Technical Specialist

Contract

This is a IPSA-10 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-10 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.

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.

Travel:

If travel is required, and subject to (local) Covid-19 health permission, such travel shall be at UNDP’s expense in accordance with UNDP’s travel guidance and policy, and the personnel shall receive a per diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate.

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. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

Climate change mitigation – or reducing greenhouse gas emissions - is essential to fulfilling commitments to the Paris Agreement and limiting the global mean temperature increase to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels. UNDP, with more than 280 climate change mitigation projects and programs in over 110 countries, is a key actor supporting countries in their emission reduction plans, contributing to ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions. Activities in energy, as well as forests and agriculture, will be critical to meeting global mitigation objectives.

UNDP’s approach to forestry aligns with the SDG 15 and contributes to UNDP's 'signature solution' on environment and nature-based solutions for development. Deforestation and forest degradation accounts for more than 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and the stabilization of global temperatures cannot be achieved without reducing emissions from the forest sector. UNDP's Climate and Forests team supports countries to conserve and sustainably manage forests and ensure sustainable and equitable development paths that lead towards carbon neutrality.

More information here: www.climateandforests-undp.org.

Nature, Climate, and Energy Team

UNDP’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan emphasizes the critical links between environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and broader efforts to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP’s Nature, Climate Change, and Energy (NCE) Team promotes and scales up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas.

The NCE Team works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate natural capital, environment and climate concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies; support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements; and implement the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming on environment, climate change, and energy. This multi-billion dollar portfolio encompasses: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services including forests; Sustainable Land Management and Desertification including food and commodity systems; Water and Ocean Governance including SIDS; Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation; Renewable and Modern Energy; Extractive Industries; Chemicals and Waste Management; Environmental Governance and Green/Circular Economy and SCP approaches. This work advances crosscutting themes on innovative finance, digital transformation, capacity development, human rights, gender equality, health, technology, and South-South learning. UNDP's Nature, Climate and Energy practice spans 137 countries, with a portfolio directly benefiting 86 million people. Our support to Governments focusses on enabling an inclusive, resilient, green recovery by: building competency to accelerate access to sustainable energy and climate and nature-positive policies and finance; scaling capacity to ensure No One is Left Behind; catalysing SDG and Paris-aligned investments (public and private); delivering client-focused solutions that respond to countries' immediate, mid- and long-term recovery and socio-economic development priorities; and leveraging our on-the-ground presence and networks to unlock bottom-up solutions that deliver lasting impacts at country level.

In addition to UNDP’s bilateral partnerships on nature climate and energy, UNDP is an accredited multilateral implementing agency of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Multilateral Fund (MLF), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) which includes the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (GEF Trust Fund); the Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF); the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF); and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). As part of UNDP’s partnership with these vertical funds, UNDP provides countries specialized integrated technical services for eligibility assessment, programme formulation, capacity development, policy advice, technical assistance, training and technology transfer, mobilization of co-financing, implementation oversight, results management and evaluation, performance-based payments and knowledge management services. The Nature, Climate and Energy Team focuses on managing the oversight of climate and environmental financial resources from global.

trust funds to catalyze and unlock other types of public and private financing for sustainable development. This includes oversight of the design as well as implementation phase of projects (together with Country Offices and Regional Bureaus), as well as portfolio level oversight and management.

Climate Change Mitigation Programme

To avoid an irreversible climate crisis, we need to halve global emissions by 2030, and have carbon-neutral economies by 2050. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions – or climate change mitigation - is essential to fulfilling commitments to the Paris Agreement and limiting global mean temperature increase to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels. All sectors, including energy, transportation, industry, forests, and land-use/agriculture must make a meaningful contribution towards achieving carbon neutrality. UNDP, as the largest implementer of climate change support within the UN system, plays a critical role by supporting countries in their emission reduction plans. With a commitment to providing long-term development support, our mitigation portfolio currently comprises of over 280 projects and programmes in over 110 countries. Together with our partners, UNDP supports countries to take ambitious climate action, advance Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and use a wide range of strategies and approaches across energy, forestry, and land-use/agriculture sectors.

(a) Climate and Forests Programme

Forests support the livelihoods of over 1 billion people and host the largest share of the world’s biodiversity. UNDP provides expertise in stakeholder engagement, social and environmental safeguards, governance, institutional coordination, strategic planning, implementation of policies and measures to address drivers of deforestation, access to innovative finance and accessing results-based payments. UNDP also facilitates the necessary partnerships to address the complex elements of the REDD+ process.

Institutional Arrangement

This assignment is home-based with possible mission travels if proven indispensable and subject to Covid-19 health regulations permit.

The selected candidate will be under the supervision of the Principal Technical Advisor, BPPS/NCE Climate & Forests Programme. S/he will help position UNDP as a world leader in the provision of technical advisory services related to the contribution of forests to ambitious climate change targets.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

UNDP’s Climate and Forests programme consists of a portfolio of partnerships, projects and initiatives that reaches some 65 countries throughout the three major tropical forest areas (Amazonia, Congo and Southeast Asia) and provides direct technical assistance to a growing number of countries and jurisdictions. Furthermore, the Climate and Forests programme has been selected to support the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCFTF) initiative. This involves supporting sub-national jurisdictions from tropical forests countries participating in the initiative to develop strategies and investment plans and implement projects for innovative forested landscape transformation.

In this context, the Climate and Forests team requires the services of a Technical Specialist to provide technical and policy advisory services to national and sub-national counterparts on Climate & Forest related matters.

As a member of the UNDP Climate and Forests Programme, the Technical Specialist will also contribute to the overall success of the team, engage effectively with team members, support the delivery of the UNDP global project, and contribute to the overall portfolio as needed.

Technical Specialist have regular contact with UNDP Country Offices and national counterparts throughout the project cycle for UNDP programmes and projects related to Climate and Forests. In all cases, Technical Specialist make recommendations to the UNDP Resident Representative on necessary courses of action in response to changes in the country context and new programme and resource mobilization opportunities. The Technical Specialist will also support UNDP’s contribution to the GCFTF initiative, provide substantive input towards the implementation of projects under the initiative’s Innovation Funding (Window B) and thus play a significant role in ensuring the overall objectives of the initiative are met.

Specifically, the Technical Specialist is expected to:

• Provide high-quality technical and policy advisory services to national and sub-national counterparts on Climate & Forest related matters with a particular geographic focus on Brazil and Mexico and, in addition, Ecuador for GCFTF jurisdictions;
• Provide implementation support to UNDP Country Offices and national and jurisdictional counterparts for the Climate and Forests portfolio, with particular focus on supporting the implementation of the REDD+ results-based payments for results achieved by Brazil in the Amazon biome in 2014 and 2015 Project;
• Contribute to UNDP’s efforts to raise Nature-Based ambitions in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions;
• Develop, formulate and review programs and initiatives, with the associated resource mobilization when needed;
• Share Climate and Forests knowledge and communicate results.

Competencies

UN CORE VALUES AND COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients " and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Academic Education

Master’s degree in environmental management, international development, public policy or other closely related field.

Min. years of relevant Work experience

• Minimum of 5 years practical/progressive working experience in developing countries on environment issues, including climate change, forest carbon, or REDD+.

Required skills

• Demonstrated experience in project development, implementation and management;
• Experience in climate, forest and biodiversity conservation issues, environment policies, and/or governance systems in the countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region;
• Knowledge of the national context of Brazil and Mexico is essential.

Desired additional skills

• Previous experience working within UNDP is an advantage.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

• Excellent knowledge of the English language, with exceptional writing, presentation and communication skills;
• Working knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese is desirable.