The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

The Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) 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 is currently active in 18 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, with another 20 countries preparing to join (at the design stage).

Through time, UNCDF and partners have provided technical support to the Government of Bangladesh to formulate strong local governance policy in Bangladesh and in implementing a number of projects such as the Local Governance Support Project –Learning and Innovation Component (LGSP-LIC), the Upazila Governance Project (UZGP),  and the Union Parishad Governance Project (UPGP) . In addition, UNCDF has worked in addressing climate change through local governance, planning and budgeting systems through the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility and its Performance-based climate resilience grants (PBCRGs), LoCAL-Phase II, under the Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC), implemented by the government of Bangladesh, with the technical support from UNDP and UNCDF, and funding from EU, Sida, and DANIDA. LoCAL will further contribute to the implementation of the NAP (2023-2025) and the Nationally Determined Contribution of 2021 at subnational level.

UNCDF, in partnership with UNDP, has initiated the inception phase of a new program funded by the Government of Sweden, titled “Strengthening the Governance of Climate Change Finance to promote Inclusive Climate Resilience in Asia Pacific”. The programme aims to enhance the capacity of Least Developed Countries in Asia Pacific to effectively mobilize, manage, and use climate finance for gender-responsive climate actions at the national, sectoral, and sub-national levels. It will provide targeted capacity-building support to five LDCs: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu. UNDP will contribute its expertise in horizontal and sectoral integration, while UNCDF will focus on the vertical integration, leveraging the outcomes of the existing Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), already established in Bangladesh, under LoGIC.

Within this programme context, UNCDF is seeking a National Local Government Technical Specialist to contribute, in their technical capacity and area, on the effective delivery of the Programme’s activities in Bangladesh.

The National Local Government Technical Specialist reports to the Programme Management Specialist, based in Bangkok, and works under the overall guidance of the Global Manager, based in Kampala, Uganda and in close collaboration with the LoCAL global Facility and LTF colleagues in Bangladesh, regional office/HQ based and across the region. This position will be based in Dhaka, Bangladesh and will work closely with the LTF RTA, based in Bangladesh, for day-to-day activities.

The National Local Government Technical Specialist will contribute to the daily implementation of the project, including overall gender-sensitive planning, oversight and monitoring of project implementation and substantive and financial reporting, as well will oversee the team of field officers, based in target local governments, on a daily basis and provide policy, programme, regulatory and technical advice to the national and subnational counterparts and stakeholders in the areas of public financial management, governance, decentralization, local government finance and economic development, with a focus on the PBCRGs LoCAL Facility. The incumbent is also expected to contribute to LoCAL’s resource mobilization activities on an ongoing basis.

Summary of key functions:

• Programme management and implementation (30%)
• Policy outreach, partnership building and resource mobilization (25%)
• Policy, regulatory and technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (25%)
• Coordination with government counterparts, UN system and development partners (10%)
• Knowledge management and communication (10%)

Programme management and implementation (30%)

• Oversee the day-to-day implementation of selected LoCAL activities, with a focus on local government finance and local economic development (rural and urban), and on the effective use of PBCRGs;
• Lead delivery and achievement of objectives by working with and supporting implementing partners’ project related activities;
• Ensure the integrity of LoCAL Annual Work Plan, budget, financial resources, review of budget requirements, delivery and the consistent application or rules and regulations;
• Provide effective programme and project design, supervision, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and completion of assigned LoCAL activities, in close collaboration with the UNDP, UNRCO, the LoCAL Facility Manager and the LoCAL Facility (global);
• Contribute to the management of the risk log of the project;
• Support identification and sourcing of technical expertise and support, including assisting with the preparation of TORs, identification and evaluation of experts and reviewing reports;
• Contribute to the preparation and timely submission of comprehensive and quality technical and financial reports in line with contractual agreements, including semi-annual reporting;
• Ensuring the timely and effective management of the activities as scheduled.

Outreach, partnership building and resource mobilization (25%)

• Develop strategies to mobilize additional resources based on programme requirements and new opportunities;
• Maintain close working relationships with key national and subnational institutions and other key stakeholders at various levels in order to support the quality of the execution of the PBCRGS and its key results areas;
• Support negotiations on co-operation with UNDP, the UN system, Government, bilateral development agencies, and other technical partners to identify and develop synergies with relevant in-country projects and technical partnerships for LoCAL with a focus on policy and capacity development for climate change mainstreaming and climate finance;
• Build effective and efficient partnerships at the operational level with national counterparts and financial and technical partners;
• Organize consultative meetings, seminars and workshops to drive analytical and policy work of the Programme.

Policy, regulatory and technical advice to government counterparts and key stakeholders (25%)

• Ensure adequate provision of technical, policy and regulatory assistance and advice to national and subnational governments in the field of public financial management, good governance, decentralization, budgeting, investment plans, implementation, and monitoring of adaptation measures (performance assessments);
• Organize capacity building (“learning by doing”) and preparation of local government development and investment plans and budgets, working closely with the climate change technical specialist to ensure climate change is mainstreamed within such processes;
• Ensure target local governments are fully acquainted with the LoCAL design elements and comply with minimum conditions and improve performance in target areas, including by undertaking gaps assessments and organizing capacity building workshops;
• Ensure timely organization of the annual performance assessment (APA), in close collaboration with government counterparts, for instance by developing ToRs to engage third-party firms/consultants, workplan, etc;
• Ensure successful implementation of the performance-based country mechanism (LoCAL) that can be up-scaled nationwide and harness international climate finance;
• Ensure the timely and effective implementation of the activities as scheduled;
• Provide policy, regulatory and technical advice to government counterparts at central and subnational levels;
• Lead, together with the Programme Management Specialist, the technical dialogue and provision of policy and technical advisory services to national and local government counterparts in relation to local government finance, performance-based grants and local economic development;
• Together with other colleagues, maintain close working relationship with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MoLGRD&C), Ministry of CHT Affairs (MoCHTA), UNFCCC focal points and other key stakeholders at various levels in order to support the quality of the execution of the PBCRGS and its key results areas and to expand the mechanism in Bangladesh, in close coordination with UNCDF senior management and other team members.

Coordination with government counterparts, UN system and development partners (10%)

• Serve as the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNCDF) focal point in working groups and steering committees on the issue of decentralization and governance and related sectors and provide inputs for conducive policy and regulatory environment;
• Manage UNCDF’s commitments within the UNSDCF Results Matrix, ensures effective application of results -based management tools, monitors initiative work plans, programme effectiveness and achievement of results;
• Coordinates and provides substantive contributions from UNCDF on LoCAL mechanism in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), promotes thematic and sectoral synergies and coordination of programme activities and execution with development partners in Bangladesh and any other assigned LoCAL country in the region;
• Coordinate closely with development partners and UNRCO on LoCAL development and delivery, identifies approaches and modalities to achieve development targets by ensuring synergies and coordination between UNCDF LoCAL global programme and development partners in Bangladesh (or any other assigned LoCAL country), as well as provide technical, policy and programmatic advice to the UNRCO on relevant themes.

Knowledge management and communication (10%)

• Identify key knowledge constraints and organize learning, knowledge exchange, training, workshops, etc. to build the awareness and capacities on relevant themes (i.e. . local government finance, performance-based grants and local economic development, both in rural and urban contexts , etc.);
• Contribute to the implementation of the Communication and Visibility Plan of the Programme, in collaboration with Programme team, partners and technical consultants;
• Identify, collect and disseminate best practices and lesson learned from the Programme in areas of specialty;
• Manage the process of convening national and regional stakeholders to share lessons learned on selected themes.

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