Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
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.
Job Purpose and Organizational Context
UNDP’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan emphasizes the critical links between environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and broader efforts to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement. The strategy includes development financing as one of the key enablers achieve the objectives of these agendas and emphasize the importance of creating partnerships with governments and the private sector to align public and private capital flows with the SDGs to mobilize finance at scale.
The Regional Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean support 24 countries in LAC and frames its work under the Regional Program for LAC (2022-2025) through its country offices with governments to develop tailor-made solutions to development challenges and contribute to strengthening local capacities. UNDP’s LAC Environment and Energy Team (LAC E&E) supports these country offices to help Latin American and Caribbean countries advance their nature, environment, climate, waste and chemicals agendas, and to develop sound national and sectoral planning and inclusive growth policies.
Within this portfolio, the LAC E&E is implementing the project “Green Innovative Finance for LAC” (GIF4LAC) with funding from the Swedish Cooperation Agency (SIDA) that has as its main objective to: Promote the mobilization of green finance in the LAC region to accelerate the implementation of climate and nature plans as a pathway to regional environmental sustainability and resilience.
According to the State of Finance for Nature report a USD 4.1 trillion financial global gap has been identified to meet the climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation targets for 2050. While the LAC region is demonstrating increased ambition, currently most of the investment is derived from public sources of finance. Although valuable, governments need to recognize that public finance will not be enough. Moreover, although LAC is the most biodiverse region in the world, whose own biodiversity provides over USD15.3 trillion in ecosystem benefits and in fact the economic model in LAC is dependent on its natural ecosystems, there is an enormous funding gap in the region in being able to address their conservation, land degradation and climate needs.
Solutions to mobilize sustainable finance are needed to ensure that public and private financial flows are being directed to manage these complex crises. Solutions must consider the need to crowd in new investment sources while helping governments identify how to better mobilize their own finance using green budget target methodologies to mainstream climate and nature throughout government spending.
The current project seeks to leverage transformational change to enable the mobilization of green finance and to identify investable projects that are positive for nature, climate and people for the implementation of the NDCs, NAPs and NBSAPs. To guarantee the implementation of the project and build solid partnerships and financial instruments that are sustainable and effective for the nature and climate agendas in the region, the LAC E&E Team is recruiting a Green Investment and Partnerships Specialist to support this project as well as partnerships efforts for the wider Nature and Climate team in the region.
Duties and Responsibilities
As part of the LAC Environment and Energy Team, the Green Investment and Partnerships Specialist will be responsible for building solid partnerships for the Nature and Climate portfolios and deliver specific activities within the Green Innovative Finance for LAC project related to financial instruments, business roundtables and scalability through partnerships. The Green Investment and Partnerships Specialist will work as part of the Project Management Unit under direct supervision of the Project Manager. The Green Investment and Partnerships Specialist will respond to the strategic direction of the LAC Environment and Energy Regional Team Lead and will coordinate with different teams such as UNDP’s Climate Strategies and Policy team, Nature team, and the Sustainable Finance Hub team at regional and global level when needed.
The Green Investment and Partnerships Specialist will be responsible for carrying out the following duties:
- Develop country specific analysis on financial instruments and their potential to unlock financial investment for the Nature and Climate agendas.
- Develop a strategy to create partnerships and investment plans for a portfolio of large, medium, and low-scale climate and nature projects.
- Support in the shaping of a sustainability strategy for the project by identifying replication and scalability opportunities.
- Provide technical guidance to the LAC Environment and Energy Team and partner countries within the region in the design and implementation of relevant financial solutions to promote environmental gains so that these can crowd in new stakeholders from the climate and nature agenda.
- Provide strategic advice, including designing strategies and concrete action plans to mobilize additional funding for the climate and nature agenda from different stakeholders from the public (bilateral donors, multilateral funds, MDBs, etc.) and private sectors (companies, investment funds, philanthropists, etc.) as well as identifying opportunities for implementation.
- Perform due diligence assessments to engage in partnerships with the private sector.
1.Develop country specific analysis on financial instruments and their potential to unlock financial investment for the Nature and Climate agendas.
- Based on investment roadmaps that the project is supporting to develop countries in the region, map and prioritize potential financial instruments that can help unlock financial investment.
- Develop a feasibility analysis for the implementation of those financial instruments.
- Provide technical support to countries to implement the financial instruments identified.
- Provide the Project Manager with timely, efficient, effective, and relevant progress reports on the results of this activity.
2. Develop a strategy to create partnerships and investment plans for a portfolio of large, medium, and low-scale climate and nature projects.
- Review bankable project pipelines created by countries in the context of the project and beyond and develop a partnership plan.
