Job Identification : 11559

Locations : New York, United States

Posting Date : 06/29/2023, 11:46 PM

Apply Before : 07/07/2023, 03:59 AM

Degree Level : Advanced/Postgraduate Degree

Job Schedule : Full time

Agency : UNCDF

Grade : P5

Vacancy Type : Fixed Term

Contract Duration : 1 Year with Possibility for extension

Education & Work Experience : Master’s Degree – 10 year(s) experience

Required Languages : Fluency in written and spoken English

Desired Languages : Fluency in French is an asset

Vacancy Timeline

1 Week

Mobility required/no mobility

mobility required

ICSC Grade

ICS12 / P5

Job Category : Management

Job Description

I. Background and Organizational Context

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP/UNCDF, we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP/UNCDF including our values and inspiring stories.

UNDP/UNCDF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

UNDP / UNCDF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

To support the sustainable and inclusive economic growth envisioned by the LDC Doha programme of action and the SDG Agenda, UNCDF launched a new Strategic Framework for 2022-2025 that offers an ambitious roadmap aimed at unlocking the potential of finance to accelerate SDG-positive achievements for the benefit of the most vulnerable nations. This new vision calls for the development of a pathway to growth that identify fundraising opportunities, deploy a sequencing approach based on demonstration of needs, and promote comprehensive programming through a renewed partnership with UNDP and the UN systems.

UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: (1) inclusive digital economies, which connects individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty; (2) local development finance, which drives structural transformation of localities through policy and regulatory reform, fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance including project finance to unlock capital flows to the local level; and (3) investment finance, which provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization.

UNCDF uses a combination of grants, reimbursable grants, loans, guarantees and technical assistance to support early-stage businesses, SMEs, projects, financial institutions and municipal investments. UNCDF’s use of loans and guarantees has been growing and there is now a higher ambition to make better and wider use of these financial instruments. Today the portfolio consists of approximately 30 transactions. UNCDF has also seen a strong increase in demand for its loan and guarantee services from other UN agencies, not least UNDP. In response to the need to deploy different kind of risk tolerant capital, a blended finance impact fund was launched by Bamboo Capital Partners, as the result of a joint initiative between UNCDF and Bamboo Capital. The fund, called BUILD, was incorporated in 2020 and UNCDF made an investment into the Fund in the beginning of 2021, and the Fund made it’s first investment in Q2 of 2021.

UNCDF’s LDC Investment Platform (LDCIP) serves as UNCDF’s center of excellence on innovative development finance in LDCs by creating the conditions for investment viability in financially underserved areas. The aim of the LDCIP is to support the system by (a) demonstrating to domestic and international investors that LDC markets can and do generate returns and merit the attention of a wider range of investors and (b) use its’ experience to support policy and regulatory improvements which will help the scale up of investment activities.

The transactional work undertaken by UNCDF and other actors has proven to be especially effective in stimulating SME growth. Indeed, SMEs are the mainstay of many LDC economies and play an essential role in creating formal employment, empowering women and youth, and reducing inequalities. Similarly, essential small-scale local infrastructure projects can foster local economic development and contribute to the “leave no one behind” agenda. Lastly, to incentivize local financial institutions to take more risk and be a more aggressive in their lending programs in financially underserved areas can also prove to be a very effective use of public funds to support the SDGs.

UNCDF can use a combination of grants, reimbursable grants, loans, guarantees and/or technical assistance to support early-stage businesses, SMEs, projects, microfinance institutions and municipal investments. Up till today UNCDF’s use of loans and guarantees is growing and there is now an ambition to make better use of these financial instruments and the last year has seen an increase in the issuance of various new financial instruments. A special interest, both internally and externally, has been detected in the use of guarantees.

II. Position Purpose

The broader objective of this post is therefore three fold: 1. To advise the LDC Investment Platform in furthering the implementation of UNCDF’s capital investment mandate, primarily through the use of guarantees as well as more innovative financial structures.

2. To provide leadership in the establishment of a specialized guarantee function/expertise within LDCIP.

3. To advise on direct transactional support to UNCDF’s local teams in the LDCs, as well as to the wider UN system and to development partners in the management of guarantee transactions.

