Background

UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

UNCDF is the only UN agency mandated to focus primarily on the least developed countries (LDCs), currently supporting 33 out of the 48 LDCs, with country level programmes, as well as regional and global programmes. UNCDF is also working in 6 Southern non- LDCs.

UNCDF provides investment capital and technical support to both the public and the private sector. It provides capital financing -- in the forms of grants, soft loans and credit enhancement – and the technical expertise in preparing portfolios of sustainable and resilient capacity building and infrastructure projects.

UNCDF has proven its ability to deliver true leverage on smaller and more risky investments and interventions within its core areas of expertise: Inclusive Finance and Local Development Finance. The concept- proven pilot projects and programmes are replicated and brought to scale with the help and the add-on financing of other development partners with different and complementary mandates.

UNCDF’s work on inclusive finance

UNCDF’s work on inclusive finance seeks to develop inclusive financial systems and ensure that a range of financial products are available to all segments of society, at a reasonable cost, and on a sustainable basis. UNCDF supports a wide range of providers (e.g. microfinance institutions, banks, cooperatives, money transfer companies) and a variety of financial products and services (e.g. savings, credit, insurance, payments, and remittances). UNCDF also supports newer delivery channels (e.g. mobile phone networks) that offer tremendous potential for scale.

CleanStart Programme

The CleanStart Programme’s vision is to dramatically expand consumer financing for low-income consumers who want to transition to cleaner and more efficient energy. To make this happen it partners with microfinance institutions and energy enterprises – offering seed/risk capital and advice – to test scalable financing solutions in varying market conditions.

As a global programme, CleanStart aims to support low-income consumers in six countries to transition to cleaner and more efficient energy through microfinance by 2017. The programme is designed to provide risk capital and technical assistance to competitively selected financial service providers and energy enterprises to:

• Develop and refine scalable consumer financing models (Output 1: Finance for Clean Energy);
• Increase the ‘scale’ potential of these models by tackling critical bottlenecks in the value chain (e.g. distribution, consumer awareness) (Output 2: Technical Assistance for Clean Energy);
• Make research and tools generated in the process widely available to the industry (Output 3: Global Knowledge and Learning);
• Advocate for positive industry-wide changes and broker partnerships with upstream value chain actors (e.g. investors, policy makers) (Output 4: Advocacy and Partnerships).

CleanStart is supporting a range of enterprises beyond microfinance institutions, and promoting financing solutions that go beyond credit for energy.

CleanStart was launched as a global programme in 2012, with most progress made in Nepal where it is partnering with four financial services providers that provide energy lending for solar and improved cooking solutions.

In Africa, CleanStart will focus on Uganda and Ethiopia, with additional activities in selected other African countries. CleanStart will focus on these key interventions to promote energy financing; and selectively deploy these depending on market needs and where CleanStart can add most value:

• Support microfinance institutions on energy lending through grants and technical assistance;
• Support energy enterprises with viable business models to achieve market breakthroughs through seed capital and technical assistance;
• Assist with the design of guarantee mechanisms to provide de-risking for microfinance institutions and banks lending to MSMEs and SMEs;
• Strategically collaborate with UNCDF’s financial inclusion in areas such as mobile money, demand-side surveys and research, and private-public financing for energy projects;
• Develop toolkits for energy lending and produce consumer-side impact research;
• Expand rural energy finance footprint in partnership with Participatory Microfinance Group for Africa (PAMIGA), a network of locally-owned African microfinance institutions developing rural finance in sub-Saharan African countries;
• Engage closely with government partners and regional/global initiatives to influence high-level dialogue and policies that help create an enabling environment for energy markets for low-income markets to flourish.

CleanStart’s programme management is based in the UNCDF Asia-Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand. The Energy Finance Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the CleanStart Programme Manager in Bangkok. The Specialist will be supported by country-level staff in Uganda and Ethiopia who will manage day to day programme implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

• Manage the CleanStart Programme portfolio in Africa by overseeing implementation of key interventions in energy financing;
• Provide timely technical assistance and business advice to CleanStart partners to help achieve targets set out in funding agreements;
• Manage partnerships and leverage synergies with national priorities, affiliated programmes and initiatives;
• Provide programme implementation and management support in coordination with country-level staff;
• Resource mobilization and corporate support.

