The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.
UNCDF’s financing models work through three channels: inclusive digital economies, connecting individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; local development finance, that capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and investment finance, that provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization. By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to Sustainable Development Goal-SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a broad diversity of SDGs.
Approximately US$1.7 trillion flows from the developed world to the developing world from a diversified set of actors and with equally distinct motivations, ranging from purely philanthropic to market-rate return on investments. By being innovative in the way development assistance is deployed the aid can have the potential to extend the reach through for example the complementary deployment of private capital i.e. by blending public and private funds for enhanced development results. The development assistance then has the potential to expand the pool of foreign and domestic capital available for economic development for e.g. small and medium enterprises, agriculture, infrastructure and key public services.
UNCDF uses a combination of grant, reimbursable grant, loans, guarantees and/or technical assistance to support early stage businesses, SMEs, projects, microfinance institutions and municipal investments. UNCDF’s use of loans and guarantees is growing and there is now an ambition to provide better access to finance by using a range of financial products to all segments of society, at a reasonable cost, and on a sustainable basis.
UNCDF’s Local Development Finance Practice (LD) is a center of excellence and innovative fund for local government finance and local economic development finance in the world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs). LD promotes and supports transformative investments through local governments and domestic financial institutions (banks, pension funds) in LDCs by piloting and scaling up innovative financing mechanisms and policies in the public and private sectors.
As part of LD’s flagship programme on Municipal Investment Finance, UNCDF has developed expertise in water and municipal investments. LD has partnered with Swiss Development Corporation to launch a new programme called Blue Peace Financing. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, government efforts alone will not suffice, additional private capital will need to be further deployed towards development. The Blue Peace Financing initiative is focused on developing innovative financial products. that enable transboundary, multisectoral and transgenerational investments leading to sustainable development and peace, using water as an entry point. The innovative finance products will include investments funded with local public finance, private capital both local and international, and investments that have a blended finance component.
The Programme Specialist, MIF/Blue Peace P3 is responsible for providing technical, policy, and programming implementation support and oversight, and knowledge and capacity development services for the effective deployment of Blue Peace programmatic activities globally and within assigned countries. Furthermore, the staff member will provide substantive and operational support to the regional UNCDF LD teams and link to other ongoing programmes. The staff member is expected to contribute to MIF/Blue Peace resource mobilization activities on an ongoing basis.
Blue Peace Partners:
The Blue Peace partners include UNCDF, the Swiss Development Corporation, and the Geneva Water Hub, and the Advisory firm iGravity (connects innovative ventures, entrepreneurs, NGOs, governments), advises Swiss govt. Additional partners are likely to include Strategic Foresight Group, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Blue Peace Index Project, Global Blue Peace and Regional Blue Peace Initiatives; UNECE Transboundary Water Convention, UNESCO, IUCN, multilateral development banks, foundations, such as Rockefeller Foundation etc.
Key outputs of the programme:
- Support the River Basin commissions and Municipalities to develop Master Plans that will provide the basis for Blue Peace projects implementation.
- Support River Basin commissions and Municipalities to build technical capacity in order to provide future deliverables on their own without the support of donors.
- Design new financial products / instruments (e.g. issuance of Blue Peace Bonds) and support the process of issuance and financial system stakeholder’s engagement in order to get the products to market successfully.
- Produce Legal and Financial Knowledge Transfer.
- Analytical study on impact measurement instruments and approaches for Blue Peace.
- Coalition of Leaders and Set-up of a Blue Peace Trust.
In this context, UNCDF is seeking a Programme Specialist, under the MIF/Blue Peace programme**,** to contribute to the effective delivery of the Programme’s activities, reporting to the Global MIF Programme Manager P-5, also based in New York, USA while working in close collaboration with other LD managers and programme colleagues across the regions.
The Programme Specialist’s key focus areas will be:
- Programme Management Support and Technical Assistance (50%)
- Partnership/Network Building and Resource Mobilization (25%)
- Operational Support (15%)
- Knowledge Management and Communication (10%)
This position will be based in New York, USA. At a later stage, the UNCDF management may decide to redeploy the position (alongside incumbent) to a Programme Country to best serve the organization need and project performance.
How to apply:
Only online job applications accepted. Job Details including minimum recruitment qualifications available on the job link below:
