FCLP Governance & Strategy Specialist

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 works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP's development programmes. BPPS 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.

BPPS’s Hubs on Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste, with the support of the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Unit, works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate nature, climate, energy and waste related concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy and waste.

The newly established UNDP Climate Hub is the arrowhead of UNDP’s commitment to the “Climate Promise” that aims to support programming countries designing and implementing pledges under the Paris Agreement, including ambitious National Determined Contributions, with climate change mitigation and adaptation interventions fully embedded in the national development planning and budgetary processes. The Climate Hub will build on UNDP’s existing over USD 4 billion country-level climate portfolio on Climate Change Policies and Strategies, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate and Forests, covering over 142 countries, as well as on UNDP’s Nature portfolio, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP’s Digital offer and other relevant portfolios on youth, gender, health, climate security among others. 

The UNDP Climate Hub is responsible for: 

• Thought leadership on Climate and to be the custodian of UNDP policy positions on Climate; 
• Strategy and vision formulation; 
• Pipeline development in coordination with the other hubs and the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Unit; 
• Provision of integrated policy and programme support to Country Offices; 
• Global engagement, advocacy in collaboration with BERA; 
• Integration across thematic areas;
• Strategic Partnerships development and resource mobilization; 
• Lead and Support global flagship initiatives and partnerships on Climate; 
• Serve as focal point with relevant UN coordination mechanisms and Conventions (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change); 
• Cross-organization knowledge and learning; and 
• Innovation.

In 2021, at UNFCCC COP26, over 140 world leaders committed to “halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation” through the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land-Use (GLD). The Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), was launched at the World Leaders Summit at COP27 to maintain high-level political leadership on forests, land-use and climate, to rapidly scale action, and to ensure accountability for the Glasgow Leaders Declaration and linked initiatives. The FCLP will be supported by a Secretariat. The Secretariat will consist of a central core team of officials from Member governments and external hires responsible for managing the FCLP and supporting the implementation of Members’ agreed priorities, as well as non-state actor engagement.

The FCLP’s strategic direction will be determined by the Steering Committee, comprising ministers from FCLP member countries, on behalf of their leader. The initial Steering Committee comprises Colombia, Costa Rica, DRC, France, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Norway, UK and USA, and is Chaired by the United States and Ghana. The Secretariat is accountable to the Steering Committee. It is crucial for the smooth functioning of the FCLP that the partnership has sound internal strategy and governance, with clarity over decision-making and accountability, including to the Co-Chairs, Steering Committee and the broader membership. 

The FCLP Secretariat is recruiting a Governance & Strategy Analyst to support the Steering Committee and governance mechanisms of the FCLP. 

The Governance & Strategy Analyst will be responsible for the FCLP’s internal strategy and engagement strategy, and further establishment of the governance, to ensure the smooth functioning of the partnership. 

Specifically: 

1. Governance:
   1. Develop, maintain, and facilitate approval of FCLP internal governance documents; including by Co-Chairs and Steering Committee.
   2. Develop, maintain and facilitate approval of FCLP internal decisions, by Co-Chairs or the Steering Committee or the Members.
   3. Act as the Secretary for the FCLP governance bodies, ensuring documents appropriately drafted and sent out in a timely manner for approval, and that Co-Chairs, Steering Committee and Members are appropriately consulted. Specifically this includes Steering Committee meetings and the COP28 Ministerial.
   4. Ensure FCLP governance rules are followed, and decisions are properly documented.
   5. Lead on decision-making around the hosting of the FCLP Secretariat, and ensuring those decisions are properly documented.
2. Internal Strategy:
   1. Maintain and further define the FCLP Secretariat Internal Strategy, including preparation of relevant documents, with support from the Secretariat staff and (where appropriate) Co-Chairs, Steering Committee and/or Members.
   2. Manage Agendas for meetings with Co-Chairs, Steering Committee, Members.
   3. Develop a strategy to engage current and future COP Presidents and the UNFCCC.
   4. Facilitate further definition of the FCLP Strategy, including looking forward to COP30 and 2030.
3. Country Engagement Strategy:
   1. Develop and maintain the FCLP Secretariat Engagement Strategy.
   2. Support the FCLP Secretariat senior staff, Director(s) with their high-level engagement to deliver on the FCLP Strategy.
   3. Ensure appropriate records are kept of external engagement and used to inform strategy.

As a core member of the FCLP Secretariat:

1. Serve on the FCLP Secretariat’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT); providing inputs to the overall FCLP Secretariat strategy and workplan
2. Attend weekly FCLP meetings and regular FCLP events, as needed
3. Support engagement with and ownership by FCLP member countries
4. Report to the Co-Chairs and Steering Committee, as required
5. Lead delivery of relevant events at COP28, and other events as needed
6. Appropriately manage FCLP resources and budget

Institutional Arrangement

The FCLP Governance & Strategy Analyst will be supervised by, and report to the Senior Policy Advisor for the Climate & Forests Programme. For the purposes of the FCLP Secretariat s/he will be managed by the FCLP Secretariat Director. 

The assignment is home-based. If travel is required, such travel shall be at UNDP’s expense and processed in accordance with UNDP’s travel guidance and policy. 

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact 
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

• Business Management - Results based management: 
  • Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
• Business Management - Communication: 
  • Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
  • Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels
• 2030 Agenda: Planet - Nature, Climate & Energy: 
  • Climate and Forests: Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
• 2030 Agenda: Planet - Nature, Climate & Energy: 
  • Climate and Forests: REDD+/UNFCCC and access to emission reduction results based payments (GCF or carbon markets)

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Experience in climate policy;
• Experience supporting government partnerships