Biodiversity Finance Analyst

UNDP's Country Office in Tajikistan is active since 1994 and guided in its work by the Country Programme Document, which in turn builds upon the Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP has made a significant contribution to developing the National Development Strategy with an outline of policies and investments necessary to reach the SDGs on time by 2030. Together with the Government of Tajikistan, civil society and the people of Tajikistan, UNDP works towards identifying local solutions to global and national development challenges. Our main focus is reaching sustainable development by enhancing accountability of the current governance system, mitigating natural disaster threats, contributing to environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation. In particular, with regard to biodiversity conservation, UNDP's Country Office in Tajikistan is currently supporting the country’s NBSAP update in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This support is provided through the NBSAP revision portfolio, which includes the global BIOFIN, Early Action Support, and NBSAP & 7NC programs.

UNDP's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan highlights our continued commitment to eradicating poverty, accompanying countries in their pathways towards the SDGs. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP's Nature, Climate Change, Energy, and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs promote and scale up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas.

In recent decades, biodiversity finance tools and solutions have demonstrated their importance for achieving biodiversity goals and broader sustainable development objectives. Improved choice, design and implementation of effective, well-tailored finance solutions will strengthen countries’ chances of achieving national and global biodiversity targets. Biodiversity Finance Plans have become increasingly recognised as a relevant tool to help countries to identify and fill the biodiversity finance gap, including through the work of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative www.biofin.org. In December 2022, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework. This included numerous targets with relevance for financing. Target 19 on resource mobilisation includes reference for countries to design and implement national biodiversity finance plans. 

The GEF created a global programme to support countries to design a national Biodiversity Finance Plan. A Biodiversity Finance Plan includes a systems analysis of a country's economy including to map existing financing mechanisms, subsidies with potential harmful impacts on nature, drivers of biodiversity loss and gain, public and private expenditures committed towards biodiversity objectives and a country's national financial needs for biodiversity. The biodiversity finance plan itself consists of a series of actions with the aim to significantly scale up available funding, green or phase out harmful finance flows and improve the effectiveness of available expenditures. The programme allows for active sharing of experiences across countries and includes a knowledge sharing platform and the provision of continuous technical support to country teams.

The implementation of the project in the Republic of Tajikistan falls under the GEF8 Umbrella programme for the development of the National Biodiversity Finance Plan. The overall implementation of the project will be led by the Project Coordinator/Sustainable Finance Manager with the support of a technical team and in coordination to a government project director and the National Steering Committee. The Biodiversity Finance Analyst  will assist the production of the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, the Financial Needs Assessment and support the development of the Biodiversity Finance Plan.

Under the overall guidance of the Project Coordinator /Sustainable Finance Manager, the Biodiversity Finance Analyst  is expected to assist the production of the Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER), the Financial Needs Assessment (FNA) and support the development of the Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) following the guidance provided by the latest version of the BIOFIN Workbook and with detailed data. 

The Biodiversity Finance Analyst  will also, as much as possible, provide input to all other national outputs, including the Policy and Institutional Review. The Biodiversity Finance Analyst  could also contribute to the assessment and development of detailed feasibility studies for priority finance mechanisms in the BFP and the production of summary for Policy Makers. The Analyst should provide input to the feedback on the BIOFIN methodological framework.

The Analyst will collect, explore and work on national and subnational level budgeting datas and biodiversity expenditures of different organizations, agencies, ministries, NGOs and private sector actors for the production of the BER. For the Finance Needs Assessment (FNA) the consultant will produce a detailed realistic costing of key biodiversity policies and plans – generally focused on the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). 

The Biodiversity Finance Analyst  will produce drafts and analyses that will be reviewed and ultimately validated by the Project Coordinator/Sustainable Finance Manager  and the BIOFIN Global Team.

Key duties and responsibilities:

Contribute to the Policy and Institutional Review (PIR):

• Support the Policy expert in developing an inventory of existing Biodiversity Financing Mechanisms in the country.
• Support the Policy expert in reviewing of existing economic valuation studies relevant to the BIOFIN process.

Development of the Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER):

