Project Coordinator - BIOFIN (Open to all applicants) at UNDP

Port Louis, Port Louis, Mauritius -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

05 Jul, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

06 Apr, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Project management, Biodiversity finance, Budgeting, Financial planning, Stakeholder engagement, Policy analysis, Environmental management, Data collection, Technical reporting, Capacity building, Resource mobilization, Team supervision, Strategic planning, Monitoring and evaluation, Knowledge management

Industry

International Affairs

Description

Please note the appropriate Tier indicated in the vacancy title and ensure that you are holding the applicable contract as defined below: Tier 1: UNDP/ UNCDF/ UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed term (FTA) appointments (defined as “internal” candidates) Tier 2: Staff holding UNDP temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts and Expert and Specialist UNVs with host entity UNDP Tier 3: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates. Background Office/Unit/Project Description UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offer a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan. UNDP's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan highlights our continued commitment to eradicating poverty, accompanying countries in their pathways towards the SDGs and working towards the Paris Agreement. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP's Nature, Climate Change, Energy, and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs promote and scale up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas. In recent decades, biodiversity finance tools and solutions have demonstrated their importance for achieving biodiversity goals and broader sustainable development objectives. Improved choice, design and implementation of effective, well-tailored finance solutions will strengthen countries’ chances of achieving national and global biodiversity targets. Biodiversity Finance Plans have become increasingly recognized as a relevant tool to help countries to identify and fill 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 included numerous targets with relevance for financing. Target 19 on resource mobilization includes reference for countries to design and implement national biodiversity finance plans. The GEF created a global programme to support countries to design a national Biodiversity Finance Plan. A Biodiversity Finance Plan includes a systems analysis of a country's economy including to map existing financing mechanisms, subsidies with potential harmful impacts on nature, drivers of biodiversity loss and gain, public and private expenditures committed towards biodiversity objectives and a country's national financial needs for biodiversity. The biodiversity finance plan itself consists of a series of actions with the aim to significantly scale up available funding, green or phase out harmful finance flows and improve the effectiveness of available expenditures. The programme allows for active sharing of experiences across countries and includes a knowledge sharing platform and the provision of continuous technical support to country teams. The implementation of the project in Mauritius falls under the GEF8 Umbrella programme for the development of the first National Biodiversity Finance Plan. The overall implementation of the project will be led by the Project Lead/Senior Finance Expert with the support of a technical team and in coordination to a government project director and the National Steering Committee. For the implementation of the GEF8-BFP Umbrella program at the national level, UNDP is recruiting a national team composed of a Project Lead and a Project Associate. The project management unit will be supported by a pool of relevant consultants. Scope of Work The Project Lead/Senior Sustainable Finance Expert “Project Coordinator - BioFin” 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 lead the project with the support of a project associate. They will work closely with the technical team of an Environmental Policy Expert, a Biodiversity Finance Specialist, to ensure 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 expected quality standards. S/he 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. S/he will be responsible for relevant sections the production of the Policy and Institutional Review, the Biodiversity Expenditure Review and the Financial Needs Assessment. S/he will also lead the preparation of the Biodiversity Finance Plan and will oversee the identification and implementation of finance solutions as requested. S/he 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 Duties and 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; * Organize 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 Ministries of Environment and Finance for the development and completion of all reports and products; * Liaise 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; * Organize 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, write 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. Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy * Identify capacity building needs and opportunities. Ensure appropriate training, project workshops and other relevant activities are organized and implemented in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia; * Ensure project reports capture results, lessons learned and good practices for possible wider application; * Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice on development and project related issues. Support establishment of knowledge platforms for the project, facilitate innovative mechanisms for dissemination of knowledge from the project, and develop knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and to support UNDP’s engagement in this area. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. 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 Cross-Functional & Technical Competences 2030 Agenda - Nature, Climate and Energy * Ecosystems and biodiversity: Biodiversity Finance Administration & Operations - Events Management (including retreats, training, and meetings) * Support offices with event management including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation, and cash disbursements, etc. Administration & Operations - Travel Policy and Procedures * Travel Policy and Procedures - Interprets travel policy, the Staff Rules, administrative circulars and financial regulations and rules on travel-related matters; management and tracking of exception requests to the standard of accommodation; reporting to UN. Partnership - Private sector resource mobilization * Ability to identify, develop and manage partnerships that leverage private sector technical expertise and resources. General (across the functions) - Project Management * Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals Finance - Financial Planning and Budgeting * Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analyzing and reporting. Business Direction & 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 Required Skills and Experience Education: Min. Education requirements * Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Environment/Natural Resource Management, Biodiversity, Political Studies, Economics/Finance or a closely related field is required, or * A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above fields in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree. Experience: Min. years of relevant work experience * Minimum 5 years experience (with masters’ degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) preferably in the implementation of environment/biodiversity/finance projects; * Minimum 5 years of experience working with ministries, or other local governmental institutions that are concerned with finance, biodiversity and/or environmental management. Required skills * Proven ability to administer budgets and prepare work plans; * Working experience with the project national stakeholder institutions and agencies; * Skills/experience in gathering and processing data and information; * Skills/experience in managing work teams and supervising technical assessments, reports and technical documents; * Knowledge and experience in relevant thematic areas; * Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages. Desired skills * Working experience with UN agencies is an advantage; * Knowledge of environmental or biodiversity related policies is highly desirable. Required Language(s) * Knowledge of English is mandatory. * Knowledge of French and Mauritian creole is an asset. Equal opportunity As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all. Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. Right to select multiple candidates UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements. Scam alert UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

Responsibilities

The Project Coordinator will oversee the management and implementation of the BIOFIN project in Mauritius, ensuring work plans and budgets are executed effectively. They will lead the national team, coordinate with government stakeholders, and provide technical expertise for biodiversity finance assessments and plans.