Regional Technical Specialist - Green Commodities

UNDP Environment and Energy Group (EEG) is based in UNDP’s Bureau of Development Policy and is responsible for providing leadership and technical support to delivery of the Environment and Sustainable Development pillar of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. Its main focus is on helping countries develop the capacity to fully incorporate environmental sustainability into development at national and local, but also global and regional, levels. The principal areas of work are in environmental mainstreaming, environmental finance, adaptation to climate change, and local governance of resources, including energy.

With its technical focus, the Environment and Energy Group (EEG) is organized into substantive technical teams with a Principal or Senior Technical Advisor (PTA/STA) being the team leader within each area. Each team leader supports and guides a team of Regional Technical Advisors and Specialists (RTAs/RTSs). As well as being a member of a technical team, each RTA/RTS is also a member of a regional team, which consists of RTAs/RTSs from all technical teams working together under the leadership of a Regional Practice or Team Leader. The regional teams are based in regional service centres from where they primarily support UNDP’s country offices and partners in the region, but are also called upon to provide support globally as necessary. The role of a Regional Technical Specialist (RTS) is to provide high quality technical guidance and support to policy and project development and implementation partners, primarily UNDP country offices but also other UN agencies, governments and inter-governmental organizations, NGO’s, donors, etc.

The PTAs, RTAs, and RTSs are also responsible for providing detailed knowledge related to sources of funds for environment work, and assisting partners to obtain, use, and report on, such funding. Currently the main sources of funds include: the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its Adaptation Funds (LDCF, SCCF), the CDM carbon market; and various bilateral, multilateral, and sub-national donors and partners including country governments, NGOs, and the private sector. EEG is in the process of expanding its capacities to assist countries access the voluntary carbon markets, the private sector, the UNFCCC Adaptation fund, and, if they become available, mechanisms associated with REDD.

The role of the Regional Technical Specialist (RTS) for Green Commodities, within the technical area of sustainable (climate resilient) development strategies and finance is to assist countries to attract and direct public and private investment towards catalyzing and supporting the environmental sustainability of agricultural commodities, in the context of integrated Low Emission Climate Resilient Development (LECRD). The RTS for Green Commodities works under the overall supervision of the Lead Natural Resources Economist and in close collaboration with other technical specialists at both global and regional levels. The RTS has a secondary line of reporting to the Regional Practice or Team Leaders for the countries to which they provide support.

Depending on the workload and resources, the RTS can be periodically redeployed, in accordance with capability, consent, and due process, to any region as needed.

The RTS is primarily responsible for providing high quality programming and implementation support, and knowledge and capacity development services to UNDP country offices in the region. Secondary clients might include other UN agencies, governments and inter-governmental organizations, NGOs, donors and the like. There will also be a strong focus on private sector partnerships for supply chain approaches to support sustainable development. The commodity work will focus on supply chain initiatives for the following commodities: beef, cocoa, coffee, cotton, pineapple, rice, palm oil, tuna, timber. Through all the stages of GEF project and programming cycles, and in accordance with the UNDP-GEF Programming Manual, key results are expected in the areas of:

1. Innovation, Strategic Leadership, Dialogue and Advocacy (10%)

• Maintain an understanding of substantive technical issues, institutions, and processes within the region, including establishing contact with and developing strategic partnerships with other agencies, donors, NGO’s, multinational agriculture companies, national agriculture companies, chambers of commerce, traders, exporters, retailers, cooperatives, banks and financing institutions, scientific institutions and the like;
• Proactive engagement with the private sector, agricultural industry, agribusiness, commodity trade and rural farming enterprises;
• Contribute to identifying new strategic programming opportunities and partnerships in the area of Green Commodities at the national, regional and global supply chain level. This can include opportunities for the priority commodities and new commodities;
• Communicating with the Regional Team, COs and partners on trends and issues with respect to the substantive technical area;
• Participating in cross-substantive area technical dialogue, common strategic visioning, mainstreaming, programming, and other collaboration within the regional team and other key stakeholders;
• Assisting in keeping the RTA informed of trends and issues pertaining to Green Commodities

Key result: Identification and development of new opportunities and partnerships. This may include new themes, approaches and partners to improving the work of the two programmes.

2. Programme Management (25%)

• Support policy analysis and development of tools and guidance in support of programming and finance for green commodities;
• Arranging with the COs fee sharing and cost recovery arrangement for the GC Facility;
• Developing capacity of COs to work on GC projects;
• Liaising with corporate partners on programming and facilitating connections between corporate partners and COs for the development and management of projects with the private sector:
• Sourcing of technical expertise and support including assisting with the preparation of TORs, identification and evaluation of experts and reviewing reports;
• Contributing to regional strategic planning and pipeline management exercises, etc;
• Promoting gender equity/empowerment in related programming opportunities;
• Ensuring that green commodity projects are aligned to country outcomes and UNDP corporate environment results in internal UNDP project tracking systems (e.g. ERBM);
• Maintaining quality/accuracy in data and project management (UNDP EF systems like PIMS), management of ATLAS Risks logs, portfolio delivery rates;
• Ensuring expected quality standards are maintained in project implementation reviews;
• Supporting the RCU to internalize lessons from evaluations in green commodities projects.

