BIOFIN Technical Advisor on Environmental Finance for the African region - Regular (75 % part time)

Senior

Overview

Provide technical support for biodiversity finance plans in Africa.

You have:

• Master's degree or higher in public finance, private finance, economics, environmental economics, public administration, financial management, natural/environmental sciences, social sciences with a specialization in environmental finance and development.
• At least 7 years' demonstrated expertise in public or private sector finance, sustainable development/environmental finance, resource mobilisation, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management.
• Prior experience in designing, reviewing and implementing biodiversity finance solutions/mechanisms, proposals, and policies.
• Experience in developing countries and with international organisations.
• Expertise in planning and conducting exchange workshops and technical trainings on financial assessments at the international level.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in French is an advantage.

Contract

This is a IPSA-11 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-11 contracts.

Background

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

1. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
2. A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
3. Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials

Project Description

The Biodiversity Finance Initiative – BIOFIN – was developed to provide a comprehensive methodology for governments to: 1) review the existing policy context, 2) measure expenditure levels for biodiversity, 3) calculate future financial needs and 4) design strategic plans to deploy the right mix of finance solutions, tailored to the country context. The methodology has been conducted in 40 countries to date, with many now having reached the implementation stage.

BIOFIN is supported by the Governments of Belgium, Germany, Flanders, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the European Union. The initiative is part of UNDP’s Nature, Climate and Energy (UNDP-NCE) unit, hosted by the Ecosystems and Biodiversity (EBD) cluster under UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS).

BIOFIN’s first phase (2012-2019) enabled full assessments and initial implementation of finance plan elements in target countries. Based on lessons learned, a new and comprehensive version of the BIOFIN Methodology was developed. Significant scaling up of finance solutions is required in all countries to address the biodiversity finance challenge. BIOFIN’s Phase II (2018 – 2025) focuses mainly on the implementation of prioritised finance solutions while also allowing additional countries to undertake the initial assessments and create the finance plan.

UNDP-BIOFIN is seeking a Technical Advisor on Environmental Finance to provide technical services and support to countries from the African region that are designing or implementing their national biodiversity finance plan. The Advisor will be part of the Global BIOFIN Team.

The ultimate purpose of this assignment is to support national teams and government counterparts to scope, design, develop and implement the prioritised finance solutions identified through the BIOFIN process, to achieve finance results in the country

Institutional Arrangement

• The Technical Advisor will be primarily home-based;
• The Technical Advisor will work under the supervision of the BIOFIN Programme Manager. The Technical Advisor will work with the global BIOFIN Team, national BIOFIN Teams, UNDP Country Offices, core and donor country governments, other international/multi-lateral organizations, and contractors;
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the Technical Advisor is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones where applicable;
• The Technical Advisor will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• The Technical Advisor will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, relevant software, etc.) and shall have access to a stable, secure and reliable internet connection.

Duties and Responsibilities

Design of national Biodiversity Finance Plans:

• Provide technical support and undertake reviews and impact monitoring of BIOFIN methodological outputs and processes, such as: workplans, bi-annual reports, inception reports, Policy and Institutional Reviews, Biodiversity Expenditure Reviews, Financial Needs Assessments, and Biodiversity Finance Plans;
• Travel to countries as needed to support the design of national Biodiversity Finance Plans.

Implementing finance solutions:

• Support National BIOFIN teams and government counterparts in identifying, developing and implementing the right mix of finance solutions, tailored to the country context;
• Support the design and review of finance solution proposals developed by national BIOFIN teams following the BIOFIN Finance Solution Proposal template;
• Provide feedback for the development of terms of reference, country workplans, bi-annual reports, inception reports, final reports and other relevant documents;
• Provide feedback on technical documents related to finance solutions, such as feasibility studies, concept notes, policies, laws, regulations, by-laws, organisational charts/HR Plans, resource mobilisation plans, enforcement strategies, economic valuations, advocacy plans, or any other technical reports that are required;
• Travel to countries as needed to support the design and implementation of finance solutions and engage with key stakeholders to develop opportunities of collaborations for finance solution implementation;
• Develop tailored guidance materials or other knowledge products on selected finance solutions, and provide inputs into project proposals for resource mobilisation as required;
• Guide national BIOFIN Teams to relevant experts, knowledge platforms, tools and other guidance material related to the prioritised finance solutions/mechanisms;
• Support national BIOFIN teams to identify opportunities to promote gender equality and sustainable livelihoods when designing biodiversity finance solutions.

Capacity development:

• Engage in capacity assessments and capacity development of national stakeholders as required, helping to build up a large pool of experts in each country that possess the basic skills to implement the BIOFIN tools;
• Strengthen the capacity of a wider group of national stakeholders on prioritised finance solutions to beginner/intermediate level (as relevant), and support the process of institutionalisation with national training institutes and universities;
• Support and provide inputs to global, regional, and national technical workshops, regional conference calls, technical webinars, and website discussions as requested by the global BIOFIN team.

Knowledge management:

• Enable countries to share experiences through virtual and on site discussions;
• Lead the development of knowledge materials on Result Based Budgeting;
• Support the development of knowledge materials on engaging the finance sector in biodiversity finance;
• Write up articles, case studies, and other materials emerging from the BIOFIN process, summarizing key experiences and lessons from core countries, including delivering at least one case study or scientific article per year on finance solution implementation in a core country;
• Support the continuous improvement of the BIOFIN, methodology and specific tools and other materials provided to core and non-core countries as part of BIOFIN’s methodology development objectives. Develop guidance documents and training materials to enhance the BIOFIN methodological toolkit and implementation packages;
• Deliver high quality inputs for bi-annual donor reports on progress and impact in BIOFIN countries within given deadlines, and provide other inputs as required for briefing notes, case studies, knowledge management products, press releases, and other media products develop by the global BIOFIN 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

People Management (Insert below standard sentence if the position has direct reports.)

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies (insert up to 7 competencies)

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Planet

Nature Climate and Energy

Ecosystems and biodiversity: Biodiversity Finance

Planet

Nature Climate and Energy

Environmental Governance: Global Environmental Governance

Planet

Nature Climate and Energy

Environmental Governance: Multilateral Environmental Agreements (e.g., CBD and UNCCD)

Planet

Nature Climate and Energy

Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Conservation and Sustainable use of biodiversity, land, forests, and oceans

Planet

Nature Climate and Energy

Environment: Environmental economics, including valuation, data collection and analysis, SEEA, macro and micro tools and policies

Business Development

Knowledge Generation

Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context,

or responsive to a stated need

Business Management

Project Management

Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures and protocols

to achieve specific goals

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirements

Master’s degree or higher in public finance, private finance, economics, environmental economics, public administration, financial management, natural/environmental sciences, social sciences with a specialization in environmental finance and development, or other closely related field

Min. years of relevant work experience

At least 7 years’ demonstrated expertise in public or private sector finance, sustainable development/environmental finance, resource mobilisation, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, or a related field

Required skills

• Prior experience in designing, reviewing and implementing biodiversity finance solutions/mechanisms, proposals and policies;
• Experience in developing country and with international organisations;
• Expertise in planning and conducting exchange workshops and technical trainings on financial assessments at the international level

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

• Prior experience in resource mobilisation methodologies and in the development of knowledge and exchange materials and platforms would be an advantage;
• Experience with UNDP policies, procedures and practices particularly in relation to project development and implementation is an advantage;
• Previous country experience in the African region is an advantage;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in French is an advantage

Required Language(s)

Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org