Regional Policy and Technical Specialist on the Montreal Protocol, Chemicals and Wastes

Background
 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
 

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.

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. 

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government, and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS’s Hubs on Nature, Climate, Energy, and Chemicals and Waste, with the support of the Vertical Fund Programme Support Oversight and Compliance Unit, work with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate nature, climate, energy and waste related concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy and waste. This multi-billion-dollar portfolio encompasses:

• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services including forests.
• Sustainable Land Management and Desertification including food and commodity systems. 
• Water and Ocean Governance including SIDS. 
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. 
• Sustainable Energy. 
• Extractive Industries. 
• Chemicals and Waste Management. 
• Environmental Governance and Green/Circular Economy and SCP approaches. 

This work advances crosscutting themes on innovative finance, digital transformation, capacity development, human rights, gender equality, health, technology, and South-South learning.

In addition to UNDP’s bilateral partnerships in Nature, Climate, Energy and Chemicals & Waste, UNDP is an accredited multilateral implementing agency of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Multilateral Fund (MLF), the Adaptation Fund (AF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). As part of UNDP’s partnership with these vertical funds (VFs), UNDP’s Vertical Fund Programme Support Oversight and Compliance Unit supports UNDP’s Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste related Hubs and provides countries specialized integrated technical services for eligibility assessment, programme formulation, capacity development, policy advice, technical assistance, training and technology transfer, mobilization of co-financing, implementation oversight, results management and evaluation, performance-based payments and knowledge management services.

Sound chemical and waste management could eliminate the hazardous chemicals and waste from the key value chains and facilitate the transition to sustainable production and consumption patterns towards circularity. Chemicals and Waste Hub has specialized technical and policy advisory teams in New York, Istanbul, Bangkok, Addis, Amman, and Panama to support clients’ countries through UNDP Regional Hubs and Country Offices to put in place the right mix of regulatory and financial incentives, remove institutional and policy barriers, and create enabling environments that attract and drive public and private sector investment into sustainable development. In doing this, the Chemicals and Waste Hub assists partner countries to access, combine, and sequence resources from a range of funds, financial instruments, and mechanisms, including GEF and MLF. 

This position is to support the portfolio development and oversight in the chemical and waste focal area for the LAC region by working closely with Senior Technical Advisor in Panama and Chemical and Waste Hub. 

Position Purpose

The Regional Policy and Technical Specialist is primarily responsible for providing high-quality technical policy, programming, implementation support and oversight, and knowledge and capacity development services to UNDP country offices in the region. Secondary clients might include other UN agencies, governments and inter-governmental organizations, NGO’s, donors, and the like. 

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provision of Strategic Leadership, Innovation, Dialogue and Advocacy 

• Provide support to establishing and maintaining a strategic understanding of, and engagement with, the substantive technical issues, institutions, and processes within the region, including establishing contact with and developing strategic partnerships with other agencies, donors, NGOs, the private sector, scientific institutions and the like. 
• Contributing to identification, development and implementation of new strategic programming opportunities and partnerships in the area of sound chemicals and waste management, resource efficiency, circular economy, plastic reduction and recycling.
• Participating in global work-planning meetings, regional strategic planning, pipeline management exercises, etc. 
• Participating in cross-substantive area technical dialogue, common strategic visioning, mainstreaming, programming, and other collaboration within the regional team. 
• Mobilize, foster, and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant regional bodies and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives. 
• Advocate policy and programme progress that UNDP is supporting in various fora including relevant global and regional meetings (e.g., regional meeting of BRS, GFC, network meeting of the Montreal Protocol, Mercury group meeting, Plastics, etc.) and in the relevant stakeholder consultation process including academia and civil society. 
• Advise and support Regional Team on trends and issues with respect to the substantive technical area.

Ensure Effective Programming and Management 

• Supporting the development of strategic policy and guidance for strengthening UNDP Country Offices with chemicals and waste project design and implementation, including alignment with national priorities.
• Advising on development of and advocacy for specific policy analysis and development tools and guidance in support of programming and finance for sound chemicals and waste management.
• Supporting the establishment of a trusted leadership role within the region. 
• Sourcing of technical expertise and support, including assisting with the preparation of TORs, identification and evaluation of experts and reviewing reports.
• Contributing to regional retreats, focal area retreats, regional strategic planning, pipeline management exercises, etc.
• Promoting gender equity/empowerment in programming opportunities.
• Guiding to ensure that strategies and projects are aligned to country outcomes and UNDP corporate environment results in internal UNDP project tracking systems (e.g., ERBM);
• Maintaining quality and accuracy in data and project management systems (e.g., PIMS+), management of Quantum Risks logs, and portfolio delivery rates.
• Monitoring to ensure expected quality standards are maintained in project implementation reviews. 
• Provide guidance to the RCU to internalize lessons from evaluations in programming in the region.

