Background 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. Achieving SDGs alone according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report will require $3,9 trillion per year between 2015 and 2030 for health, education and infrastructure - leaving a $2.5 trillion annual shortfall relative to the current and forecast commitments of $1,4 trillion. To address the financial gap, new sources of innovative finance models are needed (private and venture capital, P2P lending) as well as impactful partnerships aimed at socially geared investment projects that can leverage private investments alongside official development assistance. Innovative finance models, like crowdfunding (crowdfunding, crowd investment), impact investment, preventative and predictive finance are projected to overtake venture capitalists’ investments and grow over $100 billion as per World Bank statistics by 2020. As a form of innovative finance, Islamic finance is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global financial industry with global assets expected to surpass US$3 trillion by 2020.The Islamic Finance, ideally, is an alternative way of financing based on ethical and socially responsible standards, which ensures fair distribution of benefits and obligations between all the parties in any financial transaction. Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance and supervision of the the Project Coordinator for “NGO Empowerment” project, the Specialist will be responsible for supporting the development and implementation of the project “NGO Empowerment“, financed by Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) & Islamic Fund for Development (ISFD) with relevant country office (CO) teams, regional hubs (RH) and other UNDP business units, UN agencies and governments and partners in order to support the work and financing of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The specialist will focus on exploring both the innovation in alternative financial mechanisms that provide new investment opportunities (equity and lending crowdfunding, blockchain) as well as innovation in financial mechanisms that align actors in new ways that leverage each partner’s unique strengths while also meeting their respective risk/return expectation and needs.
The Specialist will be also responsible for supporting crowdfunding and blockchain implementation at the level of country offices (through the joint work with UNDP Impact Giving offer).
Support application of innovative finance and technology models at the global, regional and country level, with the support to country offices and in support of UNDP’s partners:
Support the previously established demand for UNDP Individual giving offer and new crowdfunding crowdfunding. This includes developing further long-term connections with local authorities (municipalities), public utility companies etc. and connecting civic crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platforms to support it; Crowd Investment – in collaboration with colleagues from NGO Empowerment project, to support the number of existing UNDP initiatives and projects on crowdinvesting and bringing them to scale; Support implementation of the “NGO Empowerment/Tadamon” project – through capability development on crowdfunding for UNDP and support the building of local ecosystems for innovative financing for CSOs.Coordinate the uptake of digital technologies in “NGO Empowerment” project and within UNDP programming:
Support CSOs in uptake of digital technologies and crowdfunding through capacity building program; Provide strategic advise on how cutting edge technologies can be utilized to improve the work of CSOs; Continuously supporting the NGO Empowerment project through providing advise on AR/VR technologies; Development of regional approach to applying the digital and blockchain technology in addressing development challenges including identification of funding opportunities and provision of support in navigating regulatory frameworks based on experiences of other countries and consolidating lessons learned; Exploring new business models for blockchain for development, pitching to and bringing on board new investment projects, including the joint field of practice between crowdfunding and blockchain, including ongoing support to existing projects; Exploring new financial mechanisms for development including digital coins, non-fungible tokens for development and drafting the lessons learned how it can be replicated and scaled with UNDP support; Identification, design and implementation of projects where blockchain technologies can be applied and scaled, and could support alleviating poverty or alternative models of addressing development challenges, especially in terms of support to civil society organizations; Resource mobilization with different types of investors, development agencies and blockchain foundations.Provision of top-quality policy advice services to regional hubs and country offices and facilitation of knowledge building and management, as a part of supporting the coordination and implementation of NGO Empowerment Project:
Support Project Coordinator with implementation and coordination of activities of the NGO Empowerment project, including by providing expert support to the COs in implementation of the project; Support to regional hubs and COs in testing new alternative finance business models and bringing on board CO teams/their partners interested in carrying it out in their region; especially as it pertains to achieving of SDGs, transparency, poverty reduction, citizen engagement and strengthening of civil society; Lead the role-out of Crowdfunding Academies, as UNDP capacity building program for CSOs and country offices; and advise on the management and communities for practice through the Sparkblue platform; Advise country offices that are part of “NGO Empowerment” project on engagement of local ecosystems and generate guidelines of tools that can be applied at the country level to tap into alternative finance opportunities (especially crowdfunding); Support reporting and planning of activities within the “NGO Empowerment” project, including Progress Reports, Impact Reporting and similar; Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice. Competencies Core Competencies: Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivityPeople Management
UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Business Management - Partnerships Management Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies Digital & Innovation - Blockchain advice Knowledge of how blockchain works, and ability to advise on the opportunities and challenges for governments and societyThis vacancy is archived.