Programme Support Specialist/SGP [Open to Tier 1 applicants]

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

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora, including public-private, government and civil society dialogues; and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.

BPPS’s Planet Hub, with the support of the Vertical Fund Programme Support, Oversight and Compliance Hub, work with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate planetary concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy and waste. This multi-billion-dollar portfolio encompasses:

• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services including forests;

• Sustainable Land Management and Desertification including food and commodity systems;

• Water and Ocean Governance including SIDS;

• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation;

• Sustainable Energy;

• Extractive Industries;

• Chemicals and Waste Management;

• Environmental Governance and Green/Circular Economy and SCP approaches.

This work advances crosscutting themes on innovative finance, digital transformation, capacity development, human rights, gender equality, health, technology, and South-South exchange and learning.

UNDP plays a pivotal role in supporting and promoting integrated Local Action initiatives across diverse thematic and cross-cutting areas, forging strong and new partnerships with local/sub-national governments, communities, bilateral and multilateral donors, CSOs, foundations, and the private sector. UNDP focuses its support to local actors around three essential solutions: a) empowerment - strengthening indigenous peoples and local communities agency through collective, empowering action for advocacy and inclusive governance; b) resilience - supporting networks of local actors to build the socio-ecological resilience of their urban and rural land/seascapes through technical assistance and grant and non-grant funding; c) investment - transforming financial flows to indigenous peoples and local co