Background
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, 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.
The Local Transformative Finance (LTF) Practice aims to be a center of excellence and innovation fund for local government finance. Over a 30-year period the Practice has developed deep expertise in intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGTF), local development funds, public financial management and performance-based grants. LTF supports policy reforms and advocates for a greater appreciation and use of IGTF and performance based local government financing mechanisms in development finance.
On the basis of this experience, LTF designed and manages the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), which is a mechanism to integrate climate change into local authorities’ planning and budgeting through the regular intergovernmental fiscal transfer system using performance-based grants in a participatory and gender-sensitive manner, increase awareness and capacities to respond to climate change at the local level including through ecosystem-based solutions, and increase the quality and number of local investments that address climate change. LoCAL combines performance-based climate resilience grants (PBCRGs), which ensure the programming and verification of change expenditures at the local level, with technical and capacity-building support. It uses the grants and demonstration effect to trigger further flows for local climate action including global climate finance and national fiscal transfers.
LoCAL is presently working with 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and the Pacific, and has cumulatively mobilised over US$170m for more than 2,100 adaptation projects. UNCDF is now working with the Government of Solomon Islands to activate the LoCAL mechanism in Solomon Islands.
UNCDF has supported the Government of the Solomon Islands (GoSI) to design the LoCAL Mechanism with the aims of increasing the resilience of communities and local economies across the country, through regular, predictable and verifiable climate finance in support of local climate responses. It will achieve this through increased provincial government access to climate finance to implement climate change adaptation investments in Solomon Islands (Outcome 1) and institutionalising a standard and internationally recognized country-based mechanism of performance-based climate resilience grants in the country, further attracting climate finance, domestic and international (Outcome 2).
LoCAL-Solomon Islands will raise awareness and strengthen capacities for subnational climate change adaptation at both PG and central levels (Output1); support the integration of climate change into local planning and budgeting processes and finance local adaptation interventions and investments (Output 2) and establish and deploy across the whole country an effective performance-based climate resilience grant system (financing mechanism) that can attract various sources of climate finance (Output 3).
LoCAL will be embedded in the Provincial Capital Development Fund (PCDF) and empower the PGs to develop and fund adaptation and climate-related disaster risk reduction strategies and plans, including climate induced displacement, and CCA infrastructure and services. With improved capacity, PGs will be well placed to access additional national and international CCA funds through central government and act as coordinating agencies for integrated local climate response while providing the continuity and maintenance capacity that is often lacking from time-bound projects. Beyond supporting PGs to increase access to climate financing, LoCAL will also support PGs access to technical expertise on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, in particular climate-induced displacement, to support the implementation of CCA projects funded through the PBCRG and to strengthen the entire project cycle from planning through execution and monitoring.
As LoCAL will be implemented in close coordination with the Solomon Islands Integrated Economic Development and Community Resilience (IEDCR) project, the GESI Specialist will work closely with members of the IEDCR Team, in particular the IEDCR Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Specialist, IECDR Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Resilience Expert, and the Provincial Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction Officers.
The GESI Specialist reports to the LoCAL Programme Specialist, P-3, based in Honiara, Solomon Islands and works in close collaboration with other LTF and LoCAL colleagues in the Pacific regional office/Asia-Pacific regional office, HQ and across the region. The incumbent will work closely with MPGIS, and the LoCAL national and regional team, and may be required to work with the LoCAL Regional Program Manager based in Suva, Fiji.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the LoCAL Solomon Islands Programme Manager, and in close coordination with MPGIS, the IEDCR and the LoCAL national and regional team, the Gender Equality, Social Inclusion and Safeguards (GESI) Specialist will have the following responsibilities:
Functions / Key Results Expected
The overall responsibilities of the assignment are to:
Provide strategic direction on the delivery of GESI outcomes by LoCAL in Solomon Islands
Lead the incorporation of GESI into LoCAL-funded activities, to contribute to improved social inclusion and gender equality, working with the IEDCR ESS Specialist, as well as the Provincial Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction Officers
Establish systems for continuous monitoring and evaluation to deliver strengthened results on GESI.
Produce GESI-related knowledge and materials for LoCAL in Solomon Islands
Monitor program risks, including social and environmental safeguards and health and safety.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Competencies:
Core competencies:
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:
2030 Agenda – People
External Relations & Advocacy
Programme and Policy
Business Direction & Strategy
Required Skills and Experience:
Education:
Experience:
Required Languages:
This vacancy is archived.