Since 2021, the Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) Innovation Team has led the regional implementation of the EU-funded “Mayors for Economic Growth Facility” (M4EG), implemented in five Eastern Partnership (EaP) Countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). The M4EG offers resources, networking and learning opportunities to explore new trajectories of growth and to make towns and cities more attractive for people and investment through new ways of local economic planning. The M4EG takes a ‘hyperlocal’ and whole-of-place approach and offers training and capability development opportunities for local authorities through the Urban Learning Center, as well as grant programmes for municipalities to test new approaches and tools. As of end of 2023, the network of mayors/municipalities totals 425, with close to 50 of those implementing grants or seed-funds at the local level. 10 cities have been developing their comprehensive Urban Transformation Portfolios with the mission-based approach (utilizing UNDP’s Portfolio Design & Management approach) to address their complex development challenges ranging from topics like energy transition into start-up ecosystem development and digital cultural heritage. See M4EG website (eum4eg.com) for more information on the second phase of the initiative.

In the new phase of the M4EG (2025-2028) the main objective of the M4EG is to enhance the economic resilience and sustainability of secondary cities in EaP by fostering inclusive and green economic growth.

The Facility will focus on two main outcomes:

• Improved systemic local-level economic development planning and implementation, for societal vibrancy, digital transformation and regeneration of environment and
• Enhanced capability of local authorities for project creation and financing absorption, as well as strengthening own source revenue collection and allocation.

The new phase of the M4EG will have a stronger focus on diversifying the local level financing and connecting the municipalities with additional funding and financing opportunities offered by the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan, IFIs, commercial banks and other funding programmes in the region.

To that end, UNDP is seeking a Strategic Innovation Specialist to work on leading the diversification of local level financing and connecting it in the design of the mission-based urban planning within the Mayors for Economic Growth Facility.

The role of the Strategic Innovation Specialist will be to support the development of mission-based urban plans and local level financing under the Mayors for Economic Growth Facility.

Strategic Innovation Specialist will lead the work of M4EG in diversifying the funding and financing opportunities of M4EG network municipalities and embedding  the financing angle in the design of the mission-based economic planning and grant programmes. In addition, s/he is expected to work closely with the country offices and the M4EG Regional Project Manager in building both regional and national partnerships with funding and financing organizations, national stakeholders and international partners.

Lead design, develop and coordinate the diversification of local level financing work of M4EG:

• Identify funding and financing opportunities, such as new instruments, new funding programmes and new funding modalities available in the region;
• Guide and advise the local financing experts, country offices and local authorities in getting access to new opportunities;
• Capture learnings and results and translate them into financing case library for the M4EG network,
• Facilitate learning exchanges and dialogues around funding and financing.

Provision of top-level technical advisory support to embed financing angel in the mission-based economic planning and grant programmes of M4EG:

• Co-design the mission-based economic planning processes and grant programmes to include financing angle aiming to grow and scale the seed-funded initiatives;
• Advise and support the mission-based economic planning process in identifying and embedding the funding and financing opportunities into their action plans;
• Translate the learnings and results into A Financing Framework of the Mission-Based Economic Plans in EaP.

Guide and support the M4EG Regional Project Manager in building and managing strategic relationships with partners:

• Identify and engage with national, regional and global funding and financing institutions, who provide support for local level in the region;
• Support country offices in engaging sub-regional and national stakeholders to establish dialogues on local level financing in each country;
• Identify and coordinate the work with both international and local financing experts and organizations to support the development of financing modalities and pilots.

Lead knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic area(s) and UNDP:

• Identify capacity building needs and opportunities. Ensure appropriate training and other relevant capacity building activities are organized and implemented in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia. Lead workshops with senior level officials and stakeholders;
• Proactively identify and pursue opportunities for the documentation and communication of best practices, programme results, and lessons learned under the project;
• Actively participate in and make substantive contributions to external networks and communities of practice to promote advocacy for UNDP’s work and opportunities for collaboration in addressing development trends. Represent UNDP in relevant technical meetings and working groups under the direction of CO management;
• Support establishment of knowledge platforms and innovative mechanisms for capturing and disseminating knowledge from the project; and ensure development of knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and to support UNDP’s engagement in this area.

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

Institutional Arrangement

The Specialist will perform tasks for UNDP, under the supervision of the Regional Project Manager for M4EG Facility and work closely with the regional and national M4EG teams.

• 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.

People Management competency: UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site