Job Identification : 13191

Locations : Male, Maldives

Posting Date : 08/22/2023, 11:49 AM

Apply Before : 09/05/2023, 06:59 PM

Job Schedule : Full time

Agency : UNDP

Grade : NB4

Vacancy Type : National Personnel Service Agreement

Practice Area : Economics

Bureau : Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

Contract Duration : 1 Year

Education & Work Experience : Master’s Degree – 2 year(s) experience OR Bachelor’s Degree – 4 year(s) experience

Required Languages : English and Dhivehi

Vacancy Timeline

2 Weeks

Job Description

Background

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: 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 including our values and inspiring stories.

UNDP 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 is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in about 170 countries and territories, working with national counterparts on solutions to global and national development challenges.

In the programme countries, UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in in partnership with the host governments, the United Nations system, the development partners and other partners to help the country to achieve sustainable development by eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerating structural transformations for sustainable development and building resilience to crises and shock.

UNDP has been a trusted development partner of the Maldives for more than 40 years, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, reduction of inequalities and exclusion in areas such governance, environment protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation. In each of its thematic areas of work, UNDP at the request of its national partners provides relevant policy advisory support, technical assistance, advocacy, and knowledge to help Maldives achieve its global commitment on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). With Maldives’s transition to Middle Income Country Status, Official Development Assistance from traditional donor sources has been on the continuous decline. UNDP is therefore working with its national partners to identify and tap into alternative and innovative financing mechanisms for development. This process involves broadening outreach and forging wide-ranging partnerships with stakeholders – including other UN agencies, the government, the private sector, philanthropic Foundations, multi- lateral and bi-lateral donors and International Finance Institutions to advance the country’s development strategies and objectives.

You are invited to join a team of dedicated development professionals whose primary role is to support the Maldives to achieve the 2030 Agenda. As part of the UNDP team your focus will be to work with multiple stakeholders to find the country specific solutions that lead to sustainable development and to ensure no one is left behind – and we reach those furthest behind first.

UNDP is looking for individuals who have the communication, analytical, planning and implementation capacities that can address links, choices and connections across many issues and sectors. We seek individuals who can apply global best practice to national contexts. We are looking for people who are enthusiastic, motivated, and committed to making a positive contribution to Development in the Maldives.

UNDP Maldives is recruiting a Junior Economist/Climate Finance Policy Analyst to help contribute to its overall work programme. The Junior Economist will support the country office by providing support on economic analysis to management and government counterparts that favor inclusive development, including the integration of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs into national plans and activities. S/he will also work closely with all programme teams and be responsible for helping develop large-scale development solutions and activities aimed at enhancing UNDP’s programmatic support.

The Junior Economist/Climate Finance Policy Analyst works under the guidance and directly reports to the Senior Economist and the position is located within the Country Office and is part of the socioeconomic team within the Policy and Innovation Hub (PIH). S/He will collaborate closely with key Government partners, most notably, the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Finance. S/He will work closely with counterparts on issues of policy development, planning and research and work with both the Policy and Programme clusters, and UNDP projects, enabling a strong team response to the challenges faced by Maldives.

Under the direct supervision of the Economist, the Junior Economist / Climate Finance Policy Analyst will be primarily responsible for the following work streams:

•  Implement and manage Climate Finance Network’s medium term Country Strategy for the Maldives
•  Provide technical assistance and capacity development support to programme partners, coordinate and collaborate with other stakeholders to build synergies and maximize results
•  Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies
•  Advocate and facilitate knowledge-building and communication efforts

Duties and Responsibilities

The Junior Economist post is located within the Country Office and is part of the socioeconomic team within the Policy and Innovation Hub (PIH). While reporting to the Senior Economist, the Junior Economist will work closely with counterparts on issues of policy development, planning and research and work with both the Policy and Programme clusters, and UNDP projects, enabling a strong team response to the challenges faced by Maldives.

