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
As all countries in the world look for new ways to address complex and interconnected challenges, such as shocks resulting from crises, economic stagnation, inequality and poverty, the promotion of affordable and clean energy, the protection of the environment and the climate system, become central and priority themes. In this context, UNDP, as a frontier organization of knowledge for sustainable development in the United Nations Development System, aims to develop integrated responses to these issues, serving as an integrating agent of collective action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition to multilateral and bilateral partnerships, UNDP provides countries with specialized technical services for eligibility assessment, program/project formulation and implementation, capacity building, policy advice, advocacy, technical assistance, training and technology transfer, co-financing mobilization, implementation supervision, results management and evaluation, performance-based payments, and knowledge management services.
The UNDP Country Office (CO) in Brazil is a key development partner of the Brazilian government and supports national and subnational public and private sector institutions and civil society to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive society by strengthening democratic institutions and improving the effectiveness of governance, reducing poverty and inequalities, and addressing issues related to climate change and biodiversity. The design of the UNDP Program portfolio includes three major lines of work that are mutually reinforcing, designed around three axes: Inclusive Socio-economic Development, Environmentally Sustainable Development, and Governance and Justice for Development.
The Environmentally Sustainable Development team works in an integrated manner in anchoring UNDP's Programme portfolio in Environmental and Sustainable Development areas by providing thought leadership and enabling innovation and cross-cutting development solutions that are amplified by UNDP knowledge, research, and stand-out policy advice. The team manages a diverse portfolio of projects addressing critical environmental challenges including climate change mitigation and adaptation, Jurisdictional REDD+ initiatives, forest conservation, sustainable rural development, nature-based solutions, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable natural resource management.
Scope of Work
Under the guidance of the Environmentally Sustainable Development Unit Coordinator and direct supervision of the Programme Officer, the Project Analyst (Project Management) will be responsible for the overall management, coordination, and implementation of environmental sustainability projects within UNDP Brazil's portfolio, ensuring alignment with UNDP's strategic objectives, Brazil's environmental and climate policies, and donor requirements. The Project Analyst (Project Management) will lead multidisciplinary teams and work closely with federal, state, and municipal government institutions, technical teams, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and local communities across diverse intervention contexts.
The position involves coordinating technical, operational, and stakeholder engagement processes across project’s implementation in diverse contexts, while ensuring alignment with UNDP standards, donor requirements, and national environmental and climate priorities. The incumbent may be assigned to manage specific projects based on organizational needs and their area of expertise.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Project Management and Implementation
- Manage the overall implementation of assigned environmental sustainability projects, ensuring timely delivery of outputs and full compliance with UNDP rules, procedures, and donor requirements. Supervise and manage project teams, including project assistants, technical coordinators, specialists, and consultants, ensuring effective coordination, performance, and accountability.
- Lead project planning and implementation, including the preparation and updating of annual work plans, procurement plans, quality assurance, risk management strategies and monitoring, and implementation schedules, ensuring alignment with project objectives and donor expectations.
- Monitor project progress against indicators and targets, tracking delivery, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing adaptive management measures as needed.
- Provide financial and operational management, including budget execution, delivery rates, procurement processes, and contract management, in close coordination with the operations team.
- Prepare and consolidate project progress reports (quarterly, annual, and ad hoc), ensuring quality, accuracy, and alignment with internal and donor reporting requirements.
- Maintain effective communication with stakeholders and donors, ensuring alignment on progress, priorities, and strategic direction of projects.
- Provide strategic leadership and manage the overall implementation of an operationally complex portfolio of environmental sustainability projects, ensuring timely delivery of outputs and compliance with UNDP rules, procedures, and donor requirements.
- Supervise and manage multidisciplinary projects teams, including projects assistants, technical coordinators, specialists, and consultants, ensuring effective coordination, performance, and accountability.
- Lead project planning and implementation through results-based management, including the preparation and updating of annual work plans, procurement plans, quality assurance, risk management strategies and monitoring, and implementation schedules, ensuring alignment with project objectives and donor expectations.
- Monitor project progress against indicators and targets, tracking delivery, identifying risks, and implementing adaptive management measures as needed.
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2. Budget Management, Financial Oversight, and Project Financing
- Lead the financial management of assigned environmental sustainability projects, including budget formulation, execution, revision, and forecasting, ensuring efficient use of resources, full compliance with UNDP financial rules and procedures, and alignment with donor agreements and results frameworks.
- Monitor budget delivery rates and financial performance against approved work plans, identifying variances, anticipating risks, and implementing corrective measures to safeguard project execution and ensure clear traceability between financial execution and substantive environmental results.
- Ensure rigorous financial compliance and fiduciary oversight, applying UNDP's internal control framework, donor-specific financial rules, and environmental and social safeguards, including in audit, evaluation, spot-check, and verification processes.
- Manage the strategic mobilization, allocation, and reporting of climate and environmental finance, including resources from multilateral funds (e.g., GEF, GCF), bilateral cooperation, and innovative financing mechanisms, ensuring transparency, accountability, and value for money.
- Lead financial planning and forecasting processes, including the preparation of multi-year budgets, cash-flow projections, co-financing tracking, and resource allocation strategies aligned with project priorities and results-based management principles.
- Maintain effective financial dialogue and coordination with donors, implementing partners, government counterparts, and the UNDP operations team, ensuring alignment on financial performance, disbursement schedules, co-financing commitments, and reporting obligations.
- Supervise the preparation and consolidation of financial reports (quarterly, annual, and ad hoc), ensuring quality, accuracy, timeliness, and full alignment with internal and donor reporting standards, including both substantive and financial dimensions.
- Identify financial risks and opportunities, contributing to resource mobilization initiatives, co-financing arrangements, and the long-term financial sustainability of project interventions and their scale-up beyond the implementation cycle.
