Energy Specialist [Open to Tier 0, 1 & 2 applicants]
- Organisation: UNDP
- Location: Rome, Italy
- Deadline: 13 November 2026
Duties and Responsibilities
Tiered Approach
In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:
• Tier 0 : UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1 : Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2 : UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated : All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates
Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.
Background
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the leading UN organization advancing sustainable development globally and in Ethiopia. As a key integrator within the UN system, UNDP plays a central role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP operates at global, regional, and country levels, combining international expertise with local knowledge to deliver practical solutions and impactful advocacy.
Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) have the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP's development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.
As per UNDP’s new Strategic Plan 2026-2029, four strategic objectives – prosperity for all, effective governance, crisis resilience and healthy planet – define the organization’s strategic direction, powered by three accelerators: digital and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation; gender equality; and sustainable finance.
The central purpose of the Rome Centre is to ensure the effective implementation and further development of the strategic partnership between UNDP and the government of Italy across the objectives of sustainable development and in doing so advancing the broader partnership between UNDP and G7 and G20 countries.
The Rome Centre focuses on the critical policy areas of youth engagement in climate action, energy for development and climate finance.
At the core of UNDP’s work is the Global Policy Network (GPN), which mobilises world-class technical expertise to support six signature solutions: energy, poverty alleviation, democratic governance, resilience, environmental sustainability, and gender equality.
The UNDP Rome Centre for Climate Action and Energy Transition (the “UNDP Rome Centre”) is the key platform for the strategic engagement between UNDP and the Italian Government. It focuses on the critical areas of climate finance, youth engagement in climate action, and energy development. These objectives are pursued through the effective implementation of its three main programs: PISTA (Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance), Energy for Growth Initiative, and Youth for Climate.
The "Energy for Growth in Africa" initiative is a key part of this broader strategy, launched in collaboration with the G7 to build on the Italy-UNDP Energy Partnerships initiative. This programme identifies clean energy projects in Africa that face difficulties securing financing and provides support through de-risking instruments, making them more attractive to international investors. By pooling and vetting these projects, the initiative reduces perceived investor risk through scale effects and leverages concessional catalytic capital to maximize private sector investment.
The initiative is tasked to operate in 10 African countries – Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda, Tunisia and Zambia – with plans for further expansion. It focuses on markets with limited access to commercial finance and coordinates with G7 and other multilateral efforts to integrate complementary actions, streamline funding, and enhance the delivery of de-risking instruments and financial resources to projects in the "Energy for Growth" pipeline.
The Specialist will take a leading role in the coordination of focal points in Francophone countries and will also provide technical backstopping to the Focal points for the Energy for Growth Initiative program at the UNDP Rome Center.
Scope of work
Under the supervision of the Energy for Growth Initiative Coordinator, the Energy Specialist will provide central coordination support for the Energy For growth programme and will also provide technical backstopping to the Energy for Growth focal points in the Francophone country offices. The Energy Specialist will provide expert input on growing project pipelines, technical assistance, and facilitating investor facilitation for bankable projects in conjunction with the focal points. In addition to this core technical advisory role, the Specialist will contribute to the coordination and technical alignment of activities among participating UNDP Country Offices.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Coordination of country focal points
• Coordinate the programme coordination and management of the focal points, this includes providing strategic programmatic support and technical backstopping to the Energy for Growth Initiative.
• Engage with funding partners to contribute to the achievement of the Energy for growth initiative result areas, this includes donor management and reporting requirements
• Facilitate programme management of the energy for growth programme in the respective countries;
• Coordinate as necessary with relevant UNDP regional offices and maintain relationships with country office management;
• Prepare and deliver regular presentations on the Rome Centre for Climate Action and Energy Transition (key activities and progress) to senior management, technical teams, and external audiences (e.g., public webinars, engagements with countries, and partner events, etc.)
2. Technical Backstopping to Focal points for Energy for Growth Countries
• Oversee the coordination of the Energy for Growth Programme and support programme delivery in Francophone Africa countries.
• Provide support and coordination for energy programming outputs (e.g. work-plans, project documents, inception missions, reports, country engagement strategies, workshops, technical working papers, methodologies);
• Oversee the assessment, management and monitoring of country requests, including providing technical input and contribute to the task teams to be established in response to the requests;
• Prepare and provide technical inputs to strategic documents, briefing notes and speeches;
• Support the quality assurance of the Energy for Growth output and deliverables.
3. Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic areas:
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and technical coordination between initiative countries, contributing to peer learning, replication of successful models, and alignment with UNDP’s global energy strategy.
• Develop and contribute to technical documents, including policy briefs, concept notes, and design guidelines, to guide energy access and energy transition programming and provide technical backstopping to Energy for Growth focal points.
• Undertake visits to target countries and project sites as appropriate.
• Participate in conferences and events as required under the Rome Centre project implementation.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
4. Institutional Arrangement:
The Energy Specialist will report to the Energy for Growth Initiative Coordinator, in alignment with the UNDP Rome Centre global strategy and will work closely with the focal points in country offices
Competencies
Core Competencies
Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies
Business Management - Partnerships Management: Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies