Private Sector Financing Specialist

Volunteering

Overview

Explore and develop innovative financing streams for SDGs in Uzbekistan.

You have:

• Experience in building resource mobilization partnerships in the private sector, including business development and income generation projects linked with SDGs.
• Experience in designing complex public-private projects in the private sector.
• Experience in attracting investments towards SDGs in non-traditional markets, notably in Asia.
• Established track record in innovative financing and social impact investments.
• Knowledge in financing strategies that support SDGs with focus on private sector development.

Contract

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

The Government of Uzbekistan is strongly commitment to achieving the SDGs. In 2018, the 16 national SDGs and their 125 corresponding targets were adopted. Simultaneously, an inter-agency Coordination Council for implementing the national SDG Roadmap was established, along with the creation of a bicameral Parliamentary Commission on SDGs. The COVID-19 crisis slowed down Uzbekistan’s impressive SDG progress. The country’s substantial informal sector is leaving a large amount of people vulnerable and driving up poverty and inequality. Already prior to COVID-19, Uzbekistan’s available SDG financing was increasing too slowly to meet the country’s financing needs. Estimates from 2019 revealed Uzbekistan needs at least an additional, annual investment of USD 6 billion to meet the nationalized SDGs. In 2020, the IMF estimates addressing the external shock and the domestic impact of COVID-19 will require an additional external financing of about USD 4 billion, or 7 percent of GDP. The country’s SDG financing gap is projected to further widen in the immediate future. This DFA projects development finance flows to decrease from USD 55.1 billion (94percent of GDP) in 2019 to USD 45.1 billion (74 percent of GDP) in 2020. From 2021 onwards, total available development finance is projected to hover around 77 percent of GDP. To this end the country has not yet fully used alternative finance options such as the Islamic finance, impact, instruments blended finance, taxation, risk financing, green and impact investments, which could be instrumental to closing the SDG gap financing in Uzbekistan.

Assignment context

The Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa in 2015 opened the debate on mobilizing the financial resources needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. As a result, the Addis Action Agenda suggests adopting Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) to support their national development strategies. These frameworks provide a platform for governments to formulate and apply a strategic, comprehensive, and results-oriented approach to financing their development goals. With this new approach, countries should establish their long- and medium-term strategies to mobilize the financing flows needed to finance the SDGs. UNDP in Uzbekistan has been long standing partner of the Government of Uzbekistan in delivering cutting edge knowledge, expertise and experience not only on environmental and social issues but from the perspective of financing for development. In 2021, UNDP Uzbekistan assisted in developing SDG Bond Framework to the Government of Uzbekistan, which resulted in issuance of 1st SDG Bond in CIS and Central Asian countries. The proceeds for the bond were allocated among 7 nationalized SDGs with amount of USD 235 million throughout the country. Apart from that UNDP in Uzbekistan working on attracting other innovative financing instruments to SDGs such as Islamic financing, blended finance, taxation, risk financing and impact investments.

Under the direct supervision of Programme Associate and overall coordination of Head of Inclusive Growth Cluster at the UNDP Country Office in Uzbekistan, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Programme Associate or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Private Sector Financing Specialist will: • Be responsible for exploring and developing innovative financing streams with corpo-rations, organizations, and foundations to develop new ways of mobilizing financing for SDGs in Uzbekistan, such as impact investments and public/private partnerships. • Support country office with implementing and scaling the UNDP Financing for Devel-opment Portfolio in the country. • Develop project concept notes by leveraging far greater sums of domestic govern-ment resources, IFIs, aligned external financing, in-country donor contributions, and investments from the private sector towards SDGs. • Formulate effective tools, approaches and frameworks to work with the private sector to finance SDGs in Uzbekistan. • Assist in implementing SDG Investor Mapping exercise in the country with strong fo-cus to green and gender related entrepreneurship projects. • The UN Volunteer will report to the Programme Associate/Coordinator for SDG Fi-nancing portfolio. • Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers pro-gramme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through en-gagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activi-ties: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant. • UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service when-ever technically possible.

☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Creativity ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Managing Performance ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Vision ☒ Working in Teams

relevant area. • Demonstrate experience in progressively responsible positions in building resource mobilization partnerships in the private sector, including in business development and income generation projects linked with SDGs. • Demonstrable experience in designing complex public-private projects in the private sec-tor. • Experience in relevant sectors in non-traditional markets, notably in Asia and other parts of the world in attracting investments towards SDGs. • Established track record in innovative financing and social impact investments. • SDG Financing with specific focus on private sector development.

The UN Volunteer is responsible for organizing her/his own accommodation. Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan and Central Asia's premier metropolis, betrays little of its 2,000-year history as a crossroads of ancient trade routes. This modern city of 2.5 million people, the fourth largest in the CIS after Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev, holds many attractions, from imposing squares, monumental architecture, and fine museums to the mud-brick maze of the old Uzbek town, autumn colours on dappled poplar lanes and the sweet spray of fountains on burning summer days. Rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake, Tashkent comprises concrete apartment blocks decorated with Uzbek motifs and illuminated slogans, yawning parade grounds around solemn monuments, and a remarkably comprehensive public transport system. Tashkent offers an array of different housing options from which the volunteer may choose. Volunteers are responsible for securing their own accommodation.

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unv.org