“UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, UNDP offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. UNDP Indonesia's mission is to be an agent for change in the human and social development of Indonesia. We aim to be a bridge between Indonesia and all donors as well as a trusted partner to all stakeholders. We work in four key areas of development: Governance Reforms, Pro-Poor Policy Reforms, Conflict Prevention and Recovery, and Environment Management, with the overarching aim of reducing poverty in Indonesia. Besides the four priority areas, UNDP Indonesia is also engaged in a variety of crosscutting initiatives focused on HIV/AIDS, gender equality, and information and technology for development.”
Innovative Financing Lab
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved in Indonesia with the current available financing, but neither will they be achieved globally. The global finance gap to meet SDGs is estimated at $2.5 trillion. While there are a lot of questions, what is clear is that status quo will not be able to bridge this gap in any foreseeable future. There is an urgent need for a step change in the logic of how money flows into economies, a call for innovative financing towards supporting SDGs.
Indonesia has the opportunity to be a global leader. With 260 million people Indonesia is a large and dynamic nation full of potential. It has the largest Muslim population in the world with its SDG aligned Islamic financing a significant untapped lever for change. It is also a tech emerging context, with large tech companies like Amazon seeing Indonesia as their biggest opportunity in ASEAN. But year in year out, its economic growth has fallen below this potential. There is a gap that is both a need and an opportunity.
UNDP Indonesia would like to leverage its experience in innovative financing to set up a lab that offers its services to UNDP and partners. The idea of a lab is a logical next step for UNDP Indonesia, putting the office’s learning on the agenda and showing the importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) impact finance as a strategic priority. The Lab will offer experimentation space where various partners will be able to prototype and test funding models for development initiatives.
In addition, the Lab also answers a UNDP challenge: how to deliver impact in an increasingly challenging landscape? Innovative financing needs to be seen as a strategic lever for change, to sit at the core of the UNDP delivery system. The opportunity to build an Innovative Financing Lab should not be seen as just an Indonesian initiative. It must be seen as a strategic and transformative initiative repurposing how UNDP delivers on its promise to help institutions deliver on SDGs. It’s about aligning UNDP with the logics of 21-century impact.
An innovative financing lab is well placed in Indonesia. The Country Office has also been able to identify the incentives for the different partners to get involved: Government (addressing the deficit), private sector (new markets, de-risking); Islamic finance (increasing productivity and volume); development partners (sustainability impact). Local partners, including business, the state financial authority, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK), and state zakat organization, have all show interested in positioning Indonesia on the regional and global stage. The Lab would be a multi-sectorial partnership delivering new models of financing towards SDGs. This is not about a single project, instrument, or initiatives. This is not short-term funding of impact. This is about enabling the flow of new capital to SDGs; this is about innovating the financing environment.
Islamic Finance
One of massive innovative financing opportunity for the Lab to be explored is around Islamic Finance. The potential centres around more effectively deploying capital and the untapped demand from individuals, organisations and investors to offer Islamic Finance be that through Zakat, Waqf or Islamic compliant investments such as Sukuk. These Islamic finance instruments can be a transformative force for unlocking resources to finance the SDGs given the immense needs for financing.
UNDP has been exploring various ways to mobilize Islamic Finance for SDGs, by engaging with the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBG) to strengthen the collaboration between the two leading development institutions, to support the effective implementation and achievement of the SDGs. Also, through establishment of the Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform as a knowledge hub for promoting peer-learning and experience sharing, as a forum for policy dialogue and advocacy, and as a marketplace for deal sourcing and matchmaking. UNDP is also partnering with the National Board of Zakat (Baznas) which irresponsible for the disbursement of the Islamic mandatory contribution to the poor in Indonesia, to extend its first contribution to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia. The USD350,000 contribution by Baznas is to support UNDP’s Market Transformation through Design and Implementation of Appropriate Mitigation Actions in the Energy Sector (MTRE3).
To support the project, the Project Assistant for Islamic Finance post is established to prepare effective and efficient design and ensure implementation of Islamic Finance innovative financing instruments and business models. Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Technical Advisor for Development Finance, the Project Assistant for Islamic Finance will work in close collaboration with the Technical Advisor and the Team of the Projects Implementing Unit, as well as other project teams in the Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and resolving complex programme/project-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems. He/she will be responsible to assist Technical Advisor in identifying, developing, testing and delivering prototypes, projects and programmes that support practical innovation in Islamic Finance and eventually achieve the highest quality and standards to national counterparts and clients.
- Updated and timely dissemination of credible information.
- Updated in-depth research on Islamic finance and blended finance areas in terms of knowledge, expertise, and networks.
- Updated relevant Islamic finance and blended finance data on sustainable development and key thematic areas for supporting implementation of SDGs in Innovative Financing Lab.
- Effective support in producing an accurate analysis on Islamic finance and blended finance in Innovative Financing Lab.
- Effective support on data collection, data gap identification, data validation policies and procedures, and information gathering to support ongoing and proposed research, and policy/strategy development.
- Effective support in designing and developing Islamic finance and blended financing projects in Innovative Financing Lab.
- Effective implementation on daily basis of the project, procurement, management cycle, and budget work plan according to indicators for achieving planned results, as well as for the overall management of the project in accordance to prevailing UNDP rules, regulations, and procedures.
- Effective identification of the most interesting idea and innovations in Islamic finance and blended finance applicable to the development sector in Indonesia, as well as respond to requests from colleagues for research in defined fields.
- Effective review on the scope areas of opportunity, identification of candidates for financial and non-financial support, supporting selection processes, including business case development and phase-gate approvals.
- Ensuring mainstreaming innovation into UNDP programming.
- Effective contribution to Innovative Financing Lab ‘s reports and related products on SDGs.
- Ensuring documentation on the overall experience of Islamic finance and blended finance in Innovative Financing Lab work, including the support to the concepts throughout the incubation cycle; the research on knowledge, expertise, and networks in identified areas; the support to resource mobilization to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Lab.
- Effective support to the relevant stakeholders to provide necessary inputs for the reporting required.
- Provision of technical inputs to develop and refine concepts; conduct background research and literature reviews; effective contribution to commissioning of background research; and review and comment on commissioned research for the reports.
- Timely development of final evaluation notes after the piloting of each approach/project (results achieved, lessons learned, best practice, recommendations for similar future projects).
- Contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
- Effective documentation of evidence of applied knowledge services delivered to UNDP colleagues and Government partners through research packages and concepts.
- Established and maintain documentation of workshops and seminars delivered in support of Lab’s concepts, Government counterparts, and UNDP colleagues.
- Promotes knowledge management on gender equality issues.
- Support in enhancing the activity of Islamic finance and blended finance in Innovative Financing Lab, and promotion of the Lab among UNDP staff more broadly.
- In coordination with UNDP’s Communication unit and other relevant counterpart communications department, support documentation of the project activities as a tool to communicate results, deepen stakeholder knowledge and buy-in to the project, and resource mobilization for the project.
- Maintain good flow of communication and information between the project, the partners, and other relevant stakeholders.
- Preparing a periodical communication material related to Islamic finance and blended finance activities in Innovative Financing Lab, including article, blog, op-ed, press-release, etc.
- Updated database of the relevant public and development partners private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders who are counterparts for the project.
- Updated presentation, visualization, and communication strategy.
- Human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions;
- Activities are designed and implemented in accordance with “Social and Environmental Standards of UNDP”;
- Any kind of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender are respected within all implementations including data production;
- Differentiated needs of women and men are considered;
- Inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is created;
- Necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings etc. introduced.
Core Competencies:
- Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity.
- Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
- Self-development, initiative-taking.
- Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.
- Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.
- Creating synergies through self-control.
- Managing conflict, including conflict resolving skills to manage gender barriers and gender blind behaviors within the project and with partners
- Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.
- Informed and transparent decision making.
Functional Competencies
Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda
- Identifies relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating UNDP’s mandate.
Results-Based Programme Development and Management
- Provides information and documentation on specific stages of projects/programme implementation.
- Provides background information to identify opportunities for project development and helps drafting proposals.
- Promoting gender equality accountability framework and Gender Equality Results Based management: performance evaluation, assigning proper gender marker in ATLAS web-based system UNDP Indonesia as applicable, reporting, etc.
Building Strategic Partnerships
- Analyse general information and selects materials in support of partnership building initiatives.
- Maintains databases of donor information.
- Tracks and reports on mobilized resources.
Innovation and Marketing New Approaches
- Documents and tracks innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches.
- Responds positively to new approaches.
Resource Mobilization
- Maintains information/databases on potential and actual donors.
- Maintains database of project files.
- Provides data and information needed for preparation of project documents.
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing
- Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things.
- Promoting organizational learning and knowledge sharing in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming.
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise
- Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position.
- Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks.
- Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning.
- Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.
- Demonstrates in-depth understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools, and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.
- Possesses good financial and business analysis skills.
- Interested in governance innovation, social entrepreneurship, ideas and innovation, and Big Data.
- Creative flair and originality.
- Theoretical and/or practical knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment in development programming.
- Ability to carry out gender-related economic, public research and analysis, to contribute to the formulation of policies, programme interventions, procedures, guidelines and tools.
Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals
- Identifies relevant information for advocacy for UNDP’s goals for a variety of audiences.
Client Orientation
- Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion.
- Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines.
- Responds to client needs promptly.
- Minimum 3 years of professional experience, preferably in Islamic banking, Islamic economic, or Islamic finance industry.
- Good understanding of the Islamic finance product, knowledge and best practices; understanding of Islamic fintech and digital financing in general is desired.
- Familiar with SDGs and Result Based Management.
- Direct experience in supporting innovation is an advantage.
- Experience in conducting and then analyzing in-depth interviews with members of the public and large-scale data sets with a range of different research methodologies.
- Experience in creating or analyzing business plans is an advantage.
- Experience in developing partnerships across organizations.
- Experience in programme management, including managing budgets, suppliers, and grant recipients.
- Experience in writing reports, researches, articles and/or blogs.
- Experience in the usage of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), spreadsheet/database package, as well as multimedia tools.
- Fluency in written and spoken English is an absolute necessity.
- Fluency in written and spoken Bahasa Indonesia is required.
- Working knowledge of one or more additional languages would be an asset.
- Good inter-personal and team building skills.
- Full time availability for project management support duties is essential.
- Familiar with Government and UN/UNDP procedures would be desirable.
- Experience in handling of web-based management systems would be preferable.
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. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply . All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
UNDP Indonesia 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 Indonesia at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.
Contract Duration: 6 months initial contract with potential for extension.