ABOUT THE COMPANY:

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

JOB SUMMARY

Job Purpose and Organizational Context

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy.

In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.

BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government, and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.

In addition, BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. While ensuring that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes, BPPS also assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. Lastly, BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

To streamline its financial and investment engagement, UNDP launched the Sustainable Finance Hub, a finance and innovation platform, that draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the SDGs and lead the implementation of the new UNDP private sector strategy and other initiatives.

The Hub is an integral part of both the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), as well as part of the GPN.

The Hub serves as a connector, broker, and global coordinator among internal and external actors; curates and manages UNDP’s catalogue of service offers on SDG financing to governments, investors, and companies, via the COs, to significantly enhance the scale and impact of UNDP’s work.

Under the direct supervsion of the Sustainable Finance Hub Director and working closely with the other team members across UNDP’s sustainable finance portfolio, this position will be responsible for supporting SFH strategy and planning work, leading SFH knowledge management work, coordination of communications efforts, monitoring and evaluation, risk management and compliance.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Senior Advisor on Strategy and Knowledge will be responsible for the performance of the following functions and duties:

1. Advising and providing support tothe SFH Director and management team in strategy, planning and results reporting.
2. Leading the further strengthening of SFH knowledge management functions, including developing and implementing a knowledge strategy and overseeing the quality assurance processes and the knowledge portal to advance the corporate US$1 trillion moonshot.
3. Leading the coordination of SFH communications efforts and connecting them to knowledge management functions.
4. Lead in monitoring SFH results and managing evaluations across SFH.
5. Ensuring approproate risk management and compliance in collaboration with the Project Management and Support Team.
6. Managing regular meetings of multiple professionals across SFH teams as part of implementation of workplan, including the Team Leaders meetings and SFH All Staff meetings.
7. Build and maintain SFH Strategic Partnerships.
8. Lead knowledge building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic area(s)
9. Performing other assignments related to this position as may be required by the Supervisor.
10. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
11. Coordinating the recruitment and selection of global SFH personnel, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications and overseeing contractors’ work.

For more information on UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub Activities, please visit  https://sdgfinance.undp.org/

Institutional Arrangement 

The Senior Advisor on Strategy and Knowledge will carry out relevant duties under the guidance and direct supervision of the Sustainable Finance Hub Director.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 4: Prioritize team workflow, mobilize resources, drive scalable results/strategic impact

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 4: Easily navigate complexity, encourage/enable radical innovation, has foresight

Learn Continuously

LEVEL 4: Create systems and processes that enable learning and development for all

Adapt with Agility

LEVEL 4: Proactively initiate/lead organizational change, champion new systems/processes

Act with Determination

LEVEL 4: Able to make difficult decisions in challenging situations, inspire confidence

Engage and Partner

LEVEL 4: Construct strategic multi-partner alliances in high stake situations, foster co-creation

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 4: Create ethical culture,  identify/address barriers to inclusion

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

• Business Direction & Strategy
  • System Thinking
    • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgment 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 Facilitation
    • Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally
• Business Management
  • Results-based Management
    • Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
  • Project Management
    • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• 2030 Agenda: Partnerships
  • SDG Finance:
    • Global partnership for effective development cooperation
• 2030 Agenda: Engagement and Effectiveness
  • Effectiveness:
    • Decentralized evaluation
• Communications
  • Advocacy strategy and implementation
    • Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change Partnership management

Required Skills and Experience

Min.

Education requirements

• An advanced University degree (master’s degree or equivalent), preferably in International Development, Economics/Management, Business Administration, Development Studies or closely related field is required or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above-mentioned fields of study, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min.

years of relevant work experience

• A minimum of 10 years (with a master’s degree) of professional work experience in strategy, knowledge and project management related to SDG financing or private sector programs and partnerships is required or
• 12 years (with a bachelor’s degree) of professional work experience in strategy, knowledge and project management related to SDG financing or private sector programs and partnerships is required.

Required skills

• Experience in strategy development and planning in international organizations is required.
• Experience in leading knowledge management and communications efforts is required.
• Experience in project management and results-based management, ideally including evaluations, is required.

Desired skills

• Experience in supporting various teams and bureaus and developing communities of practice are an asset.
• Experience in writing briefings, reports, periodic reporting, reviewing, and editing documents is an asset.
• Experience working and living in developing countries is an asset.
• Experience and leadership in team management is an asset.

Required Language(s)

• Excellent oral and written communications and presentation skills in English are required.
• Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

Travel: 

This is a home-based assignment, so no travel to/from the duty station is envisaged.

Cost of other travel, as deemed necessary by UNDP while performing the outlined functions, shall be at UNDP’s expense and in accordance with the applicable UNDP travel policy.

REQUIRED EDUCATION: Bachelor Degree

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: 60