Business Incubation Expert - Senior Consultant at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities

• UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP's Ecosystem Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
• The loss of forest, and the accompanying loss of ecosystems and the services they provide, threatens the security and livelihoods of local communities, reduces access to clean water, decreases soil productivity and accounts for 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In recent years, it has become apparent that the most significant threat to the world’s remaining forests is conversion for commercial agriculture – whether from large-scale operations or smallholder farmers – as well as other non-forest use. Many of the environmental benefits of intact forest are unpriced ‘externalities’, resulting in the market mispricing natural forest assets. By converting forest to land and then producing tradeable commodities that the market can price, land users are able to take advantage of this perceived arbitrage opportunity. Anticipated global economic growth and changing diets will strengthen the demand for agricultural commodities and place additional pressure on forests in the foreseeable future, meaning that the pressure will get even bigger than it is today without a changing paradigm how land is managed and agricultural commodities are produced. The challenge is to advance sustainable land use by developing business models that can manage sustainable commodity production while also maintaining forests and forest ecosystem services.
• Against that background, UNEP initiated a new Climate Finance Unit in the Ecosystem Division to proactively help unlock and (re)direct public and private capital towards sustainable land use, including deforestation-free soft commodity production, stimulate land restoration and sustainable forest management. As part of its mandate, the Climate Finance Unit contributes to the UN Decade on Ecosystems Restoration by providing technical and strategic expertise to help unlock public and private finance to scale restoration interventions
• Against that backdrop, the Unit is now focusing on growing a global pipeline of promising ecosystem restoration enterprises through a menu of tailored business-focused training programs providing expertise and guidance on business planning, business models and financial viability.
• Under the technical supervision of the CFU’s Business Analytics team Lead and the overall guidance of the Head of the Climate Finance Unit, the senior consultant will perform a number of specialized tasks that reinforce the business incubation capabilities of the Restoration Finance Programme of the Climate Finance Unit.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• The consultant will design the incubation program’s overall architecture, including its agenda, curriculum and activities;
• The consultant will map, identify and connect with incubation delivery partners and content developers to shape and coordinate their interventions to support the program’s curriculum;
• The consultant will prepare training materials to build the capacity of the program’s delivery partners on the ground (“train the trainers” ), with the aim to train 2/3 partners.
• The consultant will be in charge of organizing calls for entrepreneurs and call for mentors in targeted geographies, which includes searching for and selecting up to 50 participants, inviting participants to the program, carrying out onboarding sessions and offering training sessions about the program’s structure and modalities;
• The consultant will manage the incubation program in Brazil: coordination between program’s partners, manage communication with and between participants, check program’s progression, review program’s performance and propose amelioration in light of the program’s results;
• The consultant will structure post-program activities, including a matchmaking event to connect program’s graduates to potential clients, market intermediaries, financiers and investors and will lead the deployment of a bespoke business support line called the “Venture Studio” to assist the most advanced graduates in the next stage of their development.

Qualifications/special skills

• Masters’ Degree in business administration, entrepreneurship, Technology Innovation Management, International Trade or another relevant scientific background is required.
• At least seven (7) years of professional experience working in the field of Business Development, Entrepreneurship Development or Community Development is required
• Knowledge of the UN system, or other international and multi-cultural working environments, is desirable.
• Having a solid network with public and private incubators, accelerators and innovation hubs is desirable.
• Prior knowledge on ecosystem restoration, while not required, will be considered positively.
• Autonomous and computer literate in standard software; have excellent communication skills; an interest in the topic of sustainable land use and green finance; have good interpersonal skills. Although, he or she will work in a small team, it is essential that the chosen candidate can work in an independent manner to complete the given assignments.

Languages

• Fluency in oral and written English is required, knowledge of other official UN languages is optional.

Closing Date: 26 October 2023