Public Finance for SDGs Lead Advisor – P5  

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 Headquarters, 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. In addition, BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. While ensuring that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes, BPPS also 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. Lastly, BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts. In UNDP’s strategic plan, development finance is an enabler to advance the SDGs and support other programmatic areas of UNDP.

The world needs an economic governance architecture deliberately designed to support governments, development agencies, civil society, and the private sector to make decisions that prioritize investment in the SDGs. Thus, UNDP established the Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH) in 2019, aggregating UNDP’s existing work and expertise on financing the SDGs. UNDP aims to promote the investment of over $1 trillion of public expenditure and private capital in the SDGs and maximize development impact for country partners. With this goal, UNDP will mobilize governments, institutional and commercial investors, financial institutions, and enterprises alike to take a more integrated approach to sustainable investment, enabling and promoting the impact integrity of actual and realized investments to enhance transparency, and optimize private and public sectors contributions to achieving the SDGs. SFH is building an agile innovation platform that draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives across all parts of the organization and wide-ranging partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of financing for the SDGs, at national, regional, and global levels. SFH offers a comprehensive package of methods and tools and brings the best of UNDP to accelerate progress of the SDGs.

UNDP’s portfolio of support on Public Finance for SDGs includes engagement with Ministries of Finance, Tax Authorities, other government entities, parliaments, and civil society. UNDP supports these actors to integrate a focus on the attainment of the SDGs and national sustainable development priorities through their budgets, tax policy and administration, and debt management. This portfolio includes global projects such as the Tax for SDGs and Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) Projects; regional projects such as the Climate Finance Network in Asia Pacific; PALOP-T programme in Portuguese speaking countries; and UNDP’s engagements on sustainable debt instruments including in partnership with the European Commission Sustainable Finance Advisory Hub, to name a few.

UNDP’s Public Finance for SDGs approach focuses on looking at the integrated function of tax, expenditures, debt and insurance and risk finance in delivering on specific sustainable development priorities such as climate, nature, gender and poverty as well as looking across these sustainable development priorities and the public finance trade-offs and synergies in their achievement. UNDP’s public finance for SDGs portfolio is supported across UNDP’s Global Policy Network teams and requires collaboration across teams as well as with Regional Bureaus and Country Offices. 

UNDP works in partnership with the IMF, OECD, World Bank as well as other international and regional organizations in delivering its Public Finance for SDGs support to developing countries. UNDP is also working across countries to ensure public finance reforms that accelerate the achievement for SDGs are built into government’s longer-term strategies for financing the achievement of their development priorities, in particular into the Integrated National Financing Frameworks, including ensuring public finance measures are considered also in relation to unlocking private capital for sustainable development.

Under the overall supervision of the Director of the Sustainable Finance Hub, the Public Finance for SDGs Lead Advisor will have oversight of global project managers including on Tax for SDGs and TIWB as well as providing quality assurance and guidance across UNDP teams engaging on public finance for SDGs. The Lead Advisor will ensure the highest level of efficiency in global projects and work closely with the UNDP Country Offices and Regional Bureaus and Hubs in this regard whilst also working across UNDP teams to identify opportunities to strengthen the coherence and impact of support on public finance at global, regional and country levels. 

Position Purpose

Under the direct supervision of the SFH Director, the Public Finance for SDGs Lead Advisor, Sustainable Finance Hub, will be responsible for performing the following duties and responsibilities:

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Development

• Lead implementation and multi-stakeholder engagement for the public finance portfolio, including engaging with public finance experts, IMF, OECD, World Bank and other multilaterals, Donors, Governments, UNDP GPN, UNDP Regional Bureaus (RBs)/Hubs and Country Offices. 
• Build and maintain a network of implementation partners across the portfolio including international and regional organisations providing services on public finance. 
• Support RBs and COs in building strategic alliances and partnerships with governments, think tanks, academic institutions, development partners and others. 
• Provide technical and strategic advice to develop integrated approaches across tools such as SDG Taxation Frameworks; SDG budgeting approaches and SDG-aligned debt instruments.
• Work collaboratively across different teams within UNDP and SFH and identify potential synergies with other initiatives and services (e.g. INFF, unlocking private capital and the SDG Finance Academy). 
• Support governments in integrating digitalization and data analytics in public finance processes to enhance stakeholder engagement and portfolio impact.

