Finance Advisor (BIOFIN - The Biodiversity Finance Initiative)

Contract

This is a NPSA-9 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education. More about NPSA-9 contracts.

Background

Preliminary top-down estimates of the global financial gap for biodiversity range from US$ 100 to 400 billion annually and detailed bottom-up assessments in participating BIOFIN countries validate this significant financial need and have helped identify finance solutions required to achieve the Aichi Targets and biodiversity related SDGs. In recent decades, biodiversity finance tools and solutions have demonstrated their importance for achieving biodiversity and sustainable development goals. But since countries have not approached the issue of biodiversity finance in a comprehensive manner, the choice and adoption of finance solutions has remained experimental and opportunistic. Improved choice, design and implementation of effective well-tailored finance solutions will strengthen a countries’ chances of achieving national and global biodiversity targets. The Biodiversity Finance Initiative – BIOFIN – is a global programme that developed, piloted, and is continuously improving a methodology to measure existing biodiversity expenditure levels, assess future financial needs, and design comprehensive plans to use finance tools and solutions that increase financing, effectiveness and efficiency of biodiversity management in 35 countries. BIOFIN’s first phase (2012-2018) enabled full assessments and initial implementation of finance plan elements in target countries. Significant enhancement and scaling up of finance solutions is required in all countries to address the biodiversity finance challenge. BIOFIN’s second phase enables the 35 countries to complete the design and implementation of priority finance solutions and will allow new countries to undertake the assessments as well as create and implement their biodiversity finance plan. At the central level, knowledge management platforms will be expanded and additional guidance produced for most valuable finance solutions.

Duties and Responsibilities

The core responsibility of the Finance Advisor is to provide overall technical guidance and produce the Biodiversity Finance Plan. The Finance Advisor will work in close collaboration with the National Project Coordinator, the entire National BIOFIN Team, UNDP CO and the global BIOFIN team to assure the highquality delivery of all reports and outcomes of BIOFIN at the national level. These reports will include the Biodiversity Finance Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, Financial Needs Assessment and the Biodiversity Finance Plan. Additionally, the Finance Advisor will be directly responsible for sections of specific reports and for leading the development, drafting, and finalization of the Biodiversity Finance Plan. All reports will be provided to the designated national government institute and, UNDP CO, and validated by the designated national government institute, UNDP CO and the global BIOFIN team. The Finance Advisor is expected to have senior experience and to provide substantial technical expertise in assuring horizontal integration and consistency of workstreams/studies, as well as quality assurance of national products and processes throughout the duration of the national project. He/she will be responsible for relevant sections of the Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure, Review and the Financial Needs Assessment. He/she will lead the preparation of the Biodiversity Finance Plan, and will oversee the identification and implementation of finance solutions as requested. He/she will also specifically be responsible for outreach activities to national (Government, donors delegation, academia, etc.) and relevant international stakeholders, and the preparation of synthesis reports, policy briefs, press releases and briefing notes for Government, UNDP etc. The Finance Advisor will report to UNDP Country Office and the Global BIOFIN Team.

Specific tasks include: Project Management and Leadership

• In consultation with the National Project Coordinator, the UNDP Country Office and global BIOFIN team and supported by the Finance Assistant, elaborate/revise the work plans and budgets.
• With support from the National Project Coordinator, ensure technical activities and administrative requirements are managed and executed in a timely and appropriate manner including within planned budget.
• Participate in recruitment processes for other members of the national BIOFIN team as appropriate.
• Support the formation and management of the National BIOFIN Steering/Advisory Committee.
• Prepare the Inception Workshop and Report.
• Lead project monitoring, reporting and evaluation at national level. Prepare BIOFIN progress reports for submission to UNDP and project partners.
• Establish and maintain links with other national and international programmes (e.g. NBSAP) and projects including UNDP-GEF projects.
• Lead the process of capturing and documenting lessons from project implementation and make recommendations to the National Steering/Advisory Committee for more effective implementation of activities.
• Develop one or more proposals for finance solutions to present to the global BIOFIN team
• Participate in all regional and global BIOFIN webinars and workshops where possible.

