Diversity, equity and inclusion are core principles of UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures in which we operate, we promote inclusion as a means of ensuring that all staff are able to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all we do. Taking a “leave no one behind” approach to our diversity efforts means increasing the representation of underserved populations. Individuals 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.

Job Purpose and Organizational Context

• UNDP is the lead organization for knowledge development for sustainable development in the United Nations system and catalyses collective action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work across headquarters, regional bureaux and country offices offers a range of deep local knowledge, global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of global and field-based technical expertise covering a wide range of knowledge areas and supporting key activities and organizational capacities envisioned in the UNDP Strategic Plan.

• UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 underscores our continued commitment to eradicating poverty, supporting countries on their SDG journeys, and working towards the Paris Agreement. As part of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support’s Global Policy Network, UNDP’s Nature, Climate Change, Energy and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs promote and scale integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequality, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance related peace and security agendas.

• Over the past decades, biodiversity finance tools and solutions have demonstrated their importance for achieving biodiversity targets and broader sustainable development goals. Improving the selection, design and implementation of effective and well-tailored financing solutions will strengthen countries’ chances of achieving national and global biodiversity targets. Biodiversity finance plans are increasingly recognized as a relevant tool to help countries identify and address 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 adopted the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework. This framework includes many targets related to finance. Target 19 on resource mobilization refers to countries designing and implementing national biodiversity finance plans.

• The GEF has created a global program to support countries in developing a national biodiversity finance plan. A biodiversity finance plan includes a systemic analysis of a country’s economy, including mapping existing financing mechanisms, subsidies that may have harmful impacts on nature, drivers of biodiversity loss and gain, public and private expenditures to achieve biodiversity targets, and a country’s national biodiversity finance needs. The biodiversity finance plan itself consists of a series of actions aimed at significantly increasing available finance, making it more sustainable or phasing out harmful financial flows, and improving the efficiency of available spending. The program enables active sharing of experiences among countries and includes a knowledge-sharing platform and the provision of ongoing technical support to country teams.

• The implementation of the project in Cameroon by the UNDP country office and in coordination with the Ministry of Finance (MINFI), supervised by the COPIL guidelines, is part of the GEF8 framework program for the development of the first national biodiversity financing plan. The overall implementation of the project will be led by the project manager/lead financial expert with the support of a technical team and in coordination with a government project manager and the national steering committee.

• For the implementation of the GEF8-BFP framework programme at the national level, UNDP with the support of the Ministry of Finance is recruiting a national team composed of a principal financial expert (project manager), a project assistant, a policy expert and a biodiversity financing specialist.

The Project Manager/Senior Sustainable Finance Expert will be responsible for the overall supervision and management of activities in the country, ensuring that an adequate work plan and budget are in place and implemented within the set timeframe, with an effective national team and strong partnerships. Under the supervision of UNDP in collaboration with MINFI, framed by the COPIL guidelines, the Project Manager will work closely with the technical team composed of an environmental policy expert, a biodiversity finance specialist and a project assistant, to ensure that implementation mechanisms and technical working groups are established and meet regularly, that all planned workshops, technical studies and other activities are organized in a timely manner and that they meet the expected quality standards.

He/she is expected to have senior level experience and provide substantial technical expertise to ensure horizontal integration and coherence of work/study streams, as well as advisory services and quality assurance of national products and processes throughout the duration of the national project. He/she will be responsible for the relevant sections of the production of the Policy and Institutional Analysis (PIA), Biodiversity Expenditure Analysis (BEA) and Financial Needs Assessment (FNA). He/she will also lead the preparation of the biodiversity finance plan and oversee the identification and implementation of requested financing solutions. He/she will also be specifically responsible for outreach activities to relevant national (government, donor delegation, academia, etc.) and international stakeholders, and for the preparation of synthesis reports, policy briefs, press releases and information notes for the government, UNDP, etc.

Project Management
– Oversee the identification, selection, supervision of national consultants and experts, in close collaboration with the UNDP Country Office in collaboration with MINFI, the Senior Financial Expert and the Global Project Management and Technical Support Unit (GPMTSU);
– Draft/revise the terms of reference of the BIOFIN national team members to be reviewed by the Task Force set up by MINFI;
– In consultation with the UNDP Country Office, MINFI and GPMTSU, develop/revise the work plan and budget and submit the draft work plans/budgets in a timely manner to the Task Force for review by the Steering Committee set up by MINFI;
– Supervise the work of national experts and institutions to ensure that results are delivered on time, within the set budget and to high quality standards;
– Facilitate, guide and monitor the work of the national team;
– Supervise the work of the Project Assistant to ensure that administrative requirements and budgets are managed and executed in a timely and appropriate manner, in compliance with UNDP and donor rules and regulations:
– Facilitate the organization of all relevant project workshops in a consultative manner, involving a wide range of biodiversity finance stakeholders, including government, private sector, NGOs, donors and academia;
– Engage with the Ministries of Finance, Environment and other key stakeholders on the establishment of a national steering committee and monitor the formal establishment and regular convening of the committee, and prepare meeting reports to be shared with the Steering Committee, UNDP Coordination Office and GPMTSU;
– Maintain regular communication with the Ministries of Finance and Environment for the development and completion of all reports and products;
– Ensure efficient linkage between project processes and products and relevant national planning, biodiversity and finance processes, such as NBSAP updates and implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework;
– Ensure timely identification of implementation risks at the national level and communicate them to the Project Management Unit for corrective action;
– Organize regular national team meetings and monthly calls with the GPMTSU Technical Advisor;
– Ensure the participation of national team members in regional technical calls;
– Participate in regional and global meetings organized by GPMTSU.

Technical Duties and Responsibilities
– Act as the main technical contact for the implementation of the project with the GPMTSU on all issues and problems that arise during the national implementation;
– Provide key technical leadership on all financial matters and ensure horizontal integration and coherence of work/study streams;
– Provide overall guidance and quality control for the four main outputs of the project. Provide technical support to the national project team to successfully deliver all BIOFIN methodology outputs in a consistent and high quality manner;
– Ensure that drafts of all work are sent regularly through MINFI and UNDP to the Global Technical Advisor and GPMTSU to provide support and ensure that feedback is properly integrated into the national reports;
– Provide data from the project results for knowledge management and design levers to support grants and financial incentives for access to information sharing (API) in line with the guidance provided by the GPMTSU and written guidance documents (in particular the BIOFIN Manual);
– Provide technical support for data collection, analysis and conclusions of the Database Development Support (DDS);
– Support data collection, modeling, quality assurance and validation of the Funding Needs Assessment (FNA);
– Develop a Biodiversity Financing Plan (BFP) in line with the guidance provided by the BIOFIN Global Team, GPMTSU and written guidance documents (in particular the BIOFIN Manual).

Reporting/Communication/M&E
– Report to UNDP Country Office, MINFI and GPMTSU any delays in national deliverables against the work plan;
– Lead the monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the project at the national level, draft monthly and quarterly reports for review by the Lead Expert and submission to the Global BIOFIN Team;
– Coordinate the development of workshop reports for the inception workshop and all technical workshops;
– Revise all technical reports as necessary;
– Ensure alignment of national work with global methodologies such as the BIOFIN Manual and others;
– Liaise with relevant UNDP and other organizations initiatives and programs to support project implementation, including BIOFIN, the NBSAP Support Program, the GEF Early Action Support Program, the Nature Hub, and other organizations and initiatives;
– Review the final reports of the National Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, the Financial Needs Assessment and the National Biodiversity Financing Plan (PNFB);
– Develop, in collaboration with other team members, at least one short publication per year, press releases and web and media products.

The incumbent performs other tasks relevant to his functional profile, deemed necessary for the proper functioning of the Office and the Organization.

4. Institutional Arrangement
– At the global level, this framework programme will be supported by a Project Management and Technical Support Unit (GPMTSU);
– At the national level, the country will have, as a requirement and within the framework of the National Project Management Unit (NPMU), a support unit housed at MINFI (composed of the National Director and the technical focal point of the project), a full-time project manager/sustainable finance expert, a part-time project assistant, and consultants, such as an environmental policy consultant, a biodiversity finance specialist and others, as needed. The UNDP focal point is part of the National Management Unit;
– The National Management Unit must be installed in the UNDP project building, excluding the MINFI support unit and the UNDP focal point. And will work alongside the government side;
– A dedicated GPMTSU technical advisor will be available to support the work of each country;
– The Project Manager is the most senior representative of the National Management Unit, the recruited Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project on behalf of the implementing partner (MINFI), including the mobilization of all project inputs, supervision of project staff, responsible parties, consultants and subcontractors. The Project Manager generally presents key outputs and documents to the appropriate national governance mechanism (MINFI Support Unit, Task Force and Steering Committee) and to GPMTSU via MINFI and UNDP for review and approval, including progress reports, annual work plans, tolerance level adjustments and risk registers.

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

People Management (Insert below standard sentence if the position has direct reports.)

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies (insert up to 7 competencies)
Thematic Area    Name    Definition
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.

Business Management    Project Management    Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals

Business Management    Partnership 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

2030 Agenda- Planet    Nature    Ecosystems and Biodiversity Programme: Nature-positive economy and Biodiversity Finance

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

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum education requirements An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental/natural resource management, biodiversity, policy studies, economics, finance or a related field is required.
A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience will be considered in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant professional experience At least 5 years of experience (with a Master’s degree) or 7 years (with a Bachelor’s degree) in the implementation of projects related to biodiversity financing and the environment, and closely related fields.
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
Required skills – Experience in collecting and processing data and information.

Desired skills • Previous experience in UNDP or UNS projects would be an asset.
• Knowledge of environmental or biodiversity policies is highly desirable.
• Experience in project management with government (sectoral ministries, development partners and the private sector) in data and information collection and processing is desirable
• Experience in managing work teams and supervising technical assessments, reports and technical documents is desirable.

Required Language(s) Proficiency in French is required Proficiency in English is desirable
Professional Certificates N/A

The following documents are required from applicants:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all previous positions held and their main underlying functions, their duration (months/years), qualifications, as well as contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate, and at least three (3) most recent professional references from previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
A cover letter (1 page maximum) indicating why the candidate believes he/she is suitable for the position.
Managers may request (on an ad hoc basis) any other documents useful for the pre-assessment of the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other documents.

Disclaimer

UNDP is unable to provide advice or assistance in applying for U.S. citizenship. Applicants are therefore advised to seek the advice of competent immigration attorneys for any application.

Information on the UNDP Candidate ROSTER

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates for this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates who apply for this position for other similar positions within UNDP, at the same hierarchical level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will therefore be subject to rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

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