Regional Energy Specialist - Asia/Pacific Region

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 

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. Within this context, UNDP invests in a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

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. 

As per UNDP’s new Strategic Plan 2022-2025, UNDP aims to catalyze unprecedented action and partnerships to provide access to sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy to 500 more million people by 2025 and accelerate the transition to renewable energy through systemic changes that lead to inclusive green economies. UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Hub (SEH) is designed to respond to these challenges and harness networks, experience, and innovation. It focuses on three pillars of sustainable energy for development: 

1. Close the gap in energy access so that marginalized people and communities gain access to sustainable, clean energy and the dignity and opportunities it bring; 
2. Accelerate the energy transition through systemwide changes that support a green economy by bringing together the best ideas from the worlds of government, business, finance, digital, and most importantly, from people, communities and civil societies; 
3. Scale up energy finance with the public and private sector, across global, regional and local ecosystems for finance, innovation and investment. 

The SEH brings together and catalyses UNDP’s work on energy for development. It is a network of partners who work alongside countries to transform energy systems through integrated policy, technology, and financing shifts. It supports this transformation as inherent to the broader goal of sustainable development, and helps countries build net-zero emissions societies that put people first and leave no one behind.

UNDP’s work on Energy and the Sustainable Energy Hub

UNDP has been a leading advocate and the largest UN implementing agency for the energy transition at global, regional, and national levels for several decades. UNDP’s Energy Programme supports policy makers with high quality data to make informed decisions on selecting and designing cost-effective public instruments to promote private investment in clean energy, contributing to SDG 7 and in line with UNDP’s ‘signature solution’ on energy. UNDP has a successful track record in using policy instruments to de-risk and catalyze investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access projects, including a series of sustainable energy initiatives specifically adapted to the needs (and resilient recovery) of fragile and crisis-impacted countries. 

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 and the energy transition 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. 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 by the year 2025. The Africa Minigrids Programme, for example, is improving the financial viability of renewable energy mini-grids in 21 countries, encouraging private investment, lower tariffs and expanded service.

Second, UNDP will work to accelerate the clean energy transition and access through systems changes that support inclusive, green, and resource-efficient economies. This work will capitalize on technological gains, clean energy innovations and new business models in the energy sector.

Through the Sustainable Energy Hub, UNDP will harness networks, experience and innovation to scale-up energy programming efforts and shape policy, building on the existing portfolio of energy projects, covering over 100 countries to harness clean energy and support the energy access and transition as well as on UNDP’s Climate Promise, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, and UNDP’s Digital offer. UNDP will also work with Governments in programme countries as they recover and build forward better from COVID-19 and with investors to unlock and harness public and private finance to power progress towards multiple SDGs.

Finally, recognizing that change will be disruptive, UNDP will strive to ensure that such transitions are just, and that their impact on vulnerable people is understood and duly mitigated.

Background on Regional Engagement 

To provide country support and work with relevant teams for local action, the Sustainable Energy Hub is structured to work in close concert with UNDP’s Regional Hubs (Africa, Asia/Pacific, Arab States/Middle East & North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia). 

The Regional Energy Specialist will work closely with the Environment Regional Team Leader and other Technical Specialists and Policy Advisors supporting the Asia/Pacific region to advance the sustainable energy agenda, while engaging with country offices in the region and enabling strategic partnerships with regional organizations and partner UN agencies. Therefore, working closely with other Specialists and Advisors, the Regional Energy Specialist will provide policy and programme support to:

(1) de-risk energy investments. 

(2) scale up energy finance; 

(3) promote innovation, technology, and data for sustainable energy, 

(4) enable SDGs through an inclusive, just energy transition, 

(5) advance energy access and transition policies and the enabling policy environment e.g. on carbon pricing, energy audits and fossil fuel subsidy reform; and 

(6) expand energy access for poor and displaced communities, among other activities.

The Regional Energy Specialist will be supervised by the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub based in Headquarters New York (Primary Supervisor) and work directly with the Environment Regional Team Leader for Asia/Pacific (secondary supervisor). 

Scope of Work

The Sustainable Energy Hub requires the support of a Regional Energy Specialist to deliver on the activities described below. 

