Technical Advisor- Public Finance and Local Government, IPSA12 - UNCDF - LTF- LoCAL Suva, Fiji

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 Practice (LTF) aims to be a centre 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 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 also aims to support private finance for small and medium businesses and municipal finance and public-private partnerships. LoCAL deploys UNCDF’s Local Development Fund modality of support to Member States.

Through UNCDF, LoCAL is presently working with 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and the Pacific, and has cumulatively mobilised over US$150m for more than 2,100 adaptation projects.  In the Pacific, LoCAL has been deployed in Tuvalu since 2016, with Performance-based grants deployed in Solomon Islands from 2024.  UNCDF is also working with the Governments Fiji and Vanuatu to design the LoCAL mechanism. 

UNCDF is looking for a senior-level expert to provide technical support to the implementation of LoCAL in the Pacific, as well as quality assurance for selected countries of the global portfolio, providing advice to partner governments, UNCDF LTF Practice and the LoCAL team on local government finance, fiscal decentralization, public financial management, and climate change mainstreaming into local public planning and budgeting. As far as the regional portfolio is concerned, initially, around 75% of the role’s focus will centre on implementation of LoCAL in Solomon Islands.  This is expected to evolve over time to include a broader regional focus.  As the portfolio expands, the incumbent will be responsible for organizing and technically leading scoping and update/design exercises of current and new LoCAL mechanisms in the Pacific and providing independent quality assurance for selected countries in LoCAL’s global portfolio, including ensuring compliance with the International Standard for Performance-based climate resilience grants (ISO 14093:2022).

Summary of key functions:

1. Provide technical advice to partner governments and LoCAL national teams with the effective implementation of the LoCAL financing mechanism in selected Pacific countries 

2. Provide technical support on the implementation of LoCAL in mainstreaming of climate change issues into public planning and budgeting systems 

3. Be in charge of scoping and design work for the LoCAL mechanism in the Pacific, and globally, where requested 

4. Ensure quality assurance across selected countries in LoCAL’s global portfolio 

1)           Provide technical advice to partner governments and LoCAL national teams with the effective implementation of the LoCAL financing mechanism in selected Pacific countries, with an initial focus on the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu 

• Providing technical advice and capacity building support to national and subnational government authorities in areas such as undertaking annual performance assessments and reporting, developing templates, etc;
• Providing technical oversight of annual performance assessments undertaken within countries implementing LoCAL in the Pacific; 
• Providing guidance to partner governments and the national team on alignment with the International Standard for Performance-based climate resilience grants; 
• Identifying needs and (technical and management) capacities of local and national stakeholders involved in LoCAL;
• Building on the LoCAL-scoping document (above task), design phases I and II of LoCAL and the performance-based grant mechanism for climate resilience in selected countries, tailored either for urban/peri urban or rural areas, that address the various stages of the LoCAL approach/process (i.e. assessments and planning/mainstreaming; financing and budgeting/ mainstreaming; implementation of adaptation measures; performance assessments and reporting) by for instance;
• Reviewing and making recommendations for the institutional set-up of LoCAL with clear roles and responsibilities for the various government counterparts and partners, and for strengthening of institutions and systems at the various stages of the LoCAL approach/process;
• Identifying selection criteria for potential pilot local governments in line with the national policy framework and other relevant criteria to be agreed on (e.g. climate risk or vulnerability index);
• Assessing and making recommendations for the financial circuit used for the LoCAL grant transfer taking into account the modalities of the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system and existing performance-based grants where applicable;
• Developing allocation formula and scenarios for the local governments to be covered by LoCAL taking into account the modalities of the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system;
• Identifying and selecting from the national intergovernmental fiscal transfer system and/or monitoring system a set of possible minimum conditions and performance measures, or alternatively developing a list of possible minimum conditions and performance measures, to be included in the national systems. These minimum conditions and performance measures will be accompanied by clear indicator definitions and implementation guidelines including the allocation formula for reviewing the grant allocation based on performance during a subsequent inception phase of the program in form of a specific Performance Assessment Manual and PBCRG operational manual;
• Defining an “investment menu” of eligible adaptation measures, in line with the national policy framework for climate change adaptation (NAP and NDC) that will inform the integration of adaptation in local development and investment planning budgeting;
• Integrating the LoCAL M&E framework, the ‘Assessing Climate Change Adaptation Framework’ (ACCAF) into the design; Reviewing and providing recommendations to support the strengthening of public financial management systems for climate change adaptation in the long-run (e.g., creation of budget codes, development or revision of guidelines and manuals, integration of climate change in tendering, procurement and delivery processes, reporting practices);
• Collecting and reviewing LoCAL experiences and lessons learned;
• Reviewing and making recommendations to revise as appropriate the key elements of the LoCAL approach (minimum conditions, performance measures, triggers for fund transfers, investment menu, roles of partners and stakeholders, financial circuit used for the LoCAL grant transfer).

