Location:

Libreville, Gabon
Salary:

negotiable / YEAR
Job type:

FULL_TIME
Posted:

3 weeks ago
Category:

Programme and Project Management
Deadline:

12/12/2024

JOB DESCRIPTION

Background

La diversité, l’équité et l’inclusion sont des principes fondamentaux du PNUD : nous valorisons la diversité en tant qu’expression de la multiplicité des nations et des cultures dans lesquelles nous opérons, nous encourageons l’inclusion en tant que moyen de garantir que l’ensemble du personnel est en mesure de contribuer à notre mission, et nous garantissons l’équité et la justice dans toutes nos actions. Adopter une approche “ne laisser personne de côté” dans nos efforts de diversité signifie augmenter la représentation des populations mal desservies. Les personnes qui s’identifient comme appartenant à des populations marginalisées ou exclues sont vivement encouragées à poser leur candidature. En savoir plus sur le travail au PNUD, y compris sur nos valeurs et nos histoires inspirantes .

Le PNUD ne tolère pas l’exploitation et les abus sexuels, ni aucun type de harcèlement, y compris le harcèlement sexuel, ni la discrimination. Tous les candidats sélectionnés feront donc l’objet d’une vérification rigoureuse de leurs références et de leurs antécédents.

I. Background and Organizational Context

The Central African region is home to the second largest tropical rainforest in the world, is sucking out about 1.5 billion tons of CO2 of the atmosphere or 4% of the world’s emissions every year and provides a habitat to more than 10,000 plant and animal species. Forest loss is accelerating despite ongoing efforts, as government action alone has not been enough to establish an effective balance between the interests of the forest and of economic development. On this basis, a coalition of donors – the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Korea – 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).

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. The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-O, that also provides the Secretariat services.

In Gabon, the CAFI portfolio is currently composed of 8 programmes totalling 48 million USD, spanning 6 sectors. Additionally, a historic results-based payment agreement was signed in 2019, making Gabon the first high forest cover and low deforestation (HFLD) country in Africa to be able to claim payments for emission reductions and removals. To date over 180M USD has been committed in investments and results-based payments for Gabon.

The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-Office (http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/fund/AFI00). As per the updated Fund Terms of Reference and the direct cost Secretariat project document, the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) is hosting the CAFI Secretariat providing the secretariat administrative services under the oversight of the CAFI Executive Board and other participating UN organizations (UNDP, UNCDF, FAO, UN-Habitat, UNFPA, and UNEP).

The management of the CAFI Trust Fund is carried out at three levels:

The Executive Board (EB), supported by the Secretariat, is responsible for overall coordination with CAFI Partner Countries and decisions regarding the allocation of resources from the CAFI Fund;
UNDP MPTFO is responsible for administering the CAFI Fund; and
UN agencies, the World Bank, bilateral cooperation agencies and international non-governmental organizations serve as Implementing Organizations to assist CAFI Partner Countries to implement NIFs that have been endorsed by the CAFI Board.

II. Position Purpose

The Technical Specialist will play a key role in the orientation, coordination, and communication of CAFI activities in Gabon, acting as the national focal point for the secretariat to the government and implementing organizations (accredited agency and government implementation entities), as well as facilitate CAFI secretariat engagement with other national and regional initiatives (CBFP, etc.) The Technical Specialist will lead CAFI programmes via cross-programme synergy development, national stakeholder engagement, and disseminating/communicating lessons learned.

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.