Manage the CleanStart Programme portfolio in Africa by overseeing implementation of key interventions in energy financing in close coordination with country-level staff.

• Oversee support to microfinance institutions to expand energy lending to low-income consumers;
• Oversee implementation of guarantee fund activities to increase local financing available for energy enterprises;
• Oversee implementation of energy enterprise challenge fund;
• Oversee the implementation of strategic diagnostic/market assessment work and of piloting innovative approaches to energy financing (e.g. results-based financing);
• Provides due diligence of potential partners, market trends and partnership opportunities.

Provide timely technical assistance/business advice to CleanStart partners to help achieve targets set out in funding agreements:

• Engage regularly with senior management of partners to understand progress, bottlenecks and ways that CleanStart can better support their objectives and assist with finding new financing opportunities;
• Operationally plan out how the CleanStart project can provide timely support to partners;
• Directly provide advice to partners or hire external experts where necessary;
• Oversee procurement of external experts, organize assignments and provide quality control to maximize assignment outcomes;
• Monitor funding disbursement schedule and milestones, and provide recommendations on how to proceed with next disbursement of funding; 
• Regularly visit partners’ field operations to monitor progress and identify context-specific challenges and solutions.

Manage partnerships and leverage synergies with national priorities, affiliated programmes and initiatives:

• Identify and explore strategic partnership opportunities within key markets of CleanStart activity;
• Actively and continuously engage with financial service providers and energy enterprises to generate viable business models;
• Regularly engage with government partners so that CleanStart contributes to national priorities and strategies;
• Coordinate closely with UNCDF’s other global thematic programmes within local development finance (e.g. private-public sector partnerships) and financial inclusion practice areas (e.g. Mobile Money for the Poor, Making Access Possible);
• Coordinate closely with UNDP and UNDF/GEF energy projects;
• Manage partnerships in Africa with which CleanStart already has an agreement (e.g. PAMIGA);
• Represent CleanStart in relevant events.

Provide programme implementation and management support in coordination with country-level staff:

• Support the Programme Manager in the delivery of assigned programme objective and outputs in Africa to ensure it is implemented efficiently and effectively;
• Provide input to and implement quarterly and annual work plans;
• Provide inputs to quarterly and annual progress reports (including for donors) and assist with annual reviews as required by the Programme;
• Contribute to Monitoring and Evaluation and other Knowledge Management processes where required and ensure outcomes inform project implementation and management;
• Regularly monitor financial resource status;
• Oversee timely payment for consultants, services and goods rendered, while maintaining quality control over their deliverables;
• Liaise with relevant UNCDF and UNDP units for programming and operational advice/support;
• Travel frequently to portfolio countries to follow-up with various partners and country-level staff.

Resource mobilization and corporate support:

• Develop strategies to mobilize additional resources based on programme resource requirements and new opportunities, with special focus at country (or regional) level in Africa;
• Identify partnership opportunities that leverages UNCDF activities in areas of knowledge management, communications and advocacy;
• Participate and provides inputs to the strategic communication products;
• Support the efforts of the CleanStart Programme Manager and senior UNCDF staff to mobilize additional resources for the programme and represents UNCDF and CleanStart at high-level events.

Impact of Results
Results of the work will have a significant impact on:

• Strengthening the capabilities of microfinance institutions and energy enterprises to supply high-quality and affordable clean energy solutions to currently under-served markets;
• Facilitating the development of energy markets at the consumer and enterprise level through financing and scaling-up of proven business models;
• Developing new and innovative partnerships around access to energy at the Base of the Pyramid;
• Influencing the debate, based on robust evidence, on promoting decentralized and small-scale clean energy solutions;
• Ensuring programme outputs and good human and financial resources management are directed at achieving the intended results of the programme.

Competencies

Technical expertise:

Hands-on business experience on what practically needs to happen to make energy markets work for low-income customers in Africa, particularly related to consumer and enterprise financing.Grasps key element of local energy markets:

• Understands the nature of demand for energy access solutions low-income households in Africa through extensive field experience;
• Understands how financial service providers and energy companies targeting low-income populations operate through extensive field experience;
• Understands pain points of financial service providers and energy enterprises in serving low-income customers, particularly related to financing needs;
• Understands macro-environments and implications for programmes like CleanStart, such as market situation, initiatives to promote urban and rural energy access for low-income households and relevant policies;
• Is keenly aware of overall situation including various private sector participants such as large energy enterprises, banks, institutional and impact investors.

