Climate Change Specialist- LoCAL at UNDP
Background
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UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. The Local Transformative Finance Practice aims to be a centre of excellence and innovation fund for local government finance. Over a 30-year period the Practice has developed deep expertise in intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGTF), local development funds, public financial management and performance-based grants. LTF supports policy reforms and advocates for a greater appreciation and use of IGTF and performance based local government financing mechanisms in development finance.
On the basis of this experience, LTF designed and manages the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), which is a mechanism to integrate climate change into local authorities’ planning and budgeting through the regular intergovernmental fiscal transfer system using performance-based grants in a participatory and gender-sensitive manner, increase awareness and capacities to respond to climate change at the local level including through ecosystem-based solutions, and increase the quality and number of local investments that address climate change. LoCAL combines performance-based climate resilience grants (PBCRGs), which ensure the programming and verification of change expenditures at the local level, with technical and capacity-building support. It uses the grants and demonstration effect to trigger further flows for local climate action including global climate finance and national fiscal transfers. LoCAL also aims to support private finance for small and medium businesses and municipal finance and public-private partnerships. LoCAL is presently working with 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and the Pacific, and has cumulatively mobilised over US$170m for more than 2,100 adaptation projects. In the Pacific, LoCAL is currently working in Tuvalu and Solomon Islands, with programs under design in a number of other countries.
In Tanzania, LoCAL is implemented in collaboration with the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG). LoCAL was piloted in three districts of the Dodoma region, i.e., Chamwino, Mpwapwa and Kondoa, potentially benefiting more than 800,000 people, particularly women. The identified districts have so far been able to access climate finance by using the established PBCRG mechanism to support implementation of climate change adaptation investments, mostly related to water and agriculture.
Building on lessons learned during the pilot phase in Dodoma region, Phase II of implementation, also covering the expansion in the coastal region in Tanzania, is expected to achieve LoCAL’s overall objectives through increasing target Districts’ capacities to access to climate finance to plan, budget, and implement locally led climate resilient public investments, through a performance-based climate resilience grant (PBCRG) system. In collaboration with PO-RALG, LoCAL will specifically promote activities to strengthen capacities and increase understanding of national counterparts, target regional secretariats, districts and their communities on issues such as climate change, including climate risks, mainstreaming climate change adaptation into Districts’ plans and budgeting processes, improved community participation, enhanced governance and transparency, reporting and monitoring. LoCAL support in the coastal areas of Tanzania will also include building capacities to develop integrated climate risk informed coastal management plans while paying special attention to sustainable productive sectors in coastal ecosystems.
Duties and Responsibilities
Reporting to the Programme Management Specialist and in close collaboration with national counterparts, the Climate Change Specialist will support the integration of climate change into sub-national planning and programming and works under the overall guidance of the Global Manager, P-5, based in Kampala, Uganda and in close collaboration with the LoCALNational Coordinator, LoCAL global Facility and LTF colleagues across the region. The Climate Change Specialist in Dodoma will directly support PORALG’s capacity to coordinate and report on national climate change adaptation efforts and the implementation of LoCAL in Dodoma region.
The Climate Change Specialist will engage with PORALG/ local government authorities in the coastal areas to provide technical advice on climate change issues and environmental sustainability to government counterparts at national and sub-national levels; including on climate change information and assessments and climate mainstreaming. The incumbent will support the integration of environment and climate considerations into LoCAL; which will include supporting establishment of a national system; and supporting the assessment of grant interventions to ensure they are in alignment with the target areas under the national LoCAL design.
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The Climate Change Specialist will contribute to the daily implementation of the project, including overall gender-sensitive planning, oversight and monitoring of project implementation and financial reporting and program communications and knowledge sharing. The position will also support work on gender equality and social inclusion (with a focus on women, youth and marginalized communities), to progress objectives on gender and environment and social safeguards. The Climate Change Specialist will play a key role in supporting regional outreach, knowledge and experience sharing, and communications for the program. The Climate Change Specialist will also support programme monitoring and reporting, as required.
Summary of key functions:
- Ensure Effective Programme Management
- Provision of Technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders
- Facilitate Knowledge Management and Communication
- Ensure Effective Networking and Partnership Building
1.Ensure Effective Program Management:
- Execute, (liaise with PORALG and LGAs) to oversee and monitor the day-to-day implementation of selected activities related to climate change, with a focus on women, youth and marginalized communities;
- Build effective and efficient partnerships at the operational level with national counterparts and other UN agencies, to coordinate selected activities in country;
- Contribute to the preparation and timely submission of comprehensive technical and financial reports in line with contractual agreements including semi-annual reporting;
- Contribute to the management of the risk log of the project;
- Ensure the timely and effective management of the activities as scheduled;
- Provide technical advice and capacity building for the piloting and establishment of a national local information system for local climate risk assessments (including projections and mapping) addressing hazards, vulnerabilities and exposure of local councils and wards in relation to climate change including desk review, data collection, preliminary design of the system, analytical writing, piloting, consultation and validation and gradual deployment of the local climate information system;
- Provide technical advice and capacity building for the integration of environment and climate change adaptation in the local government authorities’ development plans, budgets and investment plans;
- Provide technical advice and capacity building for the adequate integration of environment and climate considerations (e.g., specifications) in the investments delivered through LoCAL’s ;
- Coordinate the roll out and use of the Assessing Climate Change Adaptation Framework (ACCAF) at the District level;
- Contribute to the technical dialogue and provision of technical advisory services to national and local government counterparts in relation to climate change information and assessments, climate mainstreaming, climate finance and access to climate finance;
- Provide technical guidance to the PORALG’s process of accreditation to the GCF.