Implement and manage Climate Finance Network’s medium term Country Strategy for the Maldives

•  Planning and coordinating CFN activities with CO management, portfolio leads, national nodal finance and planning agencies, and relevant sub-national agencies to mainstream climate resiliency into key economic activities in the Maldives.
•  Draft and provide inputs to annual work planning, budgeting and quarterly reporting.
•  Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results, outputs and outcomes.
•  Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UNDP reports.
•  Monitor implementation, results management and lesson learning.
•  Ensure appropriate application of systems and procedures and develop enhancements as necessary.
•  Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary.
•  Support the preparation of policy briefs, background notes, speeches, talking points, presentation materials, on critical issues relevant to CFN activities in Maldives and at regional level.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development support to programme partners, coordinate and collaborate with other stakeholders to build synergies and maximize results

•  Receiving requests for support from national and other relevant agencies related to various workstreams of CFN, and liaising with CO focal points and regional program leads to arrange relevant expertise and offers of support
•  Staying abreast of the socioeconomic, environmental and climate change policy landscape and institutional architecture of Maldives and provide timely analysis and research in priority thematic areas at the country level and advise CO and regional focal points on aligning and refining programme activities in Maldives.
•  Coordinate relationships with national partners to support implementation of activities in the area of climate finance governance
•  Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners.
•  Coordinate with Climate finance related projects, other UNDP projects and relevant UN agencies and develop an integrated work plans to promote rights-based and gender-responsive climate finance governance agenda in UNDP and broader UNCT.
•  Coordinate with government, UN and non-government partners and stakeholders on actions, activities and events.
•  Contribute to the joint advocacy in identifying key issues, building evidence-base, communication.
•  Build synergies with other programmes at national, local and community levels.

Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies

•  Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies as required, including contributing to efforts to unlock further gender-responsive multilateral and bilateral climate finance.
•  Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, and advocacy materials.
•  Support UNDP Maldives management, partnerships cluster, and UNDP Headquarters in implementing resource mobilization strategies and engaging potential partners to the gender-responsive climate finance governance programme and participate in donor meetings, as needed.
•  Conducting research and providing support to Country Office with designing of financing instruments (such as innovative financing instrument) to finance the SDG agenda for Maldives.
•  Support and facilitate dialogue on sustainable development issues with government officials, development partners, civil society, and the private sector.
•  Support monitoring and reporting of progress related to SDGs and other national development frameworks, including to help strengthen national and local level data collection and statistical capacity.

Advocate and facilitate knowledge-building and communication efforts

•  Enhance the evidence and knowledge base across the gender, poverty and climate change nexus and promote the scaling-up of gender-responsive and inclusive approaches to climate change adaptation, mitigation, disaster management, natural resource management and adaptive social protection in the country programme portfolio
•  Develop background documents and presentations related to gender-responsive climate finance governance.
•  Contribute to advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products, for internal and external stakeholders.

Competencies

Core competencies:

•  Achieve Results: Level 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
•  Think Innovatively: Level 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
•  Learn Continuously: Level 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
•  Adapt with Agility: Level 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
•  Act with Determination: Level 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
•  Engage and Partner: Level 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
•  Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-functional & technical competencies

2030 Agenda: Prosperity

•  Inclusive Growth: Economic Planning
•  Recovery Solutions and Human Mobility: Economic Recovery

2030 Agenda: Peace

•  SDG Finance: Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

Digital Innovation

•  Co-Creation: Ability to design and facilitate a process that enables a diverse group of stakeholders to solve a common problem, develop a practice, or create knowledge together. Ability to embrace diversity, work with a diverse group of stakeholders understand their interests, perspectives and views and tap into to them as a source for creativity. Ability to facilitate processes and create conditions that are open for diverse inputs, stimulate collaboration

Partnership Management

•  Resource mobilization : Ability to identify, develop and manage partnerships that leverage private sector technical expertise and resources
•  Relationship Management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

•  Master’s degree in economics/ development economics or
•  A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in one of the above disciplines in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the Master’s degree

Experience:

•  Minimum 2 years with a Master’s degree or 4 years with a Bachelor’s degree of relevant economic-focused work experience with government or private sector institutions.
•  Experience with UN or international organizations; knowledge of UN/UNDP, and/or UN/UNDP procedures and approaches, would be an asset.
•  Experience in socio-economic research and policy-level analysis.
•  Knowledge and awareness of several policy areas: poverty reduction/ inequality; social protection policy reform; inclusive macroeconomics; productivity and industrial policies; green growth and resource economics; private sector development; and urban policy and urbanization.
•  Experience in handling web-based data management systems and programmes for statistical analysis of data.
•  Experience in working with the government counterparts, national or international financial institutions, private sector/ civil society in the field of economic and social development in the Maldives.
•  Prior work experience relevant to climate finance and coordination with government, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.
•  Experience working in the area of development (national/international) would be an advantage

Required Languages:

•  Proficiency in English and Dhivehi
•  Excellent command of written and spoken English

Disclaimer

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

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP 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 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 rosters

Note: 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.

Non-discrimination

UNDP 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 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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