Background

Instructions to Applicants:  Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, résume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that your CV or P11 and the cover letter are combined in one file.

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the applicant, and the contact details for three (3) most recent professional references which may include previous supervisors and peers.

A cover letter (maximum length 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

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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 HQ, 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.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes and 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.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data-driven including in its programme support efforts.

 

UNDP’s approach to forestry aligns with the SDG 15 and contributes to UNDP's 'signature solution' on environment and nature-based solutions for development. Deforestation and forest degradation accounts for more than 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and it is clear that the stabilization of global temperatures cannot be achieved without reducing emissions from the forest sector. UNDP's Climate and Forests programme supports countries to conserve and sustainably manage forests and ensure sustainable and equitable development paths that lead towards carbon neutrality. More information here: www.climateandforests-undp.org.

 

Forests support the livelihoods of over 1 billion people and host the largest share of the world’s biodiversity. UNDP provides expertise in stakeholder engagement, social and environmental safeguards, governance, institutional coordination, strategic planning, implementation of policies and measures to address drivers of deforestation, access to innovative finance and accessing results-based payments. UNDP also facilitates the necessary partnerships to address the complex elements of the REDD+ process.

 

UNDP is supporting the Government of Côte d'Ivoire, as well as regional stakeholders, on policies and partnerships around forest solutions to the climate crisis and for sustainable agriculture, helping transform agricultural production and territorial management towards sustainability. This work focuses on zero-deforestation cocoa production, forest governance and the restoration and sustainable management of forest ecosystems. This support is provided through several inter-related avenues: the national REDD+ process, the sustainable jurisdictional approaches in the pilot regions of Bélier and Cavally, the institutional partnerships and policy dialogues on the cocoa-forest nexus, the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) deforestation-free commodity dialogues, and the NDC implementation process. UNDP supports these processes through diverse teams and projects, particularly the UNDP/Abidjan office, the UNDP Green Commodities Programme, the UNDP Climate & Forests programme, the UN-REDD partnership, the Climate Promise initiative, the GCF-TF jurisdictional project, and the UNDP & EFI/EU-REDD partnership, among others.

 

In this context, the Country Advisor will build on the progress and achievements in past years and will aim to support policy processes to improve the contribution of forest-based solutions to climate change mitigation. The main objective is to assist government and other national/regional stakeholders to consolidate progress on their processes and initiatives on forest solutions and the cocoa-forest nexus in Côte d'Ivoire, while fostering UNDP synergies and harnessing new policy and finance opportunities in the domain.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

The  selected candidate will perform the following tasks: 

 

  1. Policy dialogues on deforestation-free cocoa production:  Provide technical backstopping to: 1) national dialogue processes addressing the cocoa-forest nexus, including consultations, private sector engagements, and bilateral negotiations to underpin the political & investment dialogue process between Côte d'Ivoire and the European Union on deforestation-free cocoa production & trade; and 2) deforestation-free commodity dialogues, planned under the framework of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), including mapping of existing initiatives and stakeholders, approaches for stakeholders engagement, planning and coordination of workshops, and contributing to final country reports.
  2. Jurisdictional approach consolidation:  Consolidate and disseminate the pioneer jurisdictional approaches on the cocoa-forest nexus in Côte d'Ivoire (building on experience from Cavally region (deforestation-free cocoa production) and Bélier region (forest ecosystem restoration). Facilitate capacity building to identify, mobilise and access donor and climate finance towards implementing the jurisdictional strategies. Promote dialogues and partnerships with the private sector to increase investments and trade for sustainable, deforestation-free cocoa production.
  3. NDC implementation, financing and tracking:  Support the consolidation, finalisation and submission of the reviewed NDC. Support the NDC implementation's inception process with a major focus on the forestry sector, including integration of social forestry interventions in the implementation and future update of NDCs and Enhanced Transparency Framework. Support the policy processes for the development of a national incentive mechanism for the promotion of the cocoa and forest nexus (e.g. PES, Carbon markets) and for promoting socially responsible forestry. Support the forest pillar of the UNDP Climate Promise initiative in Côte d'Ivoire.
  4. Connect Côte d'Ivoire with international policy processes related to forest solutions:  Support Côte d'Ivoire to inscribe forest solutions and sustainable cocoa-forest approaches in international processes, such as the UNFCCC (especially in the road to the CopP-27, which will be held in Africa and have an African priority focus), the forthcoming  UNCCD/CoP-15 (which will take place in Côte d'Ivoire in 2022), the NYDF, the Amsterdam Declarations Partnerships, and the new global efforts on Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT), among others. Support regional knowledge exchanges and institutional collaborations, notably between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, as both countries have similar challenges and endevaours on the cocoa-forest nexus.

 

In addition, the Country Advisor will support the generation and dissemination of knowledge products and communication materials related to the above-mentioned streams, including progress and innovations of Côte d'Ivoire on forest protection/restoration, sustainable farming, NDC implementation and financing, and removing deforestation from cocoa production & trade.

 

Institutional Arrangement

The Country Advisor will be supervised by the Regional Technical Specialist of the UNDP Climate & Forests Programme, together with the Environment Leader of the UNDP Côte d'Ivoire Office. S/he will work closely with the UNDP NYDF and GCP teams. S/he will be office-based, following arrangements with the UNDP Côte d'Ivoire country office, and will be given access to relevant information necessary for the execution of the tasks under this assignment.

Competencies

Core competencies

Achieve ResultsLEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
Think InnovativelyLEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
Learn ContinuouslyLEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
Adapt with AgilityLEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with DeterminationLEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
Engage and PartnerLEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and InclusionLEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making 

 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Thematic Area  
2030 Agenda: PlanetNature, Climate & EnergyClimate & Forests: National REDD+ Strategies and Processes
2030 Agenda: PlanetNature, Climate & EnergyClimate & Forests: Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
2030 Agenda: PlanetNature, Climate & EnergyClimate Change Policies: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)
Digital & InnovationFutures & foresightAbility to look at information from the past and present, identify patterns and trends and use them to inform decision making with a long-term view
Digital & InnovationSolutions mapping

Ability to appreciate and integrate various sources of knowledge (academic, experiential, observational, traditional, indigenous) in problem solving processes.

Set up structures and processes to collect ideas, solutions and facilitate matchmaking between supply and demand of solutions

Partnership managementRelationship managementAbility to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding
Partnership management 

Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding

Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms

 

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirementsMaster's degree or equivalent in environment, agriculture, international development, management, social sciences or other relevant fields
Min. years of relevant work experience At least 5 years of progressive work experience in natural resource management and sustainable development.
Required  skills 
  • At least 5 years experience in policy work and/or projects/ partnerships for sustainable development in Côte d'Ivoire
  • Strong knowledge on climate change issues.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section
  • Direct working experience in REDD+ affairs/initiatives is an advantage.
  • Experience in engaging with the private sector, including the farm sector (ideally cocoa, as the main farm commodity in Côte d'Ivoire) is desirable.
  • Experience in organising and facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue processes between governments, the private sector and civil society, including building stakeholder consensus is an advantage.
  • Experience with UNDP country offices or UNDP projects is an advantage.
  • Experience in sustainable agricultural policies, investments and systems is an advantage
Required Language(s) 
  • Proficiency in French.
  • Working knowledge of English

 

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

  1. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) recent professional references, from previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
  2. A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

A panel interview will be carried out following the shortlisting of qualified candidates.

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