UNDP Jobs - 63278- Manager - Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN)

Manager - Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN)

Location :

Istanbul, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

14-Mar-2016

Application Deadline :

10-Feb-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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.

Background

Available evidence and decisions adopted by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) indicate a significant gap in finance for biodiversity – a major barrier for countries to scale up their efforts and achieve the 20 Aichi Targets defined in the CBD’s Strategic Plan for 2011-2020. While various global and national estimates exist, detailed national-level (bottom-up) assessments are required to provide more robust information on the biodiversity finance gap, fully taking into account the effects of the enabling policy environment. These need to be followed by significant national campaigns to re-direct finance and mobilise the necessary resources to fill this gap. In this context, at COP-11 in October 2012, UNDP and the European Commission (EC) launched a new partnership project “Building Transformative Policy and Financing Frameworks to Increase Investment in Biodiversity Management” that seeks to build a sound business case for increased investment in the management of ecosystems and biodiversity at the national level. With the Governments of Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Flanders having joined this project since, it has grown into a multi-partner global endeavour – the UNDP-managed Biodiversity Finance Initiative – BIOFIN, set to run to 2018.

Led by the UNDP biodiversity team, an entirely new methodological framework has been developed for assessing – at national level – the biodiversity-relevant enabling context, baseline expenditures in biodiversity, biodiversity finance needs & gaps, and the suitability of financial mechanisms; and for establishing a policy engagement process that will lead to the adoption of the recommendations expected to emerge from these BIOFIN assessments. At present 29 core countries participate in BIOFIN, operating at various stages of progress. Based on lessons drawn from national implementation, the methodological framework is regularly refined, and disseminated for wider application through global and regional workshops, and two important online platforms, the NBSAP Forum and the BIOFIN website.

BIOFIN is hosted by the Ecosystems and Biodiversity (EBD) cluster under the Sustainable Development Group of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), responsible for providing leadership and technical support to engineer delivery of the Environment and Sustainable Development pillar of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. The work of BIOFIN is also part of the UNDP Global Environmental Finance (UNDP-GEF) unit, which supports countries to access finance for better managing ecosystems and biodiversity, from the abovementioned donors, the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund.

The Initiative is guiding countries through a number of interrelated steps to remodel the national biodiversity finance architecture:

Biodiversity Finance Policy and Institutional Review;
Biodiversity Expenditure Review;
Biodiversity Finance Needs Assessment;
Biodiversity Finance Plan Development;
Biodiversity Finance Plan Implementation (mainstreaming, advocacy, communication, evaluation).

The global BIOFIN team was established in 2013 and has evolved over the past years into a multidisciplinary team, following several additional financial contributions in 2013 and 2014. The BIOFIN Manager leads and oversees the global BIOFIN Team and has global responsibilities in his/her area of specialised technical expertise, working under the overall supervision of the UNDP-GEF Senior Technical Advisor for Ecosystems and Biodiversity. The BIOFIN Manager is based at UNDP’s Regional Hub in Istanbul, Turkey. The BIOFIN Manager works primarily with the global BIOFIN Team, UNDP country offices, pilot and donor country governments, other international/multi-lateral organisations, and contractors.

The BIOFIN Manager is responsible for the overall development and implementation of the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative providing strong leadership on strategic, technical, policy and management matters – especially relating to resource mobilisation, building partnerships, visibility, quality assurance and the strategic development of the initiative. The Manager is therefore also responsible for leading and overseeing the development of the global methodological frameworks of the Initiative, for guiding and overseeing the technical and piloting work carried out at national level, and for preparing a consolidated set of cutting-edge tools and products aimed at addressing the biodiversity finance gap.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall development, implementation and management of the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative:

Manage the UNDP BIOFIN initiative at a global scale, working to maximise and showcase impacts, to grow and develop the initiative, and to strengthen relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including strategic partners inside and outside UNDP, partner governments and donors;
Provide strategic guidance and management oversight to the overall UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative and the global BIOFIN Team, reviewing on a regular basis progress reports, deliverables, disbursements and budgets to ensure implementation is on track, and troubleshooting and adapting management as required;
Ensure the global BIOFIN team operates in a productive manner, through a clear division of labour, the setting of specific annual goals by all team members and the organization of regular online and face to face meetings, including an annual planning meeting at the start of each year.
Ensure the management and administrative requirements (technical, financial, communications, audits, evaluations, etc.) of the different partners/donors of the Initiative (notably the European Commission and the German Ministry of Environment) are met;
Ensure that UNDP-specific processes (integrated work planning, budgeting, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, performance planning of global BIOFIN staff and appraisals, etc.) are met;
Establish and convene meetings of the Global Steering Committee (GSC) together with the Deputy Manager, to define priorities, evaluate progress and management, and exchange information;
Manage and monitor risks and issues, submitting newly identified ones to the global head of Biodiversity and/or GSC for consideration and decision if required;
Identify and source necessary technical expertise and support, and oversee the recruitment of global BIOFIN staff members, international consultants and service providers, ensure necessary training and ongoing capacity building are carried out;
Ensure that relevant UNDP projects and the Biodiversity Finance Initiative draw from and feed into each other, avoiding duplication and maximizing synergy, particularly the work of the Ecosystems and Biodiversity team in the UNDP Global Environmental Finance (UNDP-GEF) Unit and the work of the Sustainable Development cluster in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support;
Liaise with other relevant UNDP staff including in-country colleagues regarding the Initiative, including to share information about trends and issues in the thematic area;
Engage with the CBD process to share BIOFIN results, oversee the ongoing collaboration and identify opportunities for additional synergies;
Lead on and contribute to the definition of indicators and benchmarks for the overall Initiative to form the basis for M&E and ensure an adequate M&E Framework is in place for BIOFIN.

Key result: BIOFIN operates smoothly at global and regional scales and is widely seen as an innovative and effective initiative, showcasing UNDP’s strategic role in supporting countries to access and grow biodiversity finance.

Leading and overseeing the development of the methodological frameworks at global level:

Provide strong leadership on technical and policy matters and put structures in place for a fruitful cooperation between global BIOFIN team members, especially relating to public and environmental finance, soliciting/securing additional technical input as required from UNDP colleagues, external experts and international and national consultants;
Ensure technical excellence of implementation/outcomes and outputs/products (and of resulting policy recommendations, practices, guidelines, publications, etc.) by providing inputs to, and critically reviewing, these;
Operationalise a global Methodology Advisory Group (MAG), together with the Global head of Biodiversity and the BIOFIN Deputy Manager, to provide in-depth support on the development and piloting of methodologies and tools, and offer a frame of reference for the work of the global and national teams in charge of the implementation of the Initiative;
Oversee the preparation and organisation of global and regional workshops aimed at developing and discussing methodologies and ensuring these build on and inform relevant policy processes at the national and global levels;
Ensure BIOFIN produces a consolidated set of outputs/products aimed at addressing the biodiversity finance gap that can be replicated globally;
Work with UNDP staff and partner organisations to feed lessons learned from BIOFIN into specific case studies, the NBSAP Forum and the BIOFIN website;
Oversee the effective implementation of the BIOFIN Regional nodes of support (to non-BIOFIN pilot countries).

Key result: BIOFIN methodology is refined and kept up to date to address pilot country needs effectively.

Guiding and overseeing the technical and piloting work carried out at national level:

Guide the BIOFIN Deputy Manager, Senior Advisors and Country Offices to identify implementation modalities that set out a process of transformative change in participating countries;
Review key guidance materials to be used to implement BIOFIN at the national level;
Ensure planning and implementation in pilot countries is aligned with the Initiative’s global methodologies and standards, that these are reconciled with national NBSAPs and other national development processes, and that key milestones are met;
Ensure an adequate system is in place to monitor and provide technical support to improve the quality of in-country deliverables;
Oversee and support implementation progress in core participating countries in contributing to, testing out and implementing the global methodology development. This will involve liaising with UNDP-GEF RTAs and supporting the involved UNDP country offices to a) establish and convene National Steering Committees and Technical Working groups, b) contract relevant national institutions / service providers to carry out the respective in-country activities, c) ensure links with the UNDP-GEF NBSAP support projects and other related initiatives, and d) convene national consultation and validation workshops and ensure the results of the Initiative feed into relevant policy processes at the national level;
Support monitoring and evaluation missions to core participating countries, to provide guidance and training, to gain a sense of progress and develop an analytical understanding, and to feed the cumulative learning which is taking place into national and global processes.

Key result: Pilot countries are enabled to apply the methodology effectively.

Leading and contributing to the consolidation and positioning of outcomes and outputs:

Regularly liaise with related initiatives and stakeholders such as WAVES, TEEB, UNSD, OECD, UN-REDD and UN PEI;
Oversee and contribute to the development of suitable communication and knowledge materials and knowledge-sharing platforms, tools and mechanisms;
In consultation with the global UNDP-GEF Head of Biodiversity, present and position the outcomes and outputs of the Initiative in relevant technical and policy circles, securing high-level recognition at national and global levels, in particular the CBD COP and other relevant CBD meetings;
Contribute to the further development of UNDP’s global and regional work on environmental/biodiversity finance, as required, such as by contributing to the development of strategic UNDP policy position papers, blogs and internal briefing notes;
Contribute relevant biodiversity finance input to UNDP publications, presentations, websites, newsletters, and other outreach products, as required;
In consultation with the UNDP-GEF global head of Biodiversity, actively seek and realise opportunities, entry-points for UNDP assistance and financial resources for strengthening, growing and continuing the Initiative and design a follow up phase for BIOFIN to continue providing support to participating countries after 2018;
Facilitate and contribute to the preparation, design, submission and approval of programme/project concepts and full-fledged proposals for financing.

Key result: BIOFIN has a high profile within and beyond UNDP, and maintains strong partnerships that help it to grow.

Competencies

Core

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

Ability to get things done.

Technical

Demonstrated ability to understand the dimensions and challenges linking biodiversity policy, conservation measures, finance accounting and resource mobilisation, and to address these through innovation, combining methodological approaches and data from various levels and disciplines including economics, finance, development and conservation.

Functional

Sustainable Environment

Knowledge of protecting natural resources and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Results-based Management

Ability to manage programmes and projects with a strategy aimed at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Resource Mobilization

Ability to identify and organize programmes and projects to implement solutions and generate resources.

Relationship Management & Partnerships

Ability to engage with other agencies / parties.

Advocacy and Representation

Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues).

Knowledge Management

Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.

Strategic Planning

Ability to make decisions that align with strategy, vision, and mission.

Development Planning

Knowledge of development planning processes and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Economics

Knowledge of economics concepts, principles and policies and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Training

Ability to ascertain need, plan, design, and execute training.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or higher in economics, environmental economics, public or business administration, natural/environmental sciences, or social sciences with a specialization in environmental finance and development, or other closely related field.

Experience:

Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in environmental management and/or biodiversity conservation, of which at least 3 years working in biodiversity finance, policy and/or planning;
Experience at international level and with developing countries;
Experience in results-based and results-oriented project implementation and management;
Experience in managing teams and promoting their capacity development
Experience with projects/contracts financed by the European Union is highly desirable;
Experience in overseeing and guiding the development of communications and knowledge management strategies and products;
Experience in implementing and representing high-profile projects involving high-level government and intergovernmental stakeholders;
Working experience in an international organization, and knowledge of UNDP policies, procedures and practices are advantageous.

Language Requirements:

Excellent knowledge of the English language, with exceptional writing, presentation and communication skills;
Proficiency in Spanish and/or French is an asset.