Senior Technical Advisor

The Senior Technical Advisor will support the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Nature Programme by compiling and finalising a finance-sector report card on the implementation of the High-level Roadmap for Aligning Financial Flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The role involves senior technical review of nature-themed deliverables and coordination with internal and external partners to ensure coherence with the sustainable finance agenda and UN core values.

Responsibilities

• Support the Head of Nature in the compilation and finalisation of the finance-sector report card “From Cali to Yerevan: Is the Financial System on Track?”, contributing to its structure, drafting and refinement through the drafting period.
• Conduct a desktop review of relevant UNEP FI and partner publications, milestones, and data to inform the report card and ensure it signposts to, rather than duplicates, existing materials.
• Compile and synthesise evidence on progress across the Roadmap’s Prepare, Implement and Engage areas and against Global Biodiversity Framework Targets 14, 15, 18 and 19, identifying where the financial system still falls short.
• Gather evidence on the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) and the Cali Fund on digital sequence information (DSI) as they relate to finance, including contributions, flows and operationalisation.
• Identify gaps in the draft and propose inputs, placeholders, and cross-references to address them.
• Coordinate inputs from internal colleagues and external partners contributing to the report card, taking account of its shared and externally facing nature.
• Provide senior technical review and written comments on other nature-themed deliverables produced by the UNEP FI Nature Programme.
• Support the use of the report card as an input to the third Finance and Biodiversity Day at CBD COP17 (26 October 2026, Yerevan).
• Ensure that all communications outputs reflect UNEP and UN core values, including human rights-based approach, the principle of leaving no one behind and gender equality and women’s empowerment, and contribute to internal awareness on these values.
• Support the implementation of UNEP FI’s 2026–2029 Social Action Plan by including all relevant measures from the plan in their work.

Requirements

• A master’s degree in finance, economics, environmental economics, sustainability, environmental science, public policy, international relations, or a related field is required. A bachelor’s degree could be taken in lieu of master’s degree provided the selected candidate has 9 years of relevant experience.
• At least seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience in sustainable finance, biodiversity/nature finance, or a closely related field, including direct work with financial institutions and/or financial policymakers, supervisors, and central banks is required.
• A demonstrable track record of producing high-quality analytical publications on nature and finance, and of advising on or applying nature-related frameworks and the Global Biodiversity Framework, is required.
• Experience supporting or contributing to UNEP FI’s nature workstreams, and familiarity with the Finance and Biodiversity Day and CBD COP processes, is an advantage.
• Senior-level expertise in sustainable finance with a specialisation in nature and biodiversity, including a strong command of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its resource mobilisation targets (notably Targets 14, 15, 18 and 19), the High-level Roadmap for Aligning Financial Flows, and nature-related risk, disclosure and target-setting frameworks (e.g. TNFD).
• Demonstrated experience engaging banks, investors, insurers, central banks and supervisors, and public finance actors on nature and biodiversity.
• Familiarity with biodiversity finance mechanisms and instruments, including the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) and the Cali Fund on digital sequence information (DSI), is highly desirable.
• Excellent analytical and drafting skills in English, with the ability to synthesise complex evidence into concise, policy-relevant text and to conduct rigorous desk-based review.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to work independently to tight deadlines within a multicultural, geographically dispersed team.
• A pragmatic, collaborative approach and the standing to provide credible technical review to a senior audience are essential.

Skills

• Sustainable Finance
• Biodiversity Finance
• Nature Finance
• Financial Analysis
• Policy Analysis
• Knowledge of Global Biodiversity Framework
• Resource Mobilization
• Nature-related Risk Assessment
• Financial Disclosure Frameworks
• Target-setting Frameworks
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Analytical Writing
• Desk-based Research
• Technical Review
• Report Writing
• Project Coordination
• UNEP Finance Initiative
• CBD COP Processes
• Finance and Biodiversity Day
• Biodiversity Finance Mechanisms

Languages

English