Facilitation and Learning Specialist (Home-based, SHORT-TERM) presso United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme · Geneve, Svizzera · Remote
- Senior
This is a short-term IPSA assignment. The contractor will perform works upon request.
Within short-term IPSA contract, a contractor can work no more than 130 working days per calendar period. To learn more about the contract modality visit: https://popp.undp.org/policy-page/international-personnel-services-agreement
Background
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and protect the planet. UNDP supports governments in strengthening policies, institutions, skills and partnerships to sustain progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH) was established to aggregate UNDP’s work and expertise on SDG financing and to offer a comprehensive package of tools and support that enables governments, the private sector and international financial institutions to accelerate financing for the SDGs
UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility is charting new pathways to build resilience, incentivize growth and safeguard development. Housed within UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, the Facility is using insurance and risk transfer to increase the financial resilience of countries, communities, households, businesses, nature and food systems. Learn more at www.irff.undp.org
Facilitation and Learning Specialist
Under the IRFF, the UNDP’s Financial Resilience in Agriculture (FRA) initiative has developed and tested a facilitation methodology to support system-level change in agricultural insurance policymaking. This methodology aims to facilitate knowledge, empower stakeholders, build sustainable institutionalization pathways, and strengthen resource ecosystems across national and regional levels.
Following a successful pilot and extensive learning phase, FRA now seeks to refine, consolidate, and partially roll out its facilitation approach by operationalizing prioritized use cases of the framework and developing high-demand tools and coaching mechanisms. Therefore, a contractor is required to lead capacity building, resource development, documentation of learning, knowledge synthesis, and facilitate stakeholder engagement, ensuring its relevance, usability, and sustainability across diverse institutional contexts. This may include support for the IRFF central team in developing strategies to scale up the facilitation approach within the broader team.
Duties and Responsibilities
The outputs for each specific assignment will depend on the scope of work engaged by the hiring unit. List of deliverables may include, but not limited to, the following:
Internal Capacity Building
- Conduct workshops on the resource-based facilitation framework, focusing on the most pressing or prioritized applications (including diagnosing capacity needs, motivating change, confronting resistance).
- Design and deliver thematic clinics on strengthening specific resource buckets. Clinics are virtual sessions with UNDP or IRFF teams.
- Provide one-on-one on-demand coaching to National Programme Officers (NPOs) to revise implementation pathways and strengthen facilitation capacity.
- Develop and test a diagnostic tool to assess individual/team capacity for facilitation.
Tool and Resource Development
Create or refine facilitation tools, which may include:
- Stakeholder mapping template (based on pilot testing)
- Guidance on using the resource-based facilitation framework in unstructured contexts
- Interactive resources to guide or support the facilitation process
- Generic and country-specific implementation pathway templates
- NPO problem-identification diagnostic tool to guide country-level strategy
- Simple aids to help NPOs translate their workplans into actionable stakeholder activities, resource strategies, and facilitation pathways that support institutionalization goals
Knowledge Management and Learning
- Document and synthesize facilitation use cases and lessons from project countries.
- Facilitate the co-creation process with the FRA team and ensure NPO´s access of tools.
- Identify resource needs for institutionalization, using the resource-based facilitation framework as a framework.
- Recommend and support strategies to scale up the facilitation approach within the IRFF.
Stakeholder Engagement
Facilitate learning and strategy sessions with IRFF Regional Leads and UNDP Country Focal Points to introduce the facilitation approach and co-design support mechanisms.
Design and develop strategies to engage anchor partners and internal stakeholders around the facilitation approach. These may include working with NPOs to:
- Map and prioritize partners and stakeholders who can champion or embed the facilitation methodology in their work.
- Advice or design tailored strategies to engage and for ongoing engagement, depending on the type of audience, ensuring clarity on their role in scaling or sustaining the facilitation approach.
- Propose narratives that clearly articulate the value proposition of the facilitation approach (e.g., how it empowers institutions, supports systemic change, aligns with SDG financing).
