UNV Expert in Partnership, Green Growth and Sustainable Development

UN Entity: UNDP

Assignment Context:
In February 2024, during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), Heads of State and Government elected the President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ghazouani, as the new chairman of the union for 2024. Mauritania takes the baton of leadership from President Azali Assoumani of the Union of Comoros, who served as the AU Chairperson for 2023. The role of the AU is gaining momentum. Indeed, since the Indian Presidency of the G20 in 2023, the AU has been made a permanent member of the G20, in a move that has been broadly welcomed for giving the continent an important voice on key global issues.

By adopting the Green Development Pact for a Sustainable Future, the G20 leaders re-emphasized the importance of the SDGs and owed to push for concrete steps towards balancing increased economic opportunities for all and addressing environmental pressures that, if left unaddressed, could undermine our ability to seize these opportunities. The Green Development Pact urges for resource efficiency and the importance of sustainable consumption and clean, sustainable, just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition. It insists on climate and sustainable finance, the principles on an ocean-based Blue Economy as well as the importance to building disaster-resilient infrastructure.

Africa requires enhanced livelihood security and increased economic prosperity. The African Union Agenda 2063, which charts the trajectory for tomorrow's Africa, depicts inter alia the ambition of transformed, inclusive and sustainable African economies with economic growth reaching 7%, real per-capita incomes being a third more than 2013 levels, labor-intensive manufacturing, regional industrialization hubs linked to the global value chains and commodity exchanges and doubling ICT penetration and contribution to real GDP in absolute terms. To be sustainable, the Africa’s industrialization ambition requires that Africa, endowed with immense natural resources, ensures that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which African’s well-being relies. The situation of the continent faced with the twin challenges of low average human development level and environmental sustainability, means that it must find a balanced path for responsible use of its natural resources in its quest for economic and social progress. To succeed in this challenge of promoting green growth, African countries must rely on a strong leadership to develop and mobilize the necessary capacities, resources, opportunities, technologies, partnerships and financing to spur investment and innovation in ways that give rise to new, more sustainable sources of economic activity and jobs.

As the UN's development agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Also, the strategic goal of UNDP's engagement with the G20 is to align G20 policy actions with the UN Agenda, and to use its weight and political clout to address global challenges and make sustainable development an overarching guiding principle of its macro policy framework.

In this regard, UNDP is seeking services of an expert in Green Growth and Sustainable Development to provide policy, regulatory and technical advice to national counterparts and UNDP Mauritania CO.

Task description:
The UN Volunteer will work under the direct supervision of the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development. He/she will also work closely with the Chief of Staff of the HoS and UNDP CO; with UNDP Regional Technical Advisors and with global Advisors from UNDP’s Climate Hub, Nature Hub and Vertical Funds; as well as with the development partners (IsDB, AfDB, UNECA); the UNCT and government institutions. He/she will be responsible of the following deliverables/responsibilities:

· Policy analysis and guidance:
· Conduct policy analyses and support preparation of discussion and policy papers on green growth and climate change for AU and G20 meetings.
· Provide the President with high-quality and state-of-art level of advises on just green transitions;
· Lead the organization of an international forum on green growth and sustainable development in Mauritania;
· Ensure the implementation of the Climate Finance Unit within the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development by working with the national counterparts and the identified stakeholders from public and private sectors;
· Provide technical assistance and advises for the identification and prioritization of green investments in various development sectors and to how tap into various existing green financing facilities;
· Maintain close working relationships with national and subnational institutions and other key stakeholders at various levels in order to support the quality of the execution of green growth and climate change related initiatives;
· Support the strengthening of capacities, institutions and systems with a focus on local level adaptation mainstreaming and the strengthening of public financial management systems for green industrialization, climate change and climate finance (e.g. by facilitating and undertaking capacity needs assessments; the development of capacity building programmes; the organization of training workshops; and on-the-job learning);
· Advise the Mauritanian Government with analyses on green investments and grew growth policy options;
· Support UNDP Mauritania in outreach, partnership building and resource mobilization: develop strategies to mobilize additional resources based on programme requirements and new opportunities, in particular through vertical funds (GEF; GCF) and the engagement with the private sector;
· Any other technical/relevant work emerging during planning & implementation.

Languages
French, Level: Fluent, Required
English, Level: Fluent, Required
Arabic, Level: Fair, Desirable

Required Experience:
· Green growth, climate finance; climate governance, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies; partnerships and multilateral cooperation, coordination of development projects.
· Demonstrated experience in partnership with government, development partners, Private Sector, NGOs, Civil Society.
· Demonstrated experience and supporting government agencies and development partners in conceptualizing and developing green growth policies.
· Previous experience in green growth policy development, sustainable industrialization, green investments, climate finance, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
· Previous experience with a Policy Engagement Forum.
· Previous experience in multi-stakeholder engagement.

Inclusivity statement:
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements
Selected candidates for certain occupational groups may be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in line with the applicable host entity policy.

Living conditions and remarks
The UN Volunteer will be based in Nouakchott, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Mauritania is a country characterized by vast desert landscapes, magnificent beaches and notable cultural diversity. Although Mauritania offers an interesting and enriching environment, it is also necessary to show a certain restraint (particularly in the choice of dress) and cultural maturity to integrate effectively into the country. The security situation in Nouakchott is relatively calm, but remains fragile due to instability in neighboring countries, notably Mali. The city is relatively well served, accessible by air (Turkish Airlines, Air France, Mauritania Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Air Algérie, etc.) and by land. The climate is hot and dry most of the year, with a slight drop in temperature between December and March, especially in the evenings. It's important to note that Mauritania is an Islamic republic, so products such as alcohol and pork are prohibited.