Hubs Strategy and Sustainability Lead Specialist [Open to Tier 0 applicants only]

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

In 2021, the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) launched the planning phase of the timbuktoo Initiative, a bold venture aimed at engaging African youth as entrepreneurs and innovators. The initiative's core mission is to mobilize $1 billion, of which $350 million will serve as catalytic capital and over $650 million as commercial capital, to revitalize over 100 million livelihoods and generate 10 million new dignified jobs. In January 2024, UNDP launched the timbuktoo Initiative which includes a Catalytic Pan-African Innovation Fund designed to support African startups. Announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  The ambitious plan aims to mobilize and invest the targeted $1 billion to foster the growth and development of entrepreneurial ventures across the African continent. This focused approach, combined with a “blended capital” model that incorporates both commercial and catalytic funds, aims to reduce risks associated with private investment and foster a comprehensive startup ecosystem. The main target for the Execution Phase is to establish the institutional arrangements for the Fund, and crowd in additional investments on the catalytic side as well as kick off effective operationalization of the Initiative. 

The timbuktoo initiative will establish 11 thematic vertical Hubs in Accra, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Kigali, Lagos, Addis Ababa, Lusaka, Luanda and Nairobi – to serve as critical intervention nodes with full innovation ecosystem support. Each hub will be sector-specific and engage with startups across Africa rather than only those based in the host country. These hubs will catalyze innovation for sustainable development transforming ideas into viable businesses critical for powering Africa’s transformation including through the African Continental Free Trade Area.  The timbuktoo initiative also features University Innovation Pods (UniPods) - bridging the gap between academic research and entrepreneurial application. The 26 UniPods already established within public universities, including in Benin, Guinea, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Liberia, will be linked to the above – mentioned hubs and act as a pipeline for the tech and tech-enabled innovation ventures that will receive ecosystem support and early-stage risk capital investment under the Hubs. The timbuktoo initiative is multi-pronged, focused on supporting and growing innovative, scalable, and impactful entrepreneurship by African young people, while relying on a springboard of partners who together contribute meaningfully to building an African youth innovation and startup ecosystem.  The timbuktoo approach will be anchored in seeking, nurturing, and building African solutions forwarded by Africa’s youth that directly address one or more of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Duties and Responsibilities

The Hubs Strategy and Sustainability Lead Specialist , provides senior leadership for the strategic direction, governance, performance, coherence and long-term sustainability of the timbuktoo Hubs component across the pan-African network. As timbuktoo enters a phase of operational scale-up and institutional maturation, the role is accountable for ensuring that the Hubs network functions as a coherent, high-performing and strategically integrated continental platform connected to the wider timbuktoo architecture – including UniPods, decentralized incubation partners, digital platforms, and the financing instruments of the timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation. Under the strategic guidance of the Global Lead, timbuktoo, the Lead Specialist serves as a senior strategic advisor on all Hubs-related matters.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Strategic Leadership, Institutional Design and Governance of the timbuktoo Hubs Network

• Lead the overall strategic direction, governance, and stakeholder engagement for all hubs, ensuring alignment with overall timbuktoo strategy and mission.
• Ensure alignment between hub operations, ecosystem building, and timbuktoo’s long-term mission.
• Lead the governance and strategic positioning of thematic hubs, ensuring geographic distribution and operational alignment with timbuktoo’s mission.
• Ensure the tech hubs operate as an integral part of the overall timbuktoo ecosystem and are effectively connected to UniPods, decentralized incubation partners, digital platforms, and the financing instruments of the timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation.
• Lead hub launch-readiness and maturity planning for both operational and upcoming hubs, ensuring that scale-up decisions are grounded in strategic relevance, delivery readiness and sustainability.
• Drive the design and consolidation of country contribution frameworks, host-country engagement models and institutional arrangements required to sustain and strengthen the hubs network.
• Exercise delegated authority over Hubs component programme budgets and resource allocation within agreed frameworks.

Programme Design, Quality Assurance and Delivery Coherence across the Hubs Network

• Lead the design, continuous improvement and quality assurance of startup programmes across the Hubs network, ensuring coherence of delivery across pre-incubation, incubation and acceleration interfaces, while guiding and coordinating the Hub Managers and Programme Managers responsible for day-to-day execution.
• Enforce a quality assurance framework for operational consistency across all hubs, ensuring adherence to best practices.
• Develop and oversee the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for hubs to ensure efficient governance and hub execution.
• Ensure network-wide operational readiness standards across the Hubs network, overseeing delegated facility management, workspace, safety and infrastructure arrangements at hub level.
• Design and establish the weekly reporting framework for the network, overseeing its use by Hub Managers to track progress on programme delivery, startup performance and infrastructure utilization.
• Develop and implement a structured governance framework, ensuring that hubs operate within a clear accountability structure.
• Coordinate with Hub Managers and Programme Managers across the network to ensure consistent tracking of performance indicators and alignment with strategic objectives.
• Design and establish the network-wide operational dashboards that consolidate key performance metrics across hubs, overseeing their use to ensure real-time visibility of progress.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing between hubs, ensuring best practices and operational learnings are effectively disseminated across the network.
• Lead engagement with strategic programme partners — including global ecosystem partners, corporate programme sponsors, technical programme partners and senior investor networks — to secure the quality, relevance and impact of hub programmes.
• Lead periodic performance reviews of hubs and oversee corrective measures, restructuring recommendations and escalations where performance gaps or implementation risks arise.

Resource Mobilization, Strategic Partnerships and Hub Sustainability

• Develop a centralized resource management system, ensuring that hubs have access to shared resources and cost-saving mechanisms.
• Design and implement revenue diversification strategies, including equity-based funding models, donor funding, and earned revenue streams.
• Lead efforts to secure funding and partnerships for hubs, ensuring they have the necessary financial resources to sustain operations.
• Develop quarterly sustainability reports, tracking funding inflows, revenue generation, and financial health of each hub.
• Build and maintain a network of mentors, coaches and technical service providers to support founders and as resources for both the incubation and acceleration programming.
• Manage stakeholder relationships with implementation partners and UNDP Country Offices to ensure smooth programme execution.
• Lead resource mobilization efforts to maintain and expand the Hubs operations and ecosystem engagements.
• Lead the structuring of partnership models for the Hubs component, including role clarity, contribution frameworks, governance expectations and risk-sensitive engagement modalities.
• Drive the development of strategic approaches to hub sustainability, including host-country contributions, public-private partnerships, and philanthropic support aligned with timbuktoo’s architecture.

People Management, Matrix Coordination and Capability Strengthening across the Hubs Network

• Directly supervise Hubs team personnel, consultants, Hubs technical specialists and Hub Managers across the network, ensuring clarity of roles, effective prioritization, strong collaboration, high performance and accountability for results.
• Provide functional and matrix leadership to Programme Managers, Ecosystem & Community Managers and designated Country Office focal points across the network, ensuring alignment with timbuktoo’s standards, priorities and performance expectations.
• Lead the capability-building agenda for the Hubs component, grounded in the timbuktoo Hubs playbook and adapted to local contexts, including the design and delivery of a structured capacity-building programme for Hub Managers and Country Office focal points at each operational and upcoming Hub.
• Develop toolkits, training modules, and peer-learning mechanisms to build competency across the network of incubators.
• Promote a culture of disciplined execution, entrepreneurial responsiveness, learning, accountability and service to founders across the Hubs component, and support workforce planning, role design and identification of critical capability gaps as the network expands.

Knowledge Leadership, Executive Advisory and Strategic Communications

• Facilitate communities of practice and regular convenings (virtual and in-person) to sustain engagement and share methodologies.
• Oversee the production of high-quality knowledge products including policy briefs, working papers, sector reports, and innovation case studies.
• Develop market-relevant case studies showcasing our founders and informing the market.
• Produce periodic programme reports, lessons-learned documentation, and strategic recommendations for hubs evolution.
• Ensure knowledge products are disseminated effectively to target audiences – including governments, DFIs, the private sector, and academic communities.
• Commission, coordinate, and quality-assure research studies, scoping reports, and ecosystem analyses within each thematic sector.
• Ensure research outputs are market-oriented, policy-relevant, and actionable for both startup innovators and development partners.
• Prepare high-level briefs, management notes and strategic recommendations for the Global Lead and senior leadership on the evolution, performance and future direction of the Hubs component, and provide strategic advisory support to the Global Lead on hub operations and governance.
• Represent the Hubs component, on delegated authority, in senior technical, programmatic and partnership discussions, strengthening timbuktoo’s positioning as a pan-African model for innovation infrastructure and startup support.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: This role will be responsible for directly supervising Hubs team personnel including consultants and Hub managers, and for providing functional coordination to CO focal points — Therefore requires demonstration of UNDP People Management competencies.

