Debt Finance Specialist - IPSA 11

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Application deadline 1 year ago: Wednesday 15 Jun 2022 at 23:59 UTC

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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

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

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.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

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.

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).

UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), 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.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.

In order to streamline its financial and investment engagement, UNDP launched the Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH), a finance and innovation platform, that draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the SDGs and lead the implementation of the new UNDP private sector strategy and other initiatives. The Hub 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 the COs, to significantly enhance the scale and impact of UNDP’s work.

Please visit the SDG Sustainable Finance Hub website for more information.

Institutional Arrangement

The Debt Finance Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Advisor, Thematic Debt Instruments, Sustainable Finance Hub and in close collaboration with the other SFH team members.

The position is Home-based (with possible relocation to Panama city, Panama or New York, USA at the discretion of a hiring unit).

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

As countries look to re-structure their debt or raise new debt, including to recover from the impact of COVID-19, many governments are approaching UNDP to explore thematic issuances (e.g., under SDG, green, social, blue, sustainability, transition, and sustainability-linked bond frameworks) or other type of debt-linked instruments (e.g. nature performance bonds or NPBs, sustainability/biodiversity linked bonds, debt for nature and health swaps, etc.) to provide them with fiscal space and financing linked to social and environmental outcomes; provide guidance on project/asset selection and facilitate impact reporting on use of proceeds etc.

The focus of this post will be on Spanish speaking countries, principally LatAm, but inclusive of support for other regions, particularly Africa. The Debt Finance Specialist will be responsible for leading and coordinating UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub efforts on debt financing, including scoping, technical assistance, outreach, and relationships management, as well as capacity building.

Thematic debt scoping and technical assistance:

  • Lead and coordinate the rollout of the SFH Thematic Debt offering, including the development bonds.
  • Undertake macro analysis, country diligence, and analysis of the debt landscape in member states.
  • Review outstanding public debt and provide consideration on on-going debt relief, scope for refinancing for issuer and space for a new debt mechanisms.
  • Provide technical assistance on regulatory frameworks and sustainable finance taxonomies, identified debt eligible to be swapped, major creditors and fiscal capacity, de-risking, including scope for credit guarantees, grant funding, blended finance mechanisms, and use of tax incentives.

Advice to countries and governments on sustainable debt opportunities and execution:

  • Develop recommendations on feasible options, including thematic bonds and nature-climate-SDG linked financial instruments and performance bonds, including for debt relief.
  • Determine the feasibility and usefulness of swaps as well as the consideration of alternatives and implementation of related initiatives where appropriate.
  • Lead activities on portfolio selection and impact reporting, including guidance on the framework, standardized metrics and monitoring.
  • Guide on appropriate institutional organization of the process of fulfilling the obligations.

Outreach and Relationships Management:

  • Prepare briefing notes for the SFH Director and designees at the Executive Office of the Administrator.
  • Develop and implement long-term strategies for wider stakeholders’ engagement in the debt markets and in the United Nations System.
  • Build and maintain a regional network drawing on multilateral development banks, financial institutions, stock/securities exchanges, national development banks etc.
  • Communicate and capacitate countries on debt options including through workshops and webinar, and coordinate execution where required.

Subject-Matter Expertise on Relevant Topics and Projects:

  • Develop technical documents, reports and or briefs.
  • Lead the outreach and engagement with UNDP Country Offices.
  • Develop capacity building materials related to thematic bonds, debt for climate/nature/health swaps, impact reporting; and organize and deliver capacity building workshops.

Perform any other duties related to this assignment as may be required by Supervisor.

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 Management

Monitoring

Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results

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

Programme and Policy

SDG Finance

ESG standards

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

Programme and Policy

Strategic Policy Engagement

Strategic policy advice in the context of bond issuance

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Academic Education

  • Minimum Master’s degree in Finance, Economics / Development Economics, International Development, international Management / Relations, Development Finance, or other closely related area is required.

Min. years of relevant Work experience

  • A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in debt capital markets or public sector debt finance, including bond issuances or swaps is required.

Required skills and competencies

  • Experience in financial analysis of macroeconomic factors influencing debt burdens and sustainability is required.
  • Experience in structuring or advising on debt instruments, including green/thematic bonds is required.

Desired additional skills and competencies

  • Experience in advising on sovereign bond development, including partnerships, structures, and use of proceeds is desirable.
  • Experience working with complex projects and data sets and synthesizing them to build partnerships and garner buy-in is an asset.
  • Experience with impact and bond frameworks is desirable.
  • Experience working in a development finance context in emerging markets is desirable.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

  • Proficiency in English and Spanish languages is required.
  • Working level competency in French, including good presentation, writing, and editing skills would be an asset.

Professional Certificates

  • n/a
Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org