Background

Peru has experienced significant economic growth, which coupled with appropriate social and economic policies over the last decade, has resulted in notable advances in poverty reduction and Human Development. That said, this economic growth continues to be coupled with environmental degradation, resulting in a loss of biodiversity, compromised capacity of the ecosystems to provide vital goods and services, and increased vulnerability of the population. 

Peru is widely considered to be one the most vulnerable countries to climate change and climate risk. This vulnerability is characterized by the great diversity, in terms of ecosystems, biomes, climates, and cultural diversity, as well as by economic activities highly dependent on climate, such as agriculture, fisheries and forestry. In response to this level of vulnerability, the Government of Peru, at the national and subnational levels, is taking action – in coordination with other stakeholders – to mitigate climate-related risk and adapt to long term climate change. Measures to be taken apply a variety of methodological and conceptual approaches, including community-based adaptation, ecosystem-based adaptation, structural solutions, and disaster risk management.

UNDP provides international technical cooperation to Peru, in the framework of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) agreed between the United Nations System and the Government of Peru, and the UNDP Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP), signed between UNDP and the Government of Peru, and entered into force in 2012 for a period of five years. In the context of the UNDAF and CPAP, one of the pillars of UNDP's technical assistance is environmental sustainability. 

UNDP provides technical cooperation to a variety of stakeholders who play a role in environmental management and the country’s response to climate change, including but not limited to the Ministry of Environment, regional and local governments, local communities, as well as civil society organizations. In addition, UNDP aims to develop and strengthen strategic partnerships with other cooperation agencies and the private sector, in order to leverage resources and increase impact. 

Recently, UNDP has taken steps to strengthen its programme in the technical areas of climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystems management. In particular, innovative initiatives have been proposed and are in the early stages of implementation, with a focus on integrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation measures into vulnerability reduction strategies. In this sense, recent funding has been secured from the Government of Germany, in the framework of the International Climate Initiative (ICI), for the Integrated Climate Change Management in Communal Reserves in the Peruvian Amazon (ICCMA) project. Given the innovative nature of this and other similar initiatives, such as the ICI-funded Mountain EBA Flagship Programme, UNDP has identified the need to contract a technical advisor in order to strengthen its capacity to deliver expected results, as well as to respond to requests from counterparts for specialized technical assistance in this thematic area.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provision of high-level policy and programme advice to UNDP CO and the Government of Peru, in particular the Ministry of Environment:
• Provide high quality technical advice to the ICCMA project, as well as other like- focused projects, with a particular emphasis on UNDP's Ecosystem-based Adaptation and climate finance project portfolio, in order to insure that results are consistent with the project documents and Annual Work Plans, and UNDP’s rules and procedures established in the POPP;
• Ensure strategic planning of the ICCMA project's activities / interventions such that they complement and create synergies with activities and interventions of the environment portfolio as well as of other thematic areas of UNDP to ensure integrated approaches to environmental sustainability and climate change management;
• Ensure accuracy of the ICCMA project activities with reference to the annual work plans, prepare the annual work plan review, and TORs of project evaluation if necessary; 
• Work with the ICCMA project coordination unit and UNDP country office in order to prepare terms of references for national and international consultants; 
• Carry out technical review of technical studies and products developed in the context of the ICCMA project, ensuring quality control;
• Support Monitoring of ICCMA Project, and other initiatives as needed, in coordination with the Project Coordination Units and UNDP country office;
• Undertake project related action as requested by UNDP or agreed with the National Director of the ICCMA project;
• Provide strategic technical advice to the senior management of the UNDP Country Office, including through the preparation of policy briefs, and recommendations and support in favor of strategic initiatives and partnerships;
• Provide coordination support to biodiversity, ecosystems and climate change related projects:
• Maintain regular contact with UNDP country office on the ICCMA project's implementation issues; 
• Liaise with the ICCMA project’s Coordination Unit, the Ministry of Environment and other actors at the national and sub national levels to mobilize co-financing contributions in favor of the project's expected results; 
• Prepare and manage the implementation of agreements with partners to the ICCMA project, , in coordination with the National Project Coordinator; 
• Ensure that information flow, discussions and feedback from various stakeholders are properly done; 
• Provide effective support to the ICCMA project’s board; 
• Provide technical and backstopping support to guarantee that periodic monitoring reports are prepared  for the ICCMA project board, as well as donor; 
• Ensure the devolution of coordination mechanisms for all ICI- funded projects implemented by UNDP Peru, from national to field level and ensure the organization of regular thematic meetings (climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, climate finance) through creating / building on existing mechanisms for information sharing and tracking resources mobilized.
• Facilitate / strengthen strategic partnerships with perspective of achieving the following results:
• Open and transparent communication among partner agencies, government, other stakeholders and the general public to ensure visibility of the UNDP's environmental programming, with a particular focus on the Ecosystem-based Adaptation and climate finance portfolio;
• Facilitate the establishment and implementation of mechanisms to foster inter agency coordination in the context of the ICI- funded Mountain EBA Flagship Programme, in line with the spirit and framework of “delivering as one”.
• Provide support and advisory services to the UNDP Programme Unit in its efforts to strengthen relationships with donors supporting environmental programming and develop new relationships to mobilize additional financial resources through:
• Develop and implement resource mobilization strategies, with particular attention to opportunities for environmental and climate finance;
• Mobilize additional funds and build strategic partnerships in favor of ecosystems and climate change management by contributing to the formulation of project proposals, concept notes and/or funding requests;
• Support and facilitate a capacity development process for national ownership of the ICI-funded projects, focused on achieving the following results:
• Improved coherency of interventions related to Ecosystem-based Adaptation, from national to provincial to communal levels, and ensure that synergies and collaborative efforts are developed with actions of other stakeholders and government entities at all levels.
• Facilitate knowledge management focusing on the achievement of:
• Establish / maintain methodology for knowledge sharing / dissemination within thematic domain of climate change adaptation;
• Demonstrate thought leadership in the area of environment and climate change, providing strategic guidance and knowledge transfer to the Programme Unit, UNDP leadership and UN System;
• Contribute to the development of strategy and tools to raise understanding within UNDP leadership, UN agencies, government partners, development partners and other relevant stakeholders on transition to climate-resilient development. 
• Share knowledge, train and provide technical and management coaching related to climate change and ecosystems, to national and sub national counterparts; 
• Contribute to the documentation of ICI-funded project findings, impacts and learned lessons