Policy and Technical Advisory Support

• Provide technical advice to support the expansion of the global public finance for SDGs portfolio in the areas of tax, expenditure, and debt with a focus on integrated approaches that leverage and align public finance for the SDGs.
• Work with UNDP’s Regional SDG Finance Advisors and Project Specialists in identifying and supporting the development of synergies between the public finance work of Country Offices and other broader sustainable development programming. 
• Support the strengthening of the ExpRes Roster (managed by UNDP’s Crisis Bureau) to support public finance for SDGs engagements and provide quality assurance and oversight in the deployments at country levels.
• Lead the design of new areas of technical support for public finance for SDGs including for example integrated analytical tools to assess impact of tax and expenditure on gender, inequality and climate change or public finance management tools to support SDG thematic debt issuance. 
• Engage with policymakers on public finance matters and further develop the role of UNDP in public finance for the SDGs.
• Promote the adoption of digital tools and data analytics to advance public finance strategies for SDGs, ensuring a data-driven approach in policy advice and technical support. 

Project leadership and management

• Develop programme proposals and secure donor resources to scale up Public Finance for SDGs initiatives at global, regional, and country level. 
• Lead and oversee relevant global projects including the Tax for SDGs, and TIWB projects and ensure accountability for their delivery in line with donor and client expectations. 
• Complete recruitments, procurement and contracting to deliver the project activities. Ensure compliance of different activities with UNDP rules and regulations.
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for different processes of the project and manage programmes accordingly. 
• Implement the internal control system on project finances and oversee project budget and cash flow in Quantum.
• Keep project boards informed of the project activities and together with the SFH Director ensure appropriate reporting and communications with the board.

Thought Leadership and Knowledge Management

• Working with the SFH Director and communications team, collaborate on thought leadership and communications for the public finance portfolio.
• Lead the organization of events, including conferences, consultations, and workshops as well project board meetings to further establish UNDP thought leadership on public finance for the SDGs.
• Develop evidence to inform country, regional and global policy, and approaches to public finance for the SDGs.
• Develop policy and messaging to support UNDP leadership and senior management in their positioning of UNDP and in their delivery of the UNDP Strategic Plan. 
• Lead the development of resources (technical methodologies, knowledge products and policy papers) to enhance capacities on public finance for SDGs including in collaboration with international, regional, and country partners.
• Initiate digital and data-focused knowledge sharing initiatives to reinforce UNDP’s leadership in innovative public finance for the SDGs.

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

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.

People Management: UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site

• Public Finance for SDGs Lead Advisor will have three people under supervision.

Cross-Functional & Technical:
2030 Agenda: Partnerships: SDG Finance 

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

Partnership management: IFI Partnerships

• Knowledge and understanding of IFIs (strategies, approaches, processes, and systems) 

Business Management: Results-based Management

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

Partnership management: Resource mobilization

• Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities and establish a plan to meet funding requirements.

Partnership management: Strategic engagement

• Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives.

Business Direction & Strategy: Strategic Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks, and opportunities, linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions. 
• Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.

Business Development: Knowledge Facilitation

• Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or above) in taxation, fiscal economics, public finance or other directly related field is required. OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the 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:

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience (with a master’s degree), or 12 years of technical and management experience in the field of public finance/ tax/ fiscal policy and/ or administration is required. 
• Experience in working with International Financial Institutions is mandatory. 
• Track record of providing policy advice and capacity development support to Ministries of Finance and /or tax authorities in developing countries is required. 
• Sound experience in writing and analytical skills, including the ability to write concept notes, outcome reporting, and other written communication is required. 
• Relevant experience in providing technical assistance and support to UNDP Country Offices, governments, or development partners across different regions on matters related to public finance is desired. 
• Experience of results-based management, particularly as relates to public finance initiatives is an asset. 
• Experience in resource mobilization and donor relations is preferred.
• Solid understanding of global normative discussion on public finance and taxation is an advantage.

Language:

• Proficiency in English is mandatory.
• Knowledge of another UN language is desirable.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
 

Disclaimer
 

Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders) 
 

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment. 
 

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
 

Applicant information about UNDP rosters.
 

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
 

Non-discrimination.
 

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  
 

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
 

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