“In-Depth Overview of the Local Climate Finance Specialist (IPSA-11) Role at UNCDF in Tanzania”
📘 Introduction to UNCDF
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is a UN agency established by the UN General Assembly to support Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in economic development through grants, loans, and guarantees. Its unique role within the UN system is focused on leveraging financial solutions to drive inclusive and sustainable development, particularly aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the Doha Programme of Action (2022–2031).
UNCDF works at the nexus of development and finance, combining technical assistance, capacity building, and innovative financing mechanisms to support SDG-related investments. Its hybrid role straddles traditional development assistance and financial investment, empowering local actors to unlock and scale development finance.
🌍 LoCAL Facility Overview
The Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) Facility is a flagship program under UNCDF aimed at promoting climate change resilience at the local government level, especially in the most climate-vulnerable LDCs like Tanzania.
Key features:
- ISO 14093-certified mechanism for channeling international climate finance to local authorities.
- Operates in 34 countries, including 27 LDCs and 24 African nations.
- Aligns with SDGs 1, 11, and 13 (poverty reduction, sustainable cities, and climate action).
- Integrates climate change into local planning and budgeting using performance-based grants.
The facility’s model:
- Performance-Based Climate Resilience Grants (PBCRGs) — incentive-based funding for climate adaptation at the local level.
- Capacity Building — technical support for planning, implementation, and M&E.
- Policy Influence — aligning national frameworks (e.g., NAPs, NDCs) with local action.
- Resource Mobilization — leverages additional finance from climate funds (GCF, AF) and donors.
🇹🇿 LoCAL-Tanzania Specifics
LoCAL was introduced in Tanzania in 2021, piloted in three districts of the Dodoma region: Chamwino, Kondoa, and Mpwapwa, with potential reach of over 800,000 people, focusing especially on women.
Key aspects:
- Supported by the EU, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and European Union.
- Fully aligned with:
- Tanzania’s climate change strategy
- Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
- National Adaptation Plan (NAP)
- Public Financial Management (PFM) systems
- Local government frameworks
In 2024, LoCAL is expected to scale up to additional districts and become further institutionalized.
🧑💼 Role Overview: Local Climate Finance Specialist
Job Title: Local Climate Finance Specialist
Grade: IPSA-11
Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Contract Duration: 1 year (renewable)
Reports To: Regional Climate Finance Advisor (based in Nairobi)
Vacancy ID: 25425
Deadline to Apply: 16 April 2025
Languages: Fluency in English required
Education: Master’s degree with 7 years of experience OR Bachelor’s with 9 years
This role is strategic, technical, and managerial — responsible for end-to-end delivery of the LoCAL programme in Tanzania. It involves policy engagement, program implementation, team management, monitoring and evaluation, resource mobilization, and cross-sectoral coordination.
🎯 Duties and Responsibilities
1. Programme Management
- Design, plan, and manage LoCAL Tanzania’s operations.
- Align annual work plans with strategic priorities.
- Manage monitoring systems (KPIs, risk logs, ERP entries).
- Ensure timely reporting: technical & financial (incl. donor-specific).
- Coordinate audits and evaluations.
- Ensure the PBCRG system is effectively implemented for upscaling and attracting further financing.
2. Team Leadership
- Direct national officers, drivers, and field staff.
- Conduct performance management, mentoring, and coaching.
- Ensure health, safety, and wellbeing of the team.
- Ensure ethical and inclusive practices within the team.
- Align team capacity with LoCAL’s expanding geographical footprint.
3. Technical and Policy Advisory Services
- Offer policy and regulatory advice to central/local government:
- Climate change frameworks (NAPs, NDCs)
- Public Financial Management
- Local governance systems
- Design technical documents (TORs, MoUs, etc.)
- Source national and international expertise.
- Support national access to climate finance (e.g., GCF/AF accreditation).
4. Knowledge Management and Communication
- Identify capacity gaps and lead targeted training programs.
- Draft knowledge products, background papers, technical guides.
- Facilitate community-of-practice and stakeholder dialogues.
