Climate Change Mitigation Regional Technical Support Specialist – Asia and Pacific- IPSA 10 (Home Based?)

Finance January 1, 2024

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Climate Change Mitigation Regional Technical Support Specialist – Asia and Pacific- IPSA 10 (Home Based?): UNDP

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.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Regional Technical Support Specialist will provide support to the Regional Technical Specialist for Climate Change Mitigation, based in Bangkok, Thailand, in overseeing and supporting climate change mitigation vertical funds projects (GEF and GCF) in the Asia and Pacific region. This will include liaising with UNDP Country Offices (COs), Government stakeholders, project teams, and other relevant consultants.

The Regional Technical Support Specialist is responsible for providing specific technical support for ongoing vertical funds projects with a focus in the Pacific Region including:

Supporting the development of strategic policy and guidance for strengthening UNDP Country Offices for the implementation of Climate Change Mitigation VF projects, including sustainable energy, infrastructure, and transport projects;
Support Vertical Funds climate change mitigation projects under implementation;
Support Vertical Funds climate change mitigation projects’ annual project implementation review (PIR);
Support the reviewing of Vertical Funds climate change mitigation projects’ mid-term reviews and/or final evaluations;
Support RTL and PTA with UNDP Global Policy Papers with feedback and comments, as required;
Support COs through the provision of tools and guidance to assist with inception, contracting and start-up of programmes/projects including establishment of indicators, benchmarks, and work plans;
Support the identification and sourcing of technical expertise including assisting with the preparation of TORs, identification and evaluation of experts, and reviewing reports;
Support on knowledge management including evaluating, capturing, codifying, synthesizing lessons and stimulating the uptake of best practices and knowledge, including the development of knowledge materials;
Support responding to queries on programme/project progress, impacts and lessons;
Assist in the maintenance of programme/project and portfolio information and corporate information systems.

Institutional Arrangement

The Regional Technical Support Specialist will be home-based, located in the Asia and Pacific Region;
The Regional Technical Support Specialist will be expected to work full-time;
The initial contract will be for one year, with the possibility of being renewed, based on good performance and availability of funding;
The Regional Technical Support Specialist will report to, and be directly supervised by the CCM Regional Technical Specialist for Asia and Pacific based in Bangkok, Thailand;
The Regional Technical Support Specialist will report to the Regional Team Leader for Environment for Asia and Pacific based in Bangkok, Thailand, as secondary supervisor;
The Regional Technical Support Specialist will be given access to relevant information necessary for the execution of the tasks under this assignment;
The Regional Technical Support Specialist will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
The Regional Technical Support Specialist will work closely with: (i) staff at UNDP’s BPPS Climate Hub; (ii) staff with the UNDP Sustainable Energy Hub; (iii) UNDP country offices; (iv) UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, (v) development partners and donors
Given the regional consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the incumbent is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones where applicable.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirements	Master’s degree in engineering, environmental economics, finance, environmental science, forestry, or other closely related field
Min. years of relevant work experience	Minimum of 5 years’ experience working with developing countries on one or more of the following: renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy transition, sustainable transport, energy access, climate/natural resources.
Required skills	Experience working in developing country contexts; Applicants must be located within the Asia and Pacific region;At least 5 years of direct experience in the design and implementation of donor-funded climate change mitigation and clean energy projects.
Desired skills	Direct experience with the design and implementation of GEF and/or GCF energy projects is preferable.Direct experience in energy finance is an asset.Experience working in Asia and Pacific is an asset.Direct working experience in an international organization is an advantage, as is direct experience working with UNDP.Experience working with Development Finance Institutions is an asset;Working knowledge of another UN language would be an advantage.
Required Language(s)	Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English