The Hubs Lead Specialist will work closely with the timbuktoo Programme and Operations Managers to ensure effective delivery of programmes across the overall ecosystem.  They will manage the Hubs technical specialists including but not limited to:

• Innovation & Technology Development Specialist → Driving deep-tech startup development, overseeing innovation lab strategies, integrating AI initiatives, and managing the relationship between timbuktoo Hubs and UniPods. Leading infrastructure design to foster innovation.
• Startup & Portfolio Development Specialist → Developing and executing structured support programs for startups, managing a high-impact startup portfolio, and ensuring access to investment and global market expansion opportunities.
• Industry Partnerships Specialist - Building strategic R&D collaborations, strengthening corporate engagement, and establishing global partnerships. Facilitating industry-driven innovation programs
• Hubs Revenue & Investment Specialist - Designing and implementing diversified revenue streams, including equity-based investment strategies, grants, and partnerships, to secure the long-term financial sustainability of hubs.
• Hub Operations & Sustainability Specialist - Ensuring efficient hub operations, financial sustainability, and governance frameworks. Overseeing administrative processes, compliance, and the resource mobilization across hubs.

Competencies

People Management

This role will be responsible for directly supervising Hubs team personnel including consultants and Hub managers, and for providing functional coordination to CO focal points — Therefore requires demonstration of UNDP People Management competencies. 

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site. 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business Direction & Strategy – Entrepreneurial Thinking

• Identify and seize opportunities to service and add value to clients, create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners, develop clear service offers responding to client needs in line with UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate.

Business Direction & Strategy – System Thinking

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement 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 Development – Knowledge Generation

• Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.
• Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches.
• Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.

Business Management – Portfolio Management

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity.
• Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment.
• Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management.

Business Management – Partnerships Management

• 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.

Partnership Management – Resource Mobilization

• Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programs/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements.

Digital & Innovation – Innovation ecosystem curation

• Ability to identify key players in an ecosystem, engage with them and mobilize them to build a community and over time a movement around a common mission that can bring about changes at the system level.
• Ability to give sense of purpose and build trust, develop programmes of activities and platforms to build and strengthen relationships.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in a relevant field such as International Development Studies, Innovation, Science & Technology, Engineering or a sustainable development discipline aligned with GreenTech, HealthTech,and/ or AgriTech, is required. OR
• First level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above fields, with an additional 2 years of relevant experience will  be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.  
• A PhD in a relevant field would be an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience at the national and/or international level in providing management advisory services in innovation ecosystems, knowledge management and research and development functions in an African and global development context is required.
• Demonstrated experience managing diverse partnerships is required. 
• Demonstrated experience of managing a tech hub, innovation centre and/or start-up ecosystem support organization is desired
• Track record of producing and publishing applied research, knowledge products, or policy-relevant analysis in relevant domains is desired
• Experience with capacity building programme design and delivery in multi-country settings is required
• Familiarity with UNDP, multilateral development institutions, or comparable organizations is desired 
• Experience navigating complex multi-stakeholder environments including governments, universities, and private sector is required
• Excellent written communication and editorial judgment for diverse audiences is desired 
• Collaborative, self-directed working style suited to a remote, multi-time-zone team environment is desired
• Experience in resource mobilization, partnership development, and/or designing sustainability strategies for innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurship programmes, or development initiatives is desired.

Language:

• Fluency in English and French required; French preferred given the Francophone Africa footprint of the hubs network.
• Knowledge of another UN language is desirable.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Right to select multiple candidates

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.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

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