- Lead implementation of the Communication & Visibility Plan.
5. Networking and Partnerships
- Represent LoCAL/UNCDF in national and regional fora.
- Engage with UN groups and development partners.
- Mobilize resources and advocate for LoCAL expansion.
- Seek synergies with other UN and donor-supported climate initiatives.
🧠 Required Competencies
🔵 Core Competencies
| Competency | Level 3 Indicators |
|---|---|
| Achieve Results | Set ambitious, realistic goals. Manage multiple projects. |
| Think Innovatively | Find solutions to complex issues. Anticipate risks. |
| Learn Continuously | Champion new learning opportunities. |
| Adapt with Agility | Handle change and uncertainty with calmness and flexibility. |
| Act with Determination | Persist through challenges. Think beyond immediate issues. |
| Engage and Partner | Build coalitions and networks. Navigate political complexities. |
| Enable Diversity & Inclusion | Promote inclusive approaches across all workstreams. |
🟢 People Management
- Mentoring, delegation, empowerment
- Ethics-driven leadership
- Health and safety awareness
- Performance monitoring and annual reviews
⚙️ Cross-functional & Technical Competencies
| Area | Competency |
|---|---|
| Business Management | Results-based management, project management, portfolio oversight |
| External Relations & Advocacy | Stakeholder engagement, relationship building |
| Governance & Peace | Public administration reform |
| Strategic Thinking | Systems thinking |
| Partnership Management | Multi-stakeholder engagement, donor mobilization |
🎓 Qualifications
Education
- Required: Master’s in Climate Change, Environment, Development, International Relations, or Business Administration.
- Acceptable: Bachelor’s with 2+ additional years of relevant experience.
Experience
- Minimum of 7 years (with Master’s) or 9 years (with Bachelor’s) in:
- Climate finance programming
- Local governance reform
- Donor-funded development projects
- Working with LDCs or fragile states is preferred
- Experience managing cross-functional and multicultural teams
- Familiarity with ERP systems and RBM frameworks
Language
- Fluent spoken and written English.
- Kiswahili proficiency is desirable but not mandatory.
🔗 Institutional Setup
- Reports to Regional Climate Finance Advisor in Nairobi.
- Works closely with LoCAL global team and other regional colleagues.
- Supervises national officers, drivers, and field implementation teams.
- Coordinates across ministries, development partners, UN agencies.
📈 Strategic Value of This Role
This position is mission-critical for achieving the scale-up of the LoCAL Facility in Tanzania. The Local Climate Finance Specialist will:
- Serve as the face of UNCDF/LoCAL in Tanzania.
- Ensure robust systems for delivery, monitoring, and scale-up.
- Foster deep institutional relationships with MoF, LGAs, environmental authorities, and climate donors.
- Strengthen the country’s direct access capacity to climate finance.
- Help UNCDF meet its commitments under the Doha Programme of Action and the Paris Agreement.
💼 Career Impact
This position offers:http://👉 UNCDF Job Posting: Local Finance Specialist – Tanzania
- Exposure to high-level government engagement.
- Leadership experience in climate finance in LDCs.
- Opportunity to shape local resilience architecture in Africa.
- Platform for transitioning to senior roles in the UN system or climate finance institutions.
- High visibility among key donors (EU, Sweden, Norway, Belgium).http://@vacancyspaces.com
📅 Key Dates
| Activity | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Job posting date | 1 April 2025 |
| Application deadline | 16 April 2025 |
| Contract start (est.) | May/June 2025 |
🔗 Useful Links
Table of Contents
Would you like help crafting a tailored cover letter or CV for this position, or would you like to explore other LoCAL/UNCDF roles in the region?
Absolutely! Here’s an expanded and detailed explanation (well over 2000 words) of the Local Climate Finance Specialist, IPSA-11 position with UNCDF in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This breakdown dives into the broader context of the job, the importance of climate finance in LDCs, UNCDF’s strategy, LoCAL’s model, and your potential contribution as a Local Climate Finance Specialist.
