Head of Knowledge and Regional Engagement, C40 Cities Finance Facility

Background 

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities, who are working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis, and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. Through a Global Green New Deal, mayors are working alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to go further and faster than ever before.

C40’s team of 350 staff is headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Johannesburg, Singapore, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen and Beijing , and individual staff based across 25 different locations, with the Office of the Chair based in London.

The strategic direction of the organisation is determined by an elected Steering Committee of C40 mayors which is chaired by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.  Three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the C40 Board of Directors, which is responsible for operational oversight. A nine-person management team, led by Executive Director, Mark Watts, leads the day-to-day management of C40. C40’s three core strategic funders are Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and Realdania.

Diversity Statement

C40 is committed to supporting and promoting equity and diversity and creating an inclusive working environment for everyone. We believe that when people with different life experiences are involved in decision-making, we deliver better. 

We believe having a diverse workforce ensures we connect better with all the different communities and people affected by the climate crisis. This enables us to make better decisions which lead to better outcomes in the work we do through increased creativity, productivity, greater global impact alongside a broader perspective and approach to our work.

We welcome applicants that are diverse in terms of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity and perspective. Our goal is for C40 to be an environment where everyone, from any background, can flourish and can be themselves whilst contributing to our mission. If you identify as a person with a disability, we work to provide reasonable appropriate measures and any additional support needed to provide an equitable working experience. If you are living with a disability, chronic illness or neurodiversity please inform us, to provide you with the proper assistance in the application process.

C40 promotes a work culture where staff can input to improve equity, diversity and inclusion through staff-led groups and formal forums. We know that creating our ideal working environment is a learning process and we are committed to the ongoing effort.

C40 Cities Finance Facility

The C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF) is an award winning programme which was launched at the C40 Forum during COP21 in Paris in December 2015 and is currently funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), The French Development Agency (AFD), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The CFF is jointly implemented by C40 and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with delivery responsibilities divided across both organisations. The CFF was selected as a winner of the 2020 United Nations Global Action Award in the category “Financing for Climate Friendly Investment”.

The CFF facilitates access to finance for inclusive and equitable climate projects in urban areas in developing and emerging economies to develop cities’ green and just priorities into bankable investment proposals through the following:

1. Finance readiness: Cities are enabled to prepare finance-ready climate action project proposals that contribute to a green and just transition. This is measured through the completion of project proposals that reflect international standards and through proposals which address equity and inclusion recommendations.

2. Linking to Finance: Cities are enabled to link their projects with finance. This is measured through the presentation of completed project proposals to representatives of financing institutions and through the negotiation of contractual documents for project implementation with finance or operating partners.

3. Replication and upscaling: Cities’ individual and organisational capacity needed to scale-up or replicate climate action projects has been improved. This is measured through the independent application of CFF products or standardised practices by cities in the preparation process of additional or upscaled climate action projects and through the documentation of learnings from knowledge dissemination events and workshops.

The CFF cooperates with several platforms and stakeholders to attract investment for its projects, as well as urban development networks and initiatives to make use of synergies, disseminate knowledge, and share best practices. More information on the CFF’s work can be found at www.c40cff.org.

The CFF is part of C40’s Climate Action Implementation directorate supporting cities to implement actions from their climate action plans and to ensure the effective

collaboration across multiple C40 teams and monitoring its impact.

Position Description

The Head will lead the day-to-day management of C40’s work in the CFF, ensuring deliverables are met to a high standard, coordinating with the GIZ team on joint work to ensure partner cities receive the support they require to progress towards positive project outcomes, build capacity and disseminate knowledge for wider implementation.

The Head leads a global team consisting of a Senior Knowledge Manager, Senior Engagement Manager, two Knowledge Officers, three Regional Engagement Managers (Africa, Latin America and Asia) and a Programme Officer. The Head will work with the C40 and GIZ colleagues of the CFF on the delivery of C40’s obligations within the CFF through the development of delivery strategies and oversight of their implementation. The Head will work very closely with the Programme Director on the strategic positioning and leadership of the CFF, and with the Senior Knowledge Manager and Senior Engagement Manager to ensure successful delivery of CFF activities.

The position is suited to a candidate with a strong experience in project management and delivery of international development, urban programmes or infrastructure finance. The Head’s role includes working with C40’s implementation partner GIZ to ensure the successful delivery of support to CFF cities. 

The Head is part of the leadership of the CFF, forming part of the CFF Management Team and working with GIZ and C40 colleagues to determine the strategic direction of the CFF’s work. As part of the leadership team, the contribution of the post holder will be integral to the engagement and fundraising process with donors and partners, which will include the development and implementation of the strategy to re-fund the new phase of the CFF.  

