Technical Specialist, TISFD (Home-based)

UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the 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 the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. In addition, BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response.

The world needs an economic governance architecture deliberately designed to support governments, development agencies, civil society, and the private sector to make decisions that prioritize investment in the SDGs. Thus, UNDP established the Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH) in 2019, aggregating UNDP’s existing work and expertise on financing the SDGs. UNDP aims to promote the investment of over $1 trillion of public expenditure and private capital in the SDGs and maximize development impact for country partners. With this goal, UNDP will mobilize governments, institutional and commercial investors, financial institutions, and enterprises alike to take a more integrated approach to sustainable investment, enabling and promoting the impact integrity of actual and realized investments to enhance transparency, and optimize private and public sectors contributions to achieving the SDGs. Through SFH, UNDP has been increasing its engagement in global financial and economic policy making through the work carried out in different forums (i.e., G7, G20, UN’s Financing for Development process, etc.) as well as other regulatory and market-based networks.

In this context, UNDP supports the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD or Taskforce), a global initiative for reporting and managing inequality and social-related risks, opportunities, impacts, and dependencies. The Taskforce is a multistakeholder initiative involving investors, business, labor, civil society, policy makers and regulators, service providers, and academia working together to co-create a global framework for inequality and social-related disclosures, guidance and education and capacity building resources. For more information see: TISFD

It is anticipated the framework will be developed over two years, from September 2024 through September 2026, with the production of critical outputs throughout this period and further work on implementation to follow. The Taskforce Secretariat will coordinate and facilitate the Taskforce’s activities according to the direction defined by the Steering Committee and Working Groups. This includes coordinating inputs from a body of subject matter experts structured around the TISFD Alliance participating through Regional Hubs.

The Secretariat will operate mostly virtually with key Secretariat partners spread across the globe and be led by an Executive Director.

The Technical Specialist will contribute to the development of the TISFD’s disclosure framework, including its conceptual foundations, recommendations, metrics and indicators, and associated guidance.

The Technical Specialist will conduct research and analysis underpinning the TISFD’s deliverables and contribute to the development of its outputs, in coordination with the Technical Director.

The technical deliverables of the Taskforce involve a number of resources including but not limited to: an integrated and accessible disclosure framework and recommendations, informed by a set of conceptual foundations and a body of evidence on social and inequality-related impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities; various types of guidance to help corporates and financial institutions in identifying, assessing and reporting on inequality and social related impacts and risks, building on existing work in this space.

Ensure substantive contributions to research, drafting and delivery of technical outputs.

• Conduct research and analysis related to inequality and social-related impact and risk pathways, the identification and assessment of such risks by corporates and financial institutions, and associated indicators and metrics.
• Contribute to the drafting of the Taskforce’s outputs, including the disclosure framework and recommendations, conceptual foundations, and associated guidance, and intermediate outputs for consideration of working groups and the Steering Committee, under the supervision of the Technical Director.
• Liaise with the TISFD Alliance and Knowledge Partners to source information and research relevant to the development of the Taskforce’s deliverables.
• Keep abreast of developments in relation to voluntary and regulatory sustainability-related disclosure standards and frameworks and research and policy developments in the intersection between business and finance and inequality- and social-related issues.

Ensure effective consultation and co-creation. 

• Support the coordination of TISFD Working Groups, ensuring Working Groups’ guidance and feedback are properly incorporated into technical outputs and followed through.
• Contribute to the documentation of feedback from Technical Working Groups, the TISFD’s Alliance, and public consultations, and ensure that inputs are adequately reflected in the technical deliverables or appropriately responded to.
• Maintain good working relationships with key TISFD stakeholders, including Working Group and Alliance members.

Facilitate piloting, testing, learning and capacity development.

• Facilitate piloting of the framework across priority sectors, asset classes, instruments, and stakeholders.
• Advise on the formulation of learning modules and capacity development resources of the TISFD.
• Work closely with the TISFD’s Regional Hub Coordinators to ensure technical outputs are enriched and reflective of contextual issues across geographies.

The incumbent performs other duties within her/his functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the TISFD Secretariat.
Institutional arrangements

The Technical Specialist will work under the supervision of the Technical Director of the TISFD’s Secretariat in UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub.

Cross-functional and technical competencies

This is a home-based assignment, so no travel to/from the duty station is envisaged.

Costs of other travel, as deemed necessary by UNDP while performing the outlined functions, shall be at UNDP’s expense and in accordance with the applicable UNDP travel policy.