🌐 Global Context: Climate Change and Local Finance in LDCs
Climate change presents an urgent and existential threat to Least Developed Countries (LDCs). These countries, though contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to its impacts. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and devastating floods affect livelihoods, food security, infrastructure, and health. In rural and semi-urban areas, where communities rely on agriculture and natural resources, the effects are even more pronounced.
Responding to these challenges requires locally-driven, climate-resilient development. However, local governments often lack:
- Sufficient climate finance
- Technical capacity
- Policy influence
- Institutional mechanisms for adaptation planning
This is where UNCDF and its LoCAL (Local Climate Adaptive Living) Facility come into play.
🏢 UNCDF’s Mandate and Focus
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is a specialized UN agency mandated to provide financial mechanisms for development in least developed and lower-income countries. Unlike purely technical agencies, UNCDF works at the intersection of:
- Development cooperation
- Domestic public finance
- Private sector finance
- Climate and SDG-aligned investments
UNCDF focuses on two key areas:
- Inclusive Digital Economies (IDE)
- Local Transformative Finance (LTF) — where the LoCAL Facility is anchored.
It acts as a financial catalyst to build local economies, improve public service delivery, and foster inclusive resilience.
🌱 LoCAL Facility: Strategic and Operational Framework
The LoCAL Facility, launched in 2011, is UNCDF’s flagship mechanism for channeling climate finance to the local level. It addresses three core gaps:
- Access to climate finance
- Climate-informed planning and budgeting at local levels
- Evidence-based adaptation investments
LoCAL uses an ISO-certified system (ISO 14093) that blends performance-based grants, capacity development, and policy dialogue into one holistic model.
Core Elements of LoCAL:
1. Performance-Based Climate Resilience Grants (PBCRGs)
These are the financial cornerstone of LoCAL. PBCRGs:
- Are channeled directly to local authorities through national systems.
- Are predictable and results-linked, based on local performance.
- Incentivize local governments to integrate climate considerations into planning, budgeting, and investment.
2. Capacity Building
LoCAL provides training, tools, and mentoring to:
- Prepare local adaptation plans.
- Improve financial management.
- Ensure procurement, monitoring, and safeguards are in place.
3. Policy Engagement and National Frameworks
LoCAL works to embed climate resilience into:
- National Public Financial Management (PFM) systems.
- National climate strategies like NAPs, NDCs, and climate budget tagging.
- Devolved governance policies, especially in countries like Tanzania with strong local government frameworks.
4. Resource Mobilization and Scaling
By demonstrating success at the local level, LoCAL:
- Helps countries access finance from Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund (AF), and bilateral donors.
- Enables national governments to scale up with domestic resources and donor co-financing.
🇹🇿 LoCAL-Tanzania: Program Context
Background
Tanzania is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change:
- Agriculture (a major sector) is rain-fed and exposed to droughts.
- Coastal zones are threatened by sea-level rise.
- Ecosystems and biodiversity are at risk.
In response, the Tanzanian government has developed:
- NDCs aligned with the Paris Agreement.
- NAP process to guide climate adaptation.
- A decentralization framework empowering Local Government Authorities (LGAs).
LoCAL Rollout
LoCAL began in Tanzania in 2021, starting with a pilot phase in Dodoma Region, across three districts. The initial focus:
- Capacity building of LGAs and central ministries.
- Implementing PBCRGs.
- Collecting data to inform a future scale-up.
2024–2026 Plans
- Expand to more LGAs and possibly new regions.
- Deepen institutional integration with PFM systems.
- Build a pipeline for climate finance access via GCF/AF.
- Work closely with the Ministry of Finance and President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG).
🧑💼 Local Climate Finance Specialist – Role Summary
You will be the national lead for LoCAL operations in Tanzania. This is not a junior support role — it is a strategic, operational, and leadership position.
Your core responsibilities include:
- Managing the entire programme cycle: design, planning, budgeting, implementation, M&E.
- Building capacity and systems at the local level.
- Engaging with national ministries to mainstream LoCAL in national finance and climate systems.
