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:
Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.
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 Fund Terms of Reference and the direct cost Secretariat project document, the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) hosts the CAFI Secretariat, under the oversight of the CAFI Executive Board and other participating UN organizations.
The Technical Specialist will play a key role in the orientation, coordination, and communication of CAFI activities in DRC, 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 (Policy) will lead CAFI programmes via cross-program 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.
• Serve as the national focal point for the secretariat to the government and partner institutions.
• Drive and coordinate all stakeholder engagement efforts in DRC under the supervision of the Chief Policy Dialogue and Country Engagement, to identify and document opportunities for initiating a strategic dialogue.
• Establish and maintain strategic engagement with relevant institutions 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.
• Facilitate dialogue and advocacy mechanisms, forums, south-south cooperation, political and technical exchanges.
• Support country engagement with relevant multilateral and regional initiatives & fora (COMIFAC, ECCAS, CBFP, IMF, IFIs, EITI, etc.).
• Participate in meetings with CAFI donors and partners, prepare and deliver presentations of project results, and follow up with relevant counterparts.
• Prepare and coordinate generic and country-specific background materials, briefing notes, agendas and meeting documentation to support strategic dialogues and stakeholder meetings.
• Proactively identify innovative opportunities to strengthen and create synergies between existing country and regionally led initiatives, platforms and mechanisms that support CAFI`s mandate to maximize collective impact
• Support the design of and delivery of strategic investments and engagement opportunities with donors and DRC government partners to optimize programme efficiency.
• Enable, with support from CAFI Secretariat experts, the development of standardised models for innovative financial support mechanisms to support DRC’s sustainable development objectives whilst reducing and avoiding negative impacts on forests.
• Identify key engagement areas, and develop engagement plans including actor mapping, to maximize CAFI`s programme strategies and interventions.
• Collaborate within the technical and political outreach efforts with all stakeholders (line ministries, prime minister’s office, president’s office, CAFI Embassies, RCO, implementing organizations and non-state actors).
• Research and analysis of information to donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.
• Develop texts for partnerships agreements and identify solutions to resolve outstanding negotiating position between CAFI and DRC.
• Participate and represent CAFI in the different development partner coordination mechanisms (general, national and sectoral development partner coordination mechanisms in DRC to identify relevant points, strategic issues and topics for collective action.
• Oversee the development of milestone monitoring matrices further to the existing LOI.
• Oversee the organization of the annual partnership reviews in-country and other ad hoc coordination meetings as required by national circumstances.
• Facilitate dialogue between the DRC government and the CAFI Secretariat by leading discussions and proposing draft language for political commitments and milestones, governance bodies and monitoring mechanisms.
• Reviews and takes due diligence on the annual work planning and target setting for the CAFI DRC portfolio including reviewing workplans, tracking deadlines and flagging bottlenecks.
• Promote effective coordination and communication among CAFI supported programs and partners.
• Facilitate CAFI programming operations through identification, support and monitoring of institutional capacity building & reform projects and initiatives to ensure delivery of defined programme outcomes.
• Coordinate and participate in quality control mechanisms to ensure the technical quality of the project outputs, publications, and policy discussions.
• Mobilize partnership engagement for strategic interventions such as Expressions of Interests, specific projects, Fast-Tracks, etc.
• Advise and proactively support the CAFI communications team on defensive and proactive policy dialogue related communications, the production of communication products and content for the CAFI webpage.
• Oversee the development and presentation of policy dialogue related topics for the CAFI Executive Board meetings.
• Contribute to resource mobilization efforts by identifying strategies and opportunities and providing inputs to the Head of Secretariat and the Chief Policy Dialogue and Country Engagement.
• Identify policy-driven issues; and identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to programme country policy goals.
• Establish/strengthen national and international advocacy networks. Implement relevant, high -impact advocacy with key partners.
• Coordinate and ensure integrated support in development of policies and institutions to address country problems and needs in collaboration with the Government and other strategic partners.
• Support policy advisory services that contribute to inclusive societal digital transformation and take digital technology risks and opportunities or futures signals into account.
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks, communities of practice, and digital knowledge platforms.
• Organize and deliver training for the operations/ projects staff on programme related matters.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Experience in working with senior-level development partners at a minimum head of country office level is desired.
• 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.
Policy
- Partnerships Management
- Multi-stakeholder Management
- Strategic Communication
- Knowledge Management
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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.
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.
For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
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.
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