Coordinator – State of Finance for Nature (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 that seeks to actively unlock and (re)direct public and private capital towards sustainable land use, including deforestation-free soft commodity production that lead to ‘net zero, nature positive’ impacts on the environment and improves rural livelihoods. Initially CFU focused on developing and supporting a number of (blended) finance facilities and business incubators as concrete solutions to unlock private finance for ‘net zero, nature positive’ land use practices. More recently, CFU is advancing the normative work through a number of strategies, including by tracking public and private finance through the ‘State of Finance for Nature’ (regarded as a flagship report by UNEP). The objective is to establish the ‘State of Finance for Nature’ series as a global initiative and authorative source of data and information to track public and private investment going towards nature-based solutions that governments can use to inform public policy and for businesses including financial institutions to be stimulated to scale up investment in assets and activities that constitute nature-based solutions. Against this background, UNEP’s Climate Finance Unit is seeking an experienced and motivated professional to help shape, enlarge and improve the State of Finance for Nature.
• Under the supervision of the Head, Climate Finance Unit and in direct collaboration with Lead Communication and Knowledge Management as well as the Project Manager of the Climate Finance Unit, he/she will lead this novel area of work.

The Senior Coordinator – SFN (consultant) will report to the Chief, Climate Finance Unit.

Under the supervision of the Chief, Climate Finance Unit, the Coordinator – State of Finance for Nature will:

• Report and production: Lead the development and production of the State of Finance for Nature (SFN) report as well as any country-related briefings or other derivative reports/products.
• Data analysis: Coordinate with the consultants/organistion who are carrying out the data analysis and drafting of the SFN report, including weekly calls, setting milestones, editing, reviews, and quality assurance.
• Continuously improve the methodology by which data from a variety of sources of extracted and used as well as methodologies to quantify investment needs related to nature-based solutions. In addition, engage with organisations who can help to improve the accuracy of data on nature-based solutions to ensure that the underlying that is being used progressively has lower uncertainty ranges (e.g. OECD)
• Management: Coordinate with existing consortium members, including WEF and ELD/GIZ about the State of Finance for Nature. Seek to further expand the management of the SFN management, based on onboarding of additional core partners.
• Engage with the Lead Communication & Knowledge Management of CFU to ensure that high quality communication and knowledge management products are produced that can increase the uptake and exposure of this work. Also ensure that the online SFN hub is continuously improved by working in close coordination with the CFU Lead on Communication & Knowledge Management.
• Engage with donors who are funding the State of Finance for Nature work (whether the global report, country-related analysis and/or communication) in close coordination with the Chief, Climate Finance Unit.
• Develop a strategy with derivative products, focused to ensure that SFN products are taken up by key target audiences, which means a solid Theory of Change, core identification of key target audiences, and roll out of additional service lines of SFN focused specifically on uptake of SFN results (essentially a focus on generating outcomes and impacts that are verifiable).
• Partnership extension: Identify other international/multilateral organisations who could be invited to join the consortium that was originally formed by UNEP, WEF and the ELD/GIZ to build growing momentum and authority for SFN to become the de-facto lead source of data and information on financing nature-based solutions.
• Country analysis & engage: Produce SFN country analysis and briefs/reports, with a view that the findings can inform government expenditure towards NbS related activities.
• Track outcomes and impact: periodic check against baseline and indicators, how the E&S impact and risk management work is being picked up by key target audiences.

Qualifications/special skills

• The senior consultant should have a Masters’ Degree in natural resource management, international development, economics or finance is required.
• Profiency in computer applications is desired.
• At least ten (10) years of professional experience working on nature or climate analytics, partnership building, preferably in areas related to finance, agriculture, forestry or marine environment is required.
• In addition, it would be an asset if the coordinator consultant has an excellent network think tanks, NGOs and (consulting) companies, as well as a broad network with international organisations.
• In addition, he/she should be autonomous and computer literate in standard software applications; have excellent writing and communication skills; good analytical skills with 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

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French or Spanish is a desirable.

NOTE: ''Fluency'' equals a rating of ''fluent'' in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ''Knowledge of'' equals a rating of ''confident'' in two of the four area.

Deadline: 02 August 2023