Regional Technical Specialist for Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Locations: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Apply Before: 11/19/2023, 05:59 AM. Job Schedule: Full time
Agency: UNDP. Grade: P3. Vacancy Type: Fixed Term. Practice Area: Nature, Climate and Energy
Bureau: Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. Contract Duration: 1 Year with Possibility for extension
Education & Work Experience: Master’s Degree – 5 year(s) experience OR Bachelor’s Degree – 7 year(s) experience. Required Languages: English and French
Desired Languages: Portuguese and/or other UN languages. Vacancy Timeline: 1 Week
Job Description: Regional Technical Specialist for Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
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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.
Duties and Responsibilities
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.
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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.
BPPS’s Hubs on Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste, with the support of the Vertical Fund Programme Support Oversight and Compliance Unit, works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate nature, climate, energy and waste related concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy and waste. 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;
- Sustainable 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.
In addition to UNDP’s bilateral partnerships in Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste, UNDP is an accredited multilateral implementing agency of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Multilateral Fund (MLF), the Adaptation Fund (AF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
As part of UNDP’s partnership with these vertical funds (VFs), UNDP’s Vertical Fund Programme Support Oversight and Compliance Unit supports UNDP’s Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste related Hubs and 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.
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The newly established UNDP Climate Hub is the arrowhead of UNDP’s commitment to the “Climate Promise” that aims to support programming countries designing and implementing pledges under the Paris Agreement, including ambitious National Determined Contributions, with climate change mitigation and adaptation interventions fully embedded in the national development planning and budgetary processes.
The Climate Hub will build on UNDP’s existing over USD 4 billion country-level climate portfolio on Climate Change Policies and Strategies, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate and Forests, covering over 142 countries, as well as on UNDP’s Nature portfolio, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP’s Digital offer and other relevant portfolios on youth, gender, health, climate security among others.
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;
- 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 Adaptation Programme
Climate change could drive an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030. Countries have increasingly included adaptation priorities in their NDCs pointing to issues of water and food security, safeguarding economic assets from extreme climate events and disasters, and protection and regeneration of natural capital. Building on the experiences and lessons from a portfolio of initiatives in over 137 countries, UNDP advances a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to accelerate adaptation and continues to support countries to mobilize public and private finance to implement their adaption priorities.
UNDP assists government partners to scale up the integration of climate change adaptation into policy, planning, and investments at both national and local levels through the support to the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process and the NDCs. UNDP supports climate change adaptation action in the context of agriculture and food security, water resources, coastal zone management, ecosystems protection, public health, resilient infrastructure, urban resilience, livelihoods, and climate information/early warnings.
UNDP works with governments, private sector, academia, and civil society to build capacities to implement transformative approaches to securing resilient lives, livelihoods, ecosystems, and markets, particularly focusing on the most vulnerable and marginalized. With a portfolio of adaptation projects and programmes across 100+ countries, UNDP is a key actor within the UN System in supporting countries to access and catalyze public and private finance to implement their adaptation priorities in the context of the SDG agenda.
The strategic objective of the Climate Change Adaptation Team is to develop the capacity of national and sub-national Governments for adaptation planning and support countries in accessing, mobilizing, and implementing adaptation finance for resilient development. To achieve this, the team focuses its efforts on the following signature programmes:
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- Supporting integration of climate risks into national/sub-national planning and budgeting: Supports national and sub-national governments (with focus on Ministries of Finance and planning bodies) to develop and strengthen policies, institutions, capacities and knowledge for climate-risk informed medium- to long-term planning, and to make use of the full range of public and private financing mechanisms to support adaptation investments;
- Advancing resilient Livelihoods, Food and Agricultural systems, Water Security, Coastal Zone management, and Ecosystems: Advances climate resilient livelihoods across vulnerable sectors and populations promoting socio-economic development, especially for the poor, women, and indigenous peoples. Also, provides assistance to country-led efforts on gender-responsive, climate change risk management in the context of food security and resilient agriculture, water resources, coastal zone development, ecosystem restoration and management, public health, and climate change-related disaster risks;
- Strengthening Climate Information and Early Warning Systems for Climate Resilient Development: Supports the development of climate information and Early Warning Systems (EWS) across a range of countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific in order to help them respond to both short-term/rapid onset climatic hazards (e.g. cyclones, floods and storms), as well as long-term/slow onset hazards (e.g. drought and long-term climate change).
- Promoting private sector engagement in adaptation: Supports the engagement of private sector in the adaptation portfolio through understanding of barriers, risks, and opportunities to the private sector in adaptation. Works with the private sector experts and other RTS/RTAs to help design and deliver projects that advance unlocking of private sector investments to support adaptation on the ground.
Position Purpose:
The Regional Technical Specialist for Climate Change Adaptation is primarily responsible for providing high quality technical policy, programming, implementation support and oversight, and knowledge and capacity development services to UNDP country offices in the region. Secondary clients might include other UN agencies, governments and inter-governmental organizations, NGO’s, donors, and the like.
The Regional Technical Specialist (RTS) will work under the overall supervision of the senior Regional Technical Specialist for CCA based in Addis Ababa. The incumbent will also work in close collaboration with other Regional Technical Specialists and Advisors at both global and regional levels, and the Environment Regional Team Leader for Africa region. The RTS will be part of the Climate Hub and located in the Regional Hub for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia supporting country offices in the region and is expected to travel frequently.
Key Duties and Accountabilities:
Innovation, Strategic Leadership, Dialogue and Advocacy:
- Provide support to establishing and maintaining a strategic understanding of, and engagement with, the substantive technical issues, institutions, and processes within the region, including establishing contact with and developing strategic partnerships with other agencies, donors, NGO’s, the private sector, scientific institutions and the like;
- Contributing to identification, development and implementation of new strategic programming opportunities and partnerships in the area of climate change adaptation, green, low-emission and climate resilient development, and resilient economic development and sustainable livelihood;
- Participating in global retreats, focal area retreats, regional strategic planning, pipeline management exercises, etc.;
- Participating in cross-substantive area technical dialogue, common strategic visioning, mainstreaming, programming, and other collaboration within the regional team;
- Assist in keeping the Regional Team informed of trends and issues with respect to the substantive technical area.
Programming and Management:
- Supporting the development of strategic policy and guidance for strengthening UNDP Country Offices with climate change adaptation project design and implementation including alignment with national priorities;
- Assisting the development of and advocacy for specific policy analysis and development tools and guidance in support of programming and finance for climate change adaptation;
- Supporting the establishment of a trusted leadership role for UNDP Climate Hub and Vertical Fund Unit within the region;
- Sourcing of technical expertise and support including assisting with the preparation of TORs, identification and evaluation of experts and reviewing reports;
- Contributing to regional retreats, focal area retreats, regional strategic planning, pipeline management exercises, etc.;
- Promoting gender equity/empowerment in programming opportunities;
- Helping to ensure that strategies and projects are aligned to country outcomes and UNDP corporate environment results in internal UNDP project tracking systems;
- Providing inputs necessary to maintain quality and accurate data in and for project management in the internal systems such as PIMS+ and portfolio delivery rates; monitor project risks, risk management action plan and ensure timely escalation as appropriate and needed. Monitoring to ensure expected quality standards are maintained in project implementation reviews;
- Supporting the Regional Hub to internalize lessons from evaluations in programming in the region.
Resource Mobilization:
- Assist in the provision of timely quality information and technical advice on source of funds policies, priorities and activities;
- Provide technical advice and inputs, review, quality assure concepts and project documents for submission to donors;
- Support the coordination of design, preparation, submission and approval of project proposals and requests for project development financing;
- Support the liaison with potential (co)financing agencies and institutions.
Quality Assurance and Development Impact:
- Assisting with inception, contracting, and startup of projects including establishment of indicators, benchmarks and work plans;
- Supporting UNDP Country Offices in the supervision, implementation oversight and monitoring, evaluation, troubleshooting, and adaptive management of approved projects, including preparing and reviewing and quality assurance of annual reports and work plans;
- Maintaining project and portfolio information and corporate information systems;
- Developing guidance and tools for country offices to utilize in operationalizing projects inception, contracting and startup of projects including establishment of indicators, benchmarks and work plans;
- Supporting COs and RBA on country and regional priorities, liaising with other regional hub practices.
Learning, Knowledge Management and Self Development:
- Evaluating, capturing, codifying, synthesizing lessons and stimulating the uptake of best practices and knowledge, including the development of resource kits and other knowledge materials;
- Peer reviewing, commenting on, and seeking to improve, the technical quality of projects, policies, practices, guidelines, advisory notes, publications and the like;
- Assisting with preparation of regional Community of Practice meetings;
- Preparing and delivering training courses, as needed;
- Developing knowledge products of relevance to UNDP Climate Hub’s support to countries on low emission climate resilient development in the area of climate change adaptation;
- Developing and carrying out a personal learning plan.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Senior Advisor, Climate and Energy – PACT
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: Supervision, performance management, and development of direct reports will be required.
Competencies
Core:
Achieve Results:
- Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively:
- Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously:
- Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility:
- Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination:
- Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner:
- Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion:
- Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
- Cross-Functional & Technical:
Business Direction & Strategy – Effective Decision Making:
- Ability to take decisions in a time and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources
Business Development – UNDP Representation:
- Ability to represent UNDP and productively share UNDP knowledge and activities; advocate for UNDP, its values, mission, and work with various constituencies
Business Management – Results-based Management:
- Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
Business Management – Project Management:
- Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
Partnership Management – Relationship management:
- Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding
2030 Agenda: Planet – Nature, Climate and Energy:
- Climate change adaptation
Business Management – Communication:
- Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels.
- Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels.
Required Skills and Experience: Regional Technical Specialist for Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Education:
- Master’s degree or higher in environmental economics, environmental law, natural resources management, sustainable development, climate change adaptation/mitigation, international development with a specialization in climate change adaptation, environment and development, or other closely related field.
- Candidates in possession of a relevant first level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) may be considered provided they possess an additional two years of relevant work experience.
Experience:
- Master’s degree and minimum of 5 years’ experience, or Bachelor’s degree and 7 years’ experience, working with developing countries on climate change adaptation and/or community-level finance (e.g. microfinance);
- Minimum of 3 years of experience in providing technical research in support of formulation of projects/programmes/ proposals;
- Minimum of 3 years of experience with project development, implementation, and/or management in business-oriented or private sector platform (direct project management experience is preferred);
- Experience in the policy development processes associated with environment and sustainable development issues;
- Demonstrable extensive experience developing or implementing adaptation projects with financing from vertical funds (the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, Least Developed Country Fund and/or Special Climate Change Fund) is highly desirable;
- Experience working in related areas in Africa is highly desirable;
- Experience working in an international organization is an advantage, especially with knowledge of UNDP policies, procedures, and practices;
Language:
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and French required.
- Fluency in Portuguese and/or other UN languages is an asset.
Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
Disclaimer
Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
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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