Regional Energy Specialist – Office-based

Office/Unit/Project Description 

A. Organizational Context 

UNDP is the information frontier group for sustainable growth within the UN Development System and serves because the integrator for collective motion to understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s coverage work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office ranges, varieties a contiguous spectrum of deep native information to reducing‐edge world views and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests within the Global Policy Network (GPN), a community of subject‐primarily based and world technical experience throughout a variety of information domains and in help of the signature options and organizational capabilities envisioned within the Strategic Plan. 

B. UNDP’s work on Energy and the Sustainable Energy Hub 

UNDP has been a number one advocate and the biggest UN implementing company for the power transition at world, regional and nationwide ranges for a number of many years. UNDP’s Energy Programme helps coverage makers with prime quality knowledge to make knowledgeable choices on deciding on and designing price‐efficient public devices to advertise personal funding in clear power, contributing to SDG 7 and according to UNDP’s ‘signature solution’ on power. UNDP has a profitable monitor document in utilizing coverage devices to de‐threat and catalyze investments in renewable power, power effectivity and power entry initiatives, together with a sequence of sustainable power initiatives particularly tailored to the wants (and resilient restoration) of fragile and disaster‐impacted international locations. 

Under the brand new Strategic Plan (2022‐2025), power is one in every of UNDP’s six signature options – alongside poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, setting, and gender equality ‐ to help international locations in direction of three instructions of change: structural transformation, leaving nobody behind and resilience. Scaled‐up programming efforts on power entry and the power transition will probably be coordinated below the newly established Sustainable Energy Hub (SEH), which represents components of the group’s systematic and programmatic method to reply to the power and local weather change agendas. As per UNDP’s new Strategic Plan 2022‐2025, the primary goal of UNDP is rising power entry for these furthest behind. By dashing up funding in distributed renewable power options, particularly for these hardest to achieve and in disaster contexts, it goals to extend entry to wash and inexpensive power for 500 million folks by the 12 months 2025. The Africa Minigrids Programme, for instance, is bettering the monetary viability of renewable power mini‐grids in 18 international locations, encouraging personal funding, decrease tariffs and expanded service. 

Second, UNDP will work to speed up the clear power transition and entry by way of methods adjustments that help inclusive, inexperienced and useful resource‐environment friendly economies. This work will capitalize on technological positive aspects, clear power improvements and new enterprise fashions within the power sector. 

Through the Sustainable Energy Hub, UNDP will harness networks, expertise and innovation to scale‐up power programming efforts and form coverage, constructing on the prevailing portfolio of power initiatives, overlaying over 100 international locations to harness clear power and help the power entry and transition in addition to on UNDP’s Climate Promise, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub and UNDP’s Digital supply. UNDP may even work with Governments in programme international locations as they get well and construct ahead higher from COVID19 and with traders to unlock and harness private and non-private finance to energy progress in direction of a number of SDGs. 

Finally, recognizing that change will probably be disruptive, UNDP will attempt to make sure that such transitions are simply, and that their impression on weak folks is known and duly mitigated. 

C. Background on Regional Engagement 

To present nation workplace help and the work of related groups for native motion, the Sustainable Energy Hub is structured to work in shut live performance with UNDP’s Regional Hubs (i.e., Africa, Asia Pacific, Arab States/Middle East & North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia). Therefore, the Regional Energy Specialist will probably be situated on the Regional Centre to which he/she applies. 

The Regional Energy Specialist will work intently with the Regional Team Leader for Nature, Climate and Energy and different regional specialists within the regional crew to advance the sustainable power agenda, whereas participating with nation workplaces within the area and enabling strategic partnerships with regional organizations and associate UN businesses. Therefore, working intently with different regional specialists, the Specialist will present coverage and programme help to: (1) de‐threat power investments; (2) scale up power finance; (3) promote innovation, know-how, and knowledge for sustainable power, (4) allow SDGs inter alia by way of an inclusive, simply power transition, (5) advance power entry for poor and displaced communities; and (6) the enabling coverage setting e.g. on carbon pricing, inexperienced fiscal coverage, power audits and fossil gas subsidy reform.

Based in one in every of UNDP’s Regional Hubs, the Regional Energy Specialist will probably be supervised by the Regional Team Leader for the NCE Team (major supervisor). The individual may even work intently with the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub in UNDP Headquarters (secondary supervisor). 

Scope of Work 

The NCE Team requires the help of Regional Energy Specialist to ship on the actions described under. The scope of labor over the course of the interval will differ relying on the particular task and area. 

(1) Innovation, Strategic Leadership, Programme Support and Policy Advice 

• Develop and outline strategic approaches for UNDP’s work on sustainable power and local weather change mitigation, drawing on UNDP’s current work below the Sustainable Energy Hub in addition to an evaluation of the worldwide/regional coverage context. 
• Support UNDP’s work to help international locations on the regional stage in designing power and local weather insurance policies to help power entry priorities, promote the power transition and foster low carbon progress within the context of their sustainable growth efforts, aligned with the service supply below the Sustainable Energy Hub. 
• Provide skilled recommendation and help in establishing strategic partnerships and growing new partnerships with UN businesses, donors, NGOs, personal sector and different. 
• Contribute to the event and implementation of latest strategic programming and partnerships in areas of power entry and the power transition to attain outcomes set inside UNDP’s Strategic Plan, Energy Offer, SIDS Offer, and the work plans of Sustainable Energy Hub and the regional NCE crew. 
• Collaborate with world, regional, nationwide and sub‐nationwide workers to advertise UNDP’s de‐risking method and implementation of the company sustainable power technique. 
• Provide help to Regional Hub and Country Office groups based on their wants, and of their software of power subsidy reform, threat administration instruments throughout nation typologies by answering questions, offering steering and sharing related paperwork and classes realized. 
• Provide steering and enter on power insurance policies in UNDP’s Climate Promise initiative. 
• Support nation workplaces in growing and implementing strategic power coverage frameworks, in addition to coverage‐associated interventions in power programmes and initiatives. 
• Work collaboratively with the mitigation, adaptation and local weather and catastrophe threat administration coverage workers to determine coverage points concerning the implementation of power‐associated SDGs and the nationally decided contributions (as they relate to power). 
• Apply multi‐disciplinary approaches, together with by way of organising, coordinating, and interesting with different related technical groups, to satisfy coverage and programming wants according to company steering and requirements. 
• Support consultations with native communities to form insurance policies and laws for power transition and power entry investments.
• Lead the implementation of power transition investments with a deal with social, environmental, and growth impacts, prioritizing Indigenous and weak communities.

