Innovative Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Coordinator in Bonn bei United Nations

United Nations

The objective of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification around the world, particularly in Africa, through effective action at all levels, supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.

Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), one of the three “Rio conventions” is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.

The Global Mechanism (GM) is an institution of the UNCCD, mandated to assist countries in the mobilization of financial resources from the public and private sector for activities that prevent, control or reverse desertification, land degradation and drought. As the operational arm of the convention, the GM supports countries to translate the Convention into action.

With that in mind, the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNCCD at COP15 in Abidjan in May 2022 has requested the Global Mechanism to:

Develop a methodology and conduct a needs assessment to determine the financial requirements for the implementation of the Convention, building on national reporting and on a voluntary targeting-setting exercise.
Develop and deliver a time-bound strategy to continue and increase fund mobilization from all sources in support of the implementation of the Convention based on the comprehensive needs assessment.
Promote the involvement of the private sector, including the private financial sector, to support countries in combating desertification/land degradation and drought (DLDD) and achieving their voluntary land degradation neutrality targets.
Identify options for promoting greater participation of the private sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in the development and mainstreaming of innovative and sustainable solutions for combating DLDD and achieving land degradation neutrality, including through a multi-sector approach engaging agriculture, agricultural technology, food systems, water, rangelands, mining, forestry and renewable energy.
Promote a shift in the way drought and SDS are managed and to forge specific partnerships to mobilize technical and financial support for transformative projects and programmes on drought.
Develop and promote models for technology transfer, including in the area of productive capacity for sustainable land management.

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Managing Director of the GM, the incumbent is responsible for the following specific duties:

1. Leads the design, development and implementation of a resource mobilization strategy for implementation of the Convention and related plans of action at national level; ensures ongoing analysis of national resource mobilization needs and opportunities; stays abreast of latest donor and funding trends; adapts the resource mobilization strategy, as may be required, and monitors and reports results against it.
a. Coordinate, with other relevant staff of the UNCCD/GM, the preparation of required periodic donor reports as reflected in applicable legal documents.
2. Leads the design, development and implementation of the GM’s innovative financing and private sector strategies in close coordination with relevant units of the UNCCD secretariat. Elements of these strategies:
a. Identify strategic financial, technical, and advocacy partners of relevance for innovative financing and private sector engagement and develop targeted approaches to deepen existing and create new partnerships arrangements to advance the objectives of the GM and the implementation of decisions made by the UNCCD COP
b. Prepare periodic analysis of existing innovative financing and private sector partnerships to identify gaps and areas of success and incorporate this analysis into the overall GM partnership strategy.
3. Identifies opportunities to promote the development of innovative and blended financial instruments to address DLDD and coordinate, along with relevant UNCCD/GM staff, the engagement with partners ensures such instruments are aligned with the objectives of the Convention.
4. Identifies opportunities to promote private sector engagement on UNCCD issues and in coordination with relevant UNCCD/GM staff ensures the application of a rigorous system of due diligence.
5. Manages outreach activities designs and conducts training workshops, seminars, consultation meetings and makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
6. Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (program/project