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, 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. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS’s Hubs on Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste, with the support of the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Unit, works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate nature, climate, energy and waste related concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy and waste.

The newly established UNDP Climate Hub is the arrowhead of UNDP’s commitment to the “Climate Promise” that aims to support programming countries designing and implementing pledges under the Paris Agreement, including ambitious National Determined Contributions, with climate change mitigation and adaptation interventions fully embedded in the national development planning and budgetary processes. The Climate Hub will build on UNDP’s existing over USD 4 billion country-level climate portfolio on Climate Change Policies and Strategies, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate and Forests, covering over 142 countries, as well as on UNDP’s Nature portfolio, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP’s Digital offer and other relevant portfolios on youth, gender, health, climate security among others.

The UNDP Climate Hub is responsible for: 

• Thought leadership on Climate and to be the custodian of UNDP policy positions on Climate;
• Strategy and vision formulation;
• Pipeline development in coordination with the other hubs and the Vertical Fund Programme Support,  Oversight and Compliance Unit;
• Provision of integrated policy and programme support to Country Offices;
• Global engagement, advocacy in collaboration with BERA;
• Integration across thematic areas;
• Strategic Partnerships development and resource mobilization;
• Lead and Support global flagship initiatives and partnerships on Climate;
• Serve as focal point with relevant UN coordination mechanisms and Conventions (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change);
• Cross-organization knowledge and learning; and
• Innovation.

As part of this umbrella initiative, the Government of Belgium has approved a contribution of 1.2 million euros to provide capacity building support on transparency to lusophone and francophone countries and foster south/ south exchanges. The project, “Enhancing climate transparency in developing countries – a contribution to the Climate Promise”, has as a primary objective to provide targeted countries with effective governance and enabling environment over time, to accelerate and scale NDC implementation, by providing streamlined support and capacity building on data and transparency. This will be delivered at the country and regional level with a focus on francophone and lusophone countries.

In addition to this, the global CBIT Phase 2 project, implemented by UNEP and funded by the GEF, will also provide targeted technical support and training on reporting obligations to the Convention and ETF for developing country parties and south-south sub-regional networks, including the Lusophone network.

UNDP is recruiting a Lusophone Transparency Network Coordinator on climate data transparency, as it relates to Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, with significant field experience in Lusophone network  participating countries to lead the activities expected to strengthen their technical capacities as described under the Belgium-funded project and the CBIT Phase 2 project.

Scope of Work 

The Network Coordinator will have direct work experience in one or more of the Lusophone network participating countries, in the areas of climate policy, climate negotiations, climate transparency and/or climate finance . He/she will be fluent in the Portuguese language. He/she will work under the direct supervision of the Belgium-funded project manager at UNDP Climate Hub and of the CBIT Phase 2 project coordinator at UNEP-CCC (with matrixed reporting; only CBIT-related activities will be reported to the CBIT-GSP project coordinator).

• Identification of needs and priorities for the Lusophone network in regards transparency work stream, based on consultations with countries.
• Development and support the implementation of an annual network work plan, which takes into account the gaps and the priority areas identified, under the overall direction of the project coordinators and in consultation with UNEP, PATPA and the Government of Belgium.
• Lead the constructive collaboration among the member countries by leading national-level workshops annually, organize and moderate the annual dialogue and technical workshop (e.g. emails, calls).
• Plan, lead and facilitate at least 2 annual webinars (in Portuguese) on technical matters related to MRV, ETF, gender integration into MRV and NDC tracking.
• Assist national project coordinators in providing technical inputs and reviews of reports (BUR, BTR, NC), technical guidelines and toolkits.
• Design and develop agenda for in-country trainings (at least 1, depending on needs) on enhanced transparency framework, support their organization and elaborate training materials
• Support tasks related to the needs of the network, including translation of documentation and ad hoc support requests from countries and the project coordinators.
• Facilitate Lusophone cluster operations and help-desk function and report monthly on support provided.
• Organize network activities as established in the CBIT annual work plans based on regional needs assessments.
• Establish and maintain a list of countries focal points and participants to the trainings/webinars with their areas of expertise.
• Capture knowledge generated by the network and share it with project staff of CBIT Phase II, to make it available to other regions and stakeholders in the form of webinars, audio briefings, web content, brochures, and other knowledge products.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Network Coordinator will report to the project manager and technical advisor on Transparency (of the ECT project implemented by UNDP) in regards activities set under the Belgium-funded project; and to the project coordinator of the CBIT Phase 2 project (implemented by UNEP-CCC & DTU) in regards activities set under the CBIT-GSP project.

Competencies

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Academic Education       

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Environmental Economics, Agriculture Economics, Rural Development, International Development or other closely related fields is required; or
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above mentioned fields with an additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min. years of relevant Work experience        

• Minimum 7 (seven) years (with Master’s degree) or 9 (nine) years (with Bachelor’s degree) of experience in climate change, climate transparency, climate negotiations, agriculture and/or rural development project management and implementation, and policy support.

Required skills and competencies

• At least 7 years of experience in enhanced transparency framework, NDCs, MRV systems and/or reporting to the UNFCCC (BURs, NCs, BTRs),
• Previous field-based work experience in one or more of the participating Lusophone countries which are members of the network in the area of climate policy, reporting to the Convention or transparency frameworks
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the institutional, political and/or social dimensions of climate change / climate policy in one or more of the participating Lusophone countries which are members of the network
• Demonstrated experience in organizing, conducting and facilitating South-South cooperation and capacity-building activities related to MRV systems, GHG inventories, NDC reporting, Art. 13 requirements, etc.
• Demonstrated experience leading or participating in global climate negotiations process
• Previous work experience in developing Lusophone speaking countries in the area of climate policy, reporting to the Convention or transparency frameworks
• Excellent analytical and report drafting skills

Desired additional skills and competencies              

• Knowledge and experience of UNDP and/or UN agency and/or other development organizations is an asset.
• Experience in supporting developing countries and especially lusophone network country governments in a technical advisory role, project development role or other related functions is an asset.
• Experience with donors (bilateral, multilateral banks and others) is an asset.
• Experience in designing large scale projects on climate change and climate transparency in an asset.

Required Language(s) (at working level)        

• Fluency in English
• Proficiency in Portuguese is required.

Professional Certificates

• Being a member of the roster of the UNFCCC MRV/ETF Transparency Division of the Mitigation, Data and Analysis Programme would be an asset.

Travel:  

• Cost 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.
• At a minimum (COVID- permitting), the individual will be expected to conduct at least 2 country visits, plus attend all regional workshops envisioned in the work plan.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements