National Finance Specialist at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: National Finance Specialist on Integrated Analyses for a REDD+ Strategy in Nigeria, with Focus on Cross River State

Location: Abuja with travel to Cross River State
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level: International Consultant
Duration of Initial Contract: 30 working days
Expected Duration of Assignment: 30 working days
Duties and Responsibilities
To explore and assess financing, incentives, and benefit sharing opportunities and options relevant to REDD+ implementation in Nigeria (Federal and Cross River State levels). 

This includes exploring broader and long-term benefits from REDD+ (such as enhanced governance, more secure [tenure] rights, improved environmental services, and income) in addition to incentives from the transfer of financial benefits.

Tasks To Explore And Assess Financing:

• Identify and assess opportunities for and challenges to mobilizing financing activities relevant to REDD+;
• Review on-going work on climate finance readiness and similar initiatives including options for a sustainable financing mechanism for REDD+ activities taking into account, the national policies and strategies to addressing climate change;
• Take stock of the major existing, new, and emerging global (and/or regional) funding sources, mechanisms and instruments for REDD+.Screen each of the identified potential sources of finance for REDD+ and related initiatives to highlight and recommend entry points and opportunities for Nigeria (Federal and CRS level);
• Assess status of REDD+ forest carbon finance policy and legal frameworks in Nigeria (in coordination with the policy, legal, and regulatory analysis);
• Assess and analyse existing and potential financial resources for REDD+ from domestic sources, including budgetary approaches, decentralized approaches, targeted funds (e.g. ecological and other national funds, amongst others), foreign direct investments, Development Banks, and official development assistance (ODA), as well as an assessment of their delivery mechanisms.Outline those with potential to support REDD+ implementation;
• Assess trends related to REDD+ and forest carbon finance in Nigeria. Consider scenarios of the levels of finance that may be channelled through carbon trading as well as current and potential financial benefits that could be accrued in the forest management including eco system services;
• Identify options for market and non-market approaches for REDD+ incentives. This will include, inter alia:
• Assess the potential for mobilizing resources mobilized through fiscal incentives and other forms of incentives
• Assess the determinants of resource allocation and recommend how REDD+ can benefit from higher allocations of budget resources through such incentive mechanisms;
• In coordination with the private sector analysis, assess private sector involvement and interest in REDD+; identify incentives for private investment in both the readiness phase and results-based phases of REDD+;
• Analyse the incentives driving business-as-usual finance and investment in forestry and agriculture. These might include regulatory, economic or informational instruments.

Based On The Above, Analyze And Draw Conclusions On:

• The priority issues that interest the above-identified stakeholders;
• The risks that may be linked to the broader REDD+ safeguards, particularly in the areas of managing financial risks, reporting, and ensuring full and effective participation; and
• Identify and analyse the potential bottlenecks/constraints to accessing resources for REDD+ in Nigeria. (e.g. institutional, policy, and capacity constraints), whether from domestic or external sources;
• Based on the above, propose recommendations for the REDD+ strategy, including,Identification of various financial instruments that could be used for financing REDD+ at Federal and CRS levels;
• Lessons and experiences on funding mechanisms and their delivery mechanisms that Nigeria can draw from; including those that are performance based; and
• Potential options for a sustainable, equitable and fair funding mechanism for REDD+ activities and implementation in Nigeria/CRS;
• Potential institutional arrangements for management and provision of oversight of REDD+ financing mechanisms taking into account the current government approach to climate change.

Tasks to explore and assess benefit-sharing:

• Beyond financing, the creation of incentives and broader benefits that accrue from REDD+ should be used in a manner that helps to improve accountability, transparency, and equity in terms of participation, access, and fair distribution of costs and benefits.  To create sufficient incentives for actors to actually change land use practices that drive deforestation and degradation—and the benefits that accrue to them - will require that benefit sharing mechanisms, in the broad sense, target the right actors at different levels and be tailored appropriately to meet the needs and interests of these actors.

In Line With This, The Consultant Will Focus On The Following Aspects

• Identify carbon and non-carbon benefits that the local communities obtain from the different forest ecosystems in CRS;
• Assess the status of benefit distribution processes (with special attention to local communities and groups therein, e.g., women, landless, youth, single-parent households) and any weaknesses that should be considered as related to requirements for REDD+ readiness;
• Examine how non-financial/non-monetary incentives can contribute to fair and equitable benefit sharing in REDD + implementation;
• Take stock of programmes, initiatives and experiences that provide incentives related to REDD+.Identify and examine the most appropriate and applicable in the national context and assess how such initiatives can be replicated in CRS from a benefit sharing point of view;
• Analyse existing and emerging benefit-sharing mechanisms in relevant programmes and how this can inform the potential design of a benefit-sharing mechanism for Nigeria.

Based on the above, provide recommendations for the REDD+ strategy including:

• Practical benefit sharing options at different levels and how these can be targeted and tailored to various constituencies;
• How non-monetary incentives can best be used in the Nigerian context to motivate change in behaviour in REDD+ implementation;
• Recommend the institutional arrangements for management and provision of oversight of REDD+ benefit sharing mechanism.

Benefits:

• Best or good practices that can be used to help improve accountability, transparency and equity in terms of participation, access and fair distribution of costs and benefits and safeguard the rights of communities including:
• How the various laws of Nigeria can provide for non-carbon benefits in order to ensure equity distribution (in coordination with PLR consultant[s];
• A set of options for defining carbon rights and benefit-sharing arrangements that balances the interests of government, the private sector, and local communities.The Consultant[s] will consult with members of the Safeguards Working Group and coordinate with the PLR consultant[s]); and
• Lessons and experiences on benefit-sharing mechanisms that Nigeria can draw from, including those that are performance based.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• At least a Master’s Degree in Natural Resource Management, Forestry, Natural Resource Economics or development-related subject.

Experience:

• At least 10 years demonstrated experience and strong knowledge in REDD+ and related areas in Nigeria, such as general forest management, incentive and benefit sharing models;
• Experience in the designing benefit sharing models in programmes and projects, preferably in the climate change/forestry area.

Competencies:

• Excellent writing skills;
• Good interpersonal skills;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment;
• Excellent Team building skills;
• Broad knowledge of climate change mitigation and/or adaptation in Nigeria;
• Broad knowledge of political and economic development in Nigeria and how REDD+ fits in with that.

Language:

• Fluent in English.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online