Biodiversity Finance Analyst (NPSA8) at United Nations Development Programme: (Deadline 1 April 2023)

Background

The United Nations Development programme (UNDP) Rwanda country office is looking for a qualified and experienced national expert in biodiversity finance to provide technical support in the effective implementation of the UNDP’s Biodiversity finance Initiative “BIOFIN”. The initiative aims to mobilize financial resources to enhance biodiversity conservation in Rwanda. It is jointly implemented by UNDP and Rwanda environment Management Authority.

The UNDP – Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is a global partnership addressing the biodiversity finance challenges in a comprehensive manner. BIOFIN provides an innovative methodology enabling countries to measure their current biodiversity expenditures, assess their financial needs in the medium term and identify the most suitable finance solutions to bridge their national biodiversity finance gaps. BIOFIN provides support for country members to initiate national policy dialogues and a transformational process through a stepwise customizable approach to identify and mobilize the resources and policies required to bridge the gap between the current approach to financing biodiversity and that needed to successfully implement national biodiversity plans and achieve national biodiversity targets

BIOFIN is currently in 41 countries globally including Rwanda participating.  The global project, which began in 2012 is coordinated by UNDP through a global team supporting country implementation and the continuous improvement of the BIOFIN methodology. The   UNDP BIOFIN global   team   works   with interdisciplinary national teams, customizing the methodology to the national context in each country. The BIOFIN national team is made of UNDP, Government and other stakeholders including CSOs, NGOs, academia among others and works with the UNDP BIOFIN global team. In Rwanda BIOFIN’s implementation is under the leadership of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and in collaboration with other key stakeholders mentioned above.

BIOFIN Rwanda already produced the Biodiversity Finance Plan including prioritized Finance solutions to implement in order to fill the Biodiversity Finance Gap in Rwanda. BIOFIN Rwanda is now implementing 3 of these finance solutions and already secured a budget for additional finance solutions (being identified and developed).

It is against this background that UNDP Rwanda is looking for a Biodiversity Finance Analyst to continue the implementation of the BIOFIN Programme in RWANDA and provide technical guidance and leadership, programme management, strategic partnerships, resource mobilization and awareness, knowledge building and management among other tasks to increase financial and technical resources require for sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity.

Objective and Scope of Work

The core responsibility of the National Biodiversity Finance Analyst is to provide overall technical guidance and leadership at the national level to implement the Biodiversity Finance Plan and the Finance Solutions. The National Biodiversity Finance Analyst will work in close collaboration with the National Project Coordinator of Rwanda based at REMA, the entire National BIOFIN Team, UNDP CO and the UNDP BIOFIN global team to assure the high-quality delivery of BIOFIN outcomes of the Finance Solutions implemented at the national level. All reports will be provided to the government and, UNDP CO, and validated by the government, UNDP CO, and the UNDP BIOFIN Global team.

The National Biodiversity Finance Analyst will be the technical leader of BIOFIN Rwanda, while the National Coordinator based at REMA, will remain the spokesperson and overall leader of the programme at national level. The National Biodiversity Finance Analyst is expected to have good experience and to provide substantial technical expertise in assuring horizontal integration and consistency of workstreams/studies, as well as quality assurance of national products and processes throughout the   duration of the project. S/he will provide sound technical expertise and implementation of finance solutions. S/he will support outreach activities   to national (Government, donors’ delegation, academia, etc.) and relevant international stakeholders, and the preparation of synthesis reports, policy briefs, press releases and briefing notes for Government, UNDP etc.

Institutional Arrangement 

The Biodiversity Finance Analyst will report to the Head of Sustainable Growth Unit and will work in close collaboration with the SGU Team, the whole Country Office team and update on the project’s progress.

Technical guidance and leadership(40%):

• Develop/review and implement BIOFIN Rwanda finance solution, in coordination with working groups and key experts at the global level, as well as the national level (with the BIOFIN National Project Coordinator at REMA, to support implementation of the BIOFIN finance solutions). This may include a set of measures or activities addressing legal, institutional, entrepreneurial, financial, awareness, capacity matters to put the BIOFIN results into action;
• Develop the Terms of Reference for the appointment of consultants/experts for the implementation of specific finance solutions in consultation with the National Project Coordinator and in line with the approved Multi-year Work Plan;
• Provide technical leadership and support to the working groups and experts implementing the BIOFIN Rwanda finance solutions, including reviewing reports for quality assurance, conducting necessary meetings, workshops, and field visits to support progress and guarantee the quality of work;
• Together with the BIOFIN National Coordinator, work to ensure technical coordination and backstopping of the project work streams;
• Lead the provision of capacity development as the annual work plan allows;
• Contribute to the national dialogue on policies and measures that can improve the sustainable management and protection of Rwanda’s natural resources;
• Identify good practices and lessons learned that could contribute to improving the management of UNDP initiatives, projects, and programs.

Programme Management support (20%):

• Work closely with the UNDP Country Office and the National Project Coordinator, ensuring effective management and implementation of the BIOFIN project as per the BIOFIN Phase 2 extended Work Plan;
• Provide inputs to the National Project Coordinator to support the preparation of multi years’ work plans, biannual workplan revisions, and the quarterly procurement plans;
• Participate in recruitment processes for other members of the national BIOFIN team and consultants as appropriate;
• Assist the National Project Coordinator in supervising and coordinating the work of all project consultants, and subcontractors (quality assurance and contract management);
• Working with the National Project Coordinator, UNDP Head of Sustainable Growth Unit and Programme Associate, to contribute to the proper management of funds according to UNDP requirements, and budget planning and control;
• Support the National Project Coordinator in the preparation of timely project reports to the UNDP BIOFIN Global team, including biannual Country Results reports, quarterly consolidated financial reports, final project report, and other reports required by UNDP.;
• Provide inputs to the National Project Coordinator in the development of project reports, including progress reports and the final project report, to the Project Steering Committee;
• Provide support to the National Project Coordinator, to ensure technical activities and administrative requirements are managed and executed in a timely and appropriate manner including within planned budget;
• With support from the UNDP Country Office, ensure compliance of the project by providing regular information to the UNDP corporate systems (Quantum, Transparency Dashboard, SharePoint, Results Orientated Annual Reporting (ROAR) processes etc);
• Work in close collaboration with the UNDP Rwanda Sustainable Growth Unit (Climate and Environment Programme Specialist), the BIOFIN Technical Adviser (global) and the BIOFIN National Project Coordinator (REMA) to ensure the exchange and sharing of experiences and lessons learned from relevant cross-cutting capacity development and environmental projects, both nationally and internationally;
• Develop/review technical papers and concept note related to biodiversity conservation and biodiversity finance;
• Organize workshops and training solutions on the selection, implementation and of solutions to steer the implementation of Biofin in Rwanda and mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation into other programs.

Strategic partnerships, resource mobilization, promotion, and awareness (20%):

• Work with the BIOFIN National Project Coordinator to create strategic alliances with other partners on biodiversity finance;
• Develop concept notes and project proposals to mobilize financial resources to support the implementation of the Biodiversity Finance Plan;
• Facilitate collaboration between partners and key stakeholders in the development/review of new finance solutions, including but not limited to REMA, FONERWA, etc;
• Development of partnerships with the UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi- lateral donors, private sector, civil society in biodiversity financing based on strategic goals of UNDP, country needs and donors’ priorities;
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new finance solutions or strengthening of existing ones;
• Provide inputs to relevant UNDP and REMA communication initiatives associated with the BIOFIN project (e.g., social platforms, documentaries, radio programming, television spots and awareness campaigns, case studies, etc.), increasing the awareness of the project within Rwanda, regionally and globally;
• Establish and maintain links with other national and international programmes (e.g. NBSAP) and projects including UNDP-GEF projects;
• Prepare detailed reports and analysis of national BIOFIN project results and impacts including in preparation for COPs and at project’s end;
• Prepare communication material to promote the BIOFIN best practices, results and impacts in Rwanda.

Facilitating knowledge building and management (10%):

• Facilitating the process of creating and raising level of awareness of Country Office (CO) biodiversity finance related activities;
• Creating high level advocacy on pertinent development policies instruments across the representatives of top echelon of the country’s stakeholders;
• Advocating for UNDP with Government counterparts and ensures access to best available expertise;
• Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned from the country programme for organizational sharing and learning;
• Draft and publish written pieces (success stories, Opinion papers etc.) in the areas of contribute to communication outreach;
• Support to capacity-building of national counterparts;
• Develop and share knowledge on biodiversity financing for sustainable development;
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Organization of trainings for BIOFIN project stakeholders on biodiversity financing issues.

Supporting UNDP CO in their Biodiversity Finance portfolio (10%)

• Advise the Head of Sustainable Growth Unit and senior Management of the UNDP country office on creation of new partnerships, mobilize finance resources for biodiversity conservation, natural resources management and climate change.

DELIVERABLES

• BIOFIN Finance solution proposal (s) for suggested activities;
• Finalization of implementation plans for all finance solutions;
• Finalized terms of reference for the appointment of consultants in line with the Annual Work Plan;
• Delivery of biodiversity finance solutions as set out in the implementation plans and Annual Work Plan;
• Contributions to Annual Work Plan revisions, quarterly and annual reports and all other project reports available on time;
• Thematic notes and briefing notes on the BIOFIN topics produced and shared. And any other Policy Development (Specific policy recommendations/papers for relevant national/sectoral policy processes);
• Contributions to project reports, including biannual reports and final project reports;
• Project evaluations and UNDP BIOFIN global team missions carried out and recommendations followed;
• Preparation and organization of secure information on the execution of the project, contributions for the monitoring and evaluation of UNDP Country Programme Document (CPD), the UN Strategic Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) in Rwanda;
• Final review of the budget and financial closure of the project 12 months after the project’s operational term;
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within Biodiversity financing;
• Mobilization of biodiversity funding for the country.

• Master’s degree in biodiversity finance, biodiversity conservation, environmental economy, natural resources management or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field with 2 years of relevant experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• Minimum 2 years of professional experience in program/project management and coordination;
• At least 2 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing management advisory services in the biodiversity conservation, resource mobilization for conservation or natural resources management.

Required skills.

• At least 2 years of relevant experience in Communication and Knowledge Management;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages and handling of web-based management systems essential;
• Strong skills in project monitoring and evaluation required.
• Good analytical and writing skills required;
• Ability to prepare publications, reports, and presentations.

Desired additional skills 

• Good understanding of local policies and practices in the environment and climate change sector desired;
• Excellent oral and presentation skills desired.

Required language.

• Excellent writing skills in English required.
• Fluency knowledge of French is an asset.