Consultant to Provide Support to Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) Facility

Position description

Result of Service

An ultimate result of the service is to advance the work on INFF knowledge products, including cutting edge tools, technical guidance (on policy, institutional reform, finance instruments, etc.), and e-learning courses, to facilitate INFF methodology trainings and peer to peer learning relevant to country contexts, and to strengthen agenda setting and coherence across international partners in supporting INFFs.

Duties and Responsibilities

In 2015, world leaders adopted the Addis Ababa Action Agenda at the United Nations’ Third International Conference on Financing for Development. As part of the Addis Agenda commitments, countries agreed to use Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) to support nationally owned sustainable development strategies. INFFs provide a framework for financing sustainable development objectives at the national level. In the spirit of the Addis Agenda, INFFs are holistic, bringing together different financing policy areas (public and private financing and macro-systemic issues), with a view to better align them with medium- and long-term national sustainable development priorities and the SDGs.

The Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) of UNDESA plays a key role in operationalizing the INFF Facility and moving forward the analysis on financing for development at the global level. In addition to advancing the work on INFF knowledge products, including cutting edge tools, technical guidance (on policy, institutional reform, finance instruments, etc.), and e-learning courses, DESA will increasingly facilitate INFF methodology trainings and peer to peer learning relevant to country contexts. Additionally, FSDO will continue to play an important convening role, working on strengthened agenda setting and coherence across international partners in supporting INFFs.

Under the supervision of the Chief of the Policy Analysis and Development Branch (PADB) at FSDO, the Consultant will be responsible for the following work assignments:

• Lead the conceptual development and drafting of INFF technical guidance documents
  • Lead the development of four deep-dive methodological guidance notes on INFFs and sustainable finance, digital finance, industrial policy, and debt policy;
  • Establish a process for feeding the lessons and experiences from INFF development at the country level into the four guidance documents, including development of case studies (practical illustrations in the context of the four topics outlined above);
  • Lead the organization of a structured process of soliciting inputs and incorporating feedback from the IATF and other experts.
• Lead the Conceptual Development of the INFF Training Hub
  • Collaborate with INFF Facility partners (UNDP, OECD, UNICEF) to develop and finalize the INFF knowledge platform training hub;
  • Regularly liaise and communicate with contractors, such as learning designers, overseeing the creation of the hub;
  • Develop a comprehensive rollout plan to ensure awareness and accessibility of the knowledge products on the training hub (e.g., the e-learning courses, technical guidance, etc).
• Systematize INFF Certification and Training
  • Implement a systematic approach to INFF certification and training across the Facility’s advisory services and activities;
  • Design and execute sub-regional, regional or international training exchanges on the INFF methodology and country experiences as required;
  • Utilize the existing INFF E-Learning courses as the foundation for certification and trainings, drawing on global INFF guidance materials and country examples;
  • Maintain a Country Activity Database (CAD) to document the certification status of country officials who complete online training.
• Provide substantive advice on the execution of INFFs in the target FINS project countries (Seychelles, Dominican Republic, and Fiji), including the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, in close coordination and collaboration with the national authorities, embedded experts, UNDESA, and UN Country Teams.
• Engage with Global SDG Finance Agendas
  • Provide substantive input to global FFD processes to influence SDG financing agendas and promote UNDESA’s INFF knowledge products;
  • Advocate for international engagement and alignment with country-led INFFs in forums such as the Financing for Development Forum, High-Level Dialogue, UN General Assemblies, and other strategic events;
  • Strengthen partnerships and collaboration with development partners and IFIs to foster alignment with country-led INFFs.
  • Encourage the participation of relevant international partners in INFF exchanges for enhanced coherence in approaches.
• Support the required reporting, monitoring and evaluation of the INFF Facility, including the preparation of annual reports and workplan reports to the Facility donors (European Commission, Sweden, Italy).
• Perform other relevant duties, as required.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (Masters degree or equivalent) in development studies, international relations, economics, political science or other relevant academic discipline.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in financing policy and analysis, public financial management and technical assistance particularly in a development context
• Experience in advising countries and developing guidance on integrated approaches to development financing
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills
• Excellent drafting and communication abilities
• Fluency in English is required

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an asset.

Application instructions

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