• Carry out a desk review to map existing studies/information/databases on biodiversity expenditures, including an overview of earlier environmental expenditure reviews. 
• Assist the development of  proposed national definition for “biodiversity expenditures”, based on the BIOFIN methodology or other methodologies. 
• Assist the development of a workplan for the Biodiversity Expenditure Review for discussion with the national BFP programme team and GPMTSU.
• Determine a target list of organizations to include in the analysis based on the PIR work.
• Collect data for the desk review to map existing studies/information/ databases on biodiversity expenditures, including an overview of earlier environmental expenditure reviews. 
• Establish, with the support of the Project Coordinator, a system to tag biodiversity expenses into categories (GBF targets, BIOFIN categories, NBSAP themes, etc.) and a system of coefficients/attribution to estimate the contribution of mixed actions towards biodiversity. 
• Gather data from the targeted organizations to conduct the expenditure review on budgets and expenditures. Follow existing methodologies for guidance (includes mapping of sources of funding, subsidies, and biodiversity-based revenues, etc.).
• Assist the development of tools or Excel tool to analyze the total biodiversity-related expenditures filtered by major strategy groups using existing methodology (or national categories such as in the NBSAP).
• Support  the compilation of relevant data and liaise with relevant Ministries and partners as required and complete all BIOFIN data entry sheets for the BER. 
• Support the Organisation of bilateral consultation meetings/interviews/ discussions with national level stakeholders to define and then validate the attribution of biodiversity significance in all relevant expenditures. 
• Apply budget projections and other assumptions, estimate future funding baseline under a “Business-As-Usual Scenario”: an analysis of projected estimated funding in the future.
• Based on international best practices and the BIOFIN methodology or other methodologies, work closely with the Project Coordinator to develop and implement a specific strategy for data collection of the private sector and organise dedicated consultation meetings with private sector stakeholders (e.g. chamber of commerce, multinationals) on tracking biodiversity expenditures. 
• Based on results from the research, analysis and the national consultation workshop, develop, with the support of the Project Coordinator, the draft BIOFIN Biodiversity Expenditure Review for review by the GPMTSU (Global Project Management and Technical Support Unit). 
• Facilitate the development of the final Biodiversity Expenditure Review, with the support of the Project Coordinator, for review by the GPMTSU and present at the validation workshop.

Coordinate the Biodiversity Finance Needs Assessment (FNA):

• Review the available methodologies, examples from other countries, the latest NBSAP and the National Biodiversity Reports to develop an initial workplan and outline for the FNA. 
• Consult with the NBSAP team and government entities responsible for NBSAP implementation to obtain background information about NBSAP activities and government budgeting processes. 
• Work with the Project Coordinator to review the scope of the NBSAP, its alignment with other national policies, and identify policy areas and activities that are not covered by the existing NBSAP. 
• Review the activities listed in the NBSAP and other key strategic documents to assess if they are detailed and quantified enough for their budgets to be estimated in detail. If not, work with the NBSAP national focal points and other relevant stakeholders to define clearly the NBSAP actions so that they can be budgeted. 
• Facilitate the compilation of relevant data and liaise with relevant national counterparts and partners as required and organise a national consultation workshop to define the financial needs of all major biodiversity programmes. 
• Facilitate the development of detailed calculations and complete all datasheets related to the national biodiversity finance needs. 
• Support to organize a workshop to validate the cost assumptions and models and refine the analysis through additional meetings as needed. 
• Support the comparison of the results of the BER future projections with the FNA in as great detail as the categories allow and produce an estimate of the financing gap. 
• Support the development of a draft report for the Biodiversity Finance Needs Assessment for discussion at the validation workshop and review by the project national team and GPMTSU. 
• Support the Production of the final report of the Biodiversity Finance Needs Assessment.

Support preparation of the Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP):

• Support the Project Coordinator in the conception and preparation of the BFP. 
• Support detailed feasibility analyses on a range of financing mechanisms depending on knowledge and experience.

Facilitate the Project Outreach and Communication:

• Facilitate the preparation of workshops, meetings, networking and presentations as required, to complete the Biodiversity Expenditure Review, the Financial Needs Assessment and engage stakeholders.
• Facilitate the  provision of substantive comments and feedback on how to improve the existing methodologies.

Facilitate the Knowledge Management and Reporting:

• Document decisions and assumptions made while completing the Biodiversity Expenditure Review and the Biodiversity Finance Needs Assessment. 
• Document lessons learned from conducting the BFP project ranging from institutional considerations to technical issues.
• Support to prepare reports and case studies, as required, for submission to global meetings (e.g. CBD COP).

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

 Institutional Arrangement

The Biodiversity Finance Analyst will be under the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator/Sustainable Finance Manager .

UNDP shall be entitled to intellectual property and other proprietary rights over all materials that have a direct relation to the project.
 

• Achieve Results: 
  • LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively: 
  • LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements. 
• Learn Continuously: 
  • LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility: 
  • LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination: 
  • LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner: 
  • LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: 
  • LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination. 

• Nature:
  • Ecosystems and biodiversity: Nature-positive economy and Biodiversity Finance.
• Knowledge Generation:               
  • Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. 
  • Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. 
  • Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations. 
• Financial Planning and Budgeting:
  • Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analyzing and reporting.
• Data storytelling and communications:               
  • Skilled in building a narrative around a set of data and its accompanying visualizations to help convey the meaning of that data in a powerful and compelling fashion.
• Data Governance:          
  • Knowledge of data science, skills to develop data management tools, organize and maintain databases and operate data visualization technologies.
• Data Collection:
  • Being skilled in Data Sorting, Data Cleaning, Survey Administration, Presentation and Reporting including collection of Real-Time Data (e.g. mobile data, satellite data, sensor data).
• Data analysis:  
  • Ability to extract, analyze and visualize data to form meaningful insights and aid effective business decision making.