- Facilitate targeted dialogues, workshops, or clinics with anchor partners and internal teams to build buy-in, gather feedback, and adapt the approach to diverse contexts.
Provide insights and support towards the sustainability and scaling of the FRA´s Facilitation Approach.
Document lessons and feedback from engagement efforts to refine strategies and ensure alignment with the IRFF’s broader partnership and capacity-building agenda (beyond FRA).
The contractor will work in close collaboration with the IRFF Technical Team based in Geneva and Rome, under the direct supervision of Senior Technical Advisor. The contractor will be expected to use their own equipment and work remotely, attending regular coordination meetings virtually.
UNDP does not warrant that any specific quantity of services will be used during the contract period, as it will depend on project needs and evolving priorities.
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 and technical competencies
| Business direction and strategy | System 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 | Working with Evidence and Data | Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making |
| Business Development | Knowledge Facilitation | Ability to animate individuals and groups, internally and externally, and to design and facilitate activities, to share and exchange knowledge, information and ideas. Knowledge of tools and approaches to stimulate active participation, contribution, and exchange. |
| 2030 Agenda: Prosperity | Inclusive Growth | Financial Inclusion |
| 2030 Agenda: Partnerships | SDG Finance | Insurance for the SDGs |
| Digital | Creative facilitation | Ability to design workshops that consider and address multiple interests, agendas, worldviews; set out clear objectives and engaging activities; select appropriate tools, materials, resources that are needed to enable or support the activities. Ability to swiftly build rapport with participants and create a safe space (on- and offline) where they feel comfortable sharing their views, concerns, experiences and reflections, supporting this with a range of tools to stimulate active participation. Ability to facilitate inclusive conversations, ability to work with a diverse set of people with different backgrounds, seniority and expert levels, using different approaches tailored to fit the people in the room, drawing out the perspectives and ideas of each individual and making decisions through deliberation and discussion across a group. Ability to pace a session, adjust to the abilities and energy levels of attendees and the nature or purpose of an exercise. Being flexible and able to improvise; adapting and changing approaches in response to the needs, while staying true to the intent and objectives of the session |
Required Skills and Experience
IMPORTANT:
At the time of application, the candidates will need to share an open link with 3 samples of previous works that clearly illustrate the ability to translate technical content into clear and usable formats for virtual and in-person settings. The link needs to be uploaded to the Skills and Qualifications Section / Section Attachments / choose ‘add a link’. Applications without the examples of works will not be considered.
Education:
- An advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent), in development, economics, public policy, social science, business, or other relevant field. 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
Required experience:
- Minimum of 7 years (with a master’s) or 9 years (with a bachelor’s) of relevant professional experience related to facilitation, market systems approach, inclusive insurance, institutional strengthening or development finance.
- Proven experience in capacity building design and delivery including the design and application of tools and frameworks to assess and strengthen institutional capacity.
- Demonstrated experience to facilitate capacity-building in multicultural and multi-stakeholder environments, including the ability to guide participatory processes, co-create strategies, and adapt facilitation approaches to different institutional contexts.
- Experience in coaching development professionals
- At least 3 samples of learning materials that translate technical content into clear and usable formats for virtual and in-person settings.
Desired experience:
- 7 years + experience in adult learning and instructional design, with a proven track record of developing and delivering learning programs, toolkits, and workshops tailored to diverse stakeholder needs.
- Experience designing and leading Communities of Practice (CoPs) or similar peer-learning platforms, with a focus on knowledge exchange and stakeholder empowerment.
- Demonstrated experience in applying systems thinking, problem diagnostics, or capacity needs assessments to identify capacity gaps and inform facilitation strategies.
- Familiarity with inclusive insurance, financial inclusion, and development finance, particularly in the context of capacity building for public and private sector actors.
- Experience working in Latin America, Africa, or Asia, particularly in capacity development or policy support context is desired.
- Prior experience with the UN System or other international organizations is an asset.
Language requirement:
- Written and spoken proficiency in English.
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.
Scam alert
UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.
