Social Innovation Specialist

UNDP has been working with national and international partners in the Philippines on the issue of the circular economy. Since March 2024 UNDP has been working with the European Union (EU) in implementing the EU Philippines Green Economy Programme (The Programme). The Programme has the purpose of supporting the Philippines’ transition towards a green economy, including a circular economy, sustainable consumption and production, reducing waste and plastic, as well as increasing energy and material efficiency and renewable energy deployment to support climate change mitigation. The Programme acknowledges that the transition to a circular economy will have other added benefits such as reduction of the use of energy and greenhouse gas emissions, improved biodiversity and natural capital, decreased pollution levels, and climate change adaptation.       

The Programme addresses three main levels:     

• Establishing a Policy Dialogue Platform at the central government level to mobilize EU expertise to facilitate policy formulation, improve city-to-city collaboration through supporting the development of a National Circular Economy Strategy and Roadmap, extend the dialogue to promote renewable energy/energy efficiency, and to apply the dialogue’s outcomes; 
• Working with local government units (LGUs) where EU expertise will support to define and implement circular economy, climate change, and energy policies with a human rights and gender-responsive perspective, outreach and support of local business and civil society, and support less advanced LGUs; 
• Enhancing engagement of the private and financial sectors in the circular waste economy and creating better conditions for private sector investment by supporting business-driven waste reduction strategies and circular solutions in the production process.       

The Programme has 4 specific objectives:     

• SO1: Improved circular economy and climate change policies and reduced GHG emissions 
• SO2: Enhanced practices of the circular economy by the LGUs in collaboration with the private sector and civil society sector, with a focus on youth and gender equality 
• SO3: Enhanced engagement of the private and financial sectors in circular, waste-reduction economy 
• SO4: Increased energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment          

UNDP is responsible for the implementation and execution of SO2 with the purpose of enhancing the capacities and practices of local government units (LGUs) on circular waste economy in collaboration with private and civil society organizations (CSOs), with focus on youth and gender equality.      

Key results expected at the end of the Project include:

• Reduced volume of waste generated and sent to landfills in partner LGUs 
• Greenhouse gas emissions reduced and avoided (tonnes of CO2eq) from reduced waste and implementation of circular economy initiatives 
• At least 20 LGUs have established circular economy models, including introduction of source separation and collection systems for wastes recycling, diversion, repurposing and other CE initiatives 
• Additional number of organizations applying CE and sustainable consumption and production practices in partner LGUs 
• Additional jobs (including green jobs) created across the circular economy value chain, disaggregated by gender and groups 
• At least 10 LGUs in which nationally defined green procurement criteria have been applied 
• About 15 LGUs that feed their NDC reporting with improved gender and youth sensitive data on co-benefits of CE  

The Project shall be implemented in partnership with LGUs. A total of 20 Tier 1 LGUs will be supported directly, while 40 LGUs will be supported with targeted assistance on a demand-driven basis. Out of Tier 1 LGUs, 10 LGUs have so far been identified: 

• Baguio City 
• Pasig City 
• Caloocan City 
• Quezon City 
• Iloilo city/Metro Iloilo 
• Ormoc City 
• Del Carmen municipality/Siargao islands 
• Island Garden City of Samal 
• Davao City 
• Puerto Princesa City/Palawan   

The remaining Tier 1 cities will be identified during the first year of implementation.  

UNDP Philippines takes overall responsibility and accountability for the delivery of the project outputs.  It will be accountable for managing the project, including the monitoring and evaluation of project interventions, achieving project results, and for the effective use of resources, in compliance with UNDP rules and regulations, policies and procedures. These include relevant requirements on fiduciary, procurement, environmental and social safeguards, and other performance standards.

The day-to-day implementation of the project will be led by a Project Manager within a Project Management Unit (PMU) responsible for ensuring that the project achieves the expected targets to the required quality standards and within the specified time and budget allocations. The Project Manager will be supported by a Deputy Project Manager, Project Assistants, technical staff and a pool of contractors and consultants to carry out the deliverables of the project. 

The Social Innovation Specialist will directly report to the Project Manager and through the Deputy Project Manager. As the Project is overseen by the Climate Action Programme, the Social Innovation Specialist is expected to coordinate and collaborate closely with the Programme Team members when required. 

The Social Innovation Specialist will also coordinate closely with the Accelerator Lab (ALab PH; see https://www.undp.org/philippines/publications/undp-accelerator-labs-philippines-dossier) to ensure continuity and consistency with UNDP’s previous and ongoing innovation efforts and approaches, including on circular economy and related portfolios (e.g., inclusive innovation, future-ready governance). 

The Social Innovation Specialist is expected to coordinate with government partners (national and local), CSOs, and other key partners in the conduct of his/her duties. 
 

Lead the strategic management of the innovation components of the Project and, in collaboration with relevant UNDP PH colleagues, steer the delivery of activities focusing on achievement of the following Project results: 

• Output 1 Improved capacities of LGUs and stakeholders to design, implement and monitor resilient and inclusive circular economy strategies – lead in the application of systemic design and other relevant social innovation methods to support the target LGUs in defining their portfolios of circular economy solutions; 
• Output 2 GEDSI-responsive local policies and regulations designed and applied to enable circular and green growth opportunities and practices – support LGUs and local partners in assessing their circular economy practices and identifying opportunities, particularly on green public procurement.
• Output 3 Public and private financing effectively mobilized to implement gender responsive and inclusive CE strategies and programmes – explore and pursue opportunities to unlock innovative financing for innovative CE solutions. 
• Output 4 Enhanced community innovation and demonstration projects applied to address priority CE solutions in partner LGUs – design and manage an innovation challenge grants mechanism for novel CE solutions, including grassroots innovations, that can be tested and scaled in partner LGUs. 
• Output 5 Enhanced CE behavior and practices of LGUs, private sector, communities and local stakeholders – assist LGUs and local partners in applying collective intelligence, behavioral insights, or other methods to drive change in practices and behaviors towards CE. 
• Output 6 Informal sector, grassroots, civil society organizations, women, youth, and marginalized sector capacitated and integrated into the CE value chain – ensure that these marginalized sectors are included in the development of CE portfolios and that grassroots innovations for CE are provided special support. 
• Output 7 CE-related knowledge management, MERL, GEDSI and safeguards in place to strengthen and replicate CE uptake in the Philippines – support the monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment of innovation activities in support of the overall KM, MERL, and GEDSI plans of the Project. 

Note: Output statements may be slightly amended/rationalized during the project’s Inception Phase, in consultation with donor and partners. During the Inception Phase, the number of Outputs had been proposed from 7 to 6, merging Outputs 4 and 6.

In collaboration with the Project Team and the Accelerator Lab in the Philippines (ALab PH), provide overall social innovation support to the Project through the application of relevant methods and tools that includes, among others, exploration, solutions mapping, and experimentation. This includes the following tasks: 

• Conduct background research, organize and facilitate meetings and activities to co-design experiments, project planning, etc. 
• Manage the implementation of innovation activities, including tracking of tasks and deliverables, coordination within UNDP and with external stakeholders for required inputs and resources, contracting of and coordination with third-party service providers, etc. 
• Monitor and evaluate the results of experiments, including the conduct of exploratory data analysis, field observation, interviews, and focus group discussions, etc. 
• Ensure complete documentation of the experiments from planning to closure, including but not limited to the filling out of relevant experimentation templates of Accelerator Lab and support to their other reporting accountabilities. 
• Provide support in drafting terms of reference and support recruitment and management of a team of national and international consultants and subject matter experts. 
• Support the project for creating specifications/ evaluation criteria etc. related to procurement, subcontracting, and outsourcing of services etc. 
• Assist partners in preparing their progress and financial reports for the project activities. 

Develop and maintain effective working relationships and coordination with key counterparts within the country office and with external partners to ensure the strategic positioning of UNDP on innovation for portfolio-based circular economy, focusing on achievement of the following: 

• Help ensure full alignment with UNDP PH Programme Teams by, among others, mapping and levelling off with existing programmes, projects, and activities that may be relevant to circular economy and ensure the relevant programme and project teams’ participation. 
• Identify relevant external stakeholders (national and local government, development partners, civil society, private sector, academic partners, etc.) and map their various initiatives which may help inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of experiments. 
• Identify potential opportunities, entry points, points of convergence with stakeholders, and other openings for scaling up of experiments in the future. 

Provide inputs and insights on strategy for consolidated offer to cities  

• Provide top-quality advisory services and facilitation of knowledge building, management, and dissemination focusing on achievement of the following: 
• Co-develop knowledge products on an agreed upon aspects of circular economy, which consolidates lessons learned from the various parallel experiments, as well as policy notes or briefs, blog posts, presentations, etc. communication materials.
• In collaboration with ALab PH, ensure that relevant knowledge repositories are maintained, including filling out relevant forms and attachments of the Accelerator Lab global innovation platform (https://www.sdg-innovation-commons.org). 
• Review, analyze, and index related literature, including policies, academic research, data and other materials, and as needed translate or condense these into digestible formats. 
• Help understand the evolving policy terrain by mapping issuances and pronouncements from UNDP and other relevant UN bodies, national and local government, and other stakeholders. 
• Maintain strategy notes, partner directories, partnership agreements, contracts, and other such important documents in the project and Alab PH’s file system under the corporate SharePoint of UNDP. 

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
 

• 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 Direction and Strategy 

• System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

Business Development

• Human-centered Design: Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. Knowledge and understanding of human centred design principles and practices.
• Collective Intelligence Design: Ability to bringing together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and technology to design services or solutions. Knowledge and understanding of Collective Intelligence Design principles, methodology and practices.

Digital & Innovation        

• Innovation Ecosystem Curation: Ability to identify key players in an ecosystem, engage with them and mobilise them to build a community and over time a movement around a common mission that can bring about changes at the system level; Ability to give sense of purpose and build trust, develop programmes of activities and platforms to build and strengthen relationships.
• Innovation Management: Being able to create the strategies, conditions, structures, and systems to enable innovation at an organizational level; Ability to naviate uncertainty and ambiguity, is able to manage projects based on principles of adaptation and emergence; Ability to shape demand for innovation services, navigate political constraints and make the case for allocation of resources to innovation, connect the appropriate innovation approaches based on business needs and make the case for innovations to be integrated at the planning level within their context; Having in-depth theoretical and experiential knowledge of innovation processes, methods, capabilities.

Programme and Policy – 2030 Agenda: Planet      

• Nature, Climate and Energy: Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Green commodities