Competencies

• Developing and Empowering people/Coaching and Mentoring
• Integrates himself/herself into the work unit, taking responsibility for own contribution to achieving team results
• Takes initiative and seeks opportunities to initiate action
• Helps peers to identify their unique strengths and weaknesses, training and development needs
• Communicating Information and Ideas
• Facilitates open exchange of information and ideas encouraging team members to share their views, thoughts and feelings
• Uses tact and sensitivity when delivering sensitive information or resolving delicate issues
• Building strategic alliances
• Identifies and prioritizes opportunities and obstacles in the political scene (government, civil society, parliamentarians, pressure groups) to advance UNDP’s agenda Identifies common interests and goals and carries out joint initiatives with partners
• Makes effective use of UNDP’s resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships
• Builds partnerships with non-traditional sectors by translating UNDP’s agenda into messages that reflect the pertinence of their values and interests
• Creates networks and promotes initiatives with partner organizations
• Leverages the resources of governments and other development partners
• Advocacy/Advancing a Policy-Oriented Agenda
• Advocates for the inclusion of UNDP’s focus areas in the public policy agenda
• Brings visibility and sensitizes decision makers to relevant emerging issues
• Builds consensus concerning UNDP’s strategic agenda with partners on joint initiatives
• Leverages UNDP’s multidisciplinary expertise to influence the shape of policies and programmes
• Demonstrates political/cultural acumen in proposing technically sound, fact based approaches/solutions
• Dialogues with national counterparts and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts, incorporating country, regional and global perspectives
• Demonstrates cultural sensitivity, political savvy and intellectual capacity in handling disagreements with UNDP’s policy agenda in order to promote and position UNDP in complex environments
• Client Orientation: Meeting long-term client needs
• Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives
• Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services
• Consults with clients and ensures their needs are represented in decision-making processes
• Advises and develops strategic and operational solutions with clients that add value to UNDP programmes and operations
• Promoting Accountability and Results-Based Management
• Ensures compliance with the organizational standards for audit, monitoring and evaluation and results-based management and promotes and monitors their application
• Promotes a culture of accountability in the organization
• Develops, disseminates and promotes the use of sound methodologies and tools to assist organizational units in carrying out results-based monitoring and evaluation
• Analyses evaluation and policy application review results, extracts key elements and prepares proposals to address areas of weakness in the organization’s performance

• Reliably delivers on promises and honors commitments, holding himself/herself accountable for actions taken
• Takes the initiative to report on any deviations from established norms/practices
• Demonstrates and promotes the highest standard of integrity, impartiality, fairness and incorruptibility in all matters affecting his/her work and status
• Recognizes ethical dilemmas and/or conflicts of interest and seeks advice or support to resolve them
• Strives to build and support a diverse team and takes full advantage of the perspectives brought by people regardless of gender, culture or religion
• Identifies conflicts of interest between stakeholder groups and works to keep UN/UNDP from inappropriate involvement in such situations

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in Environmental Management, Environmental Sciences, or other relevant area.

Experience:

• Relevant experience of at least seven (7) years with progressive responsibility in management of environmental management programs.
• Professional work experience in Peru and other developing countries is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in integrating gender and rights-based programming.
• Experience in the design and management of climate change adaptation, ecosystem based adaptation, and climate finance-related initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in the provision of technical assistance to diverse stakeholder groups (communities, sub national and national governments).
• Knowledge of climate finance instruments and mechanisms at the international and national levels.
• Experience in developing and managing partnerships and coordination mechanisms with cooperation agencies and other partner organizations.
• Knowledge and familiarity with the multi donor’s environment and their respective mandates will be an advantage.
• Excellent writing, facilitation and presentation skills. Experience in the use of computers is required.

Languages required:

• Fluency in Spanish and English (mandatory).

FC: 62000