About the Organization
General Assembly Resolution 2186 (XXI) decided to "bring into operations the United Nations Capital Development Fund as an organ of the General Assembly which shall function as an autonomous organization of the United Nations." The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) assists developing countries, especially least developing countries, in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants, loans, and guarantees. UNCDF's vision is to help mobilize and catalyze an increase of capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States to address the most pressing development challenges facing vulnerable communities in these countries and thereby contribute to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity.
As a Flagship Catalytic Blended Financing platform of the UN, UNCDF utilizes its unique capability in the UN system to deploy grants, loans and guarantees to crowd-in finance for the scaling of development impact. UNCDF focuses on where the needs are greatest, a deliberate focus and capability rooted in UNCDF's unique investment mandate to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realization of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031.
As per its Strategic Framework, UNCDF works to deploy its functions as a hybrid development organization and development finance institution. UNCDF responds to Member States requests for assistance by providing targeted technical and financial advisory services on investments for development outcomes, designing bespoke financial structuring solutions, undertaking financial derisking of investments, and enhancing investment readiness of SDG aligned projects in partnership with private sector, United Nations Organizations, International and Local Finance Institutions, Development Finance Institutions as well as Foundations and Philanthropy, among others. UNCDF works to develop local financial systems, new markets and mobilize and crowd in capital from public and private sources. UNCDF is driven by a partnership mindset which enables it to deploy its different capital capabilities in highly tailored and responsive ways in order to mobilize investments flows from other sources, in particular from the private sector. By structuring transactions which are highly impactful, but also recognize the need for multiplying the impact of its own capital, UNCDF seeks to position itself as a preferred partner for different stakeholders. UNCDF's work is focused on three priority areas, including:
SME Finance
Sub-National Finance
Digital Finance
UNCDF's organizational set up includes an Investment and Implementation Division (IID), Investment and Finance Oversight Division (IFOD), Operations and Oversight Division (OOD) and a Directorate of the Executive Office. UNCDF staff and personnel are located in regional hubs based in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand) with sub-regional presence in a number of locations in the Caribbean and Pacific Regions. UNCDF is led by an Executive Secretary based out of New York, USA. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2321(XXII, para 1.a), the Administrator of the UNDP performs the function of the Managing Director of UNCDF. UNCDF is overseen by an Executive Board comprised of UN Member States.
Job Summary
The Programme Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating activities, projects, or programmes across teams or partners, plan, organize and monitor implementation, and will serve as a focal point for coordination across programme in Ethiopia.
This role will involve managing projects and programmes in alignment with the country's strategic goals and work plans, ensuring quality standards, and achieving targeted outcomes. The coordinator will actively support the implementation of the projects through UNCDF's financial tools and grow the project portfolio focusing on segments like Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and sectors such as fintech, ag-tech and climate-tech.
Key responsibilities include managing personnel, building strategic partnerships, advising government entities, and engaging with financial service providers. The Programme Coordinator will support the resource mobilization, knowledge sharing, and communication efforts to sustain and expand UNCDF's visibility and impact in Ethiopia.
UNCDF adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNCDF personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.
Key Responsibilities
The Programme Coordinator will hold supervisory responsibilities for staff and non-staff project personnel, including consultants engaged under the project, and will provide direction, guidance and oversight to all such personnel. As well as provide guidance and oversight to other non-staff personnel.
Ensure Effective Programme Coordination for projects in Ethiopia
Plan strategically and support the development of country strategies, work plans, and programme priorities
Coordinate the implementation of UNCDF programmes in line with annual work plans, ensuring quality assurance and achievement of outputs.
Monitor projects' milestones and outputs, tracking performance, and implementing corrective actions as needed
Provide strategic oversight of planning, budgeting, implementing, and monitoring of the projects in Ethiopia tracking use of financial resources in accordance with UNCDF/ UNDP rules and regulations.
Conduct timely project reviews, revisions and complete related reporting obligations, in accordance with UNDP/ UNCDF policies, UN rules and regulations as well as applicable donors' requirements
Establish, strengthen and maintain strategic partnerships, contribute to resource mobilization, and engage effectively with donors
Establish, strengthen and maintain strategic partnerships with local and regional stakeholders, including government ministries, regulators, donors, financial institutions, and development partners. This function is pivotal in supporting UNCDF's resource mobilization efforts by cultivating relationships with funders at national, regional, and global levels, securing funding for both existing and new initiatives.
Create a robust network of allies and funding sources, explore and identify new partnerships and funding opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability and scaling of UNCDF's interventions.
Provide advisory support to government entities, regulators, and private sector stakeholders to promote policies and frameworks that foster effective engagement in Ethiopia.
Collaborate with the regional office team to position and advocate for goals and objectives central to UNCDF's mandate.
Ensure provision of leadership and management
Foster a collaborative and high-performance environment through regular feedback, professional development opportunities, and capacity-building initiatives to empower project managers
Manage project managers and coordinate with colleagues across different functional areas such as operations, finance, and technical teams, to meet project objectives.
Facilitate knowledge management and result measurement
Oversee result measurement and knowledge management activities to document and share lessons learned, best practices, and insights from UNCDF's projects in Ethiopia.
Support results measurement by working closely with the Performance Management Support Unit (PMSU) and the Regional Market Systems Development and Impact Specialist to track and evaluate project impact against established benchmarks and targets.
Coordinate with UNDP and other UN agencies to align efforts, promote synergies, and integrate UNCDF's work within broader UN development frameworks, enhancing the collective impact of the UN's presence in Ethiopia.
Lead the identification and formulation lessons learned and recommendations to improve delivery and build on the thought leadership needs of the country
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Required Qualifications
Education
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Accounting, Development Studies, Management, or related discipline is required. Or
A first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience
Minimum of five (5) years (with master's degree) or seven (7) years (with bachelor's degree) of progressively responsible experience in designing, coordinating and implementing development projects from conceptual level to implementation level focusing on access to finance, agriculture finance, digital finance, digital innovation, or MSMEs finance for low-income segments
At least five (5) years of work experience focused on access to finance and digital financial services in Ethiopia is required.
Experience leading and managing a diverse and large team is required.
Demonstrated experience working with the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), including familiarity with NBE regulations, reporting requirements, and procedures relevant to project implementation is required.
Demonstrated experience working with United Nations agencies on the coordination, implementation or management of a development project is required.
Experience working with international donor organizations around the topics of MSME Finance and business development support is desired.
Extensive experience working with governmental entities and regulators in Ethiopia, coupled with a deep understanding of government stakeholders is desired.
Proven...