MDG Carbon Facility Technical Manager

UNDP-GEF has, over the last 15 years, built a large portfolio of Climate Change projects with the help of funding provided by the GEF. The majority of the projects have focused on achieving long-term global benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emission reductions through mitigation activities, in line with guidance provided by the UNFCCC and the operational strategy and programs of the GEF.

The Kyoto Protocol, concluded under the UNFCCC in December 1997 and entered into force in February 2005, introduced a number of complementary financial mechanisms (CDM, JI, emissions trading, collectively referred to as “carbon finance”) that have a shorter term investment focus resulting in concrete and measurable greenhouse gas emission reductions. The synergies between GEF and CDM/JI funding are still being explored, but there is general agreement that the objective should be to maximize/optimize the use of both types of instruments, to the overall benefit of achieving the short and long-term objectives of the UNFCCC.

To complement UNDP-GEF, EEG has established the MDG Carbon Facility (MDGCF) with the twin objectives of expanding MDG impacts (sustainable development outcomes) from carbon finance, and expanding access to carbon finance to currently under- or unrepresented countries and sub-national regions. The core of MDGCF is a partnership between UNDP, to provide technical assistance to project proponents and host governments; and a private sector Financial Service Provider, to provide competitive carbon credit purchasing and marketing services.

The MDG Carbon Facility Technical Manager’s (hereafter ‘the Manager’) main responsibility will be to oversee, guide and manage the sourcing, screening, and due diligence of MDGCF projects to meet targets. The Manager will ensure that all projects in the MDGCF portfolio: (i) meet carbon regime (CDM, JI or voluntary markets) eligibility requirements; (ii) are appropriately designed and effectively implemented; (iii) demonstrably contribute to MDGCF objectives; and (iv) are consistently and transparently reported on.

The Manager will achieve this through effective management of a team of technical staff, close collaboration with the Finance and Legal team and other climate change staff in Regional Centers and Head Office in order to provide comprehensive and efficient support to the global team of Regional Technical Advisers (RTAs). Although the position is based in the Bratislava Regional Center, the scope of work is global, covering all regions within UNDP.

The Manager will work within UNDP's Environment and Energy Group of the Bureau for Development Policy and reports to the Principal Technical Advisor for Climate Change.   He/she will be responsible for the management and delivery of carbon technical services to support MDGCF.

The main tasks of the position will be to:

• As the lead technical carbon manager, ensure the provision of effective and timely support to RTAs, Head Office and Country Office staff on all technical aspects of MDGCF;
• Manage and supervise MDGCF technical staff;
• Oversee and manage the effective collaboration with the MDGCF Finance and Legal team to provide seamless delivery of the entire MDGCF programme and portfolio of projects;
• Proactively cooperate with other UNDP staff, particularly in Regional Centers, working on climate change to maximize information sharing and collaboration and initiate an active network of carbon practitioners;
• Oversee, guide and advise on the development and updating of the necessary support tools, including, but not limited to: project screening tools and processes; updating and developing MDGCF Project Idea Note (PIN) and other process templates as needed; guidance documents; identification and application of appropriate GHG quantification protocols; pre-validation guidelines and requirements; standardized Terms of Reference for engaging consultants; validation and verification guidelines specific to MDGCF; tools and guidance for assessing the MDG contribution of projects; updates on key developments such as new methodologies in the carbon market; and other tools as identified as needed by UNDP staff developing MDGCF projects.
• Oversee the provision of project concept, PIN and Project Design Document technical reviews with feedback and recommendations to RTAs and the UNDP-GEF Principal Technical Advisor for Climate Change;
• Direct engagement with and/or supervision of project development work when and where required;
• Represent the Technical team on the MDGCF Commitments Committee;
• Periodically report on progress on MDGCF portfolio performance to the MDGCF Board, MDGCF’s Financial Service Provider, UNDP and public stakeholders;
• Oversee and advise on the development of technical carbon training packages and provide training to relevant Head Office, Regional Bureaux, and Country Office staff as required;
• Advise the Principle Technical Advisor Climate Change, and through him the team of Regional Technical Advisors, on optimizing GEF project development and implementation to maximize opportunities for follow-on scale up and replication with use of carbon finance;
• Provide briefings and input to relevant UNDP and UN climate change strategies and papers as they relate to technical aspects of carbon finance;
• Liaise with relevant external agencies (eg UNEP, World Bank) and organizations (eg IISD, CDM Gold Standard) to ensure technical credibility and relevance of UNDP projects.

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional competencies:

Managing performance:

• Skills in managing technical staff in a demanding environment as demonstrated through previous line management responsibilities

Communication:

• Demonstrated ability to be able to conceive, develop and effectively deliver to a range of audiences training materials relating to climate change and carbon project development;

Judgment/Decision making:

• Ability to advise on problems with full technical competency leading to fact-based and practical recommendations and creative solutions;

Client orientation:

• Ability to produce high-quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating evolving needs.

Product-oriented:

• Interdisciplinary and intercultural sensitivity and capacity to build strong relationships with partners and clients, using interpersonal skills to network effectively;
• Ability to lead, manage complexity and contribute effectively to team-based activities and manage conflict and stress productively;
• Ability to effectively appraise and apply existing knowledge to improve performance.

Partnerships and teamwork:

• The ability to effectively work with relevant organizations leading in the field (eg: UNEP, UNFCCC, World Bank, CDM Gold Standard, WBCSD, WRI, ISO, etc);
• Capacity to effectively participate and contribute with UNDP perspectives in UN agency collaboration and multi-stakeholder fora.
• Ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences, and speak clearly and convincingly, demonstrating strong chairing capacity and presentation skills in meetings, and adapting style and content to different audiences;
• Demonstrated commitment to the UN’s core values; respect for individual, gender & cultural differences in dealing with others, and to the achievement of the goals of UNDP as a whole.

Education: 

• Masters degree in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Management, Engineering related to Energy and Climate Change or a closely-related field

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in environmental management, project management or other relevant field;
• At least 5 years of relevant and proven expertise in addressing climate change, in particular through carbon finance mechanisms related to project sourcing and development, and processing requirements including the development and use of appropriate methodologies, monitoring and verification protocols.
• International reputation in technical aspects of carbon finance (quantification, monitoring, reporting, validation, and verification);
• A practical working knowledge of the technical processes underlying carbon projects;
• A practical understanding of the MDGs, sustainable development and the broader context of carbon finance in the development agenda;

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English; working knowledge of another UN language desirable.