Organization: UNDP – United Nations Development Programme
Location: Ankara
Grade: Junior level – NPSA-9, National Personnel Services Agreement
Occupational Groups:
Development Cooperation and Sustainable Development Goals
Banking and Finance
Environment
Project and Programme Management
Managerial positions
Closing Date: 2025-01-23

Description:

• As the UN Development System’s knowledge-front organization for sustainable development, UNDP integrates group efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The policy work done by UNDP at the headquarters, regional, and country office levels provides a range of perspectives and advocacy from cutting-edge global viewpoints to in-depth local knowledge. In order to support the trademark solutions and organizational capacities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical talent across a wide variety of knowledge fields.

• Our ongoing commitment to ending poverty, supporting nations as they strive toward the SDGs, and advancing the Paris Agreement is emphasized in UNDP’s 2022–2025 Strategic Plan. UNDP’s Nature, Climate Change, Energy, and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs, which are part of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support’s Global Policy Network, support and expand integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, reduce poverty and inequality, lessen conflict, forced migration, and displacement, and foster more resilient governance systems that further interconnected peace and security agendas.

• The significance of biodiversity financing techniques and solutions for accomplishing biodiversity goals and more general sustainable development objectives has been shown in recent decades. Enhancing the selection, development, and application of efficient, customized financing options would increase nations’ prospects of meeting both domestic and international biodiversity goals. Through the efforts of the Biodiversity financing Initiative (www.biofin.org), Biodiversity Finance Plans have gained recognition as a useful instrument to assist nations in identifying and addressing the biodiversity financing gap. The Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework was accepted by the Convention on Biological Diversity’s parties in December 2022. This had a large number of financing-relevant targets. References for nations to create and carry out national biodiversity financing strategies are included in Target 19, which focuses on resource mobilization.

• A worldwide initiative was established by the GEF to assist nations in creating their own Biodiversity Finance Plans. An analysis of a nation’s economic systems, including mapping current financing mechanisms, subsidies that may have negative environmental effects, factors that contribute to biodiversity loss and gain, public and private spending on biodiversity goals, and the nation’s financial needs for biodiversity, are all included in a biodiversity finance plan. In order to greatly increase the amount of funds available, green or phase out hazardous finance flows, and increase the efficiency of available expenditures, the biodiversity finance plan itself comprises of a number of initiatives. Along with a knowledge-sharing portal and ongoing technical assistance for national teams, the initiative facilitates the active exchange of experiences among nations.

• The GEF8 Umbrella program for the creation of the first National Biodiversity Finance Plan includes the project’s execution in Turkey. With the assistance of a technical team and in conjunction with a government project director and the National Steering Committee, the Project Lead/Senior Finance Expert will oversee the project’s entire implementation.

• UNDP is hiring a national team consisting of a Biodiversity Finance Specialist, a Policy Expert, a Project Support Associate, and a Senior Finance Expert (Project Lead) to carry out the GEF8-BFP Umbrella program at the national level.

Scope of Work 

The Project Lead/Senior Sustainable Finance Expert “Project Lead” will be responsible for the overall supervision and management of in-country activities, ensuring a proper workplan and budget is in place and implemented within set timelines, with an effective national team and strong partnerships. The Project Lead will work closely work with the technical team of an Environmental Policy Expert, a Biodiversity Finance Specialist and a Project Support Associate, to ensure implementation mechanisms and technical working groups are established and meet regularly, that all planned workshops, technical studies and other activities are organised in a timely manner, and that they meet expected quality standards.

He/she is expected to have senior experience and to provide substantial technical expertise in assuring horizontal integration and consistency of workstreams/studies, 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 relevant sections the production of the Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review and the Financial Needs Assessment. He/she will also lead the preparation of the Biodiversity Finance Plan and will oversee the identification and implementation of finance solutions as requested. He/she will also specifically be responsible for outreach activities to national (Government, donors’ delegation, academia, etc.) and relevant international stakeholders, and the preparation of synthesis reports, policy briefs, press releases and briefing notes for Government, UNDP etc

responsibilities :

Project Management

• Oversee the identification, selection and supervision of national consultants and experts, in close collaboration with the UNDP Country Office, Senior Finance Expert and the Global Project Management and Technical Support Unit (GPMTSU).
• Write/revise terms of references for national BIOFIN team members.
• In consultation with the UNDP Country Office and GPMTSU elaborate/revise the work plan and budget and submit draft workplans/budgets timely.
• Supervise the work of national experts and institutions to ensure outputs are delivered on time, within the set budget, and to high quality standards; facilitate, guide and monitor the work of the national team.
• Oversee the work of the Project Support Associate to ensure administrative requirements and budgets are managed and executed in a timely and appropriate manner and within UNDP and donor rules and regulations.
• Organise all relevant project workshops in a consultative manner, involving a wide variety of biodiversity finance stakeholders, including the government, private sector, NGOs, donors and academia.
• Discuss with the Ministries of Finance, Environment and other key stakeholders the establishment of a national Steering Committee and follow up on the formal establishment and regular convening of the Committee and develop meeting reports to be shared with Steering Committee, the UNDP CO and GPMTSU.
• Maintain regular communication with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and Ministry of Finance for the development and completion of all reports and products.
• Liase the project processes and products with relevant national planning biodiversity and finance relevant processes, such as NBSAP updates and Global Biodiversity Framework implementation.
• Ensure a timely identification of risks in implementation at the national level and communication to the GPMTSU.
• Organise regular meetings of the national team and monthly calls with the Technical Advisor from the GPMTSU.
• Ensure participation of national team members in regional technical calls.
• Participate in regional and global meeting organized by the GPMTSU.

Technical Tasks and Responsibilities 

• Act as principal technical contact for the project implementation with GPMTSU with regards to all questions and issues that arise during national implementation.
• Provide key technical leadership on all finance issues and assure horizontal integration and consistency of workstreams/studies.
• Provide overall guidance and quality control for the four main deliverables of the project. Technical support to the national project team to complete all the deliverables of the BIOFIN methodology, in a consistent and high-quality manner.
• Ensure drafts of all work are sent to the global Technical Advisor and GPMTSU regularly to provide backstopping and assure feedback is adequately integrated into national reports.
• Research and Develop the sections on subsidies and financing incentives in the PIR according to the guidance provided by the GPMTSU and written guidance documents (especially the BIOFIN Workbook).
• Provide technical support for the data collection, analysis, and conclusions of the BER.
• Support the data collection, modelling, quality checking, and validation of the FNA.
• Develop a Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) according to the guidance provided by the GPMTSU global BIOFIN team and written guidance documents (especially the BIOFIN Workbook)

Reporting/Communication/M&E

• Signal any delays in national deliverables compared to the workplan to the UNDP Country Office and the GPMTSU.
• Lead project monitoring, reporting and evaluation at 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.
• Review all technical reports as required.
• Ensure alignment of national work with global methodologies such as the BIOFIN workbook and others.
• Liaise with relevant initiatives and programs in UNDP and other organizations in support of the execution of the project, including BIOFIN, the NBSAP support programme, the GEF 7 Early Action Support Programme, the Nature Hub, and other organizations and initiatives.
• Review the final reports of the national Policy and Institutional Review, Biodiversity expenditure Review, Financial Needs Assessment and Biodiversity Finance plan
• Develop with the collaboration of the rest of the team members, of at least one brief overview publication per year, press releases, and web and media products.

4.    Institutional Arrangement

At the global level, this global umbrella programme will be supported by a Global Project Management and Technical Support Unit (GPMTSU).

At the national level, each country will have, as a requirement and as part of the National Project Management Unit (NPMU), a full-time dedicated Project Lead/Sustainable Finance Expert, a Finance Specialist supported by a part-time Project Support Associate, and consultants, such an Environmental Policy consultant, and others, as needed. The NPMU should be co-located with appropriate government agency(ies) in principle working side by side with government staff. A dedicated technical advisor by GPMTSU will be available to support each country’s work. Similar to the global level, the Project Lead is the senior most representative of the NPMU and is responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the project on behalf of the Implementing Partner, including the mobilization of all project inputs, supervision over project staff, responsible parties, consultants, and sub-contractors. The Project Lead typically presents key deliverables and documents to the appropriate national governance mechanism and to the GPMTSU for their review and approval, including progress reports, annual work plans, adjustments to tolerance levels and risk registers.

5. Competencies

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies (insert up to 7 competencies) 

Qualifications

How to apply

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