Country Coordinator

Contract

This is a UNV International Expert contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Expert contracts.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN's capital investment agency for the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers ‘last mile’ finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

UNCDF has been present in the Pacific since 2008. From 2008 to 2020, together with UNDP, UNCDF implemented the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP). The PFIP played a leading role in bringing about profound changes in the market, which resulted in almost 3Million pacific islanders accessing financial services. The success PFIP helped position UNCDF as the agency with a wide network and extensive knowledge on financial, digital financial and digital services and products, and today our flagship programmes in the Pacific include:

• The Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP) which is implemented with UNCTAD and UNDP, aims to support the development of inclusive digital economies in the Pacific addressing the impact of COVID-19 and at the same time leveraging its catalytic capacity. • The Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme, implemented with UNDP, aims to improve the financial preparedness and resilience of Pacific islanders towards climate change and natural hazards • The STREIT programme, a partnership with FAO, UNDP, ILO and ITU and that aims to support rural entrepreneurship, investment and trade in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The portfolio across the region identifies and promotes the deployment of blended finance instruments to lower the upfront capital and/or reduce the investment risk for the private sector. For example, UNCDF is supporting Coral Reef Preservation in Fiji and PNG though our partnership with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and the issuance of the Blue Bond in Fiji, a project implemented in partnership with UNDP.

Primary countries of focus are Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands (SOI), Tonga, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste and Kiribati.

The Country Coordinator, positioned under the supervision of the UNCDF’s Regional Manager, will play a pivotal role in implementing UNCDF’s initiatives in Timor Leste.

This encompasses:

Programme Implementation: Coordinating and managing the implementation of UNCDF programmes in line with annual work plans, ensuring quality assurance and achievement of outputs.

Private sector support: Supporting the development of innovative projects and initiatives, leveraging UNCDF’s Technical Assistance facilities and blended finance instruments.

Team Management: Supervising and mentoring personnel, including other potential volunteers, interns, and consultants, based on project requirements.

Strategic Partnerships: Building relationships and capitalizing on opportunities for collaboration with a variety of stakeholders, including government bodies, the private sector, and development partners.

Policy and Regulation Support: Assisting government entities in enhancing policies and regulations to support the strategic objectives in the region.

Partner Relationship Management: Actively engage and manage relationships with various financial service providers, including commercial banks, insurance companies, fintechs, mobile money operators, and remittance service providers. Provide both financial and technical support from UNCDF to strengthen these partnerships.

Representation and Networking: Represent UNCDF at all relevant country-level workshops, conferences, and events, ensuring UNCDF’s presence and participation is meaningful and impactful.

Facilitation of Visits and Meetings: Support and facilitate country visits for regional technical specialists and other UNCDF colleagues, liaising with partners to organize productive meetings.

Reporting and Accountability: Ensure timely and accurate reporting from partners that have received support, fulfilling all required obligations and standards.

Knowledge Management and Communication: Contribute to the organization's knowledge base by writing blog posts, focus notes, and other relevant content.

• Integrity and Professionalism: Demonstrates expertise, exercises good judgment, autonomy, personal initiative, and ability to take ownership. Operates with discretion and neutrality in a politically sensitive environment. • Accountability: Operates responsibly and in compliance with organizational rules and regulations. • Commitment to Continuous Learning: Shows willingness to learn new skills, stay abreast of new developments, and adapt to changes. • Planning and Organizing: Possesses effective organizational and problem-solving skills, ability to manage large workloads efficiently and establish priorities. • Teamwork and Respect for Diversity: Works effectively across organizational boundaries, establishing and maintaining harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural environment. • Communication: Exhibits excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear reports, conduct presentations, and communicate effectively with diverse individuals. • Flexibility and Adaptability: Willing and able to operate in austere, potentially hazardous environments, and travel extensively. Genuine Commitment: Demonstrates solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, and a commitment to the principles of voluntary engagement and UN core values

relevant professional experience managing projects or programmes is mandatory, out of which 3 years’ experience must be with digital economy related issues. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches for sustainable and inclusive development; • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment; • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines; • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills;

• Extensive experience in the financial services sector, including but not limited to commercial banks, development banks, payment service providers, eCommerce, FinTech, and insurance. • Strong understanding of Financial Regulations and a track record in scaling digital and financial inclusion initiatives. • Comprehensive understanding of the project management cycle and managing for results. Ability to develop project documents, corresponding budgets, and monitoring and evaluation plans. • Experience working with community-based and rural initiatives, including those related to inclusive finance, open digital payments ecosystem and financial innovation. • Prior experience working with UN organizations or other multilateral development partners (e.g., UN World Bank, IFC, ADB) is highly desirable. • Experience in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is an added advantage. • Demonstrated ability in partnership management and resource mobilization.

Timor Leste is half of a tropical island on the Australian continental shelf characterized by a rugged mountain chain running east-west that divides the country into a generally warmer north coast and a milder south coast. The capital city, Dili, is located in the north.

Climate: The climate along the coast is relatively warm hot year-round with an annual average temperature of 30°C. There are two distinct seasons: the north-east monsoon season, which runs from November to March, constitutes the rainy season throughout the country. The southeast monsoon season, which runs from March to October, constitutes the dry season with some rain on the southern coast but otherwise dry and windy conditions in the rest of the country. The climate inland with its high mountains can be very cold with an annual average temperature of 15°C.

Health: Public hospital and private clinic provide services to community. Stamford clinic in Dili serves as a recommended medical facility for UN staff. There is a national hospital with some international staff and a limited number of other private clinics in Dili (such as DMC). For more complex medical treatment and assessment, it is necessary to evacuate to neighbouring cities/countries such as Darwin or Singapore. There is currently no reported cases of Corona Virus in Timor-Leste.

Diet, Food and Water: Most staple foods can be found in the markets such as rice, meat, vegetables, cooking oil, salt and sugar. There is a variety of food ranging from Western to Southeast Asian fare. You can also find several local restaurants with less expensive meals.

Telecommunications: There are three telecommunication providers in country, Timor Telecom and Telcomcel and Telemor. While Timor Telecom has been long present, Telcomcel and Telemor were newly launched in Timor-Leste, and started operating in February 2013. The SIM cards cost $2-3 and pre-paid/pulsa cards range from $1 to $50.

UN Volunteers should be provided equal duty of care as extended to all host entity personnel. Host entity support to the UN Volunteer includes, but is not limited to: • Introductory briefings about the organisation and office-related context including security, emergency procedures, good cultural practice and orientation to the local environment; • Support with arrival administration including setting-up of bank accounts, residence permit applications and completion of other official processes as required by the host government or host entity; • Structured guidance, mentoring and coaching by a supervisor including a clear workplan and performance appraisal; • Access to office space, equipment, IT support and any other systems and tools required to complete the objectives of the assignment including a host entity email address; • Access to shared host entity corporate knowledge, training and learning; • Inclusion of the volunteer in emergency procedures such as evacuations; • Leave management; • DSA for official travel, when applicable; • All changes in the Description of Assignment occurring between recruitment and arrival or during the assignment need to be formalized with the United Nations Volunteer Programme.