Policy Development

• Engage with 2-3 key national policy processes identified in the Inception or Policy and Institutional Review (PIR) stage (e.g. national development and sectoral planning and budgeting), provide inputs into budgets and other policy documents, and
• Provide other inputs into policy development processes as per government requests/emerging opportunities (national/sectoral development plans/NBSAPs/legislation on biodiversity finance) and report on these inputs to the UNDP Country Office and the global BIOFIN team.
• Discuss BIOFIN findings with a range of stakeholders and other related strategic planning projects to identify areas where collaboration can benefit from new insights generated through the BIOFIN Process and vice versa.

Project Outreach and Communication

• Lead an extensive stakeholder consultation/engagement process for the development of all deliverables, involving actors from the public and private sector, civil society and academia.
• Engage national stakeholders and strongly position BIOFIN objectives and processes towards relevant government departments and partner institutions to catalyse transformational outcomes. Ensure the inclusion of organisations representing indigenous/woman/vulnerable groups where possible.
• Work with national and international counterparts, NGOs and other groups to ensure effective coordination and communication of BIOFIN project objectives, activities, and finance solutions and on data and information provision, expert review and verification.
• Train or raise awareness with at least 30 national level colleagues on the basic concepts of biodiversity financing and work to develop the capacity level of government counterparts.
• Edit, print and publish a final Summary for Policy Makers or Policy Briefs (4). Publicise and promote the results and impacts of BIOFIN at the national level.
• Prepare detailed reports and analyses of national BIOFIN project results and impacts including in preparation for COPs and at project’s end.

Technical Tasks and Responsibilities

• Act as principal technical contact for national BIOFIN implementation with the global BIOFIN team with regards to all questions and issues that arise during national implementation.
• Provide key technical leadership on all finance issues and assure horizontal integration and consistency of workstreams/studies.
• Provide technical support to the national BIOFIN team to complete BIOFIN deliverables in a consistent and high quality manner.
• Ensure drafts of all work are sent to the global BIOFIN team regularly to provide backstopping and assure feedback is adequately integrated into national reports.
• Research and write the sections on subsidies and financing incentives in the PIR
• Provide technical support for the data collection, analysis, and conclusions of the BER
• Support the data collection, modelling, quality checking, and validation of the FNA
• Develop a Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) according to the guidance provided by the global BIOFIN team and written guidance documents (especially the BIOFIN Workbook)
• Develop an outline for the BFP for discussion with the UNDP CO and the global BIOFIN team.
• Identify, screen and prioritize specific biodiversity finance mechanism and calculate how much revenue/financial contribution or impact each mechanism may generate.
• Establish and include a detailed plan for implementing key financial mechanisms in the Biodiversity Financing Plan including a timeframe and budget.
• Develop a draft of the Finance Plan based on the BIOFIN workbook and in line with recommendations from the national consultation workshop and submit for discussion to the UNDP CO and the Global BIOFIN team.
• Develop the final version of the Biodiversity Finance Plan for discussion with the Government, UNDP CO and the Global BIOFIN team and present the plan for final review during the validation workshop.
• Steer the initial implementation of the Biodiversity Finance Plan including the preparation, submission and implementation of priority finance solutions. This may include a set of measures or activities addressing legal, institutional, entrepreneurial, financial, awareness, capacity matters to put the BIOFIN results into action. If these activities require outside expertise, draft the Terms of Reference for these additional consultants and assist in their recruitment and activities. Review all deliverables produced and provide feedback to team members to assure quality and impact.
• Ensure all national level outputs are developed in line with the BIOFIN methodology as described in the current version of the BIOFIN Workbook, while at the same time are sufficiently tailored to the national context. Review all national level deliverables and provide detailed feedback to other team members. Liaise with the global BIOFIN team and government to obtain timely feedback on deliverables. Obtain final clearance of each deliverable from government and the global BIOFIN team to enable further dissemination.
• Undertake an exit interview with the UNDP Country Office and the BIOFIN Technical Advisor to document the main lessons learnt during the assignment.