Responsibilities: 

• Programme delivery, operational steering and oversight:
  • Ensure the successful delivery of C40’s obligations to the CFF, including the coordination of overall C40 CFF operations, in close collaboration with C40’s implementation partner GIZ. This includes among others work planning, risk monitoring, monitoring & evaluation activities for internal and external reporting, communications and preparation of city selection for the next phase of CFF cities to be supported.
  • Ensure the CFF programme progresses in a timely manner and within the established budget, and that risks are adequately managed
  • Support the Knowledge and Regional Engagement team on the management of external consultants and provide support to strategically coordinate and guide the work of the GIZ CFF team on certain areas where alignment is needed.
  • Coordinate the delivery of C40 CFF activities delivered by other C40 teams including work planning, engagement and oversight.
• Participation in strategic CFF leadership:
  • Act as a key part of the overall CFF strategic management and leadership, as an active member of the CFF Management Team which leads the CFF’s current and future strategic direction, and provides oversight of CFF activities
  • Be a member of the Project Advisory Group (board) of the CFF including all CFF donors, and support engagement with the Project Advisory Group
  • Contribute, and in some cases lead, the strategic development of a new phase of the CFF and its contribution into C40’s next Business Plan.  This will include engaging with existing and potential donors and a group of internal and external stakeholders
  • Act as a public spokesperson for the CFF and represent the CFF at key events, identifying new opportunities for the CFF to share its experiences and knowledge and build a strong public profile. Support the Senior Engagement Manageron  engagement and positioning for key events
• Team management
  • Management of a global delivery team including direct line management of two senior managers and a project officer. Overseeing programming, support and delivery for C40 CFF staff.
  • Represent the CFF management team towards the overall CFF joint C40 and GIZ team, when both teams are codelivering on the CFF programme deliverables, for example in cross cutting working groups, joint events and in the context of other collaborative tasks. 
• Integration, coordination and collaboration:
  • Support the CFF regional engagement team on coordinating engagement with supported cities and the team of GIZ in-city experts in close coordination with GIZ
  • Setting up of cross cutting strategic working groups and representing the management team as part of these groups, ensuring that the working groups plans and activities reflect CFF’s strategic priorities, and ensure liaison with the CFF Management Team
  • Oversee strategic coordination between CFF and other C40 programmes, and proactively monitor, signpost and pursue opportunities for synergies
  • Mainstream equity & inclusion across the team as well as across programme design and deliverables
  • Oversee timely and correct inputs to internal and external monitoring and evaluation activities and liaison with corporate services functions

Person Specification:

• You are a strong collaborator and integrator. You are someone who enjoys “connecting the dots'' and enjoys working on cross cutting workstreams.
• You have experience in one or preferably more of the following fields: infrastructure finance, project preparation, cities and urban development, international development, climate finance and/or climate change or related fields. You have gained this experience either at a multilateral, a development bank, a city administration, a development organisation or in consulting.
• You can work independently, and you know how to plan and prioritise multiple tasks during high pressure situations. 
• You are confident in managing a remote-working, multicultural and diverse team and feel comfortable working in a multicultural organisation and programme. You feel confident championing equity, diversity and inclusion within a team as well as across the team’s deliverables. You are a people-centred manager who highly values team culture and staff wellbeing, and are comfortable having conversations on these topics with your team. 
• You have the interpersonal skills to liaise and communicate clearly with people at all levels of seniority and from different cultures and backgrounds. You embrace the flexibility which matrix management structures require, but you also understand when to push back, take the lead and communicate priorities clearly and concisely to ensure timely delivery of outcomes.
• You understand that delivering a complex programme across organisations requires agility and flexibility while the need to be highly organised. You have a positive, solutions-oriented mindset. Experience with working in a cross-organisational partnership setting is a plus.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken) is a must, working level knowledge of French, Spanish or Portuguese or another C40 city language is a plus.

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in the country where they apply. Moderate travel will be required as part of the role. 

Reporting To: Programme Director, C40 Cities Finance Facility

Term: Fixed Term Contract Until 31 October 2024, with possibility to extend  depending on funding availability.

Location: Denmark, South Africa, United Kingdom

Salary: (Grade 2) Denmark DKK 789,158, South Africa- ZAR 1,155,953, United Kingdom £72,576

Application Process:

Closing date for receipt of applications is Thursday 9th November 2023 at 5.00pm GMT. C40 reserves the right to close this job opening before the closing date for applications so please do submit applications early.

To learn more about the work of C40 and the C40 Cities Finance Facility, please visit www.c40.org and c40cff.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities. 

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