Org. Setting and Reporting

The UN Secretary-General launched on 1 January 2019 a bold and new global reform which repositioned the UN Development System to delivery more effectively and efficiently with the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of this reform, UN Resident Coordinator Offices (UN RCO), under the leadership of an independent UN Resident Coordinator the Representative of the UN Secretary General and the highest-ranking official of the UN Development System at the country level support countries in the achievement of their development priorities and the attainment of the SDGs. The position is located in the United Nations Resident Coordination Office (RCO) in Nepal, Kathmandu and typically reports to the Head of the RCO.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties: 1. PLANS, FACILITATES, AND CONSOLIDATES EVIDENCE-BASED ANALYSIS OF THE STATUS OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG), SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY, PROVIDING SUBSTANTIVE ADVICE TO THE RESIDENT COORDINATOR (RC) AND THE UNITED NATIONS COUNTRY TEAM (UNCT), PARTICULARLY ON ELEMENTS PERTAINING TO SDG ACCELERATION, ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AGENDA (INCLUDING GREEN AND JUST TRANSITION, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND FUTURE OF WORK), GRADUATION FROM LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY STATUS AND SDG FINANCING:

• Researches, analyzes, consolidates, and presents information and data on emerging best practices in SDG acceleration, economic transformation for sustainable development, including green and just transition, digital transformation and the future of work, among others; paying special attention to gender and leave no one behind (LNOB) principles.
• Provides advice on global/corporate guidelines, tools, and other materials related to economic transformation and SDG financing.
• Guides substantive support to the RC/UNCT on SDG-related issues, particularly on policies to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, through incorporating a systems approach, and evaluates and highlights potential synergies and trade-offs between SDGs.
• Works with UNCT to create common, convergent and coherent key advocacy topics related to sustainable economic transformation and SDG financing, helping identify and analyze entry points for catalytic and consolidated UN policy support options, to enable the transition to more efficient, climate-smart, and resilient production and consumption patterns, maximizing social, environmental and economic outcomes that impact the implementation of multiple SDGs and their targets, with proposed ‘accelerator interventions’ that can help unlock and accelerate progress towards sustainable development.
• Identifies and analyzes issues that impact multiple SDGs and their targets and proposes ‘accelerator interventions’ that can help unlock and accelerate progress towards sustainable development across multiple areas.
• Assesses sustainable development trade-offs and risk factors, as well as early-warning indicators that may undermine the achievement of SDG targets and impact on the UN’s role and programme in the country.
• Working in close collaboration with the UNCT, researches, develops and presents policy papers, guidance notes and other knowledge-based based-tools, and supports discussion in country-level forums to help influence and advance policy dialogue and advocate to reframe economic policies and practices around economic transformation to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
• Conducts and consolidates analytical work to strengthen the understanding of the catalytic role of the private sector in the context of green economic transformation, LDC graduation and SDG financing; identifying opportunities to create strong partnerships with the private sector as a key stakeholder in the context of economic transformation and green growth.
• Analyses trends and provides advice and support on new and innovative mechanisms to leverage SDG financing, including global initiatives by the UN and other development institutions (e.g. IFIs).
• Supports UNCT initiatives to advance SDG financing, including in the context of an Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF).
• Collects and analyzes data on UN country level operations in support of SDG acceleration and the implementation of the economic transformation agenda and SDG financing, identifies gaps and proposed follow-up actions.
• Researches, develops and presents policy papers, guidance notes and other knowledge based-tools for discussion in country-level forums to help influence and advance policy dialogue on achieving the SDGs.
• Coordinates the preparation of UN flagship reports on SDG acceleration, economic transformation and leveraging SDG financing, including the analysis of data nad the provision of evidence to build the case for policies and interventions to advance the SDGs.