IV. Key Duties and Accountabilities
1) Facilitate Stakeholders and Partnership Engagement
	Serve as the national focal point for the secretariat to the government and partner institutions. Establish and maintain a strategic understanding of and engagement with all the relevant institutions, including establishing contact and developing strategic partnerships with government institutions, donors, NGOs, the private sector, academia, civil society, and other stakeholders and beneficiaries at the national, regional, and local levels. Participate in meetings with CAFI donors and partners, prepare and deliver presentations of project results, and follow up with relevant counterparts if requested by the supervisor.
2) Guide the development of partnership agreements and letters of intent between CAFI and Gabon
	Facilitate dialogue between the Gabon government and the CAFI Secretariat by leading discussions and proposing draft language regarding proposed political commitments and milestones, governance bodies and monitoring mechanisms for the partnership. Enable and strengthen the policy dialogue between CAFI and the Gabon government by organising meetings and initiating outreach, as appropriate.
3) Provide advice for representation and communication of CAFI in Gabon
	Support the representation of CAFI, upon consultation and approval from the Gabon Technical Specialist (Programme and Partnership), at different meetings and workshops and communicate on CAFI at the country level, including on CAFI objectives, programmes and progress. Collect and analyse comments received from stakeholders, including from CAFI donors (embassies, etc.), government (ministers and ministers’ offices), implementing organisations, civil society organisations and private sector.
4) Facilitate the programming, implementation, and monitoring of CAFI programmes
	Reviews and take due diligence on the annual work planning/target setting for CAFI portfolio in Gabon including supporting with review of workplans, keeps track of deadlines and flags bottlenecks. Promote effective coordination and communication among CAFI supported programmes and partners. Facilitate CAFI programme operations through identification of institutional capacity building opportunities to deliver outcomes as defined in programme documents where appropriate; Coordinate and participate in quality control mechanisms, seeking to improve the technical quality of the project outputs, products, publications, and policy discussions.
5) Promote the development and implementation of innovative financial support mechanisms in Gabon
	Enable, with support from CAFI Secretariat experts, the development of standardised models for innovative financial support mechanisms to support Gabon’s sustainable development objectives whilst reducing and avoiding negative impacts on forests.
6) Facilitate Knowledge Management
	Coordinate, under overall leadership of the Technical Specialist (Programmes and Partnership) for Gabon), along with implementation entities to mobilize additional expertise as needed Organize trainings for partner personnel to enhance their technical capacities on matters of programme thematic priority. Identify, evaluate, synthesize, and document lessons learned and best practices directly linked to Gabon CAFI programmes and activities. Contribute to the development of knowledge sharing materials and respond to related queries. Contribute substantively to knowledge networks and communities of practice within the thematic area of the project. Respond to questions about programme progress, impacts, and lessons learned.
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: None

III. Requirements:

Education
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environment, ecology, forestry, business management, law, economy, or related field 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 Master’s degree.
Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
Minimum 5 years (with Master´s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of professional experience in the field of natural resource management, development economy and/or climate change policy in Central Africa is required. Experience in working with development partners at a minimum head of country office level is an asset. Demonstrated work experience in partnership agreements and programming modalities of the UN, the World Bank or other development cooperation institutions is required. Demonstrated direct experience with development assistance policies and procedures, including programmes in the sectors covered by CAFI’s mandate is required. Proven experience with political engagement with government counterparts, at a minimum with DG level is desired. Proven experience in the management of complex multi-stakeholder processes and the engagement of various groups of stakeholders including constituencies from local communities, civil society, and private sector is desired. Fluency in both French and English is required.
Expected Demonstration of Competencies
Core
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

Thematic Area	Name	Definition
Business Direction & Strategy	Strategic 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.
Partnership management	Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding	Knowledge and ability to forge multi- stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms
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 and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment.
2030 Agenda: Planet	Nature, Climate and Energy	Climate and Forests: National REDD+ Strategies and Processes
2030 Agenda: Planet	Nature, Climate and Energy	Climate and Forests: REDD+/UNFCCC and access to emission reduction results-based payments (GCF or carbon markets)
2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness	Engagement & Effectiveness	Project Quality Assurance; RBM standards and practices for programming.
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

V. Keywords

Policy

Partnerships Management

Multi-stakeholder Management

Strategic Communication

Knowledge Management

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)

Le PNUD n’est pas en mesure de fournir des conseils ou de l’aide pour demander la nationalité américaine. Il est donc conseillé aux candidats de demander l’avis d’avocats compétents en matière d’immigration pour toute demande.

Informations sur le ROSTER des candidats du PNUD

Note : Le PNUD se réserve le droit de sélectionner un ou plusieurs candidats dans le cadre de cet avis de vacance de poste. Nous pouvons également conserver les candidatures et prendre en considération les candidats qui postulent à ce poste pour d’autres postes similaires au sein du PNUD, au même niveau hiérarchique et avec une description de poste, une expérience et des exigences en matière d’éducation similaires.

Non-discrimination

Le PNUD applique une politique de tolérance zéro à l’égard de l’exploitation et de l’inconduite sexuelles, du harcèlement sexuel et de l’abus de pouvoir. Tous les candidats sélectionnés feront donc l’objet d’une vérification rigoureuse de leurs références et de leurs antécédents, et devront adhérer à ces normes et principes.

Le PNUD est un employeur qui prône l’égalité des chances et l’intégration et qui ne pratique aucune discrimination fondée sur la race, le sexe, l’identité sexuelle, la religion, la nationalité, l’origine ethnique, l’orientation sexuelle, le handicap, la grossesse, l’âge, la langue, l’origine sociale ou tout autre statut.

Avertissement en cas d’escroquerie

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Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements

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