Key result: The green commodities programmes in the region are efficiently and effectively operating, with good working relations with the COs, RCU and national governments and other key stakeholders. All data management is up-to-date and contracts and expenditure are timely.

3. Resource Mobilization (35%)

• Identify programming opportunities and project ideas suitable for GC, particularly from private sector sources;
• Draft, revise, finalize and help editing concepts and project documents for submission to donors;
•  Assisting with the provision of timely quality information and technical advice and activities to country offices and other partners (particularly corporate partners) to enable the preparation of projects;
• Work with the global team/RTA to connect global funding sources down to country level and, where possible, to develop national level funding opportunities into global supply chain initiatives;
• Assisting with the coordination of design, preparation, submission and approval of project proposals, project documents and requests for project development financing;
• Support the liaison with potential co-financing agencies and institutions;

Key result: The green commodities facilities will be working with ddiverse sources of funding and have substantially increased levels of funding for both global and national projects. This will be reflected in an increased size of project portfolio in the region both with on-going and projects under development.

4. Development Impact (20%)

• Assisting with inception, contracting and start up of projects including establishment of indicators, benchmarks and work plans;
• Supporting UNDP country offices in the supervision, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, troubleshooting and adaptive management of approved projects;
• Developing guidance and tools for country offices to utilize in operationalizing project inception, contracting and start up of projects including establishment of indicators, benchmarks and work plans;
• Supporting the supervision, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, troubleshooting and adaptive management of approved projects including preparing and reviewing annual reports and workplans;
• Functioning as surge capacity to COs, supporting EFP with urgent, pressing, complex and/or specific tasks in the context of GC programming; 
• Support and advise corporate partners on strategy and principles for sustainable agricultural sourcing and supply chain management to increase impact beyond projects for entire corporate shift in policies.
• Maintain project and portfolio information and corporate information systems.

Key result: The projects have changed in-country practices so that agriculture (both commodity and small scale production) both improves farmer income and enhances ecosystem services. For commodities, companies and supply chain stakeholders will be directly involved with these changes. Companies will also demonstrate a chance and improvement in their sourcing practices to be more sustainable. Carbon mitigation and adaptation to climate change by farms will also be expected.

5. Learning, Knowledge Management and Self Development (10%)

• Capturing, codifying, synthesizing lessons and stimulating the uptake of best practices and knowledge, including the development of resource kits and other knowledge materials;
• Developing knowledge products of relevance to UNDP/GEF’s support to countries on low emission climate resilient development;
• Assisting with preparation of regional Community of Practice meetings;
• Developing and carrying out a personal learning plan (5%).

Key result: Lessons from project experience are available and useful for future programming and the RTA is more able to carry out his/her work.

Technical Competencies:

• Ability to advise on the development and implementation of sustainable agricultural commodity supply chain projects at local, national and international levels, with particular reference to policy, supply chain and incentive frameworks, the role of trade and markets, capacity development, formal and non-formal institutional strengthening and other factors;
• The ability to work both with market strategies for green commodities and local level subsistence based strategies for farmers not engaged in market transactions.
• Ability to work with multiple stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies:

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting
• Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations
• Ability to develop private sector partnerships
• Ability to facilitate private and public sector partnerships
• Strong analytical and advocacy skills

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example
• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP

Management and Leadership

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
• Ability to lead effectively, mentor, as well as possess conflict resolution skills
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Proven networking, team-building, and organizational skills
• Skills in facilitation and coordination, entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner

Communication

• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to explain complex issues to UNDP staff and external partners
• Excellent drafting ability and presentation skills

Education:

• Masters degree in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Management, Agronomy, Business Administration, Natural resource management or closely-related field;

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant experience, preferably in the area of environment, development and Green Commodities
• Experience with project development, implementation and management, preferably UNDP/GEF projects;
• Experience in the policy development processes associated with environment and sustainable development issues;
• Work experience with the private sector, preferably within a company buying or trading agricultural commodities, including experience with certification and/or sustainability roundtables
• Experience in supply chain approaches
• IT literacy, familiarity with e-presentation techniques and ability to operate with on-line web-based applications;
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written;
• Work experience in an international organization is an advantage, as is knowledge of UNDP policies and procedures;
• Previous experience with GEF mechanisms will be an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Spanish is required (written and verbal); Proficiency in another UN language is an asset.