Apply for the Home based Technical Specialist on Performance-based Climate Finance at UNDP!
Technical Specialist on Performance-based Climate Finance – IPSA-10 – Home based – (part-time, 80%)
Technical Specialist on Performance-based Climate Finance Job Description
The UNDP Climate Hub is responsible for:
- Thought leadership on Climate and to be the custodian of UNDP policy positions on Climate;
- Strategy and vision formulation;
- Pipeline development in coordination with the other hubs and the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Unit;
- Provision of integrated policy and programme support to Country Offices (CO);
- Global engagement, advocacy in collaboration with BERA;
- Integration across thematic areas;
- Strategic Partnerships development and resource mobilization;
- Lead and Support global flagship initiatives and partnerships on Climate;
- Serve as focal point with relevant UN coordination mechanisms and Conventions (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change);
- Cross-organization knowledge and learning; and
- Innovation.
Climate change mitigation is essential to fulfilling commitments to the Paris Agreement temperature goals. UNDP supports countries in their emission reduction plans, contributing to ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Stabilization of global temperatures cannot be achieved without reducing emissions from the forest sector. UNDP’s approach to forestry aligns with SDG 15 and contributes to UNDP’s ‘signature solution’ on environment and nature-based solutions for development.
The Climate & Forest team is a global team, with management based in Geneva, global advisors in New York, and regional teams located in UNDP’s Regional Centres in Bangkok, Panama, and Nairobi, which support the UNDP country offices and partners in their regions.
The Technical Specialist is expected to support the UNDP Climate and Forest Programme in the implementation of its portfolio of GCF and Carbon Markets projects which make use of UNDP’s Performance-Based Payment (PBP) Instrument. The PBP instrument is currently under use in Costa Rica, Indonesia, and Ecuador. PBPs are a new type of agreement between UNDP and a responsible party (RP) to provide funding upon the verified achievement of an agreed measurable development results, through a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
PBPs may be used under a project implemented by UNDP, where a RP is selected to take programmatic and financial accountability for delivering specified results. No cash advances are provided, rather payments are made only upon the verified achievement of agreed results by an independent assessor (IA).
Technical Specialist Duties and Responsibilities
The Technical Specialist will provide UNDP and partner countries with technical support on performance-based climate finance, including on UNDP’s PBP instrument, through UNDP´s Climate and Forest Programme. The support will be at diverse levels, as follows.
- Support the implementation of the PBP Agreement in Costa Rica
- Provide technical inputs to support the implementation and monitoring of the PBP Agreement (PBP-A).
- Assist CO and government counterparts on the preparation and undertaking of the independent assessment process.
- Contribute to the constant improvement of the implementation of the PBP instrument.
- Ensure government officials and stakeholders engaged in the PBP-A are well informed on best practices and innovations on performance-based finance mechanisms.
- Support the implementation fo the PBP Agreement in Ecuador
- Advise on tailored approaches to use UNDP´s PBP instrument in Ecuador´s GCF Results Based Payments (RBP)s project, notably to support Decentralized Autonomous Local Governments (GADs for the Spanish acronym), including the transfer of lessons learned from Costa Rica to Ecuador.
- Engage with Government counterparts, Project Manageent Unit (PMU) and stakeholders in training and information sessions.
- Review GADs contracts and ensure consistency with the use of PBP instrument.
- Support the development of GADs monitoring reports.
- Ensure all documentation is adequately reported to the IA by the RP.
- Liaise with the IA, in coordination with the PMU and CO, to assist the independent assessment process.
- Contribute to the implementation of the second and subsequent assessment and payment cycles.
- Contribute to the constant improvement of the implementation of the PBP instrument.
- Liaise with Climate and Forest and CO safeguards experts to identify approaches to incorporate social and environmental safeguards in the implementation of the PBP-A.
- Assist on the identification and scoping of new opportunities to use the PBP instrument, including through other performance-based climate finance iniciatives like carbon markets.
- Support the implementation of the PBP Agreement in Indonesia
- Review and support the integration of Indonesia´s PBP-A revised validation methodology by the IA for the second and subsequent payment cycles.
- Assist on the uptake of the revised validation methodology towards the second and subsequent payment cycles.
- Review the technical approaches proposed by the IA to integrate relevant lessons learned from the application of the PBP-A validation methodology in the first payment cycle and from other countries, as applicable.
- Assist the country team on carryong on the independent assessment process.
- Contribute to the constant improvement of the implementation of the PBP instrument.
