Description

Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Office/Unit/Project Description

Organizational Context

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.

Under the new Strategic Plan (2022-2025), energy is one of UNDP’s six signature solutions – alongside poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, and gender equality - to support countries towards three directions of change: structural transformation, leaving no one behind and resilience. Scaled-up programming efforts on energy access, energy transition, and energy resilience will be coordinated under the newly established Sustainable Energy Hub (SEH), which represents parts of the organization’s systematic and programmatic approach to respond to the energy and climate change agendas.

Through the Sustainable Energy Hub, and the other thematic Hubs in Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste within the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP will harness networks, experience and innovation to scale-up energy, climate, and environment programming efforts and shape policy, building on the existing portfolio of projects, covering over 100 countries to harness clean energy, support the energy access and transition as well as on UNDP’s Climate Promise, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP’s Digital offer, and UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy. To this end, UNDP will reach out to partners to accelerate progress together. Recognizing that change will be disruptive, UNDP will strive to ensure that such transitions are just and inclusive and that their impact on vulnerable people is understood and duly mitigated. Social policy is a key nexus area in that regard and is crucial to a successful the energy, climate, and environment transition.
Duties and Responsibilities

As per UNDP’s new Strategic Plan 2022-2025, the first objective of UNDP is increasing energy access for those furthest behind. By speeding up investment in distributed renewable energy solutions, especially for those hardest to reach and in crisis contexts, it aims to increase access to clean and affordable energy for 500 million people. UNDP will work alongside countries to speed up sustainable energy transition in an integrated manner, drawing on UNDP’s collective force to improve people’s lives. In this context, UNDP aims to incorporate Social Policy mechanisms into energy transition pathways to support governments to ensure that negative social outcomes are avoided or offset by designing policies to take the energy transition risks into account and/or pairing them with measures that counteract any risks.

Recognizing that change will be disruptive, UNDP is seeking to recruit a Senior Social Policy Specialist to help identify possible linkages between energy, climate, and environment policies and social frameworks to ensure that a social protection lens is applied whenever possible to the design and execute environmental and energy protection programmes. This support is required in the form of training to UNDP staff as well as direct support to the design and implementation of projects and programmes by regional hubs and country offices. The Senior Social Policy Specialist will provide active leadership in this field, shaping the procedural structures and content of the Sustainable Energy Hub activities along other thematic Hubs within the Nature, Climate, Energy, and Waste (NCE&W).

In this capacity, the Senior Social Policy Specialist will operate as the main focal point for the implementation of energy, climate, and environment policies and social frameworks. This involves the participation in the NCE&W and the thematic Hub’s key activities like coal phase down, climate mitiagation and adaptation, energy access, and environment systems transformation, while providing clear input into UNDP’s strategic goal of providing access to energy to 500 million more people, just and inclusive energy transition, and leaving no-one behind. The focus of the Senior Social Policy Specialist is global; thus, it is expected that inputs will be developed across UNDP’s five regional Bureaux: Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Central Asia, and Middle East. The role also comprises advisory capacity for joint activities across the UN development system with a focus on regional commissions, International Energy Agency, International Renewble Energy Agency, IFIs, International Labour Organsiation, and major donors like the European Union, Japan, United Arab Emirates etc.

The Senior Social Policy Specialist will be expected to deliver on the following activities:

Policy Advice/Programme and Project Delivery Support

In collaboration with the GPN teams in the Regional Hubs and policy centres, embed mechanisms of social policy and a just and inclusive transition into programmes and projects that respond to country office needs and provide related backstopping;
Provide support in overseeing social protection programs within Climate and Nature portfolio under the Vertical Funds;
Contribute, and coordinate as requested, substantive inputs for social policy in the context of energy programming outputs (e.g. work-plans, project documents, inception missions, workshops, technical working papers, methodologies);
Provides substantive inputs for HQ policy briefs/position papers prepared in collaboration with other practices that address links between energy and social protection;
Provide comprehensive training in social protection tools and relevant entry points to the NCE Thematic Hubs’ network, in particular to the Energy Academy to be established in 2023;
Support the delivery of the Thematic Hubs joint workplan, starting with the area of collaboration that is most advanced/common and expanding over time into areas that require more technical support and guidance. Accompany the roll-out of the joint workplan, ensuring it remains on schedule and documenting results and case studies that will underpin future collaboration across the two portfolios;
Provide input to the development of UNDP’s integrated policy responses in the context of the recovery and resilience programmes.