3. Technical Oversight and Quality Assurance
- Provide strategic and technical guidance on environmental sustainability themes, ensuring alignment with national policies, international frameworks (e.g., UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, CBD), and UNDP's strategic priorities.
- Manage the development and implementation of technical approaches and methodologies adapted to specific project contexts, whether related to sustainable development, climate action, biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, or other environmental themes.
- Provide the identification, design, and monitoring of project interventions, demonstration sites, pilot initiatives, and innovation platforms, ensuring technical quality, stakeholder engagement, and effectiveness.
- Ensure that project interventions contribute to environmental outcomes such as greenhouse gas emission reductions, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, sustainable resource management, and climate resilience.
- Supervise the preparation of key technical documents including diagnostic assessments, methodological guidelines, safeguards frameworks, monitoring and evaluation systems, and case studies.
- Provide quality assurance of all technical outputs, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and alignment with project objectives and international best practices.
- Supervise technical consultants and specialists, ensuring coherence and technical integrity across deliverables.
4. Partnership Building
- Maintain and strengthen strategic partnerships with donor organizations, federal government institutions (e.g., Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture), state government agencies, and municipal authorities across diverse intervention contexts.
- Coordinate engagement with civil society organizations, community-based organizations, cooperatives, associations, and local beneficiary groups to ensure alignment between project activities and stakeholder priorities.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with technical service providers, research institutions, universities, and knowledge centers.
- Participate in technical meetings, steering committees, working groups, and policy forums related to environmental sustainability, climate action, and sustainable development.
- Guarantee the establishment and operationalization of project governance structures and coordination mechanisms, bringing together relevant stakeholders across government, civil society, and private sectors.
- Identify resource mobilization opportunities and contribute to scaling up project impacts beyond current intervention areas.
5. Capacity Development and Knowledge Management
- Coordinate the design and implementation of capacity-building activities for diverse stakeholder groups, focusing on technical skills, institutional strengthening, and organizational development relevant to project themes.
- Coordinate capacity-building activities targeting government officials, technical service providers, community organizations, and local beneficiaries on relevant themes such as climate action, sustainable resource management, participatory approaches, and governance mechanisms.
- Coordinate capacity-building for local organizations on project elaboration, public policy engagement, and sustainable development strategies.
- Facilitate learning exchanges and knowledge sharing among project stakeholders, intervention sites, and territorial units.
- Document and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, successful cases, and innovative approaches to contribute to UNDP's global knowledge products on environmental sustainability and climate action.
- Establish and maintain knowledge management systems for project documentation, monitoring data, case studies, and technical resources
- The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Institutional Arrangement
The Project Analyst (Project Management will be directly supervised by the Programme Officer with the guidance of the Environmentally Sustainable Development Unit Coordinator. He/she will coordinate project teams, which may include technical specialists, field coordinators, service providers, and project support staff, depending on the specific project assignment.
The Project Analyst (Project Management) will work in close collaboration with donor partners, federal and state government institutions, municipal authorities, civil society organizations, and local communities. The position holder will also liaise with the operations team, UNDP Brazil's programme staff, and relevant government counterparts to ensure effective implementation. Project assignments may vary based on portfolio needs and may include work across different geographic regions and thematic areas within Brazil.
Competencies
| Core |
| Achieve Results: | LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work |
| Think Innovatively: | LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking |
| Learn Continuously: | LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning |
| Adapt with Agility: | LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process |
| Act with Determination: | LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously |
| Engage and Partner: | LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships |
| Enable Diversity and Inclusion: | LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making |
| People Management: UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site. Cross-Functional & Technical competencies | Thematic Area | Name | Definition | | Business Direction & Strategy | Systems Thinking | - Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
| | Business Management | Partnership 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
| | Business Management | Project Management | - Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
| | Business Management | Results-Based Management | - Ability to manage the implementation of strategies, programmes, and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results. Knowledge and understanding of relevant project management theories, concepts, methodologies, instruments, and tools.
| | 2030 Agenda: Planet | Climate | - Climate Change Adaptation: Fostering Food Security and resilient Agricultural systems
| | 2030 Agenda: Planet | Climate | - Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Green commodities
| | 2030 Agenda: Planet | Climate | - Climate Change Adaptation: Ecosystem-based adaptation and management
| |
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Sustainable Development, Environmental Science, Economics, Management, Administration, International Relations or related field 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 2 years (with master's degree) or 4 years (with bachelor's degree) of relevant experience, at the national or international level, in managing complex programmes and projects, including team coordination, financial oversight, donor reporting and institutional coordination, with a focus on sustainable development and environmental areas.
Required Skills:
- Relevant experience at the national and/or international level in providing management advisory services, hands on experience in design, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and coordination of high complexity projects and establishing inter-relationships among international organizations and national governments
- Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in program development and program writing
Desired Skills:
- Experience in Brazilian environmental and climate policies, institutional frameworks, international commitments (Paris Agreement, CBD, UNFCCC), and sustainable development strategies.
- Experience in environmental sustainability areas such as climate change, forest management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource management, agroecology, carbon markets, climate finance, integrated landscape approaches and/or other correlated areas.
- Experience coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams, service providers, and consultants across diverse geographic and thematic intervention contexts.
- Experience engaging with community organizations, indigenous peoples and traditional communities, civil society groups, cooperatives, and local development councils in Brazil.
- Experience in resource mobilization and proposal development for environmental and climate funds (GEF, GCF, bilateral donors, private climate finance).
- Experience with public-private partnerships or innovative financing in environmental sustainability, climate action, conservation, or sustainable value chains.
- Experience in international cooperation projects
Languages:
- Fluency in Portuguese and English is required
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Use of AI by candidates
Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection
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