2)           Implementation of LoCAL in mainstreaming climate change issues into public planning and budgeting systems 

• Providing technical assistance and capacity building support to national and subnational government authorities in areas such as mainstreaming of climate change issues into public planning and budgeting, implementation of adaptation measures; cost benefit analysis of adaptation measures, undertaking annual performance assessments and reporting, developing templates, etc;
• Identifying needs and (technical and management) capacities of local and national stakeholders involved in LoCAL;
• Coordinate the integration of climate change adaptation in local development plans, investments plans and projects and budgets;
• Conduct sensitization/training on LoCAL/PBCRG, e.g. deliver participatory trainings of LGAs and communities in target LoCAL countries on the PBCRG system and manual, using the draft assessment guide/manual developed for the performance-based climate resilient grants (PBCRGs);
• Selection and costing of adaptation measures in line with the LoCAL investment menu and their inclusion in the local investments plans and budgets;
• Developing performance assessment manuals for performance-based climate resilient grants (PBCRGs) with a view to inform and/or be integrated in the national inter-governmental fiscal transfer systems;
• Conducting and/or overseeing Annual Performance Assessments  (APA), by:
• Studying carefully and reaching a full understanding of the Performance Assessment Manual for PBCRGs in the target LoCAL countries, including organizing and collating relevant documentation;
• Proposing a work plan for the Annual Performance Assessment. The work plan is to be agreed by with national stakeholders and the LoCAL Secretariat;
• Conducting the Annual Performance Assessment in each target LGA in accordance with the agreed work plan and the APA manual of target LoCAL countries, ensuring thorough consultations and dialogues with stakeholders at both national and subnational levels as well as beneficiaries;
• Submitting draft final report for validation by the Steering Committee in target LoCAL countries; 
• Communication/ disseminating results, including via a workshop or meeting to be held with all stakeholders at national and subnational levels with a view of presenting and validating lessons learned and drafting recommendations.
• Ensure Quality Assurance efforts, particularly in LoCAL Phase III countries, that standards are maintained; 
• Providing technical inputs to technical documents and developing concept notes/proposals/technical papers building on the LoCAL mechanism in selected countries;
• Documenting experiences, lessons learned and best practice, thereby contributing to the development of knowledge and communication products. 

3)           LoCAL assessment and scoping 

• Participating in country assessment teams to selected countries (in the Pacific, or other regions, as requested) to assess the conditions to successfully launch and implement a LoCAL project in selected countries, as required;
• Reviewing experience in the field of decentralization, including UNCDF-led projects and experience, in target LoCAL countries and providing inception report on the opportunities, benefits and challenges for the implementation of LoCAL, and incorporate the result into design of LoCAL implementation (LoCAL Design);
• Undertaking design analysis and onsite visits to target LoCAL countries, including understanding/reviewing:
  • Needs and (technical and management) capacities of local and national stakeholders ecosystems’ and populations’ vulnerabilities;
  • Local governments awareness and capacities for climate change adaptation planning and mainstreaming into local development planning and budgeting;
  • The potential for technical and financial partnerships, and;
  • The commitment of local government and central agencies to LoCAL;
  • National and local planning and budgeting processes and guidelines and how they relate to climate change adaptation and local governments;
  • Inter-governmental fiscal transfer systems to the local level and PBGS, current state of implementation, possible reforms, operating manuals and guidelines and related challenges to take into account;
  • Local government institutions and central government ministries in charge of supporting LGs.

4)           Ensure quality assurance across selected countries in LoCAL’s global portfolio 

• Leading quality assurance efforts for selected LoCAL countries within the global portfolio (including in countries implementing LoCAL in Asia, Africa and Caribbean), including though leading monitoring missions, undertaking spot checks, and proposing actions to strengthen quality and performance where required; 
• Assessing compliance with the International Standard for Performance-based climate resilience grants (ISO14093:2022) for selected countries within the global portfolio; 

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

Institutional Arrangement

The incumbent reports to the report to the Global Facility Manager, LoCAL. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with other LTF and LoCAL colleagues in the regional office/HQ based and country and across the region, and with the LoCAL Global Portfolio Manager (Global Lead for Local Climate Finance and Head of LoCAL Facility) on the wider policy and advocacy for the role of IGFT, PFM and performance-based local government financing systems within the development finance system across the region and the globe.

Competencies