Key deliverables:

• Inception Phase: Inception Workshop, Inception Report
• Biodiversity Finance Policy and Institutional Review (PIR): (I) Sections on subsidies and financing mechanisms of the PIR (II) Draft Report, (III) Initial and Final Workshops and workshop reports, (IV) Quality review with BIOFIN Global (V) Final validated report.
• Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER): (I) Draft analysis (II) Draft Report, (III) Initial and Final Workshops and workshop reports, (IV) Quality review with BIOFIN Global (V) Final validated report
• Financial Needs Assessment (I) Draft analysis (II) Draft Report, (III) Initial and Final Workshops and workshop reports, (IV) Quality review with BIOFIN Global (V) Final validated report
• Biodiversity Finance Plan (I) Initial Analysis (II) Draft Report, (III) Initial and Final Workshops and reports, (IV) Quality review with BIOFIN Global (V) Final validated report
• Finance Solution Implementation: (I) Project proposal (s) for suggested activities, (II) ToR for additional consultants / service contracts, (III) Mid-term and Final Report on the results of implementation.
• Project Synthesis Report and Policy Briefs (with recommendations to government)
• Policy Development: Specific policy recommendations/papers for relevant national/sectoral policy processes.
• Overall transformational process (outreach to government, steering committee, etc.

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Management unit (PMU) will consist of Finance Advisor, National Project Coordinator, Policy and Institutional Expert, Environmental Finance Expert, Finance Specialist, Admin Assistant and will be working under the supervision of UNDP Country Office.

Competencies

Core competencies:

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 3: Ensures effective planning and organisation. Achieves high quality standards, and balances speed and accuracy during implementation.

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 3: Is able to analyse the environment, making linkages that enable the development of integrated solutions. Detects, analyses and evaluates concepts, information and ideas to devise suitable responses to problems demonstrate sound judgement.

Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 3: Shares own knowledge and experiences with others. Keeps own knowledge up to date.

Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 3: Consistently delivers through adapting own approach to the ever changing environment. Handles ambiguity and uncertainty in a constructive way.

Act with Determination:

LEVEL 3: Self-motivated, thinks beyond immediate tasks in order to achieve great results for UNDP. Is resilient and will maintain focus to achieve challenging agendas, remains calm in times of high stress and uncertainty.

Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 3: Utilises a cooperative approach, encourages collaboration and team-working internally and externally. Builds and manages strong working relationships with a wide network of partners, engaging all possible key stakeholders.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 3: Operates honestly and transparently to build trust, facilitates conversations from a neutral position.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Communication:

Written and verbal communication

Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.

Finance:

Financial reporting and analysis

Understands changes in regulatory, legal and ethical frameworks and standards for financial reporting in the public sector. Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring.

Finance:

Financial communication and impact

Ability to report financial information clearly to non-finance leaders. Understands how to clearly communicate sometimes complex financial information to others using easy-to-understand media and language. Challenges effectively and gives and receives constructive feedback.

Strategic Thinking:

Strategies and plans

Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions.

Knowledge Generation:

Research & knowledge

Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context or responsive to a stated need.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Education requirements

Advanced degree (Master’s or Bachelor’s) in finance, business administration (MBA), economics, environmental finance or a closely related field.

Minimum years of relevant work experience

At least 2 years of experience in the management or review of public finance, conservation finance or environmental finance. Or 4 years if with Bachelor’s degree.

Required skills

• Experience in working with international and national experts and institutions.
• Sound understanding of key software packages (MS Office)
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Strong analytical, writing and communication skills.
• Excellent financial and budgetary skills.
• Ability to prepare publications, reports and presentations.
• Ability to manage and work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural team.
• Strong motivation and ability to work and deliver under short deadlines.
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback.
• Able to work independently with little or no supervision.

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

• Familiarity with government planning and budgeting processes strongly desired.
• Exposure to environmental issues or biodiversity desirable.

Required Language(s)

Excellent command of English and Arabic

***This position is open for Egyptian National only