Back Climate Finance Specialist (International Consultant), Dili, Timor-Leste

Climate Finance Specialist (International Consultant)

Location : Dili, Timor Leste

Application Deadline : 02-Apr-21

(Midnight New York, USA)

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : International Consultant

Languages Required : English

Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

16-Apr-2021

Duration of Initial Contract : 6 months

UNDP 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.

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.

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network that advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. Since its onset, UNDP has operated in more than 170 countries and working with local governments to meet development challenges, develop local capacity and help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Joint Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Fund in Timor-Leste aims to assist the government of Timor-Leste to develop and establish a holistic and Integrated, National Financing Framework (INFF). The INFF will help to improve the governance and coordination, articulate a financing strategy and strengthen the monitoring and oversight framework. The value of this work has taken on even greater significance since the COVID-19 pandemic - in part because of the greater demands on public financing but also because Timor-Leste's reserves through its Petroleum Fund have also been affected by the global economic downturn. Development financing is currently heavily reliant on financing from Timor-Leste's petroleum fund. To reduce the reliance on petroleum funding, the Joint SDG Fund will help diversify financing sources and grow the fiscal space. Three financing areas have been identified for catalyzing strategic investments in People, Prosperity, and Planet that emphasize financing - health, diaspora, and climate financing, respectively.

The purpose of the Climate Finance component of the Joint Program is to explore the viabilities of modern climate financial instruments in the context of Timor-Leste and to propose a Menu of Options for a blended climate finance framework to generate and leverage a pipeline of bankable green projects. The outcome will contribute to a positive shift in the Timor-Leste economy's transition to sustainability through the financing and public policies that support climate-resilient initiatives. The current task implies the internalization of negative climate externalities to encourage investments that provide environmental benefits.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the assignment is to conduct Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) and adopt national Climate Budget Tagging (CBT) system as a part of INFF that will assist the country to collect and report data on domestic resources allocated for climate change and integrate climate financing into sectoral development plans and budget processes to accelerate SDG implementation.

Scope of work includes:

Task 1: Climate Public Expenditures and Institutional Review

• Familiarize with the existing national documents relevant to this task and good practices from other countries of the region;
• Assess the status of a national response to climate change through climate change strategies, action plans, and sectoral policies, and its linkages to expenditures;
• Quantify climate-related expenditures through the budgetary system and extra-budgetary channels;
• Provide a tool to track climate finance through national delivery channels;
• Identify opportunities and constraints for integrating climate change within the national and sub-national budget allocation and expenditure process;
• Inform decision-makers and development partners in assessing how best to upscale access and delivery of climate finance for the country;
• Provide training to improve the understanding of the roles and responsibilities of institutions, and their coordination, in implementing climate actions;
• Strengthen stakeholders' capacity to formulate more informed policy proposals that respond to climate change while presenting economic, social, and gender co-benefits.

Task 2: Climate Budget Tagging Exercise

• Prepare an assessment of the current capacities of institutions for undertaking and implementing climate change budgeting, and provide recommendations for strengthening the capacities of the key national institutions;
• Identify the scope, criteria, and methodological approaches for implementing the CBT in Timor-Leste, based on the best international practices.
• Make specific recommendations for improving data collection and analysis related to the budget allocations for climate change-related programmes/projects /activities;
• Engage the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the relevant national stakeholders to develop the model for classification of climate change-related expenditures, the calculation of Climate Change Budget Integration, and work out the approach for weighing the climate change relevance of certain programs under public expenditure.
• Present and validate the proposed CBT model during a training with participation of key stakeholders such as the MoF, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (UPMA), and other relevant institutions.
• Prepare a Roadmap for adopting Climate Budget Tagging in state and local governments budgets;
• Prepare a Policy Brief on the main findings and recommendations for the policymakers;
• Present the Roadmap to relevant stakeholders (on-line, using zoom or other relevant tools);
• Incorporate comments and feedbacks received from the key stakeholders.

Competencies

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English with excellent written communication skills and strong experience writing reports is required; knowledge of Tetum or Portuguese is an asset

Required Skills and Experience

1. Academic Qualifications:

• Master's degree or above in finance, environmental economics, environmental sciences, environmental engineering, social sciences or other related fields.

2. Professional Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of experience in Public Administration, Business Administration, Organizational Development, Economics, Public Finance Management or related fields;
• Experience in providing PFM trainings to government stakeholders;
• Substantive experience in the government budget and planning processes, green finance, national climate change policies, fiscal decentralization, or related field
• Practical experience and knowledge of SGD budgeting, climate change budgeting, including budget formulation and classifications/tagging systems, chart of accounts, etc.
• Experience with the UNDP and/or UN agencies is desirable.

Interested applicants are mandatory to apply online through https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job_id=97765. Supporting documents/filled templates to be submitted along with the applications are following, and those templates can be download from https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=76566.

• UN P11 Form
• Individual Contract Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability
• Individual Contract Reference Check (at least from two referees)
• CV

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing to [email protected]

ccgcyOH-owT1v