- Support scoping, design and potential implementation of the PBP instrument in Brazil
- Assist on scoping the potential use of the PBP instrument in Brazil´s GCF RBPs project, as well as on other initiatives like carbon markets engagement at the federal or State levels.
- Provide technical inputs to inform the design of a PBP-A, based on the national specific carachteristics and relevant legislation.
- Assist on the potential design and implementation of the PBP-A, including the validation methodology.
- Provide technical inputs to support the potential implementation of the PBP-A, including the different payment cycles, whether under the RBPs project or through carbon markets engagements.
- Support scoping, design and potential implementation of performance-based ecosystem services payment schemes, including the UNDP/PBP instrument, in other countries
- Assist on the scoping and appraisal of the potential use of the PBP instrument in new countries where there is demand or an intention to explore its use, including but not limited to GCF RBPs programmes and financial programmes under carbon markets.
- Help design the PBP-A in selected countries, as requested and deemed a priority by the Climate and Forest team and relevant COs.
- Support with the monitoring and adjustment of PBP-As.
- Support knowledge management & South-South cooperation efforts at the global level
- Foster knowledge exchange on the use of UNDP’s PBP instrument and other performance-based climate finance schemes through supporting South-South exchanges and other types of learning events, so to share lessons, best practice, and knowledge.
- Systematize the UNDP PBP processes, including elaboration of briefs, presentations, papers, and content for a learning programme, among others.
- Analyse and provide inputs to replicate the PBP instrument in other areas of work, additional to Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes (i.e., work on sustainable and deforestation-free production, or other type of measures included in prioritized countries´ NDC forest and land-use sector).
- Participate in technical sessions and team discussions where the implementation of the PBP instrument in the UNDP Climate portfolio is being analysed.
- Contribute to the development of knowledge management (KM) products aimed at sharing lessons and best practice, internally in UNDP and externally.
Technical Specialist Institutional Arrangements
The overall supervision of the Technical Specialist will be provided by the Global Advisor on Policies and Investments of the UNDP Climate & Forests team, who will coordinate with specific Regional Technical Advisors to supervise work at the country level.
The Technical Specialist will cooperate with UNDP professionals in the UNDP Climate Hub and across UNDP hubs and offices, particularly with domains related to performance-based climate finance such as social & environmental safeguards, knowledge management, gender, Indigenous Peoples and carbon markets. The Technical Specialist will deliver country work in close cooperation with UNDP COs, PMUs, national counterparts and relevant stakeholders.
Travel to countries and to the field will be required. Such travel, subject to (local) Covid-19 health restrictions, shall be at UNDP’s expense in accordance with UNDP’s travel guidance and policy.
Technical Specialist 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
Technical Specialist Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
| Thematic Area | Name | Definition |
| Business Direction & Strategy | System Thinking | Hability to use objective problem analysis and judgment to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system. |
| Business Development | Knowledge Generation | Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need. |
| Business Management | Results-based Management | Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results. |
| Buesiness Management | Digital Awareness and Literacy | Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skill fully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed. |
| Business Management | Working with Evidence and Data | Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform, and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. |
| 2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness | Effectiveness | Performance and data analysis and sharing lessons. |
| 2030 Agenda: Planet | Climate Hub | Climate and Forests: National REDD+ strategies and Processes, and REDD+/UNFCCC access to emission reduction results-based payments (from GCF or carbon markets). |
Technical Specialist Required Skills and Experience
| Min. Education requirements | Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Environmental management, Sustainable Development, Economics, or other relevant field. Bachelor’s degree with seven (7) years of relevant professional experience is acceptable. |
| Min. years of relevant work experience | A minimum of five (5) years with master’s degree or seven (7) years with bachelor’s degree of relevant professional experience in the formulation and/or evaluation of projects and programmes related to the environment, forests, climate change, agroforestry, or resource management. Among them, at least four (4) consultancies/previous professional experiences in performance-based monitoring and evaluation for large environmental programmes. At least one (1) year of cumulative experience in designing or implementing performance-based instruments in development projects. |
| Required skills | Extensive knowledge of environmental, social, climate, or safeguards issues. Experience in quantitative and qualitative analysis of environmental and social impacts. Experience or work related to the implementation of UNDP´s performance-based payment policy. |
| Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section | Previous experience/consultancy work related to REDD+ or Green Climate Fund Programming is an advantage. |
| Required Language(s) | Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Fluency in written and spoken Spanish is required. |
| Professional Certificates | N/A |
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