Sustainable Finance Analyst needed at United Nations Development Programme

Duties and Responsibilities  

• The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) Sustainable Finance Analyst will be responsible for supporting UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub and Presidency counterpart in providing expertise and coordinating topics and projects related to the execution, uptake and implementation of the sustainable finance agenda of the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG). 

Ensue strategic planning and execution:

• Provide timely technical and administrative guidance, as required and determined jointly with supervisor, to the G20 Presidency and Sustainable Finance Working Group Co-chairs on the development, uptake and implementation of the SFWG agenda (including daily coordination between these stakeholders, timeline management, etc.);
• Support the preparation and coordination of G20 SFWG meetings and events.

Ensure outreach and partnerships management:

• Cultivate and manage relationships with all SFWG members as well as other G20 working group members to advance the SFWG work;
• Support the identification of relevant knowledge partners for the SFWG work under South Africa G20 Presidency;
• Engage with target constituencies throughout the year (ex: FSB, BIS, WB, IMF, IFC, OECD, AfDB, Network for Greening the Financial System, finance ministries and central banks, etc.) and support the negotiations of G20 SFWG documents;
• Coordinate the outreach and engagement with UNDP HQ and country offices to inform them on the G20 Sustainable Finance Agenda and assist them, as relevant, in the uptake of the agenda; 
• Prepare briefing notes for the G20 Presidency SFWG leads, the SFH Director and designees at the Executive Office of the Administrator.

Provision of subject-matter expertise on relevant topics and projects:

• Develop technical documents, reports and briefs for the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group Presidency and Co-chairs
  • Develop a stock-take on the activities planned for 2024-2025 by major sustainable finance networks and support processing inputs to the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap tracking exercise in 2025.

Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing:

• Identify, synthesize and document best practices and lessons learned that are generated from the project and implementing partners;
• Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice on project related issues; 
• Support establishment of knowledge platforms for the project, facilitate innovative mechanisms for dissemination of knowledge from the project, and develop knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and to support UNDP’s engagement in this area.

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 Sustainable Finance Analyst will work under the direct supervision of the ASFH Sustainable Finance Advisor and Director of ASFH and in close collaboration with the other SFH team members. 

Competencies

CORE

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business Direction & Strategy: Negotiation and Influence              

• Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates win-win situations

Business Development: Knowledge Generation   

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need

Business Management: Monitoring         

• Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme  performance and results

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.

Programme and Policy: SDG Finance  

• ESG standards
• Public Sector Finance (Tax and domestic resource mobilization, public financial management and public expenditure)

2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness: Strategic Policy Engagement 

• Strategic policy advice in the context of the G20

Business Direction and Strategy  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

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Economics, Development Economics, International Development, international Management Relations, Public Policies, Development Finance, or other closely related area is required. Or 
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible experience in relationship management for major initiatives or institutions involving multi- stakeholder engagement, inter or intra-governmental negotiations is required;
• Experience in working with sustainable finance issues is required;
• Experience with management and development of new partnerships with demonstrated networks is desirable;
• Experience in working on sustainable finance initiatives, standards and frameworks is desirable;
• Experience in supporting/coordinating partnerships with the Government of South Africa (state, regional or city level) is desirable;
• Experience in supporting/coordinating partnerships with African Union public government or regulatory entities is desirable;
• Proven experience conducting or coordinating research and developing policy briefs or thought pieces, even more if related to sustainable finance, is desirable;
• Experience with the UN system, including UNDP’s network of Country Offices for implementation of activities is desirable;

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English language is required: (excellent presentation, writing, and editing skills).