Carbon Markets Technical Specialist – Agriculture, Forestry, Land-Use (AFOLU) Home-Based [Open to Tier 1, 2 & 3 applicants]

Please note the appropriate Tier indicated in the vacancy title and ensure that you are holding the applicable contract as defined below:

• Tier 1: UNDP/ UNCDF/ UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed term (FTA) appointments (defined as “internal” candidates)
• Tier 2: UNDP/ UNCDF/ UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA) and personnel on regular PSA contracts 
• Tier 3: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

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. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), 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.

BPPS’s Hubs on Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste, with the support of the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Unit, works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate nature, climate, energy and waste related concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy and waste.

The newly established UNDP Climate Hub is the arrowhead of UNDP’s commitment to the “Climate Promise” that aims to support programming countries designing and implementing pledges under the Paris Agreement, including ambitious National Determined Contributions, with climate change mitigation and adaptation interventions fully embedded in the national development planning and budgetary processes. The Climate Hub will build on UNDP’s existing over USD 4 billion country-level climate portfolio on Climate Change Policies and Strategies, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate and Forests, covering over 142 countries, as well as on UNDP’s Nature portfolio, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP’s Digital offer and other relevant portfolios on youth, gender, health, climate security among others. 

The UNDP Climate Hub is responsible for: 

• Thought leadership on Climate and to be the custodian of UNDP policy positions on Climate; 
• Strategy and vision formulation; 
• Pipeline development in coordination with the other hubs and the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Unit; 
• Provision of integrated policy and programme support to Country Offices; 
• Global engagement, advocacy in collaboration with BERA; 
• Integration across thematic areas;
• Strategic Partnerships development and resource mobilization; 
• Lead and Support global flagship initiatives and partnerships on Climate; 
• Serve as focal point with relevant UN coordination mechanisms and Conventions (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change); 
• Cross-organization knowledge and learning; and 
• Innovation.

The UNDP Climate Hub’s carbon markets team support governments to take holistic, comprehensive, and strategic decisions on carbon markets as part of their NDC implementation, to address knowledge gaps, and contribute to efficient and high-integrity carbon markets. Governments need information and capacity to be able to provide clarity to investors and ensure that carbon markets investments and initiatives align with national priorities. To address this, UNDP will provide strategic holistic support on carbon markets to host country governments through its network of country offices and coordinated at global level. 

UNDP launched at COP 28 its global strategy to support countries’ access to carbon markets to finance their climate goals and accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This strategy, entitled High-Integrity Carbon Markets Initiative (HICIMI), aims to promote the high integrity of both the supply and demand side of carbon markets transactions. HICMI is composed of several service offers to operationalize the support in partnership with governments from development countries’ federal and subnational governments as well as UNDP Country Offices:

Service Offer 1: Readiness - Carbon market access strategies

Service Offer 2: Interventions to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

Service Offer 3: Jurisdictional Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)

Service Offer 4: Domestic carbon markets/emissions trading schemes

UNDP is recruiting Carbon Markets Techinical Specialist- AFOLU to provide technical assistance and capacity building support on carbon markets in the context of HICMI and its Service Offers with the objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mobilizing private green finance and accelerating the 2030 agenda.

Scope of Work 

The primary objective of this position is to provide targeted technical assistance for carbon markets implementation, capacity building and knowledge sharing on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, voluntary carbon markets and domestic carbon markets schemes in the context of NDC implementation with a focus on the AFOLU sector. Main responsibilities will include the sourcing, screening, and due diligence of carbon projects. Empirical knowledge of carbon accounting and monitoring of mitigation actions, and engagement of the private sector will help to set-up and roll-out carbon projects and generate the expected mitigation outcomes while contributing to the SDGs.

Key Duties and Accountabilities:

Provision of advisory on carbon markets readiness

• Facilitate the development of online tools/platforms, webinars and knowledge products and technical presentations in the context of Article 6, voluntary carbon markets and domestic carbon markets schemes.
• Advise government counterparts and other relevant institutions on the potential funding sources for carbon finance.
• Identify and establish a private sector network with potential to implement carbon mitigation projects with targeted performance-based payment support.
• Advise and guide consultants, government counterparts towards the achievement of carbon mitigation project outputs.

Provision of technical assistance for carbon markets implementation

• Guide and support on the technical design aspects and implementation support of the carbon mitigation project portfolio, including support to UNDP Country Offices.
• Support the setting up of trajectory for the achievement of the country’s climate targets (Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Long-Term Strategy (LTS)). 
• Assess carbon finance opportunities across the AFOLU sector to engage in carbon markets, through compliance and voluntary mechanisms. 
• Support the prioritization of activities and advise on cost-efficient and effective solutions for host countries, considering existing capacities and institutional contexts. Considerations of costs and price carbon credits with and without impacts in the host country NDC. 
• Assess existing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) capacity at national and/or jurisdictional scales. 
• Support to enhance GHG accounting based on identified gaps or areas for improvement. 
• Support to the alignment with relevant requirements related to MRV protocols, data quality, etc., in the context of carbon markets. 
• Feasibility assessment based on existing carbon market standards and gap assessment reports for the carbon elements. 
• Map potential project level interventions under carbon markets for AFOLU. 
• Technical support in project identification, feasibility assessments, baseline establishment, project design, and the development of monitoring plans to quantify emission reductions, in partnership with private sector actors. 
• Identify and compile information and data from existing carbon market initiatives, projects, and transactions to enable countries to define how to integrate or not existing carbon market initiatives into their national accounting for their first NDC commitment period. 

Support establishment of governance and infrastructure setting

• Assessment of opportunities to strengthen current institutional and governance arrangements. 
• Support the development of internal policies or guidelines for government agencies on carbon markets. 
• Support the establishment of institutions (e.g., registries, special purpose vehicles) and legal frameworks (e.g., for approvals). 
• Develop financing strategies and business models, including in the context of blended finance. 
• Support the establishment of robust technical and regulatory infrastructure for carbon markets as part of the NDC implementation. 

Facilitate capacity building and knowledge sharing

• Technical support to build capacity, interpret and apply relevant carbon market standards.
• Conduct capacity-building workshops and training sessions to governmental officials, project teams and other stakeholders, in collaboration with partners. 
• Promote knowledge sharing on carbon market’s best practices. 

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 Carbon Markets Technical Specialist- AFOLU will directly report to UNDP's Head of Carbon Markets. S/he will be part of the larger Climate Hub.

Competencies

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Education requirements          

• Advanced university degree ( master’s degree or equivalent) in Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, Agricultural Economics, Natural Resources Management or a related field is required. Or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Min. years of relevant work experience   

Minimum of 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of professional experience and strong background and understanding of the technical components for the establishment of carbon markets is required, including the AFOLU methodologies, digital MRV and GHG accounting for low carbon agriculture technologies and forestry.

Required skills            

• Proven ability to manage the preparation of carbon projects in the AFOLU sector is required. 

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

• Proven track record of strong knowledge of Article 6 UNFCCC decisions and independent carbon crediting programs is highly desirable. 
• Full computer literacy, including proficiency with word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software is desirable.
• Demonstrated strong organizational skills is desirable. 
• Experience in developing  financing strategies and business models, including in the context of blended finance is an advantage. 
• Experience in supporting the development of internal policies or guidelines for government agencies on carbon markets is an asset. 

Required Language(s)            

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. 
• Professional knowledge of Portuguese or French is highly desirable.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

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.

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