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

OFFICE/UNIT/PROJECT DESCRIPTION 

The Congo Basin, home to over 200 million hectares of tropical forest, represents one of the world’s most vital carbon sinks and biodiversity reservoirs. Sadly, the region continues to experience alarming rates of forest loss. Over one million hectares of forest is lost annually, driven by small-scale agriculture, infrastructure expansion, and unsustainable logging practices. Despite its ecological and climate significance, Central African forests receive only 11% of forest climate financing worldwide. This deforestation not only undermines global climate goals but also threatens the livelihoods of over 75 million forest-dependent communities. 

On this basis, a coalition of donors – Belgium, Denmark, the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, the Netherlands, the Republic of France, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.– together with Central African partner countries – Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Gabon – have decided to enter into a collaborative partnership to establish the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-Office, that also provides the Secretariat services.

CAFI’s objective is to recognize and preserve the value of the forests in the region to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and contribute to sustainable development. This objective will be attained through the implementation of country-led, national scale REDD+ and Low Emissions Development (LED) investment frameworks that include policy reforms and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable development. 

Payments for Environmental Services (PES) have emerged as a strategic and innovative performance-based financial instrument to incentivize conservation, enhance community resilience, and mobilize sustainable finance. PES schemes offer direct financial rewards to local actors (farmers, indigenous groups, and landowners) for maintaining or restoring ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation. These voluntary contract-based arrangements have proven effective in aligning economic incentives with environmental stewardship, especially in regions where traditional conservation funding is limited.

Governments of Congo Basin countries and CAFI have designed a standardized regional PES programme and committed to scale it to address the drivers of forest loss while providing direct support to local actors. Groundbreaking digital tools tailored to the context of the Congo Basin countries have been developed to ensure unprecedented transparency, accountability, and measurable impact. PES are foreseen to become a major part of CAFI’s portfolio in the coming year.

To support this ambitious regional PES programme as well as to manage an extensive portfolio of performance-based projects following the highest standards of monitoring, reporting and transparency, CAFI has developed a groundbreaking set of digital tools, including:

  1. CAFI-PES, a digital PES management system that supports large-scale performance-based implementation, evidence-based reporting and real-time management of PES projects.
  2. CAFI-Connect, a modern Portfolio Management System designed to provide comprehensive oversight, effective management and clear accountability for an entire portfolio of projects throughout their lifecycle
  3. The Metrics Hub: Increased transparency, accountability and dynamic management through a comprehensive portfolio dashboard.

Building on and complementing these key tools, CAFI Secretariat is seeking a Data Specialist to serve at regional scope supporting its work on data-driven and performance-based programme management, results monitoring, strategic decision-making and data protection across the CAFI portfolio.

 SCOPE OF WORK

This assignment aims to strengthen CAFI’s data architecture and governance, ensuring robust analytical systems, data quality and traceability, and transforming programme data into strategic insights to support portfolio performance, risk management, and donor accountability.

The Data Specialist contributes to improving CAFI’s monitoring architecture by integrating analytical tools, performance dashboards, spatial data, and evaluation findings into a coherent results monitoring system aligned with the CAFI Results Framework and supporting its performance-based programming portfolio.

1. Ensure Portfolio Data Management and Analytics

  • Manage, strengthen and where needed, develop analytical systems supporting monitoring of CAFI’s multi-country portfolio, building on and complementing CAFI-PES, CAFI-Connect and the CAFI Metrics Hub.
  • Structure and ensure the quality assurance of CAFI programme datasets covering project pipelines, delivery chains, results frameworks, and financial performance. 
  • Develop automated workflows for portfolio monitoring and reporting.
  • Produce analytical insights on programme performance, delivery trends, and implementation bottlenecks. 
  • Track CAFI programmes against National Investment Frameworks and CAFI Letters of Intent. 
  • Contribute to portfolio level analysis of indicators at impact, outcome, and output levels.
  • Support data consolidation and preparation of datasets for CAFI portfolio reporting, including inputs to the CAFI Annual Report and other institutional reporting processes.

2. Ensure Results Monitoring and Performance Analysis

  • Strengthen results-based management and evidence-based decision-making within CAFI.
  • Ensure alignment between portfolio analytics and the CAFI Results Framework and monitoring architecture.
  •  Monitor of programme implementation against annual work plans.
  • Develop performance indicators and analytical tools to track programme results.
  • Produce analytical briefs and visualizations on programme performance.
  • Facilitate the synthesis of results across CAFI outcomes and thematic areas.
  • Support the integration of gender markers and other cross-cutting indicators. 
  • Contribute to CAFI’s integration of artificial intelligence into CAFI-PES and CAFI-Connect.

