Impact Investing Research Fellow

Background

CORPORATE BACKGROUND:

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crises and to drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives, build resilient nations, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sustainable Development Goals represent the global consensus for the comprehensive and ambitious 2030 Agenda. The level of ambition and the need for resources to reach the targets necessitate innovations to increase efficiency, and partnerships for effective use of existing resources as well as growing them.

As a major effort to finance SDGs and in order to streamline its financial and investment engagement, UNDP launched the Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH), a finance and innovation platform, that draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the SDGs and lead the implementation of the new UNDP private sector strategy and other initiatives. The Hub is an integral part of both the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), as well as part of the GPN. The Hub serves as a connector, broker and global coordinator among internal and external actors; curates and manages UNDP’s catalogue of service offers on SDG financing to governments, investors and companies, via the COs, to significantly enhance the scale and impact of UNDP’s work. 

FELLOWSHIP OFFICE BACKGROUND:

Through SFH, UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) has a mandate to leverage the role of the private sector in development. ICPSD was established in Istanbul, Turkey on the basis of the Partnership Framework Agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the UNDP in March 2011. The Center advocates and facilitates the contribution of the private sector to human development and inclusive growth through the following thematic priority areas:

•            Private Sector Engagement through South-South Cooperation for the SDGs;

•            Role of the Private Sector in Skills Development;

•            Impact Investment-SDG Financing;

•            Private Sector Resilience and Crisis Response.

Under its “Impact Investment-SDG Financing” thematic area, the Center offers research, advocacy and multi-stakeholder partnership services to diversify sources of financing for the sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on attracting private impact capital. The Center has been supporting UNDP Country Offices in Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Albania, Ukraine, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Djibouti, Eswatini, Tanzania, Mauritius and Seychelles for SDG financing with knowledge products including impact investing ecosystem studies and SDG Investor Maps.

The Research Fellow, based in Istanbul, will provide support to research and knowledge management activities of ICPSD in SDG financing and impact investing. The Research Fellow will conduct research on political, social, and economic trends in SDG financing and impact investing thematic area of the Center and participates in the formulation, management, and evaluation of knowledge management activities within ICPSD’s mandate to enhance the role of private sector in development.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Fellow will assist in the following duties and responsibilities:

Competencies

IT skills:

• Knowledge and a proficient user of Microsoft Office productivity tools;
• Experience in handling of web-based management systems (i.e. ERP, Atlas) is an asset.

Language skills:

• Fluency in English is required.

Other competencies and attitude:

• Interest and motivation in working in an international organization;
• Good analytical skills in gathering and consolidating data and research for practical implementation particularly in business valuation;
• Outgoing and initiative-taking person with a goal-oriented mind-set;
• Communicates effectively when working in teams and independently;
• Good in organizing and structuring various tasks and responsibilities;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration, international development, international relations, political science, or related field is required.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
The application should contain: 

• Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating interest in and qualifications for the post; 
• Current and complete CV in English; 
• Please group all your documents into one single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. 

Candidates who are selected for must submit prior to the interview the following documents: 

• Official document(s) confirming meeting at least one of the educational requirements.  

Stipend 

• During the time of the fellowship, UNDP will provide a monthly stipend which will be determined for each duty station based on the stipend rates published yearly by the OHR Policy and Compensation Unit. The stipend will be paid on a monthly basis.