1.Ensure Strategic Leadership, Programme Support, Policy Advice and Innovation

• Develop and define strategic approaches for UNDP’s work on sustainable energy and climate change mitigation, drawing on UNDP’s existing work under the Sustainable Energy Hub and Climate Promise, with strategic linkages with a Vertical Fund-financed portfolio of projects as well as analysis of the global/regional policy context.
• Lead the development of sustainable energy policies and tools, including for crisis contexts (where relevant and as requested, as these efforts may vary). 
• Advise UNDP’s work in the Regional Bureau for Asia Pacific to assist countries at the regional level in designing strategies and policies to support energy access priorities, promote the energy transition, and foster low carbon growth in the context of their sustainable development efforts, aligned with the service offer under the Sustainable Energy Hub.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new strategic programming and partnerships in areas of energy access and the energy transition to achieve results set within UNDP’s Strategic Plan, Energy Offer, SIDS Offer, and the work plans of Sustainable Energy Hub and the regional Nature, Climate, & Waste Hub teams.
• Collaborate with global, regional, national, and sub-national staff to promote UNDP’s de-risking approach and implementation of the corporate sustainable energy strategy.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across and beyond NCE&W Hubs and GPN colleagues to identify policy issues regarding the implementation of energy-related SDGs and the nationally determined contributions (as they relate to energy).

2.Policy Positioning and Promote Strong Partnerships 

• Under the guidance of the Environment Regional Team Leader, mobilize, foster, and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities, and other relevant bodies at the regional level, and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives.
• Prepare briefing notes and speeches. Advocate the importance of the thematic area in various fora at the regional level, including academia and civil society, with a view to deepen related political commitment and related reforms.
• Provide regional support to UNDP’s Sustainable Energy Hub, where needed.
• Support the Environment Regional Team Leader in engagement in UN interagency coordination in relevant policy areas by organizing and participating in regional meetings.

3.Facilitate Research and Knowledge Management

• Provide substantive inputs for HQ policy briefs/position papers prepared in collaboration with other practices that address links between energy and development.
• Coordinate and conduct analysis of data, case evidence and research findings to distil relevant lessons from regional projects and programmes to inform policy formulation and guidance and other products. 
• Develop relevant analysis on issues related to energy, including on emerging issues of significance to the region, and contribute to new research, technical paper, or reports, as needed by the Regional Hub and/or the Sustainable Energy Hub. 
• Collect and compile information on the energy profiles of countries in the region, including key indicators and policies, and identify areas of strategic significance for programming and policy work.
• Coordinate team contributions and support to corporate knowledge management activities, at region-specific level to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area in collaboration with policy teams at HQ and in Regional Hubs.
• Contribute regional energy insights and programming priorities to knowledge networks and communities of practice. 
• Coordinate and perform knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in the specific thematic area, and verify that knowledge sharing and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.
• Contribute, and coordinate as requested, substantive inputs for energy programming outputs (e.g. work-plans, project documents, inception missions, workshops, technical working papers, methodologies).
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangements

• The incumbent will work be based in Bangkok/Thailand, Asia Pacific Region. 
• The incumbent will work in collaboration with the BPPS/SEH team and the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub.
• The incumbent will report to, and be directly supervised by, the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub (Primary supervisor) and the Environment Regional Team Lead for Asia/Pacific (Secondary supervisor).
• The incumbent will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment.
• The Regional Energy Specialist will be responsible for providing her/his own workstation (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;
• Given the scope of the work to be undertaken during this assignment, the Regional Energy Specialist is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability taking into consideration different time zones.

Expected Demonstration of Competencies

Core Competencies

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 

Required Education, Experience, Skills and Competencies

Minimum Education requirements

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Energy, Engineering, Environment, Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or related discipline is required. Or 

A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Minimum years of relevant work experience

Minimum of 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of professional work experience providing policy advice and programme support in the general area of Energy Access, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy or Climate Change in different development contexts is required..

Required skills 

• Experience in providing policy advisory services to governments related to sustainable energy and energy planning. 
• Experience working with developing countries. 
• Experience with the design and/or implementation of development projects to promote energy investment

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

• Experience working in multiple countries in the Asia Pacific region is an asset. 
• Experience working with multilateral organizations and/or the UN system is preferred.
• Experience in fragile and crisis contexts is an asset.
• 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.

Required Language (s): 

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of other UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) is highly desirable 

Disclaimer

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience, and educational requirements.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

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