Able to identify and assess high-potential business models and strategies that can demonstrate the value market-based approaches to expanding energy access

• Strong enterprise business planning skills;
• Strong financial analysis/due diligence skills and understands perspective and requirements of institutional and impact investors.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;
• Continues to seeks new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

Conceptual Innovation in the Provision of Technical Expertise

Developing innovative and creative approaches

• Leverages different experiences and expertise of team members to achieve better and more innovative outcomes;
• Leverages multi-disciplinary, institutional knowledge and experience of other countries and regions to promote UNCDF’s development agenda;
• Participates in dialogue about conceptual innovation at the country and regional levels.

Client Orientation

Contributing to positive outcomes for the client client

• Anticipates client needs;
• Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service provider;
• Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective.

Building Strategic Partnerships

Identifying and building partnerships

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNCDF’s mandate and strategic agenda;
• Sensitizes UN Partners, donors and other international organizations to the UNCDF’s strategic agenda, identifying areas for joint efforts;
• Develops positive ties with civil society to build/strengthen UNCDF’s mandate;
• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;
• Displays initiative, sets challenging outputs for him/herself and willingly accepts new work assignments.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

Developing tools and mechanisms

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
• Develops and/or participates in the development of tools and mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies.

Advocacy/Advancing a Policy-Oriented Agenda

Analysis and creation of messages and strategies

• Performs analysis of political situations and scenarios, and contributes to the formulation of institutional responses;
• Contributes to the elaboration of advocacy strategies by identifying and prioritizing audiences and communication means.

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNCDF’s Goals

Analysis and creation of messages and strategies

• Uses the opportunity to bring forward and disseminate materials for global advocacy work and adapts it for use at country level.

Creating Visibility for UNCDF/Supporting UNCDF’s Capacity to Advocate

Developing promotional projects and organizational messages

• Identifies and develops activities to enhance the visibility of UNCDF;
• Develops promotional activities based on monitoring/evaluation information identifying areas requiring higher visibility;
• Reviews documents and materials intended for use within and outside the organization in order to ensure consistency and validity of messages;
• Creates and cultivates networks of partners to promote UNCDF’s image;
• Conducts assessments of activities to improve impact and effectiveness.

Management:

• Is results oriented;
• Organized and meets deadlines;
• Uses ICT tools as key to delivering work and is highly proficient with Excel;
• Familiarity with UN rules and procedures advantage but not required.

Core Competencies:

• Promotes ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
• Builds support and political acumen;
• Builds staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Builds and promotes effective teams;
• Creates and promotes enabling environment for open communication;
• Creates an emotionally intelligent organization;
• Leverages conflict in the interests of UNCDF & setting standards;
• Shares knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
• Makes decisions fairly and transparently; takes calculated risks;
• Ability to mainstream Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women into the programme cycle.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in science, engineering, energy, business administration, finance, economics, accounting or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of total work experience with at least 5 of those business experience at executive level promoting energy access products and solutions (can include financial) to low-income populations; high-level executive or operations officer experience ideal;
• Business or banking experience in the Africa region, particularly in East Africa;
• Fully familiar with different financing tools for small and medium enterprises, including debt, equity and blended finance, as well as interpreting financial statements and developing financial projections/modelling;
• Experienced in providing business advice to energy businesses with strong consumer and/or energy enterprise financing components;
• Experience in managing guarantee funds and/or challenge funds for energy enterprises is a plus;
• Experience working with microfinance institutions, SACCOs or commercial banks in Africa is a plus;
• Experience with supporting or managing operations of energy enterprises in East Africa is a plus;
• Experience in conducting market research/diagnostic surveys; business development/planning, and piloting new products or approaches (such as results-based financing);
• Track record in collaborating with government bodies in sectors relevant to the project is a plus;
• Experience in development and managing partnerships and mobilizing funds;
• Demonstrated progression in management responsibilities;

Language Requirements:

• Excellent command of the English, with outstanding written and oral communication skills;
• French proficiency is desirable.

Note:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to upload (as a *pdf attachment) the completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded fromhttp://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.docx  Completion of all the fields is required.

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.