Policy Positioning and Representation

Provide substantive and content input to contribute to mobilizing, fostering, and strengthening strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives;
Provide support to multi-stakeholder analysis within Vertical Fund project preparation;
Prepare briefing notes and speeches, as well as input to support the strategic and reinforcing linkages between social policies and UNDP work, including UN, academia, and civil society, with a view to deepen related political commitment and related reforms;
Support the GPN in its engagement with UN interagency coordination mechanisms in relevant policy areas by drafting briefing, preparing for, and participating in meetings;
Develop and maintain a database of examples of UNDP success in generating results across the organisation through integrated design and implementation of programmes/projects;
Prepare and deliver regular presentations on the thematic hubs’ impact for social protection (key activities and progress) to senior management, technical teams, and external audiences (e.g., public webinars, engagements with countries, and partner events, etc.)

Policy Research and Development

Develop guidance and related tools regarding the entry points to social protection and social policy mechanisms in the thematic hubs’ portfolio and vice versa, in line with the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals, UNDP’s Covid 2.0 Offer, and UNDP’s Social Protection Offer and new Strategic Plan;
Develop policy initiatives for different contexts on key emerging policy agendas related to systems-based approach to deliver energy and socially integrated outcomes that generate concrete impact for communities. Explore the use of social protection tools (such as social protection floors, income support benefits and/or employment guarantees and services for the unemployed and working poor, and those in the informal economy) in supporting UNDP initiatives, in collaboration with policy teams in the Regional Hubs bringing in perspectives and knowledge from Country Offices and the regions;
Coordinate analysis of data, case evidence and research findings to distil relevant lessons from projects and programmes to inform policy formulation and guidance;
Develop relevant analysis and guidance, in close collaboration with BPPS strategic policy and engagement team, on emerging issues of global significance and contribute to new research, including through working with the UNDP Global Policy Centres (as necessary).

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

Provide substantive inputs related to global external partnerships in its area of work, including leading on UNDP’s role and contribution to other stakeholders’ initiatives; and develop an implementation plan to foster strategic partnerships with UN and external partner institutions, Governments, private sector, academia, NGOs, and CSOs;
Lead on the co-design of social protection initiatives with UN ESCAP, UNICEF, ILO, FAO, and other relevant actors in this space.

Knowledge Management

Coordinate team contributions and support to corporate KM activities, whether at the global, cross-regional, or region-specific level to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area of social protection in collaboration with policy teams at HQ and in Regional Hubs;
Contribute to the relevant Community of Practice by consolidating country cases, experiences, good practices of relevance to the area of leaving no one behind, green economy in its linkages with social inclusion, including as it relates to corporate wide initiatives on climate, digital, and knowledge management.

Institutional Arrangements

The Senior Social Policy Specialist will be based in UNDP offices in New York, USA;
The Senior Social Policy Specialist will work in collaboration with the BPPS/NCE&W teams and across the entire organisation;
The Senior Social Policy Specialist will report to, and be directly supervised by, the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub;
The Senior Social Policy Specialist will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
The Senior Social Policy Specialist will be provided a working station (i.e. desk, laptop, docking station, monitor, internet, scanner/printer access, assignment specific software, etc.);
Given the global scope of the work to be undertaken during this assignment, the Senior Social Policy Specialist is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability taking into consideration different time zones.

Competencies
Core
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
Thematic Area Name Definition
Business Direction & Strategy

Strategic

Thinking

Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities, linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions.

Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.

Business

Development

Knowledge

Generation
Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Business

Development

Integration

within the UN
Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.
2030 Agenda: Planet Nature, Climate and Energy

Energy access

Energy planning

Renewable Energy
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.
Business Management Partnerships Management Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts, and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education Requirements

Master’s degree in economics, social or development-related area of study
A Bachelor’s degree in combination with 9 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration.

Min. years of relevant Work experience

At least 7 years of relevant professional experience at the international level, or Bachelor’s degree with 9 years of experience, in social policy.

Required skills

Demonstrable experience in areas of programme design in energy, energy transition, systems transformation, and/or social protection, and conducting technical capacity building;
Management or project experience in the UN, World Bank or other multilateral agency
Proven ability to engage at a senior level with donors and member states;
Management or project experience in the European Commission and proven ability to engage with European Commission Officials and EU member states.

Desired additional skills

Experience acting in a coordination role in preparedness or response for the UN, World Bank, or other multilateral agencies is desirable;
Experience working with a wide set of energy stakeholders, such as the private and financial sector, government, and civil society, is preferred;
Field experience in energy-related projects in developing countries contexts is preferred;
Knowledge of other UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) is highly desirable.

Required Language(s)

(at working level)

Excellent command of written and spoken English is required