III. Duties and Responsibilities

1) Investment operations

•  Build the guarantee operations at UNCDF;
•  Develop and advise LDCIP on the structure and risk appraisal of transactions with guarantee components in order to maximize the potential of co-financing interest from commercial financiers. This includes building and working with financial models to simulate the guarantee usage;
•  Providing guidance to LDCIP’s counterparts through the entire investment process – from the initial assessment of new opportunities and due diligence to risk analysis, including contributing to the portfolio management and other monitoring/follow-up activities;
•  Provide advice to collaborating UN agencies such as UNDP, UN Women and WFP in understanding how to use guarantees as a tool for risk mitigation and fund mobilization; and introduce and guide them in using UNCDF’s guarantee instruments in their operations;
•  Provide advice to development partners such as USAID, Sida Luxembourg and others in understanding the use of guarantees as a tool for risk mitigation and fund mobilization; and guide them in using UNCDF’s guarantee instrument in their operations;
•  Develop training material and train UNCDF’s staff in the use of financial tools, primarily guarantees;
•  Provide advice and guidance in building appropriate infrastructure (policies and tools) to enable UNCDF to not only deploy different financial instruments efficiently and effectively, with a specific focus on expansion of guarantee and loan operations;

2) Analysis of proposal guarantees

•  Analyze new guarantee propositions and structures, including preparing screening memos, full-fledged proposals, risk opinions as well as monitoring memos, to ensure a relevant structure is in place and adequate risk is taken;
•  Undertake discrete due diligence on various elements such as company/project, industry and economic analysis to ensure financial and impact viability of the prospect;
•  Analyze the summary financial, legal and fiscal issues including the capital structure and all necessary contractual arrangements with partners and UNCDF’s counterparts (in consultation with the legal team) to help optimize the financial structure of the transaction and reduce document risk.

3) Knowledge management and capacity building

•  Contribute substantively to LDCIP strategic direction with regard to using financial instruments, especially guarantees.
•  Coordinate, review and produce documentation of progress, performance and lessons learnt from UNCDF’s loan and guarantee operations;
•  Adopt approaches to ensure that the lessons learnt are integrated to improve UNCDF’s and LDCIP’s operations.

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

IV. Competencies

Core Competencies:

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

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Thematic Area Name Definition

Business Direction & Strategy – Negotiation & influence Interpersonal skill

•  Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates in-in situations.

Business Direction & Strategy – Entrepreneurial Thinking

•  Ability to create clarity around UNCDF value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNCDF’s organizational priorities and mandate.

Business Development – Collective Intelligence Design

•  Ability to bringing together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and technology to design services or solutions.

Business Management – Partnership Management

•  Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts & others in line with UNCDF strategy & policies.
•  Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy in of high-level vision and objectives.

Business Management – Communication

•  Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
•  Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
•  Knowledge Generation – Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need.
•  UNCDF Representation – Ability to represent UNCDF and productively share UNCDF knowledge and activities; advocate for UNCDF, its values, mission and work with various constituencies.

Finance – Finance Business Partnering

•  Able to support business units and add value by innovating and providing solutions to financial issues/queries, including through financial tools, advisory, etc. Understands the operations, opportunities and challenges of the organization. Holds a commercial outlook, demonstrating accountability towards organizational goals.

Financial Innovation – Development Finance Expertise

•  Ability to develop and work with innovative financing mechanisms and instruments, e.g. social/development impact bonds, guarantees, climate finance, etc.
•  Ongoing research into emerging trends and the applications, risks, and opportunities associated with adoption, combined with the ability to communicate this synthesis with a broad audience.

V. Keywords

•  Guarantee operations – develop UNCDFs guarantee operations;
•  Complex financial structures – assess financial structures and build financial models;
•  Investments – deployment of capital in Frontier and Emerging markets.

VI. Required Skills and Experience

Education:

•  An advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in economics, finance, business administration, or similar is required.

Experience:

•  A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience within a financial institution, development cooperation agency or development financial institution
•  At least 5 years of relevant experience issuing guarantees to clients.
•  Experience working with development finance, private finance, capital markets, and/or private sector.
•  Experience from working in more than one geographic region, ideally Africa and/or Asia.

Experiences regarded as additional merits:

•  Experience from issuing and managing various financial instruments; grants, loans, equity and/or guarantees;
•  Experience from commercial lending or guarantee operations;
•  Proven ability to think strategically and with innovation, including working across multi-disciplinary groups;
•  Experience with broad-based convening, dialogue processes, and partnership building;
•  Experienced from advanced financial modelling;
•  Experience from private sector operations;
•  Experience in working with and/or managing multi-cultural teams across geographies.

Language:

•  Fluency in English is required.
•  Knowledge of French is an asset.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Disclaimer

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

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP/UNCDF, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP/UNCDF advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP/UNCDF is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

Applicant information about UNDP/UNCDF rosters

Note: UNDP/UNCDF 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/UNCDF at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Non-discrimination

UNDP/UNCDF has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNDP/UNCDF is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

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