OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Natural Sciences Sector (SC)

Duty Station: Harare

Job Family: Natural Sciences

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 12-AUG-2021

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CONSULTANCY

Currently, Zimbabwe is facing an acute energy access gap, whereby access to electricity in rural areas is as low as 28%. This has negatively impacted industrial productivity and other key services including education and healthcare. The utilization of clean and renewable energy is very low compared to traditional sources of energy, which represent a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. Coincidentally, the potential for Renewable Energy (RE) to fill the energy gap in Zimbabwe is tremendous. Therefore, RE systems could be harnessed to transform the livelihoods through the establishment of SMEs and product value-addition while also providing lighting and clean water for rural service centers, schools, homes and clinics. The gap to accessing clean energy is gender-differentiated, where women and youth disproportionately bear the burden of energy poverty. They also represent the majority of the agricultural labour force - a sector that is especially vulnerable to climate change effects including droughts and floods, which necessitates a strong focus on adaptation. These challenges are aggravated by the lack of access to long-term finance and critical skills required for the development of RE technologies in Zimbabwe. Financing required to deliver a low emission development trajectory in Zimbabwe is in the range of $7-8 billion as outlined in Zimbabwe's Low Emissions Development Strategy and most of this financing is anticipated to come through the private sector.

UNESCO in partnership with UNDP and UNWOMEN is developing a Joint Programme (JP) in response to the SDG Fund call on Catalysing Investments in Climate and Sustainable Energy for productive use and the Achievement of the SDGs in Zimbabwe. The JP is the comprehensive approach towards the removal of investment barriers for SMEs, particularly for women and youth in the RE sector by establishing a first of its kind mechanism that enables mobilization and access to funds, technical capacity building of stakeholders to have direct access to funds from multilateral, bilateral, private sector and leveraging public finance. Furthermore, the JP will build the capacity of women and youth entrepreneurs to influence and access government-controlled financing mechanisms, with particular attention to the nexus of new technologies-social benefits-economic opportunities.

In this context, UNESCO is engaging an Individual Consultant to conduct an EXPERT REVIEW on the SDG Fund project proposal.

Long Description

Tasks / Deliverables

The Consultant will provide expert review services to ensure that the proposed Renewable Energy Finance Facility, Financing tools, Risk Mitigation measures, Investment Criteria, Gender mainstreaming elements and pipeline projects are technically feasible, fundable/bankable and are able to leverage private sector finance to accelerate SDGs in Zimbabwe.

i) Conduct a deep technical review and appraisal of 2 drafts of the SDG Fund project proposal and the final review of the Proposal to ensure that the concept is technically sound and meets the expectations of the Evaluators - The consultant will review the first and second draft proposal and the also the final project proposal to appraise the concept being proposed in line with the UN SDG Call checklist and the recommendations received from the Evaluators and its applicability locally and give recommendations to close any loopholes and strengthen the proposal.

a) A checklist of the key elements of a successful Renewable Energy Finance Facility applied to a first revised draft of the Project Proposal and a brief list of comments with recommendations of areas needing improvement 30 August 2021 b) A first remote conference meeting with project partners to review and discuss proposal comments and suggestions by 30 August 2021 c) Review of the 2nd full draft of the SDG Fund proposal to ensure that the concept being proposed is technically sound and submit recommendations for improvement in the form of a brief comment list and/or track-changes comments within the document by 14 September 2021 d) A remote conference meeting with project partners to review and discuss proposal comments and suggestions by 21 September 2021. e) Review of the final Proposal by 8 October 2021

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

Accountability (C)

Communication (C)

Innovation (C)

Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)

Planning and organizing (C)

Results focus (C)

Teamwork (C)

Professionalism (C)

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For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Masters degree in economics, development, finance, accounting, business Administration or related field.

At least 8 years experience in the finance sector, preferably with development bank, commercial bank, investment funds, micro-finance, investing in emerging or low-income markets, sustainable or impact finance, investment research, venture capital, private equity or development finance;

Specific experience in providing transaction advisory services to private sector in the sustainable energy sector (specific experience in Renewable Energy would be an advantage);

Specific knowledge and experience in structuring and/or providing financing to sustainable energy projects (specific experience in solar PV projects would be an advantage);

Specific experience with seed funding, matching grants, working capital, debt and equity finance and guarantee funds;

Tags access to finance advisory services clean energy climate change commercial banks continuous improvement development finance development finance institutions energy poverty energy sector financial institutions gender mainstreaming gender parity investment promotion investment promotion agencies knowledge sharing new technologies pension funds public finance renewable energy rural areas sdgs solar southern africa sustainable energy venture capital

Specific work experience with or in collaboration with development and commercial finance institutions, commercial banks, micro-finance institutions;

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Understanding of the challenges of the private sector in the Southern Africa region, particularly Zimbabwe, related with access to finance;

Experience in the analysis and review of investment opportunities and the investment landscape across a number of SDGs related sectors partculary Renewable Energy, Youth, Gender and Women Empowerment;

Strong local/international networks: within the financial and corporate industries (private equity and pension funds, banks, non-bank financial institutions, impact funds,relevant philanthropies, development finance institutions), with relevant businesses, investment promotion agencies etc.

Deep knowledge of investment landscape in Zimbabwe, and close familiarity with needs of global investors;

Excellent advocacy skills relating to finance, business climate;

Knowledge of the SDGs, the United Nations and experience the UN and or multilateral Agencies.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview.

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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