Summary
Date Posted: Monday, May 02, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Background
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
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.

I. Organizational Context
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.
UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: inclusive digital economies, connecting individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; local development finance, that capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and investment finance, that provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization. By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to Sustainable Development Goal-SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a broad diversity of SDGs.

The Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) 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 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 currently active in 14 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, with another 14 countries preparing to join (at the design stage).
The UNCDF’s programmatic portfolio in Eastern and Southern Africa is expanding through the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL). LoCAL is also expanding its portfolio Uganda with committed funds from development partners and in phase 1 for Tanzania, Lesotho and Malawi. The LoCAL is also supporting the design in Sudan, Somalia and Zambia with more expected to follow.

II. Job Purpose
Within this programme context, UNCDF is seeking a Programme Management Specialist, P-4 to lead on the effective delivery of the Programme’s activities in Uganda and support the expansion of LoCAL in eastern and southern Africa (Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Sudan, Somalia, and more in line with country demands), reporting to the Global Manager, P-5, based in Kampala, Uganda and in close collaboration with the LoCAL global Facility and LDFPA colleagues across the region.
This position (rotational) will be based in Kampala, Uganda, with the possibility to relocate to another duty station based on programmatic developments.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Programme Management Specialist’s key focus areas will be:
1. Programme management (30%)
2. Team management (20%)
3. Policy, regulatory and technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (30%)
4. Knowledge management and communication (10%)
5. Networking and partnership building (10%)

1. Programme management (30%)
• Provide effective programme supervision, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and completion activities, in close collaboration with the LoCAL Global Manager and the LoCAL Facility (global) and the UNCDF Country Team in Uganda;
• Build effective and efficient partnerships at the programmatic and operational levels with national counterparts and development partners to coordinate and ensure successful implementation of in-country activities;
• Manage and monitor the implementation of the programme, including through the effective use of ATLAS/ERP, and manage the risk log of the project;
• Lead the preparation and timely submission of comprehensive technical and financial reports in line with contractual agreements and provide inputs for semi-annual reporting;
• Coordinate the implementation of audits, mid-term and final evaluations of the programme.
2. Team management (20%)
• Coordinate and plan HR needs to ensure highest technical advice to Programme’s stakeholders in all relevant components;
• Provide effective strategic and technical direction to and empowerment of supervisees, including through coaching and mentoring;
• Role-modelling of UN values and encouraging supervisees to act ethically both in their relationships with each other and in the business decisions and actions they take;
• Ensure effective performance management of supervisees (incl. annual individual performance plans of supervisees completed on time; regular meetings with supervisees organized during the year to monitor progress towards agreed goals, provide feedback and support; annual reviews (mid-term and annual) held on time; facilitating learning and development);
• Support to supervisees in implementing various arrangements in place to ensure their safety and security and in maintaining their health and well-being.
3. Policy, regulatory and technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (30%)
• Provide policy, regulatory and technical advice to government counterparts at central and local levels (e.g. Related to NDC, NAP, LTS);
• Lead the technical dialogue and provision of policy and technical advisory services to national and local government counterparts in relation to decentralization and climate change, climate finance and (direct) access to international climate finance and (e.g. through accreditation to the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund and subsequent direct access).
4. Knowledge management and communication (10%)
• Identify key knowledge constraints and organize learning, knowledge exchange, training, workshops, etc. to build the awareness and capacities in relevant themes (i.e. climate finance, climate change, decentralization, etc.);
• Support the preparation of various written outputs and knowledge products, e.g. draft background papers, analyses, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc;
• Oversee the implementation of the Communication and Visibility Plan of the programme, in collaboration with project team, partners and technical consultants;
• Identify, collect, and disseminate best practices and lesson learned from the programme;
• Manage the process of convening national and regional stakeholders to share lessons learned.
5. Networking and partnership building (10%)
• Serve as the UNCDF focal point (co-chair) in working groups and steering committees on the issue of environment and climate change and provide inputs for conducive policy and regulatory environment (e.g. NDCs, NAP process, national climate change strategy);
• Contribute to UNCDF/LoCAL and government resource mobilization and articulate and enable pathways for mobilizing resources and fostering external partnerships supporting LoCAL and UNCDF more widely;
• Participate in UN country teams, senior management teams, and coordinate the participation of UNCDF in UN and development partners’ coordination groups;
• Support partnership building efforts for effective UNCDF/LoCAL positioning in the UN System and with development partners networks;
• Ensure close collaboration with UN system, as well as to identify opportunities for collaboration and joint programming with other UN agencies and partners to maintain and/or strengthen UNCDF/LoCAL strategic positioning and presence in the country.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:
The Programme Management Specialist, P4 is responsible for the overall management, coordination, execution and monitoring as well as for providing technical and policy support for the effective deployment of activities and is expected to contribute actively to LoCAL’s resource mobilization efforts and outreach activities on an ongoing basis.
The Programme Management Specialist will also play a strategic role in programme delivery and overseeing the success of the team including ensuring the Programmatic and operational tasks are done properly and on time
The Programme Management Specialist is also responsible to manage the LoCAL country teams, including managing tasks and responsibilities of the team members ensuring effective programme delivery, providing guidance to the team members, reporting programme progress and any programmatic and operational issues to LoCAL Global Programme Manager, evaluating performance and providing feedback of the team members.

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 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships.
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Thematic Area Name Definition
Cross-Functional Competencies
Business Direction & Strategy Negotiation and Influence Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain the advantage in the outcome of dialogue negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates Win-Win situations.
Business Management Results-based Management Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.
Business Management Partnerships Management Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNCDF strategy and policies.
Technical competencies
External Relations & Advocacy: Partnership management Resource mobilization
Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements.
2030 Agenda: Partnerships
SDG Finance
Public Sector Finance (Tax and domestic resource mobilization, public financial management and public expenditure)
2030 Agenda: Planet Nature, Climate and Energy Climate Change Policies: Climate Finance
2030 Agenda: Planet Nature, Climate and Energy Climate Change Adaptation: strategies

Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Master’s Degree or equivalent Advanced Degree preferably in Climate Change, Environment, Business Administration, International Relations, Development or related field.
Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
A minimum of seven (7) years’ experience in progressively more responsible positions in project management in the environment/climate change area with result-oriented objectives; out of the seven, a minimum of five (5) years’ experience must be on policy, regulatory and technical advisory services with national and local counterparts, preferably in Africa.
• Work experience with environmental sustainability and climate change and with addressing gender equality as project objective and/or cross-cutting issue in developing countries;
• Proven experience in project management and supervision of country programmes and teams; with focus on managing for results;
• Relevant experience with international climate finance, UNFCCC and UNFCCC financial mechanisms in particular GCF and AF with a focus on direct access;
• Previous relevant work experience, working in Africa and/or Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is highly preferable.
• Relevant technical experience with policy and regulatory bodies and central and local governments in developing countries;
• Understanding of key concepts related to decentralization and local economic development;
• Strong networking capabilities and ability to associate him/herself with a range of actors (inter alia central and local governments; policy makers; regulators, donors, local communities, women and youth) with a view to building relations and facilitating links;
• Proven cross-cultural communication, able to function effectively in an international, multicultural environment and manage a team consisting of multiple nationalities;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Strong general IT skills, including ability to work with MS Office Suite;
• Experience with a UN organization/agency is desirable;
• Experience with ATLAS and UNDP Procurement Processes is desired, but not a requirement.

Language:
• Full fluency in written and spoken English is required and knowledge of other UN languages is an asset

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 84

Level of Education: Postgraduate Degree

Job application procedure
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