3. Ensure Data Visualization and Digital Monitoring Tools

  • Manage, strengthen and where needed develop interactive dashboards and data visualization tools to support portfolio management, building on and complementing CAFI-PES, CAFI-Connect and the CAFI Metrics Hub.
  • Develop and maintain PowerBI dashboards and other analytical tools.
  • Visualize programme results, financial performance, and delivery chains.
  • Collaborate on the development of digital monitoring systems for CAFI programmes.
  • Support integration of spatial datasets relevant to land-use change, deforestation monitoring, and ecosystem protection.
  • Liaise with CAFI-funded projects, and in particular PES projects, to identify and integrate their needs in data analytics and related dashboards in CAFI-PES and the Metrics-Hub
  • Ensure consistency between dashboard indicators and CAFI monitoring and reporting frameworks.

4. Ensure risk monitoring, portfolio integrity and data protection

  • Support the implementation of CAFI’s risk management and data protection strategy.
  • Support the development and maintenance of CAFI’s Risk Dashboard in CAFI-Connect
  • Produce analytical summaries on risk trends and mitigation measures
  • Contribute to the identification of programme implementation risks and bottlenecks. 
  • Develop automated triggers and alerts to anticipate risks of non-performance
  • Flag risks of - or actual non-performance across CAFI PES projects as well as other projects, and liaise with CAFI programming officers and partners to address them
  • Support integration of risk monitoring into portfolio management processes
  • Ensure the implementation of CAFI’s data protection strategy across CAFI portfolio
  • Analyze and flag suspicious behaviour using data from the CAFI-PES database

5. Ensure Data Quality Assurance and Audit Readiness

  • Ensure the reliability and traceability of CAFI programme data.
  • Establish data quality assurance and data validation procedures ensuring reliability and traceability.
  • Develop documentation and data management protocols.
  • Prepare datasets and documentation required for evaluations, audits, and donor reporting.
  • Facilitate verification of programme results and data consistency across reporting sources.
  • Support data validation processes related to project reporting and portfolio monitoring.

6. Facilitate Knowledge Management and Strategic Reporting

  • Support production of knowledge products and strategic reporting materials.
  • Prepare analytical briefs and background notes for the CAFI Secretariat and Executive Board.
  • Support the preparation of CAFI results reports and analytical summaries.
  • Contribute to the synthesis of lessons learned from programme evaluations.
  • Support the scientific monitoring and analysis of PES programming.
  • Contribute to knowledge management and dissemination of analytical insights.
  • Generate analytical inputs for CAFI institutional reporting and strategic portfolio reviews

The Data Specialist shall perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

The Data Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the PES Lead in the CAFI Secretariat, and in close coordination with the Lead of the M&E unit, ensuring alignment between PES data systems and the CAFI monitoring and reporting framework

Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the Data Specialist is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones.

COMPETENCIES

Core competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Business Management - Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

Digital   - Digital product management: Ability to design and lead digital product development including testing, ongoing product iteration, product strategy and delivery.

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 Management - Monitoring and Evaluation: Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results. Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmark, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of client, current and upcoming. Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies,systems, processes, and tools. Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

2030 Agenda: Planet - Nature: Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Natural Resource Management.

2030 Agenda: Planet - Nature: Climate and Forests:  Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Access and benefit sharing of biodiversity, land, forests and oceans.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SUCCESSFUL IPSA

Min. Academic Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Data Science, Environmental Science, Economics or Development Economics, Natural Resource Management or related area is required. Or

A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with 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 5 years (with Master’s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of professional experience in Monitoring & Evaluation, performance-based payment mechanisms, participatory natural resource management, environmental protection, or related fields.

Required skills and competencies

  • Demonstrated ability to use current software (ArcGIS, QGIS, Google earth engine, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint,).
  • Demonstrated proficiency in using PowerBI.
  • Experience working with monitoring systems, portfolio dashboards, or digital monitoring tools.
  • Proven experience in data management and analysis for portfolio monitoring, performance-based financing, or results-based management.

Desired additional skills and competencies

  • Previous experience working with the UN and/or in a developing country is desirable.
  • Experience with the environmental conservation, forest management and/or sustainable agriculture programs is an advantage.
  • Experience in handling Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and related PES planning and management tools
  • Advanced analytical training or coursework in data analytics and artificial intelligence is an advantage.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

Fluency in French is required. Working knowledge of English is desired.

TRAVEL

a) UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements.

b) Include any official travel expected to be associated with performing the functions 

Annexes to the TOR

CAFI website

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. 

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

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

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