Global Programme Management Advisor

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.

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.

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 offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its 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 UNDP’s 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 staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages; represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora, including public-private, government and civil society dialogues; and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. 

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 recent decades, biodiversity finance tools and solutions have demonstrated their importance for achieving biodiversity goals and broader sustainable development objectives. Improved choice, design and implementation of effective, well-tailored finance solutions will strengthen countries’ chances of achieving national and global biodiversity targets. Biodiversity Finance Plans have become increasingly recognised as a relevant tool to help countries to identify and fill the biodiversity finance gap, including through the work of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative www.biofin.org. In December 2022, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework. This included numerous targets with relevance for financing. Target 19b on resource mobilisation includes reference for countries to design and implement national biodiversity finance plans. 

The Global Programme on National Biodiversity Finance Plan Project is funded by the GEF and implemented by UNDP through the BIOFIN global program. The project aims to support countries to design national Biodiversity Finance Plans. A Biodiversity Finance Plan includes a systems analysis of a country's economy including to map existing financing mechanisms, subsidies with potential harmful impacts on nature, drivers of biodiversity loss and gain, public and private expenditures committed towards biodiversity objectives and a country's national financial needs for biodiversity. The biodiversity finance plan itself consists of a series of actions with the aim to significantly scale up available funding, green or phase out harmful finance flows and improve the effectiveness of available expenditures. The programme allows for active sharing of experiences across countries and includes a knowledge sharing platform and the provision of continuous technical support to country teams.

Under the overall supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor for Biodiversity Finance, the Global Programme Management Advisor will lead the GEF-funded Global Program for National Biodiversity Finance Plans to support countries developing the necessary diagnostics that will support the design and development of a national biodiversity finance plan. Working in collaboration with UNDP’s BIOFIN team, the CBD Secretariat, and the GEF Secretariat, this global project aims to support a transformative process for biodiversity finance in all participating GEF-eligible countries. The project, which is typically coordinated through Ministries of Finance and Environment, supports countries in developing baseline diagnostics, increasing capacity, strengthening institutional arrangements for biodiversity finance, and prepare a finance plan to mobilize resources at scale to implement the GBF. 

The incumbent is responsible for supervision of the designated programme personnel, promotes a work environment that is conducive to innovation and engagement with a diverse set of stakeholders and ensures cross-unit cooperation, coordination teamwork, inclusion, and the empowerment of project personnel and of counterparts. The incumbent ensures a client-oriented approach and consistency with UNDP rules and regulations and good management practice. All managerial/leadership functions are performed in line with the established UN and UNDP management norms, rules, and regulations, and in conformity with UNDP’s internal accountability framework for senior managers which emphasizes, inter alia, the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and accountability in the personal and professional domains.

Scope of Work 

Lead and provide technical oversight and quality assurance for project management 

• Lead the project at a global scale, working to maximise and showcase impacts and to strengthen relationships with stakeholders at all levels;
• Ensure the management and administrative requirements (technical, financial, communications, audits, evaluations, etc.) of the GEF are met;
• Establish and convene meetings of the Global Project Board; 
• Manage and monitor risks and issues, submitting newly identified ones to the Project Board for  consideration and decision if required; 
• Ensure technical excellence of implementation/outcomes and outputs/products by providing inputs to, and critically reviewing these;
• Contribute to efforts advancing the Nature Pledge in implementing countries.
• Lead the design and put in place quality control mechanisms, including coordination of contributions from relevant responsible parties to ensure highest quality of project outputs, products, publications, and policy discussion papers and briefs before review.
• Provide technical guidance, input, and support to the project team. Ensure coordination between UNDP and all stakeholders to ensure that financial and operational procedures of the Programme are in line with UNDP rules and regulations. 

Lead Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

• Ensure all components of the project are implemented in a balanced manner, and in particular, coordinate activities related to the Global Knowledge Platform in close collaboration with UNDP’s team working on biodiversity finance, particularly with the BIOFIN Global team;
• Ensure alignment of national work with global methodologies such as UNDP’s BIOFIN workbook on biodiversity finance and others;
• Liase with UNDP staff and partner organizations to feed lessons learned from the project implementation, in particular the global BIOFIN team;  
• Lead the organization of regional and global experience sharing events as outlined in the Project Document.
• Liaise with relevant initiatives and programs in UNDP and other organizations in support of the execution of the project, including BIOFIN, the GEF 7 Early Action Support Programme,the Nature Facility, TNC, TNFD, UNDP INFF, OECD and UNEP FI.
• Liaise with other relevant UNDP staff including in-country colleagues regarding the project, including to share information about trends and issues in the thematic area.
• Synthesize learning from national implementation through web articles, blogs, webinars, regional and global conferences.
• Represent the project in relevant global events and international for a as well as in country events. 

Manage and supervise the project team -Supervision of Global Project Management and Technical Support Unit (GPMTSU)

• Supervise any additional contractors as necessary;
• Organize periodic team calls; 
• Ensure performance and other evaluations are completed by established corporate deadlines; 
• Contribute to a positive team atmosphere including by delineating specific workflows of team members, identifying and addressing any potential points of conflict and organise team building activities; 
• Liaise with the Senior Management of the Nature Hub on a periodic basis;
• Liaise with UNDP Regional Hubs on a regular basis;
• Ensure regular communication flows with country offices are in place, including through a quarterly update message.

Provide strategic technical direction and guidance 

• Identify and source necessary technical expertise and support, and oversee the recruitment of international consultants and service providers, ensure necessary training and ongoing capacity building are carried out; 
• Liaise with other relevant UNDP staff including in-country colleagues regarding the project, in particular the The Biodiversity Finance Initiative - BIOFIN Global Program, including to share information about trends and issues in the thematic area;
• Provide strategic guidance and technical oversight to support all countries, reviewing on a regular basis progress reports, deliverables, disbursements and budgets to ensure implementation is on track, and troubleshooting and adapting management as required.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

• The incumbent will work from his/her home base with the expectation to support the countries globally in different time zones.
• The incumbent will work under the supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor on Biodiversity Finance. The incumbent will work with the global BIOFIN Team, national Teams, UNDP Country Offices, core and donor country governments, other international/multi-lateral organizations, and contractors.
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the incumbent is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones where applicable. 
• The incumbent will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment.
• The incumbent will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, relevant software, etc.) and shall have access to a stable, secure, and reliable internet connection. 

Expected Demonstration of Competencies

Core Competencies

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

   
Thematic Area Name Definition
Business Management Partnerships Management Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies 
Business Management Portfolio Management

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity 

Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management 

Business Management Operations Management

• Ability to effectively plan, organise and oversee different parts of corporate operations, simultaneously and in an integrated way, in order to convert the organisation’s assets into the best results in the most efficient way.
• Knowledge of relevant concepts and mechanisms. 

Partnership management 

Emerging partnerships 

• Ability to engage with emerging partners, develop and manage a strategy and develop approaches to developing and managing these new strategic partnerships

Business Management

Communication

• Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channel

Business Direction and 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

Required Education, Experience, Skills and Competencies

Minimum Education requirements

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equilavelent ) in Public Finance, Private Finance, Economics, Environment and Development Studies, Public Administration, Financial Management, Natural/Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences with a specialization in Environmental Finance and Development, or other closely related field is required. Or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the said fields, with two additional years of relevant experience will be taken into consideration in lieu of advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant work experience

• Minimum 10 years (with master’s degree) or 12 years (with bachelor’s degree) of demonstrated experience in thematic areas including biodiversity finance, sustainable finance, environmental finance or a related field;
• At least 5 years of experience in regional or global project management and/or programme management, involving interactions with multiple country stakeholders is required 

Required skills 

• Experience in biodiversity finance-related global or regional projects and initiatives
• Experience in the development of knowledge and exchange materials and platforms; 
• Experience in managing large teams
• Experience in reviewing technical products from countries related to biodiversity finance

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Prior experience in biodiversity finance methodologies including estimating finance needs, biodiversity expenditures and developing finance solutons or biodiversity is preferred.
• Experience in developing and managing technical and expert reviews of national plans and reports is highly desirable; 
• Significant international and developing country experience is an asset
• Experience and knowledge on the biodiversity resource mobilisaton work under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an advantage
• Experience with UNDP policies, procedures, and practices particularly in relation to project development and implementation is an asset

Required Language (s): 

• Fluency in in English is required. 
• Knowledge of Spanish, French, Arabic or Russian is an advantage.

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, l