The Local Transformative Finance Practice (LTF) aims to be a centre of excellence and innovation fund for local government finance. Over a 30 year period the Practice has developed deep expertise in intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGTF), local development funds, public financial management and performance-based grants. LTF supports policy reforms and advocates for a greater appreciation and use of IGTF and performance based local government financing mechanisms in development finance.

On the basis of this experience, LTF designed and manages the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), which is a mechanism to integrate climate change into local authorities’ planning and budgeting through the regular intergovernmental fiscal transfer system using performance-based grants in a participatory and gender sensitive manner, increase awareness and capacities to respond to climate change at the local level including through ecosystem-based solutions, and increase the quality and number of local investments that address climate change.

LoCAL combines performance-based climate resilience grants (PBCRGs), which ensure programming and verification of change expenditures at the local level, with technical and capacity-building support. It uses the grants and demonstration effect to trigger further flows for local climate action including global climate finance and national fiscal transfers.  LoCAL also aims to support private finance for small and medium businesses and municipal finance and public-private partnerships.

LoCAL focuses on the delivery of four outputs that will directly contribute to increasing local governments’ access to climate finance and building resilience to climate change:

• Output 1 – Awareness and capacities to respond to climate change adaptation at the local level are increased;
• Output 2 – CCA is mainstreamed into government’s planning and budgeting systems and investments are implemented in line with the PBCRG mechanism;
• Output 3 – The PBCRG system is effectively and sustainably established in participating countries and leads to an increased amount of CCA finance available to local government and local economy;
• Output 4 – The role of local authorities and of the PBCRGS in addressing climate change are increasingly recognized at international level, through outreach, learning and quality assurance.

LoCAL is presently working with 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and the Pacific, and has cumulatively mobilised over US$150m for more than 2,100 adaptation projects.  In the Pacific, LoCAL has been deployed in Tuvalu since 2016.

LoCAL-Tuvalu

UNCDF has supported the Government of Tuvalu  to design the LoCAL-Tuvalu Mechanism, aligned with the performance-based climate resilience grants (PBCRGs), with aim of increasing the resilience of communities and local economies across the country, through regular, predictable, systemic and verifiable climate finance in support of local climate responses, through increased local governments (Kaupules) access to climate finance to implement climate change adaptation investments in Tuvalu (outcome 1) and institutionalising a standard and internationally recognized country-based mechanism of performance-based climate resilience grants in the country, further attracting climate finance, domestic and international (outcome 2).

To this end, LoCAL-Tuvalu will raise awareness and strengthen capacities for subnational climate change adaptation at both District and central levels (output1); support the integration of climate change into local planning and budgeting processes and finance local adaptation interventions and investments (output 2) and establish and deploy across the whole country an effective performance-based climate resilience grant system (financing mechanism) that can attract various sources of climate finance (output 3).

Based on a whole-of-society approach, LoCAL-Tuvalu will be fully aligned with the country’s climate change policy, the Kaupule Act 1997, “Te Kete” National Development Strategy, with the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, financial systems for local governments, and related institutional and regulatory frameworks.

The LoCAL team delivering the programme in Tuvalu is based in Funafati and headed by the LoCAL Tuvalu National Coordinator/Local Development Specialist. This team is supported by the regional LoCAL team, based in Suva, Fiji.

Within this programme context, UNCDF is seeking a Climate Change Specialist, NPSA10, to contribute to the effective delivery of the Programme’s activities in Tuvalu.

The Climate Change Specialist will report to the LoCAL Regional Programme Management Specialist, P-4, based in Suva, Fiji, working under the coordination of the LoCAL Tuvalu National Coordinator, based in Funafuti, Tuvalu and in close collaboration with the LoCAL global Facility and LTF colleagues across the region.

As part of the Project Team, the Climate Change Specialist will contribute to the effective delivery of the Program’s activities.  In carrying out their work, the Climate Change Specialist will work closely with government counterparts to ensure the integration of climate change and environmental sustainability in the performance-based climate resilience grants system in Tuvalu.

This position will be based in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

The Climate Change Specialist will provide technical advice on climate change issues and environmental sustainability to government counterparts at national and sub-national levels; including on climate change information and assessments and climate mainstreaming.  The incumbent will support the integration of environment and climate considerations into LoCAL; which will include supporting establishment of a national system; and supporting the assessment of grant interventions to ensure they are in alignment with the target areas under the national LoCAL design.

