PISTA Climate Finance and Private Sector Specialist

The Italy-UNDP Energy Partnership aims to promote access to sustainable energy in developing countries, contributing to SDG7. The goal of the partnership is to assist partner countries in unlocking finance to scale up the diffusion of clean energy solutions, increase access to energy and boost the energy transition. The Partnership is now in its pilot phase, and it focuses on a set of 8 countries in Africa: Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, Zambia, Eswatini and Comoros. Overall, the Partnership aims to foster the mobilization of public and private capital toward projects aligned with the international policy agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It does so by connecting UNDP’s capacity and connections in emerging economies and developing countries with the public-private ecosystem of Italy and other G7 countries, in the crucial sector of energy.

Cross-cutting to these two initiatives and to the thematic areas of climate and energy is the Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance (PISTA) implemented by the Rome Centre, which aims to mobilise finance for climate, energy and environment. Specifically, PISTA aims to originate projects that contribute to the decarbonization efforts of developing economies and to their transition to climate-resilient economies, and it aims to catalyse international financial resources toward these initiatives. Matching impactful projects with investors and capital providers goes hand in hand with the engagement with financial institutions – both institutional and private – at Italian and global level.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Rome Centre for Climate Action and Energy Transition requires the support of the Climate Finance and Private Sector Specialist in the field of climate change and development finance to deliver on the activities described below. The Climate Finance and Private Sector will report to the Coordinator of PISTA. The scope of work over the course of the period may vary depending on the specific assignment and region.

Operationalization of PISTA

• Support the Climate Finance and Energy Specialist in the development and operationalization of PISTA including the delivery of the Platform work plan, and to build synergies and capacity to ensure close coordination and collaboration among the various teams;
• Lead the formulation of PISTA’s strategy and roadmap on private sector engagement and with support of the relevant country/regional and global colleagues;
• Prepare communication materials related to the activities of PISTA and in relations with the strategic partnership of UNDP with key actors managed by the Rome Centre; and
• Proactively contribute to donor engagement strategy, relationship management, and ensure the timely publication and dissemination of the reports against milestones and KPIs.

Private Sector Engagement

• Enable a quality pipeline of potential bankable investment opportunities supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation in the themes of climate, clean energy and environment with a particular focus on the private sector;
• Identify, assess and enable the incubation of projects and initiatives with high development impact and financial soundness that require upstream, midstream or downstream project development interventions to reach the point of investment by potential financiers;
• Proactively collaborate with external as well as internal UNDP stakeholders to ensure efficient and effective design and implementation of scalable interventions, including platforms that can be replicated across target countries;
• Improve market investment conditions by collaborating with other teams across UNDP as well as partners in the European Union, in multilateral for a such as G7 and G20 to drive sector-wide change in priority areas as well as to encourage private sector participation in new markets;
• Prepare and deliver regular presentations on PISTA, particularly with respect to private sector engagement (key activities and progress) to senior management, technical teams, and external audiences (e.g., public webinars, engagements with countries, and partner events, etc.); and
• Oversee the operational management of PISTA’s private sector engagement, in collaboration with operational support teams, including procurement and a roster of experts (consultants).
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
• Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The Climate Finance and Private Sector is accountable for integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of UNDP resources, including equipment, and supplies. The incumbent may also be asked to supervise work of external consultants and more junior staff.

Institutional Arrangement

• The incumbent will work from office;
• The incumbent will report to and be directly supervised by the PISTA coordinator.
• The incumbent will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment.
• The incumbent will be responsible for providing her/his own workstation (i.e. laptop, phone).
• International mission travel may be required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environment, business administration, accounting or related disciplines is required, or
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in accounting, business administration, environment, or related disciplines in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of Master´s degree.
• Experience:
• Minimum 5 years (with Master´s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of relevant professional work experience in the fields of development finance, investment management or investment mobilization and proven professional and academic experiences in the fields of development finance, sustainability, climate, energy and related disciplines.

Required Skills:

• Proven track record of experience in delivery on project implementation of investments and/or advisory operations is required;
• Experience at a professional level with an international financial institution, working on investments, of at least 1 year is required (e.g. World Bank Group, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, etc);
• Sound financial, credit, and analytical skills, sound business judgment, and ability to assess project bankability;
• Experience with entire investment management cycle including demonstrated ability to structure blended finance support and/or advisory services to enhance project bankability is desired;
• Working experience in Africa is required.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of French is an asset.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/requisitions/job/19061