- Map and identify possible investors in the region and create a pool of investors including multilateral banks, private banks, impact investors, private investors, public investors and others for the project pipeline.
- Design and lead the implementation of a series of business roundtables where potential projects and investors can come together and hold negotiation meetings to discuss project pipelines and investment plans.
- Lead the design of investment plans in coordination with financial institutions.
- Facilitate collaboration between different stakeholders such as public entities, and private investors to create synergies and foster networking.
3. Support in the shaping of a sustainability strategy for the project by identifying replication and scalability opportunities.
- Identify replication and scalability opportunities of the project.
- Identify further funding sources and develop a strategy to crowd in new investors and funders.
- Design sustainability of the project based on possible partnerships built throughout the project that can give continuity to the project activities and scale up the work carried out.
4. Provide technical guidance to the LAC Environment and Energy Team and partner countries within the region in the design and implementation of relevant financial solutions to promote environmental gains so that these can crowd in new stakeholders from the climate and nature agenda.
- Provide inputs and technical advice on identifying innovative mechanisms to integrate portfolios and scale existing portfolios that contribute to the climate and nature agendas.
- Participate in key discussions bridging information and knowledge gaps between teams on financial solutions and partnerships.
- Contribute to knowledge management by developing products on the case and success stories of partnerships for mobilizing green finance and to identify investable projects that are positive for nature, climate and people.
- Coordinate with Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist to design and disseminate knowledge products under the knowledge management strategy.
5. Provide strategic advice, including designing strategies and concrete action plans to mobilize additional funding for the climate and nature agenda, as well as identifying opportunities for implementation.
- Offer strategic and business advice support to design mobilization strategies actions and plans from different stakeholders including the public and private sector for the climate and nature agenda.
- Identify revenue and impact generating projects across the climate and nature agendas and programs and develop strategies to guarantee additional investment and finance flows for these projects.
- Conduct research on emerging trends in climate finance and investment opportunities, including analysis of successful funding models to advise the team and design comprehensive mobilization action plans.
- Provide training and resources to the LAC Environment and Energy Team on best practices for securing funding.
6. Perform due diligence assessments to engage in partnerships with the private sector.
- Collect relevant documentation from potential partners and analyze the financial health, financing history and risks (including ESG, reputational, legal, financial and operational.)
- Assess alignment with potential partner values, mission and goals.
- Draft assessment reports that inform the results of the review and that can inform a partnership strategy, following UNDP’s Policy on Due Diligence and Partnerships with the Private Sector.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Project and the Organization.
Institutional Arrangement
The LAC Green Investment and Partnerships Specialist will have a full-time position as part of the LAC Environment & Energy team and report directly to the Project Manager in coordination with other sub-teams as necessary. S/he will be expected to work during LAC (Panama) Office hours.
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 competencies
- Business Direction & Strategy
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgment 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
- Business Management
- Partnerships Management
- Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies
- Resource Management
- Ability to allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with principles of accountability and integrity.
- Communication
- Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels
- 2030 Agenda: Partnerships
- SDG Finance
- Public-Private Partnerships
- 2030 Agenda: Planet
- Nature, Climate and Energy
- Climate Change Policies: Climate Finance.
- Ecosystems and biodiversity: Biodiversity Finance.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (Master´s Degree or equivalent) in International Relations, Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Development, Development Finance, Political Science, or a related field is required, or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree
Experience:
- Minimum 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree), at the national or international level, of relevant experience in financing for development including policy research, engagement with the private sector and public-private partnerships, financial institutions, or similar.
Required skills:
- Demonstrated experience in working and engaging with the private sector including the finance sector with an ability to identify, develop, and manage partnerships that leverage private sector technical expertise and resources is required.
- Effective communication and interpersonal skills to engage with stakeholders at various levels, experience in building partnerships and networking with a wide range of partners is required.
- Experience in developing/shaping/managing/supporting investment portfolios, particularly as it relates to impact investment is required.
- Experience in innovative financing mechanisms and instruments, e.g. social/development impact, climate finance innovation, and public-private partnerships is required.
Desired skills:
- Knowledge of private credit and or equity for investments with an environmental mission is an asset.
- Knowledge of climate and biodiversity/environmental finance is an advantage.
- Excellent knowledge or experience in the regional political, social and economic context of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as of Agenda 2030 and UNDP’s work in the region, is an asset.
- Experience in analyzing data to extract insight around engagement results, donor’s priorities, partners understanding, as well as the impact of activities, and global sustainability trends is an asset.
- Excellent organizational skills, especially for facilitating meetings condensing findings in concise reports and presentations is an advantage.
- Experience with engaging with agencies, donors and forging productive relationships, is desirable
Required languages:
Fluency in English and Spanish (written and verbal) is required.
Disclaimer
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: 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.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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