2. Provision of Technical Advice to Government Counterparts and Key Stakeholders:
- Provide technical advice on climate change issues and environmental sustainability to government counterparts at national and sub-national levels;
- Prepare and adapt inputs to policy briefs/position papers that address links between climate change and other development concerns, in collaboration with other practices such as governance, poverty reduction, gender, crisis prevention and recovery, and capacity development;
- Explore the potential for private sector partnerships on climate change and explore opportunities for carbon/environmental financing;
- Promote information sharing and facilitate dialogue within the donor community by initiating and/or participating in consultative meetings and preparing briefs and policy papers on climate change.
3. Facilitate Knowledge Management and Communication:
- Identify key knowledge constraints and organize learning, knowledge exchange, training, workshops, etc. to build the awareness and capacities on relevant themes (i.e. climate change, local climate risk assessments, environmental sustainability, mainstreaming, in support of women and youth employment, etc.);
- Develop a communications plan for the programme, and contribute to the implementation of the plan, working in collaboration with the Project team, partners and others;
- Regional exchange of knowledge and experience, through systematically identifying, collecting and disseminating best practices and lesson learned from the program;
- Manage the process of convening national and regional stakeholders or producing information and communication products to share lessons learned on selected themes.
4. Ensure Effective Networking and Partnership Building:
- Establish and maintain close working relationships with the Ministry of Finance, the Vice President’s Office (VPO) , and other key stakeholders at various levels in order to support the quality of the execution of the PBCRG system and its key results areas;
- Organize consultative meetings, seminars and workshops to drive analytical and policy work of the program;
- Serve as the UNCDF LoCAL’s focal point in working groups and steering committees on the issue of environment and climate change adaptation and related sectors and provide inputs for conducive policy and regulatory environment;
- Develop strategies to mobilize additional resources based on programme requirements and new opportunities;
- Negotiating and finalizing partnership agreements, MOUs, and other formal agreements with relevant parties;
- Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of partnerships and networking activities, and making adjustments as necessary to optimize outcomes;
- Keeping abreast of industry trends, developments, and best practices related to networking and partnership building, and incorporating relevant insights into the organization’s strategies and activities;
- Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
The incumbent performs other duties within their
functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of
the Office and the Organization.
Institutional Arrangement
Reporting to the Programme Management Specialist and in close collaboration with national counterparts, the Climate Change Specialist will support the integration of climate change into sub-national planning and programming and works under the overall guidance of the Global Manager, P-5, based in Kampala, Uganda and in close collaboration with National Coordinator.
Dodoma, Tanzania:
The Climate Change Specialist in Dodoma will provide technical guidance to PORALG in coordinating and reporting on national climate change adaptation efforts at the same time improve the quality of the PBCRGS to attract further financial flows for local adaptation, including national fiscal transfers and to work towards direct access to international climate funds, such as the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund. The technical support will enhance the capacity of PORALG to integrate climate change adaptation in the existing planning and reporting platform (PlanRep) based on the ACCAF to ensure evidence-based adaptation gains made by the initiative.
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
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Business Direction & Strategy: System Thinking
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement 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 Management: Portfolio Management
- Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.
Partnership Management: Multi-stakeholder Engagement and Funding
- Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms.
Communication Advocacy Strategy
- Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change.
2030 Agenda: Planet: Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery
- Climate Risk Management
- Disaster and Climate Risk Governance.
2030 Agenda: Planet Nature, Climate and Energy
- Climate Change Policies: Governance / integrated planning for climate change investments in the context of urbanization
- Climate Change Adaptation: strategies
- Climate Change Policies: Climate Finance
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced University degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Environmental Science and Management, Climate Science, Geographic Studies, International Development, Economics, Statistics, or a related field is required. Or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor´s degree) in the above areas in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- A minimum of five (5) years (with Master´s degree) or seven (7) years (with Bachelor´s degree) of experience in progressively more responsible positions in the field of climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental management, and/or climate science applied to development is required.;
- Experience and knowledge of climate change issues and its potential impacts on local economic development is required;
- Experience in policy analysis, development work in the area of climate change and related issues is required;
- Familiarity with and contributions to high-level policy dialogues and advisory functions involving high-level government counterparts and other stakeholders is required;
- Experience working with local governments and local communities on climate change policy, regulatory and or/technical services desired;
- Work experience with central government and Ministry of Environment and knowledge of government systems is highly desirable;
- Experience in working with government or an international organization is an asset;
- Experience in advising on climate change adaptation and energy policy development a major asset;
- Experience of designing, developing, and using knowledge products, mentoring, training, or outreach, in the context of climate change is highly desirable;
- Experience in strong networking capabilities and ability to associate him/herself with a range of actors (inter alia central and local governments; policy makers; national statistics office and donors, local communities, women and youth) with a view to building relations and facilitating links is desired;
- Experience and knowledge of the UNFCCC process and the role of climate finance is an advantage;
- Knowledge of current practices in gender and social inclusion (women, youth and marginalized communities) is desired;
- At least four (4) years of experience related to environmental assessments, climate risk, and vulnerability assessments, climate modelling, geographical information system (GIS), and/or risk mapping, in particular at the local level is desired.
Language Requirement:
- Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required.
Disclaimer
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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