Regional Manager, Africa Desk

Grade: IS - 5

Deadline: 29 May 2022 (11:59 PM KST)

Location: Songdo, Incheon, South Korea

Job Category: International

Salary: USD 128,600 net (plus attractive benefits, that include the following allowances (as appliable): Relocation, dependency, education assistance and home country travel)

The mission of the Green Climate Fund is to assist developing countries to respond to climate change while bringing prosperity to their people. Established in 2010, the GCF invests in transformational climate projects in the developing world. The Fund makes an ambitious contribution to global climate action and channels significant financial resources into developing countries to help build low-emission and climate-resilient societies.  It is country-driven and undertakes actions that reflect the circumstances of each country concerned and its national aspirations. The GCF is a key enabler of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Since its establishment, the GCF has approved 192 projects in 123 countries and has committed USD 10.1 billion in climate finance. In addition, it has built up an extensive program to support developing countries to identify their needs, in particular, those who are most vulnerable to climate change impacts. The GCF’s diverse workforce is advancing its mission from its headquarters in South Korea. Our talented staff makes unique contributions to the Fund, enriching the institution through their combined expertise and professional commitment.

Position Objective

The Regional Manager for Africa is responsible for guiding the Green Climate Fund to deliver country-driven and ambitious programming in the countries of the region. S/he will drive engagements with countries, direct access entities and delivery partners the region as they identify, develop and implement transformational projects and programmes and align programming partners to channel resources from the GCF. S/he will also leverage the GCF’s support programmes to build the capacity of countries to originate and deliver a portfolio of investments in line with the strategic goals of countries and the GCF.

Duties and responsibilities

Purpose

•    Lead the development and advancement of programming strategies from countries that include transformational project/programme ideas/concepts, and promote alignment with GCF strategies and countries nationally determined contributions and low emissions strategies, identifying suitable accredited entities for programming
•    Identify and guide the co-development of readiness and adaptation planning proposals with countries and delivery partners, enhancing the quality at entry of the proposals and the efficiency of the readiness and preparatory support cycle.
•    Contributes to strategy and planning on matters relevant for country programming, country ownership, readiness and access to GCF resources, including those in the Board workplan, in collaboration with colleagues across GCF.
 

Engagement

•    Advocate with countries, direct access entities and delivery partners to raise the ambition of country programming strategies and align with GCF’s strategic programming goals using the full range of GCF support tools and financing instruments 
•    Persuade colleagues and senior management to advance innovative and impactful project/programme ideas/concepts and related readiness and adaptation planning prioritized in the programming strategies of countries and regional direct access entities
•    Represent the Fund in GCF and partner events relevant for GCF engagement with recipient countries and regions
•    Manage staff members and consultants supporting the regional desk, ensuring a collaborative work environment and modeling the Fund’s values 
 

Delivery

•    Lead engagements with countries, direct access entities and delivery partners, including through dedicated programming events, to secure Secretariat endorsement of their programming strategies, i.e. Country Programmes, regional direct access entities work programmes, project/programme concepts and readiness and adaptation planning
•    Engage throughout the project cycle as an integral part of project/programme teams and readiness and adaptation planning proposals, in accordance with the Operations Manual and standard operating procedures, ensuring alignment with GCF investment criteria and with readiness objectives, respectively
•    Organize knowledge on countries and the region, curating information from their programming strategies, pipelines and portfolios to inform and influence senior management decisions on projects/programmes in the region
•    Use lessons from the implementation of readiness and adaptation planning that enable learning-based origination, in collaboration with the Division of Portfolio Management

Required experience and qualifications

•    Master’s or higher-level degree;
•    11 years or more experience including on developing programming strategies, managing programming cycles, and working at a managerial level in developing countries and in a multilateral programming environment;
•    Knowledge of climate change and climate finance strategies of countries and relevant regional institutions in Africa desk.
•    Fluency in English and French with knowledge of Spanish would be an advantage.

Competencies

•    Clearly communicates links between the Fund’s strategy and the work unit’s goals;
•    Serves as a role model that other people want to follow;
•    Empowers others to translate vision into results;
•    Delegates responsibility, clarifies expectations and makes sure that roles are clear to staff members;
•    Values all staff members’ input and expertise and shows appreciation for achievement and effort;
•    Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff.

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