Head of Kunming Biodiversity Fund, D-1

Position description

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) sets a global framework composed of four overarching goals for 2050 and twenty-three targets for 2030 to accelerate action across sectors and society to address the key drivers, halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally. The Kunming Biodiversity Fund is a new Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), with a commitment of $220m USD to date, co-led by UNEP and China, which will complement the GEF Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) and other funds to support KM-GBF implementation in developing countries. The management of the KBF Trust Fund is carried out at three levels:

• The Executive Council (EC), supported by the Secretariat, is responsible for overall coordination with KBF Partner Countries and decisions regarding the allocation of resources from the KBF Fund;
• MPTFO is responsible for administering the Kunming Biodiversity Fund; and
• KBF Partner Countries to implement projects that have been endorsed by the KBF EC.

This position leads the Secretariat, which takes overall direction from and reports to the Executive Council. The Head of Secretariat for the Kunming Biodiversity Fund provides strategic and operational support to the governance bodies of the Fund and is responsible for the coordination and day-to-day management of the Fund. They will work closely with the MPTFO, Executive Council, UN Resident Coordinators, other Participating UN Organizations, and the Administrative Agent. The KBF Secretariat will sit within the offices of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) in Montreal, Canada, but is located administratively in UNEP’s Ecosystems Division and reports to the Head of the Biodiversity and Land Branch. The Head of Secretariat for the KBF leads the strategic thinking for the Fund and guides and oversees the operational and administrative support to the governance bodies of the Fund. The Head of Secretariat will contribute to and support development dialogues with a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure the Fund responds with relevant and timely calls for proposals and programmatic oversight, and to ensure complementarity and synergies with other funds supporting KM-GBF implementation. The incumbent will provide strategic input and intellectual contribution to ensure strong, substantive support to the Executive Council, and will coordinate and oversee the advocacy work on related KM-GBF issues. The incumbent will lead advocacy, partnerships, resource mobilization and representation of the Fund with a range of internal and external partners. The incumbent will facilitate and guide the team within the Secretariat for delivery of projects under the KBF, and manage, guide, develop and train staff under their supervision.

Responsibilities

• Facilitating strategic dialogue for the Kunming Biodiversity Fund
• Advise the negotiation of strategic priorities between Executive Council and reflect those views in KBF strategic documents, strategy, monitoring and compliance.
• Provide strategic and operational support to the EC Members and Technical Advisory Panel (TAP).
• Develop strategic partnerships with related funds and initiatives, such as the Global Environment Facility and others, to strengthen collaborative and impactful action.
• Ensure alignment of KBF supported activities and country and regional objectives, as captured in the Terms of Reference (ToRs) to support the implementation of the KM-GBF.
• Develop collaboration frameworks with relevant regional and thematic initiatives to accelerate KM-GBF implementation Leading the Fund and the Fund Secretariat
• Under the Executive Council’s direction, lead development of quality programming and results-based management of the Fund and project proposals with Participating UN Organizations (PUNOs) and other implementing partners and countries, including facilitating linkages between Bilateral Donors, UN Country Teams and substantive policy experts with Fund implementers at regional and global level.
• Supervise the Fund Secretariat team and foster teamwork and communication among its personnel to ensure effective support for implementation of the Fund’s programme of work.
• Oversee the development and implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system, in collaboration with PUNOs, to track the impact of investments and identify activities with the best KM-GBF implementation acceleration results for promotion and replication.
• Oversee the development and implementation of KBF guidelines and tools, including through the facilitation of inter-UN processes, informed by emerging lessons and present them for periodic review by the EC.
• Develop and oversees processes for robust technical review, approval, and oversight of projects.
• Ensure the monitoring of operational risks and KBF performance.
• Ensure timely and robust reporting of results that clearly capture fund performance, including the Annual Report, in accordance with the agreed results framework and respective indicators and facilitate annual progress reviews.
• Leads meetings with the Executive Council, Technical Advisory Panel and partner agencies
• Leads team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need. Advocacy, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
• Undertake outreach to strengthen engagement of key partners with the KBF, including multilateral and bilateral development actors, private sector investors, civil society and individual investors.
• Undertake outreach to brief Member States on the activities of the KBF, including at senior levels, to actively mobilize resources and monitor current contribution levels, and activate pledges.
• Manage senior-level liaison with counterparts in development organizations, financial institutions, and regional, multilateral, and bilateral agencies in supporting and scaling up KBF programmes.
• Oversee collection of critical data on financial contributions through bilateral and multilateral development channels.
• Identify and develop strategic and innovative partnerships with implementing partners and initiatives to support synergies with other initiatives with the implementation of projects funded by the KBF.
• Oversee learning from the fund and dissemination of best practices from across stakeholder groups to promote cross-fertilization and exchange.
• Represent the Fund in various fora as necessary and communicate its work to the public and other stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of biodiversity conservation, management and sustainable use and interlinkages with other sustainable development sectors. The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others. Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• PLANNING & ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
• JUDGEMENT/DECISION MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in public administration, management, environmental policy, sustainable development or related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in managing biodiversity related programs, projects and funds in multiple countries is required.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in managing diverse teams in multi-cultural settings is required
• Experience working with Biodiversity-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and working internationally with governments and collaborating across multiple international organisations is required.
• Demonstrated experience mobilizing technical and financial resources for biodiversity impacts at the international level is required. Demonstrated experience working across sectors to deliver interlinked environmental and sustainable development outcomes is required
• Experience with public speaking and diplomatic representation to facilitate reconciliation of different perspectives is desirable.
• Experience with the UN system or other international organizations is desirable.
• Experience in data analytics or related area is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable. “NOTE: “fluency equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ” Knowledge of” equals a rating of ” confident” in two of the four areas.

Application instructions

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