• Provides inputs for briefing papers and discussions/ talking points on issues related to SDG financing for consideration by the RC/ UNCT. 2. SUPPORTS RC’S AND UNCT’S ADVOCACY EFFORTS FOR CREATION OF STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH UN SYSTEM, NATIONAL COUNTERPARTS IN GOVERNMENT, INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND OTHER RELEVANT PARTNERS TO DRIVE REFRAMING OF ECONOMIC POLICIES AND PRACTICES AS WELL AS INNOVATIVE FINANCING STRATEGIES FOR ECONOMIC TRANSFORMAITON AND SDG FINANCING:
• Identifies issues and proposes recommendations on how UN country-level operations can be optimized and better respond to sustainable development needs, LDC graduation and emerging trends in country.
• Together with UNCT members, plans and facilitates an integrated approach to the UN’s policy advice to national counterparts in government and other external partners.
• Drives cross-pillar nexus approaches in country to policy, analysis and assessment.
• Elicits, evaluates and consolidates policy options proposed by UNCT members, ensuring an integrated approach to the UN’s policy advice to national counterparts in government and other external partners.
• Fosters peer-exchanges and opens a consistent channel of communication and strong partnerships with UN and non-UN entities’ economists (including IFIs), and creates and consolidates common, convergent and coherent advocacy opportunities on topics related to SDG acceleration, economic transformation and SDG financing.
• Working in close collaboration with the RCO Partnerships and Development Finance Officer, ensures effective engagement of all relevant counterparts (including IFIs, private sector, civil society, and academia) to develop collaboration and partnerships around SDG acceleration, economic transformation and SDG financing.
• Engages with the private sector to strengthen understanding of its potential contribution to the green economic transformation agenda, and to identify private and/or public-private catalytic SDG financing opportunities for the achievement of the SDGs.
• Monitors regional and global economic trends and issues and analyses their implications for the realization of the SDGs at the country level.
• Monitors and regularly assesses the implementation of the national development plan to exploit new opportunities, development priorities, partnerships etc. and thus strengthen the UNs work.
• Advises the UNCT and the Government on inclusive growth models. 3. COORDINATES THE DEVELOPMENT BY THE UNCT OF A NEW GENERATION OF AN INTEGRATED SDG PROGRAMMING CYCLE THAT PROMOTES SDG ACCELERATION AND ADVANCES THE ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AGENDA. THIS INCLUDES, AMONGST OTHERS, CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROADMAPS, THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FRAMEWORK (UNSDCF), UN JOINT PROGRAMMES, AND ANNUAL REPORTS:
• Supports the RC/UNCT in ensuring a strong macroeconomic and SDG financing analysis through an integrated lens in the preparation of the Common Country Analyses and other analytical exercises.
• Identifies issues and proposes recommendations for the UNCT on how UN country-level programming around economic transformation and integrated policy responses can be optimized and better respond to sustainable development needs and emerging trends in country.
• Assists the development and implementation of the UNSDCF to ensure that the UN’s country-level operational activities effectively support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in country, ensuring a strong a strong and integrated UNCT engagement on SDG acceleration, the economic transformation and SDG acceleration in the country.
• Provides substantive support to programme formulation and revision throughout the UNSDCF cycle, based on sound SDG analysis.
• Contributes to the UN joint programming process to identify and support the formulation of a new generation of UN joint programmes that are aligned with the SDGs, oriented towards investment, and have impact at the national level.
• Assists UNSDCF Result Groups and/or other coordination entities in the implementation of joint workplans to promote SDG-relevant and SDG-responsive UN operational activities for development.
• Proposes recommendations, plans and facilitates UN support to governmental and multi- stakeholder processes on SDG policy development and capacity development.
• Provides economic analysis and advice to RC, UNCT, national counterparts in governments and other relevant stakeholders on country’s smooth transition away from the LDC status. 4. PLANS AND DIRECTS SDG KNOWLEDGE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT AROUND THE SDG ACCELERATION, ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AND SDG FINANCING AGENDAS, IN SUPPORT OF A SHARED UNDERSTANDING BY THE UNCT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES:
• Promotes collaboration, peer support, innovation, good practices, lessons learned, needs and opportunities through active facilitation and/or participation to local, regional and global communities of practice and knowledge networks within the Resident Coordinators system, across the UN…