Equator Initiative Coordinator

UNDP

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience to sustain development results.

In September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. UNDP is working to strengthen new frameworks for development, disaster risk reduction and climate change, supporting countries' efforts to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, which will guide global development priorities through 2030.

UNDP focuses on helping countries build and share solutions in three main areas:

• Sustainable development
• Democratic governance and peacebuilding
• Climate and disaster resilience

In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women, minorities and the poorest and most vulnerable.

The Biodiversity Global Programme assists countries to develop their own capacity to manage biodiversity to deliver ecosystem services on which sustained human development depends. To achieve this objective it engages in mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation, market transformation, and capacity development activities.

The Equator Initiative aims to recognize and celebrate local, nature based solutions in communities around the world. 

Nature for Development Programme

To date, progress in achieving global development goals has largely come at the expense of the natural capital upon which human development and wellbeing ultimately depends. Major commitments within recent years (2030 Global Agenda, Paris Agreement, Sendai Framework, New York Declaration on Forests) provide a leverage point by which advocacy efforts can accelerate change. Complementing directly the large portfolio of UNDP supported national ecosystems and biodiversity projects financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other donors, the Global Nature for Development (NFD) Project focuses on the support for, and advocacy of, nature-based solutions that accelerate sustainable development, with a particular focus on food security, water security, disaster risk reduction, livelihoods, health, economic growth and poverty reduction.

The project includes three different initiatives, each at three different scales, to achieve the objective of ensuring that the development trajectory in countries begins to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, is inclusive, and accelerates multiple development goals at once. These three initiatives are the Equator Initiative, which shines a spotlight on nature-based solutions by local communities and indigenous communities and finds pathways for scaling these solutions up; the National Biodiversity Initiative, which provides support to countries to plan, implement and report nature-based actions that contribute to SDGs; and the Global Biodiversity Initiative, which strengthens the commitments of governments, corporations and communities to take action on the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity, including through the New York Declaration on Forests, ecosystem-specific community initiatives including but not limited to the Community Marine and Coastal Initiative.

This project includes five modes of action: 1) advocate for change by convening local, national and global events, including ceremonies, dialogues, workshops, meetings, conferences; 2) improve and accelerate identification, knowledge management and sharing of nature-based solutions for sustainable development; 3) foster participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in natural resource policy decisions that affect them; 4) foster communities of practice around key thematic areas and nature-based solutions; and 5) strengthen the capacity of national and local governments, private sector and communities to implement nature-based solutions for sustainable development.

Equator Initiative

UNDP’s Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizations to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. The Equator Initiative seeks to: Recognize the success of local and indigenous initiatives, create opportunities and platforms to share knowledge and good practice, inform policy to foster an enabling environment for local and indigenous community action, and develop the capacity of local and indigenous initiatives to scale-up their impact. The Equator Initiative is part of UNDP’s Nature for Development Global Program.

The Equator Initiative Secretariat, along with its partners, engages community leaders through a number of different channels and at a number of levels to help strengthen the voice of local and indigenous communities within the global biodiversity and poverty debate. In order to achieve this, the Equator Initiative is built upon three equally important pillars:

• Equator Prize: Awarded biennially, the Equator Prize recognizes and advances local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. As local and indigenous groups across the world chart a path towards sustainable development, the Equator Prize shines a spotlight on their effort by honoring them on an international stage.

• Equator Dialogues, an ongoing series of community-driven dialogues for sharing of best practices and lessons learnt to influence policy making and support capacity building at the local level

• Equator Knowledge, an evidence-based research and learning programme to identify, analyze and document the most innovative approaches to conserving,

Investments in the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems around the world are widely viewed as an efficient, inclusive and catalytic approach to implementing multiple SDGs, including those related to food security, economic growth through tourism, jobs and livelihoods, and disaster risk reduction, among others. There is a growing demand by impact investors to use their funds to achieve modest economic returns, while also achieving social and environmental returns.

The suite of agreed national actions related to oceans – actions from National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, Nationally Determined Commitments to the Paris Agreement, and actions toward the Sendai Framework – constitute potential projects for which impact investments could be targeted. At the same time, projects at the local community level in restoration, protection and sustainable management also lend themselves to small-scale impact investment.

The Nature for Development (NfD) Global Program seeks to engage a consultant to coordinate the day to day delivery and implementation of the Equator Initiative’s work and to advance the NfD program’s work on innovative finance for nature-based solutions for sustainable development. 

The consultant would coordinate the overall delivery and implementation of the Equator Initiative work to allow the initiative to effectively shine a spotlight on the success of local and indigenous groups that contribute to sustainable development at the grassroots level; to develop the capacities  of local and indigenous peoples in the Equator Prize network; to inform policy and foster knowledge exchanges amongst local and national policy makers; and to document Equator Prize winners’ best practices. 

The consultant would also advance the NfD program’s work on innovative finance/impact investment for nature-based solutions for sustainable development by contributing to the analysis of the current state of the market for impact investment, and by identifying potential bottlenecks and solutions to accelerate nature-based impact investments in community-based projects.

The consultant’s tasks would include:    

• Coordinate global Equator Prize ceremonies for 1,000+ participants
• Coordinate Equator Prize ceremonies at national level with UNDP Country Offices and partners
• Oversee Equator Prize selection process, including outreach, work of the Technical Advisory Committee selecting the winners, communications activities.
• Maintain partnerships with Equator Initiative partners, relevant civil society organizations, governments and diplomatic representations, and collaborators
• Coordinate presence of representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) at international conferences such as CBD COPs, World Conservation Congress etc., to enable knowledge exchange between practitioners and policy makers
• Support and where needed coordinate meetings and workshops to advance engagement of IPLCs with governments and investors
• Review of current state of the market for innovative finance instruments, including impact investments in local, nature-based solutions for sustainable development
• Identify potential impact investable Equator Prize winners, bottlenecks and solutions to accelerate investments in community-based projects.
• Support development of knowledge and communications materials and research to document best practice on social/impact investing for local communities and indigenous peoples
• Support proposal and report writing for various donors.

• A Master's Degree or equivalent in natural resources, social sciences or relevant field required.
• A Bachelor’s degree in relevant field with additional two years of experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree. 

• At least five years of professional experience with community-based natural resource management and local sustainable development required
• Experience designing and executing large events such as award ceremonies required
• Experience coordinating and facilitating capacity building workshops for local and indigenous communities required
• Experience with environmental finance mechanisms required, including but not limited to the Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Small Grants Programme, or government-led finance instruments
• Experience supporting management of UN or UNDP project would be an important asset
• Experience in Project Development and/or proposal writing would be an important asset.

• Proficiency in English and proficiency in Spanish or French required.
• Knowledge of additional languages is an asset, in particular if UN languages or Portuguese.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

 UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale. 

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.
• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

ECR operates global portfolios from offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York, and country-specific programmes from its operations and project centres located in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries.