Sdg Finance And Ndcs Policy Specialist - Ipsa 11

Description

Background

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Supporting countries to accelerate ambitious action on climate change is a key priority for the organization and development finance is one of the three enablers of UNDP’s strategic plan.

UNDP's Global Policy Network (GPN) provides a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH) draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the SDGs, Paris Agreement and Global Biodiversity Framework. It works through five service offers: integrated national financing frameworks and portfolios, public finance for the SDGs, unlocking private capital for the SDGs, SDG impact management and finance tracking, and the SDG Finance Academy. SFH is an integral part of both the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), as well as part of the GPN. The Hub serves as a connector, broker and global coordinator among internal and external actors; curates and manages UNDP’s catalogue of service offers on SDG financing to governments, investors and companies, via country offices, to significantly enhance the scale and impact of UNDP’s work.

UNDP ambitious “Climate Promise” supports over 120 countries to enhance their climate ambitions under the Paris Agreement, with focus on greater emissions reduction and resilience building. The second phase of the Climate Promise will focus on NDC implementation, climate advocacy, and long-term planning to ensure inclusive climate action at the speed and scale required to keep global temperature below 1.5°C. Achieving the carbon neutrality in the second half of the century by all countries is a crucial requirement set by the Paris Agreement to avoid the irreversible global climate change. Realization of this goal involves work on global, national, and local levels, as well as participation of all relevant stakeholders – governments, business, MDBs, international organizations, NSOs. The path to carbon neutrality should be just and leaving no one behind, while empowering women, youth, indigenous people, and vulnerable groups of population. UNDP is well positioned to enable such work through cooperation on HQ, Regional and Country Offices levels, forming an interconnected system of knowledge exchange and expertise delivery enabling the cutting-edge climate policy advocacy, development, and implementation.

Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) were first introduced by UN Member States in the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda as a country-led approach to strengthen public and private financing for sustainable development. Today, more than 85 countries are using the INFF approach to integrate financing and national planning, bringing together policymakers, private sector, civil society, development partners and others to deliver financing policy reforms, build capacity and coordinate action to strengthen SDG financing. They are shaping risk informed financing strategies and advancing more than 250 reforms to public and private financing policies, regulations and instruments. UNDP leads technical support to these processes at the country level, and is part of the INFF Facility, a partnership with UNDESA, UNICEF, OECD, the EU, Italy, Sweden and Spain.

A growing number of countries are starting to connect their NDCs with INFFs and use them as a platform to drive investment toward climate priorities and meeting climate commitments. As countries implement their NDCs and develop INFF financing strategies, the Climate Promise and INFF Facility teams are looking to recruit a Policy Specialist to support countries bring together these two agendas.
Duties and Responsibilities

Under the joint supervision of the SDG Finance Advisor and INFF Team Lead (Sustainable Finance Hub) and the Climate Change Technical Specialist (Climate Promise), and working closely with members of both teams, the Policy Specialist, SDG Finance will be responsible for the performance of the following functions and duties:

1. Lead technical advice to ensure INFFs provide financing strategies that advance NDCs implementation at the country level

Work closely with country offices to support the mainstreaming of NDCs within INFF processes in response to government demand, including stakeholder mapping, preparation of/participation in financing dialogues and technical inputs and guidance.
Provide quality assurance and technical backstopping for the mainstreaming of NDCs into risk-informed financing strategies, development finance assessments and other products as part of INFF processes.
Support the integration of outputs from INFF processes into management of and reporting on NDC implementation at the country level.
Draw in expertise from relevant teams across the climate promise and sustainable finance hub, including the risk finance facility.
Identify technical and financial support needed by country offices to achieve integration and support the development of proposals to meet these needs.
Support collaboration across regional climate promise and sustainable finance teams, including the CFN and IBFCR programmes, and promote stronger interoperability of INFF and CCFF work in Asia-Pacific.

2. Facilitate training, capacity development and country exchange

Develop guidance to support the integration of NDCs and INFFs at the country level in practical terms, in relation to INFF building blocks such as the financing strategy and key tools such as the development finance assessment.
Develop and deliver training and capacity building activities on INFFs and NDCs, both internally and externally, at the country, regional and global levels.
Facilitate exchanges between countries to share experiences and lessons, organizing global and regional workshops and events.

3. Compile experiences, lessons and analysis about NDC financing through INFFs

Build a narrative and supporting evidence base on NDC financing through INFFs that informs the potential development of an NDC window for the INFF Facility.
Maintain central information on the status, innovations and demand to integrate INFFs and NDC financing across countries.
Develop country case studies that draw out the achievements, challenges and lessons learned from INFF and NDC integration at the country level.
Maintain data on the instruments and policies that countries use to strengthen NDC financing through INFFs.
Develop analytical products (including reports, briefings and presentations) that assess key trends, identify lessons and examine innovations across countries.

4. Coordinate engagement with partners internally and externally

Promote the integration of NDC financing through INFFs within SFH, Climate Promise and other internal teams, at the global, regional and country levels.
Support collaboration between SFH and Climate Promise on thematic bonds, SDG investor maps and other initiatives.
Collaborate with external partners supporting INFF and NDC implementation.
Manage and develop collaboration on INFFs and NDC financing with other external partners to the INFF Facility.
Facilitate dialogue and engagement by key policy makers in external events in both financing for development and climate change focused forums.

For more information on UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub, INFFs and the Climate Promise, please visit: https://sdgfinance.undp.org/about, https://inff.org/ and https://climatepromise.undp.org/.

Institutional Arrangement

The SDG Finance and NDCs Policy Specialist will work under the joint supervision of the SDG Finance Advisor and INFF Team Lead in the Sustainable Finance Hub and the Climate Change Technical Specialist in the Climate Promise team.
Competencies
Core
Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Thematic Area Name Definition
Business Direction & Strategy Negotiation and Influence Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates win-win situations
Business Development Knowledge Generation Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need

Business Direction & Strategy

Strategic Thinking

Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP

Partnership management Relationship management Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding

2030 Agenda: Partnerships

SDG Finance

Public Sector Finance (Tax and domestic resource mobilization, public financial management and public expenditure)

Required Skills and Experience
Min. Education requirements Master’s degree in economics, public policy, environmental studies, social sciences or related discipline is required.
Min. years of relevant work experience Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in sustainable development financing, climate change or environmental programmes is required.
Required skills

Experience in leading consultations with senior government officials and facilitating discussions among a wide group of stakeholders on financing for development and/or NDC implementation priorities, required.
Demonstrated experience supporting government agencies or development partners in the area of development finance or NDC implementation and capacity building, required.
Excellent writing skills, as demonstrated by previous research/analytical reports/policy notes on relevant topics, required.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

Experience working with government on green or climate finance reforms, desirable.
Experience working on Integrated National Financing Frameworks or NDC financing strategies, desirable.
Previous work experience with UNDP / UN in similar functions is an advantage.

Required Language(s) Proficiency in the English language: excellent verbal, written and editing skills are required. Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.