Climate Change Officer, LoCAL

Details

Mission and objectives

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: (1) inclusive digital economies, which connects individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; (2) local development finance, which capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and (3) investment finance, which provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization.

Context

The Local Transformative Finance Practice (LTF) aims to be a centre of excellence and innovation fund for local government finance. Over a 30 year period, the Practice has developed deep expertise in intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGTF), local development funds, public financial management, and performance-based grants. LTF supports policy reforms and advocates for a greater appreciation and use of IGTF and performance based local government financing mechanisms in development finance. On the basis of this experience, LTF designed and manages the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), which is a mechanism to integrate climate action into local authorities’ planning and budgeting, through the regular intergovernmental fiscal transfer system using performance-based grants in a participatory and gender sensitive manner; increase awareness and capacities to respond to climate change at the local level, including through ecosystem-based solutions; and increase the quality and number of local investments that address climate change. LoCAL focuses on the delivery of four outputs that will directly contribute to increasing local governments’ access to climate finance and building resilience to climate change: • Output 1 – Awareness and capacities to respond to climate change adaptation at the local level are increased; • Output 2 – Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) is mainstreamed into government’s planning and budgeting systems and investments are implemented in line with the Performance-based Climate Resilience Grants (PBCRG) mechanism; • Output 3 – The PBCRG system is effectively and sustainably established in participating countries and leads to an increased amount of CCA finance available to local government and local economy. • Output 4 – The role of local authorities and of the PBCRGS in addressing climate change are increasingly recognized at international level, through outreach, learning and quality assurance. LoCAL is presently working with 38 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, and has cumulatively mobilized over US$230m for more than 2,200 adaptation projects. In the Pacific, LoCAL has been deployed in Tuvalu since 2016. UNCDF is now working with the Governments of Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Vanuatu, to scope, design, or activate the LoCAL mechanism. UNCDF LoCAL is currently recruiting national teams in Tuvalu and Solomon Islands, and each participating country of UNCDF LoCAL is supported by the regional LoCAL team, based in Suva, Fiji. For this position, the Climate Change Officer will be based in the regional LoCAL team in Suva, working under the supervision of the LoCAL Pacific Regional Program Manager (Suva). As part of the Project Team, the Climate Change Officer will contribute to the effective delivery of the Program’s activities. In carrying out their work, the Climate Change Officer will work closely with government counterparts to ensure the integration of climate change and environmental sustainability in the performance-based climate resilience grants system in partner countries.

Task description

Under the supervision of the LoCAL Regional Program Manager and in close collaboration with national counterparts, the Climate Change Officer will contribute to the daily implementation of LoCAL in Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, and to the establishment of LoCAL in Fiji and Vanuatu, including overall planning, oversight and monitoring of project implementation, financial reporting, program communications, and knowledge sharing. The Climate Change Officer will support the integration of performance-based grants for climate change into sub-national planning and programming. The Climate Change Officer will support the integration of environment and climate considerations into LoCAL; which may include supporting piloting and establishment of national systems. The Officer will also provide technical advice on climate change to government counterparts at national and sub-national levels. This will include supporting the assessment of grant interventions to ensure they are in alignment with agreed target areas. The position will also support work on gender equality, social inclusion (with a focus on women, youth and marginalized communities), and support the application of environment and social safeguards. The Climate Change Officer will play a key role in supporting regional outreach, knowledge and experience sharing, and communications for the program. The Climate Change Officer will also support program monitoring, and reporting, as required. Program management (30%) • Execute, oversee and monitor the day-to-day implementation of selected activities related to LoCAL’s performance-based climate resilience grants; • Build effective and efficient partnerships at the operational level with national counterparts and other UN agencies, to coordinate effectively in country; • Contribute to the preparation and timely submission of comprehensive technical and financial reports in line with contractual agreements, including semi-annual reporting; • Contribute to the management of the risk log of the project; • Ensure the timely and effective management of the activities as scheduled. Technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (30%) • Commision and oversee work to incorporate performance based, climate resilience grants into national systems in Fiji and Vanuatu; • Provide technical advice on climate change issues and environmental sustainability to government counterparts at national and sub-national levels; • Provide technical advice and capacity building support for the piloting and establishment of a national local information system for local climate risk assessments (including projections and mapping) addressing hazards, vulnerabilities and exposure of local councils and wards in relation to climate change including desk review, data collection, preliminary design of the system, analytical writing, piloting, consultation and validation, and gradual deployment of the local climate information system in partner countries; • Provide technical advice and capacity building support for the integration of environment and climate change in the local government development plans and investment plans in partner countries; • Provide technical advice and capacity building support for the adequate integration of environment and climate considerations (e.g. specifications) in the investments delivered through LoCAL’s support; • Contribute to the technical dialogue and provision of technical advisory services to national and local government counterparts in relation to climate change information and assessments, climate mainstreaming, climate finance and access to climate finance. Knowledge management and communication (30%) • Identify key knowledge constraints and organize learning, knowledge exchange, training, workshops, etc. to build the awareness and capacities on relevant themes (i.e. public financial management, climate change, local climate risk assessments, environmental sustainability, mainstreaming, gender etc.). • Input to the communications plan for LoCAL in the Pacific, and contribute to implementation of the plan; • Support regional exchange of knowledge and experience, through systematically identifying, collecting and disseminating best practices and lesson learned from the program; • Manage the process of convening national and regional stakeholders or producing information and communication products to share lessons learned on selected themes. Networking and partnership building (10%) • Maintain close working relationships with relevant national stakeholders at various levels in order to support the quality of the execution of the PBCRG system and its key results areas; • Organize consultative meetings, seminars and workshops to drive analytical and policy work of the program; • Serve as the UNCDF focal point in working groups and steering committees on the issue of environment and climate change and related sectors and provide inputs for conducive policy and regulatory environment; KEY RESULTS • The incumbent will pursue the following key results of the LoCAL Program: o Output 1 – Increased awareness of and capacities to respond to climate change and related risks at the local level o Output 2 – Climate change adaptation is mainstreamed into government’s planning and budgeting systems in a gender sensitive and participatory manner and investments are implemented in line with the PBCRG system o Output 3 – The PBCRG system is effectively and sustainably established in participating countries and leads to an increased amount of climate finance available for locally led adaptation through local governments o Output 4 – The role of local governments and potential of the PBCRG system in addressing climate change are increasingly recognized at the international level, through outreach, learning and quality assurance. • In support of knowledge and information sharing, the following results will be pursued: o LoCAL is supporting partner countries to engage in regional (and global where appropriate) outreach and knowledge exchange to promote climate finance reforms in the region o LoCAL countries have strengthened regional engagement on the promotion of climate finance reforms and implementation o A communications plan is effectively developed and implemented for the program. • As an active UNCDF team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNCDF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including by pursuing the following key results of the Project and related activity results: o LoCAL Solomon Islands and Tuvalu are effectively, efficiently and transparently implemented in line with UNCDF project management regulations; o LoCAL in Fiji and Vanuatu are initiated, with robust implementation frameworks; o Government partners at national and subnational levels and communities benefit from quality and timely provision of technical assistance and capacity building support; o LoCAL in Solomon Islands and Tuvalu is effectively and efficiently monitored, assessed and reported on; o LoCAL’s experience in the Pacific is well documented, with best practices identified and lessons learned and disseminated through various communication channels; Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. • Contribute with articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Across all activities, gender and social inclusion principles (with a focus on women, youth and marginalized communities) are applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;