 (2) Policy Positioning, Partnerships and Representation 

• Under the steering of the Regional Team Leader, mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities, and different related our bodies on the regional stage, and supply inputs to these partnerships in help of UNDP initiatives; 
• Prepare briefing notes and speeches. Advocate the significance of the thematic space in varied fora on the regional stage, together with academia and civil society, with a view to deepen associated political dedication and associated reforms. 
• Support Regional Team Leader in engagement in UN interagency coordination in related coverage areas by organizing and taking part in regional conferences. 
• Provide regional help to UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Hub, the place wanted. 
• Support the event of partnerships with UN businesses, power businesses, NGOs, foundations, the personal sector, and the monetary sector. 
• Assist in securing donor funding for power transition initiatives within the LAC area.

(3) Research and Knowledge Management 

• Provides substantive inputs for HQ coverage briefs/place papers ready in collaboration with different practices that tackle hyperlinks between power and growth considerations. 
• Coordinate and conduct evaluation of information, case proof and analysis findings to distill related classes from regional initiatives and programmes to tell coverage formulation and steering and different merchandise. 
• Develop related evaluation on points associated to power, together with on rising problems with significance to the area, and contribute to new analysis, technical paper or reviews, as wanted by the Regional Hub and/or the Sustainable Energy Hub. 
• Collect and compile info on the power profiles of nations within the area, together with key indicators and insurance policies, and determine areas of strategic significance for programming and coverage work. 
• Support the event of sustainable power insurance policies and instruments, together with for disaster contexts (the place related, as these efforts might differ by area). 
• Coordinate crew contributions and help to company Knowledge Management actions, at area‐particular stage to assist affect/advance coverage dialogue within the thematic space in collaboration with coverage groups at HQ and in Regional Hubs. 
• Contribute regional power insights and programming priorities to information networks and communities of apply. 
• Coordinate and carry out information extraction, evaluation, documentation, codification of outcomes/classes realized within the particular thematic space and confirm that information sharing and content material administration is according to pointers and carried out utilizing company instruments. 
• Contribute, and coordinate as requested, substantive inputs for power programming outputs (e.g. work‐plans, undertaking paperwork, inception missions, workshops, technical working papers, methodologies). 

The incumbent performs different duties inside their purposeful profile as deemed essential for the environment friendly functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangements 

•             The Regional Energy Specialist will probably be situated on the UNDP Regional Hub: 

‐ Panama City, Panama ‐ RBLAC and can work from the Regional Hub or from home on the obligation station (might differ relying on the Regional Hub versatile working preparations). 

•             The Regional Energy Specialist will work in collaboration with the BPPS/NCE Energy crew and the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub. 

•             The Regional Energy Specialist will report back to, and be straight supervised by, the Regional Team Lead (secondary supervisor) and the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub (major supervisor). 

•             The Regional Energy Specialist will probably be given entry to related info essential for execution of the duties below this task. 

•             The Regional Energy Specialist will probably be supplied a working station (i.e., desk, laptop computer, docking station, monitor, web, scanner/printer entry, task particular software program, and so forth.) by way of help of the Sustainable Energy Hub. 

•             Given the worldwide scope of the work to be undertaken throughout this task, the Regional Energy Specialist is anticipated to be fairly versatile together with his/her availability considering completely different time zones. 

Competencies 

Core 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA 

Min. Academic Education           

• Advanced college diploma (Master’s or equal) in power, engineering, setting, economics, enterprise administration, social sciences or associated disciplines is required, or 
• A primary-stage college diploma (bachelor’s diploma) within the areas talked about above together with a further two years of qualifying expertise will probably be given due consideration in lieu of the superior college diploma.

Min. years of related Work expertise             

• Minimum of seven years (with Master’s diploma) or 9 years (with Bachelor’s diploma) of related work expertise offering coverage recommendation and programme help within the normal space of Energy Access, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy or Climate Change in numerous growth contexts is required;   
• Experience working in growing nation settings is required; 
• Experience working in a number of international locations of a selected area is an asset (Candidates ought to point out which of the next areas they’ve expertise): 
  • ‐ Africa; 
  • ‐ Asia Pacific; 
  • ‐ Latin America and the Caribbean; 
  • ‐ Europe and Central Asia; 
  • ‐ Arab States/Middle East & North Africa; 
• Experience with power finance and understanding the social impacts of power investments;
• Experience working with multilateral organizations and/or the UN system is most popular. 

Required abilities and competencies           

• Experience in offering coverage advisory providers to governments associated to sustainable power and power planning is required; 
• Experience working with growing nation settings is required is required; 
• Experience with the design and/or implementation of growth initiatives to advertise power funding is required. 

Desired extra abilities and competencies        

• Experience working with a large set of power stakeholders, such because the personal and monetary sector, authorities, and civil society is most popular; 
• Field expertise in power and local weather-associated initiatives in growing international locations contexts is most popular. 

Required Language(s) (at working stage)             

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of Spanish language is very fascinating.