The Climate Change Specialist will contribute to the daily implementation of the project, including overall gender-sensitive planning, oversight and monitoring of project implementation and financial reporting and program communications and knowledge sharing. The position will also support work on gender equality and social inclusion (with a focus on women, youth and marginalized communities), to progress objectives on gender and environment and social safeguards.   The Climate Change Specialist will play a key role in supporting regional outreach, knowledge and experience sharing, and communications for the program. The Climate Change Specialist will also support programme monitoring and reporting, as required.

Summary of key functions:

• Programme management (30%)
• Technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (30%)
• Knowledge management and communication (30%)
• Networking and partnership building (10%)

Program management (30%)

• Execute, oversee and monitor the day-to-day implementation of selected activities related to climate change, with a focus on women, youth and marginalized communities;
• Build effective and efficient partnerships at the operational level with national counterparts and other UN agencies, to coordinate selected activities in country;
• Contribute to the preparation and timely submission of comprehensive technical and financial reports in line with contractual agreements including semi-annual reporting;
• Contribute to the management of the risk log of the project;
• Ensure the timely and effective management of the activities as scheduled.
• Provide technical advice and capacity building support for the piloting and establishment of a national local information system for local climate risk assessments (including projections and mapping) addressing hazards, vulnerabilities and exposure of local councils and wards in relation to climate change including desk review, data collection, preliminary design of the system, analytical writing, piloting, consultation and validation and gradual deployment of the local climate information system;
• Provide technical advice and capacity building support for the integration of environment and climate change in the local government development plans and investment plans;
• Provide technical advice and capacity building support for the adequate integration of environment and climate considerations (e.g., specifications) in the investments delivered through LoCAL’s support;
• Support the roll out and use of the Assessing Climate Change Adaptation Framework (ACCAF) at the Kaupule level;
• Contribute to the technical dialogue and provision of technical advisory services to national and local government counterparts in relation to climate change information and assessments, climate mainstreaming, climate finance and access to climate finance.

Technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (30%)

• Provide technical advice on climate change issues and environmental sustainability to government counterparts at national and sub-national levels

Knowledge management and communication (30%)

• Identify key knowledge constraints and organize learning, knowledge exchange, training, workshops, etc. to build the awareness and capacities on relevant themes (i.e. climate change, local climate risk assessments, environmental sustainability, mainstreaming, in support of women and youth employment, etc.);
• Develop a communications plan for the programme, and contribute to the implementation of the plan, working in collaboration with the Project team, partners and others;
• Support regional exchange of knowledge and experience, through systematically identifying, collecting and disseminating best practices and lesson learned from the program;
• Manage the process of convening national and regional stakeholders or producing information and communication products to share lessons learned on selected themes.

Networking and partnership building (10%)

• Maintain close working relationships with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government and Agriculture, Department of Climate Change and Disaster, National advisory council on climate change and other key stakeholders at various levels in order to support the quality of the execution of the PBCRG system and its key results areas;
• Organize consultative meetings, seminars and workshops to drive analytical and policy work of the program;
• Serve as the UNCDF focal point in working groups and steering committees on the issue of environment and climate change and related sectors and provide inputs for conducive policy and regulatory environment;
• Develop strategies to mobilize additional resources based on programme requirements and new opportunities.

• 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 initiative 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: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Management

• Results based management: Ability to manage programs and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.
• Project management: Ability to plan, organise, prioritise and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritise and control the organisation’s programs and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity, ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usuals, while optimising return on investment.

Partnership Management

• Relationship management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.

2030 Agenda: Peace

• Governance: Public Administration and Local Governance

2030 Agenda: Planet

• Nature, Climate and Energy: Climate Change Adaptation – public and private finance for adaptation solutions.

Business Direction & 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.

• Advanced University degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental science and management, climate science, geographic studies, international development, economics, statistics, or a related field is required
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor´s degree) in the above areas in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

• A minimum of five (5) years (with Master´s degree) or seven (7) years (with Bachelor´s degree) of experience in progressively more responsible positions in the field of climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental management, and/or climate science applied to development
• Experience in developing solutions on how to tackle climate change at local level
• Strong networking capabilities and ability to associate him/herself with a range of actors
• At least four (4) years of experience related to environmental assessments, climate risk, and vulnerability assessments, climate modelling, geographical information system (GIS), and/or risk mapping, in particular at the local level is desired
• Experience working with local governments and local communities on climate change policy, regulatory and or/technical services
• Knowledge of current practices in gender and social inclusion (women, youth and marginalized communities) is desired
• Experience with a UN organization/agency is desirable

Required Languages:

• Fluency in English and Tuvaluan languages is required