Provision of Policy Advisory and Resource Mobilization 

• Track the international policy discussion and development under the Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, Minamata Convention, recommend to UNDP Country Offices, and Hub Management new policy and strategic alignment options.
• Provide trainings to the partners and stakeholders in the programme countries in the LAC region on policies and progress of the Montreal Protocol, Stockholm Convention, Minamata Convention, GEF and MLF.
• Contribute the crosscutting work of plastic governance in both chemicals & waste management and ocean protection into a coherent policy and programming framework.
• Foster policy innovation in the specific thematic area to enhance programme delivery.
• Assist in the provision of timely quality information and technical advice on the source of funds’ policies, priorities, and activities.
• Work with UNDP country offices and partners, draft, revise, finalize and help edit concepts and project documents for submission to donors.
• Advise on the coordination of design, preparation, submission and approval of project proposals and requests for project development financing.
• Support the liaison with potential (co)financing agencies and institutions.

Ensure Development Impact, Quality Assurance, and Risk Management 

• Guide with inception, contracting and start-up of projects, including establishment of indicators, benchmarks, and work plans.
• Advise and support UNDP country offices in the supervision, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, troubleshooting and adaptive management of approved projects, including preparing and reviewing annual reports, work plans and budget, provide technical support on major procurement process in projects, timely completion of progress implementation report, project completion report, mid-term reviews and terminal evaluation.
• Maintain project and portfolio information and corporate information systems.
• Develop guidance and tools for country offices to utilize in operationalizing project inception, contracting and start-up of projects, including the establishment of indicators, benchmarks, and work plans.
• Maintain quality/accuracy of data and documents in UNDP project management systems.
• Monitor the implementation of projects to ensure expected quality standards, gender mark, stakeholder consultation, compliance with safeguards requirements and other UNDP POPP requirements. 
• Monitor the delivery of the work plan and budget utilization and provide support to improve the delivery. 
• Provide support to UNDP Country offices and execution partners to address significant implementation challenges, identify the projects at risk and facilitate the implementation of risk mitigation measures.
• Engage with UNDP Country Support Team in regional hub on project progress, delivery, and troubleshooting.
• Supporting UNDP HQ, country offices and partners on the communication of the project result, innovation, experience, and lessons learned. 

Facilitate Learning, Knowledge Management and Self Development 

• Evaluating, capturing, codifying, synthesizing lessons and stimulating the uptake of best practices and knowledge, including the development of resource kits and other knowledge materials.
• Peer reviewing, commenting on, and seeking to improve, the technical quality of projects, policies, practices, guidelines, advisory notes, publications and the like. 
• Assisting with preparation of regional Community of Practice meetings. 
• Preparing and delivering training courses, as needed.
• Contribute cross-regional exchange of knowledge by collaborating with policy teams in HQ to research, develop and share knowledge-based tools and guidance to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area and present such material at various fora. 
• Developing knowledge products of relevance to UNDP’s support to countries on sound chemicals and waste management. 
• Developing and carrying out a personal learning plan.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies

Core:
Achieve Results 

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact. 

Think Innovatively:         

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems. 

Learn Continuously:       

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility:          

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands. 

Act with Determination:

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner:       

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: 

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional & Technical:
Business Development: System Thinking              

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Management: Results-based Management      

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Business Management: Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization´s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment.

Business Management: Communications             

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels.

2030 Agenda: Planet - Nature, Climate and Energy           

• Chemicals and Waste management: practical application.

Partnership Management: Relationship management    

• Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust, and mutual understanding. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced University degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in mechanical engineering, chemicals, economics, environment, finance and management or closely related field is required, OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in above-mentioned fields in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:        

• Minimum of 5 years (with Master´s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of experience in project/programme development and management in the Chemicals focal areas is required.
• Prior experience and knowledge of the institutions of the UN system, particularly international chemical conventions and relevant institutional mandates is highly desired.
• Demonstrated experience in providing policy advisory services in areas related to cooling, and/or chemicals, waste, plastics, circular economy is required.
• Experience working in the Latin America and the Caribbean region is desirable.
• Extended general experience in UNDP operational procedures (i.e., NIM) at the national level is an advantage. 
• Substantive experience, knowledge and understanding of concepts and approaches relevant to supporting results-based programme management and implementation is an advantage. 
• Full computer literacy is required. 

Language:           

• Fluency in English and Spanish is required.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

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