Overview

Development Finance Associate Jobs in Accra, Greater Accra Region, Ghana at UNOPS

Title: Development Finance Associate

Company: UNOPS

Location: Accra, Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Job Highlight

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to sustainable urban development in Ghana through innovative financing strategies and resource mobilization. The position offers exposure to high-impact projects, collaboration with diverse stakeholders, and professional development within the UN system.

Role Purpose

The Development Finance Associate takes responsibility for a complete, specialized administrative process related to development finance and resource mobilization, ensuring its integrity and supporting the scaling-up of the Smart SDG Cities and other UN-Habitat programmes/projects in Ghana.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Summary of key functions:

  • Ensures consistent support to resource mobilization for scaling-up the Smart SDG Cities and other UN-Habitat programmes/projects in Ghana
  • Supports effective programme development and finance advice, focusing on Smart SDG impact projects
  • Facilitate knowledge building, management and capacity development relating to resource mobilization and development finance
  • Ensures consistent support to resource mobilization for scaling up the Smart SDG Cities and other UN-Habitat programmes/projects in Ghana, focusing on the achievement of the following results;
  • Provides support to the development and implementation of a resource mobilization strategy in line with the Smart SDG Cities and other UN-Habitat programmes
  • Assist in Monitoring and analyzing existing resource mobilization partnerships and relationships, including traditional and non-traditional partners and donors to be explored for direct funding to UN-Habitat pragrammes/projects
  • Support Management with analysis of funding streams from internal and external sources, enabling the timely preparation of proposals
  • Draft proposals/concepts for funding in line with the mandate of UN-Habitat and Smart SDG Cities in particular.
  • Support in strengthening and building new partnerships with UN Agencies, International Financing Institutions, central and local government institutions, bilateral and multi-lateral actors, private sector, based on the strategic goals of UN-Habitat, country needs and donor priorities.
  • Support with Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, and active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilisation.
  • Provides effective programme development and finance advice, focusing on Smart SDG impact projects and the achievement of the following results:
  • Support the identification and prioritization of a pipeline of SDG impact projects across 10 participating countries in Ghana.
  • Support the assessment of impact projects using UN-Habitat’s SDG Project Assessment Tool;
  • Support the structuring of impact projects to ensure financial feasibility.
  • Contributes to the design and implementation of innovative financing strategies, including public-private partnerships and outcome-based financing models, tailored to Ghana’s development context;
  • Promotes innovative financing mechanisms and development finance solutions by supporting the identification, structuring, and facilitating the deployment of blended finance, impact investment, social enterprise models, and other catalytic financing instruments to accelerate SDG achievement;
  • Supports the CO in building partnerships with non-traditional actors, including private equity, philanthropic organisations, and social impact funds;
  • Supports engagement with private sector, financial institutions, and impact investors to unlock new financing pathways;
  • Prepares briefing papers and discussion points on programme/projects finance for consideration by the CO;
  • Participates in the design and formulation of UN-Habitat projects and programmes within the area of responsibility, translating UN-Habitat priorities into national/local interventions.
  • Support the identification of opportunities and support the conceptualisation of strategic programme interventions that respond to the mandate of UN-Habitat.
  • Facilitate knowledge building, management and capacity development relating to resource mobilization, focusing on the achievement of the following results:
  • Researches, analyzes, and presents best practices and lessons learned from implementation of SDG Cities initiatives with a view to advising the CO on actions to strengthen partnerships for SDG localization;
  • Supports diagnostic assessment of key local institutional capacities in the areas of development finance and own-source revenue mobilization
  • Supports local institutional capacity development in line with diagnostic assessment reports.
  • Supports the CO with a knowledge repository of potential donors at national and sub-national levels;
  • Monitors and analyzes best practices and successful models of SDG partnerships and resource mobilization implemented by UN-Habitat in the country and elsewhere;
  • Keeps abreast of emerging financing models and development finance innovations, as well as donor engagement processes, and proposes new ways of working, where relevant;
  • Reflects on processes of his/her work area at key milestones and generates knowledge valuable to others in the CO;
  • Collects, documents, and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through reports and data visualisation methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting;
  • Performs other related tasks as assigned by UN-Habitat senior management in Ghana.

Education Requirements

Required

  • Secondary school diploma (or high school equivalent) and six (6) years of relevant experience are required; OR
  • First-level university degree (undergraduate, bachelor, or equivalent) in Business or Public Administration, Development Finance, Development Studies, Social Sciences, International Development or a related field with 2 years of experience. will be considered an asset.

Required

Experience Requirements

  • A minimum of 6 years of relevant work experience with completion of secondary education is required OR
  • A minimum of two (2) years of extensive working experience in development finance and resource mobilization is required.

Desired

  • Proven experience in developing project proposals and a track record of grants won
  • Proven experience in analysing and structuring projects for financial feasibility.
  • Proven experience and knowledge in Development Finance and cooperation
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling web-based management systems.

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