Contribution: — Maintain fluid institutional relations with the SCO Vientiane: person responsible for the MRC, advising and supporting on different issues related to Water Management in the Mekong region and to the MRC (on request); — Support SCO-staff to ensure the strategic and operational follow-up of the supported programs: Basin Development Program (BDP) and Environment Program (EP), analyzing and commenting project documents; — Participate on behalf of or with SDC in the Strategic Committees of these programs or provide SDC with inputs for these meetings; — Support the Swiss delegation at the official meetings of the MRC (Joint Donor Meeting, Council Meeting).