Vacancies at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Head of the Nature Frameworks Support Unit, in coordination with the Programme Management Officers working on the EAS and NBSAP Update and 7th National Reports projects, and will be responsible for the following:

• In coordination with the programme team, provide dedicated technical support to countries for integrating policy coherence considerations into NBSAP updates and implementation. This work will include roll-out of survey/assessments of whole-of-government (WoG) and whole-of-society (WoS) approaches, including interviews with national stakeholder group representatives.
• Organize and deliver virtual peer-to-peer sessions for countries to exchange and learn from each other's experiences, to inform WoG and WoS implementation of NBSAPs.
• Based on the work carried out with countries, prepare recommendations for countries to apply effective WoG and WoS approaches, as well as criteria for countries to assess and apply effective WoG and WoS approaches.
• Provide substantive inputs for development of dedicated communications and outreach material related to the actions above, including case studies demonstrating what countries are doing to advance policy coherence in their NBSAP update and implementation, and analysis of policy alignment with key development sectors impacting biodiversity, prepared for SBI-6 and COP17, for dissemination in various UN languages.
• Prepare a final report summarizing actions undertaken, deliverables achieved, and lessons learnt during the period of consultancy.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent degree) in environmental sciences, environmental law, natural resources management or a related social science with a combination of five (5) years of qualifying experience in the field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in supporting implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at multiple levels (international, regional, and national) is required.
• Experience in country and stakeholder engagement on biodiversity issues, including supporting development and implementation of national action plans on environment and biodiversity is required.

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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 Climate Finance Unit seeks to unlock and (re)direct public and private capital to sustainable land use, including deforestation-free commodity production. Initially CFU focused on developing and supporting several (blended) finance facilities and business incubators as concrete solutions to unlock private finance for ‘net zero, nature positive’ land use practices.
• ProCongo is a joint initiative launched in May 2025 by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and funded by the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI).
• It is designed to foster green economic growth and reduce deforestation in the Congo Basin by financing nature-positive, climate-resilient, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). UNEP CFU is responsible for the co-execution of the ProCongo project, including leading on early-stage market development and support to MSMEs through technical assistance and small grants; environmental & social (E&S) risk and impact management, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), and working with UNCDF on seeking to create partnerships and/or a network of financial institutions.
• As part of the ProCongo project, UNEP is seeking a junior consultant, who can carry out research and a mapping of the financial and market ecosystem in the Congo Basin, to ensure that the products and services of the ProCongo initiative are tailored to the local and regional market.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree (Master degree equivalent) in natural resource management, international development, management, economics or finance is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of 2 years working experience in private equity, venture capital, and financial/market analysis with a focus on emerging markets and developing economies is required.
• Experience in finance for nature-positive and climate-resilient SMEs, and experience conducting research on green economics growth in emerging markets and developing economies is required.
• Computer literate in standard software applications; have excellent writing and communication skills; good analytical skills with experience in sustainable land use and green finance; have good interpersonal skills; can work independently to complete given assignments is required.
• Excellent networks including government, think tanks, NGOs and companies, as well international organisations is desirable.