- Supervising the UNCDF team in Tanzania (officers, admin, drivers).
- Positioning LoCAL as a central pillar in Tanzania’s climate finance strategy.
- Liaising with global and regional UNCDF teams, and representing UNCDF in national dialogues.
📋 Key Tasks and Deliverables
Here’s a breakdown of your day-to-day activities and outputs:
1. Programme Management
- Develop annual work plans, budgets, risk registers, and monitoring frameworks.
- Coordinate implementation with partners, consultants, and LGAs.
- Oversee PBCRG disbursements, compliance, and reporting.
- Submit progress reports (technical and financial) to UNCDF HQ and donors.
2. Technical Advisory and Policy Engagement
- Lead dialogue with PO-RALG, Ministry of Finance, Vice President’s Office (Environment).
- Provide advice on climate budget tagging, NAP implementation, and climate-smart PFM.
- Draft technical documents: guidelines, training modules, MoUs.
3. Capacity Building
- Organize and deliver training to LGAs.
- Strengthen planning tools (vulnerability assessments, investment appraisals).
- Mentor local teams and national consultants.
4. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
- Ensure compliance with ISO 14093 and UNCDF quality standards.
- Collect performance data for PBCRG assessment.
- Analyze lessons learned and use them to improve future cycles.
5. Communication and Advocacy
- Develop communication materials: case studies, briefs, videos.
- Organize visibility events with donors and partners.
- Present findings in regional or global conferences.
6. Partnership and Resource Mobilization
- Maintain donor relationships and identify new funding opportunities.
- Align LoCAL with other programs (e.g., GCF readiness projects).
- Contribute to national accreditation efforts (e.g., for NIEs).
👥 Team Structure and Reporting
You will:
- Report to the Regional Climate Finance Advisor, based in Nairobi.
- Work closely with:
- LoCAL Global Programme Manager
- Regional/technical advisors in UNCDF HQ
- National consultants and implementing partners
- Supervise:
- National Climate Finance Officers
- Drivers and Admin/Finance Assistants
- Possible expansion to more field staff as the programme scales
🧠 Skills and Experience Required
Must-Have
- 7 years (with Master’s) or 9 years (with Bachelor’s) of experience in:
- Climate change adaptation or finance
- Development project management
- Local governance or decentralization reforms
- Experience working with:
- UN, World Bank, or major donors
- Government partners, especially in LDCs or fragile contexts
Preferred
- Experience with:
- GCF/AF project formulation
- ISO 14093 or performance-based financing mechanisms
- PFM systems and local government budgeting
- Monitoring and evaluation frameworks
- Knowledge of:
- Tanzania’s institutional and climate policy environment
- Swahili (as an added advantage)
📈 Career Progression and Impact
By taking this role, you:
- Gain strategic and operational experience at the intersection of climate finance, local governance, and resilience-building.
- Work directly with high-level government officials, donors, and development partners.
- Have visibility within the UN and climate finance ecosystem (GCF, AF, EU, bilateral donors).
- Position yourself for global roles in UNCDF, UNDP, UNEP, GCF, and other institutions working on climate adaptation and finance.
💰 Contractual and Administrative Details
- Contract Type: Individual Contractor Agreement under the International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA).
- Grade: IPSA-11 (comparable to P4-level in the UN system).
- Duty Station: Dar es Salaam, with travel to field sites.
- Duration: 12 months, renewable based on performance and funding.
- Remuneration: Competitive, based on UNCDF’s IPSA scale, commensurate with experience.
🧩 Final Thoughts: Why This Job Matters
This position sits at the critical interface of climate action and local development. It combines policy thinking, hands-on implementation, capacity building, and strategic leadership.
You are not just managing a project — you are:
- Empowering communities to adapt to climate risks.
- Supporting decentralization with a climate-smart lens.
- Helping Tanzania unlock international finance for resilience.
- Shaping the national climate finance landscape for years to come.
Would you like me to now help you tailor a cover letter or CV for this role based on your experience? Or would you like a side-by-side comparison with other LoCAL or UNCDF roles?
