Climate Finance Senior Advisor - Retainer

The Finance Senior Advisor will support UNOPS to identify, develop and advance climate finance opportunities through technical advice, partnerships, project development and institutional capacity building. The role provides strategic and technical support to the Technical Services Unit and its partners in responding to opportunities in the climate and climate finance space.

Responsibilities

• Identify thematic and geographic entry points for UNOPS engagement in climate finance, including climate adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage, resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, clean energy transition, fragile and conflict-affected contexts, drought- and desertification-prone areas, rapidly urbanising cities, coastal regions and transboundary ecosystems.
• Review ongoing climate-related projects and programmes across UNOPS country, regional and global portfolios to identify synergies, gaps and opportunities for stronger climate finance engagement.
• Analyse current climate-related portfolios approved by major donors and funding instruments that are lagging in implementation, and identify strategic entry points for UNOPS to support and facilitate effective delivery.
• Advise on positioning UNOPS with key global and regional climate financing mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, Global Environment Facility, Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, Climate Investment Funds, multilateral development banks, bilateral donors and philanthropic organisations.
• Assess opportunities arising from UNOPS Global Portfolio-managed initiatives, including the NDC Partnership, the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency, and the Santiago Network.
• Review the priorities of climate funds and financing institutions against UNOPS capabilities and define a menu of potential engagement opportunities.
• Identify donor priorities, funding trends and emerging financing mechanisms and align them with UNOPS capabilities and strategic priorities.
• Conduct a stakeholder and donor landscape analysis, including climate finance readiness needs of governments, key regional institutions, UN entities, and development partners.
• Support the development of partner engagement approaches and identify potential collaboration pathways with climate finance providers, regional institutions and other strategic partners.
• Provide strategic advice for engagement with Ministries of Finance, Environment, Climate Change, Energy, Planning and other relevant government institutions globally.
• Advise on institutional readiness and internal capacity requirements for UNOPS to access, manage and deliver climate finance.
• Develop tools, templates, and training materials for UNOPS teams to enhance their understanding of climate financing mechanisms and proposal development.
• Review and provide quality assurance for climate-related concept notes, expressions of interest, funding proposals and other technical submissions
• Deliver capacity-building sessions, technical briefings and mentoring to relevant UNOPS teams.
• Identify, screen and prioritise climate finance opportunities across UNOPS sectors and portfolios.
• Support identification and conceptualization of project opportunities aligned with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and other relevant national strategies and plans; donor priorities and regional climate goals.
• Provide recommendations on structuring consortia or partnerships for co-financing opportunities.
• Support the integration of climate finance components into existing or pipeline UNOPS programmes in infrastructure, health, water, energy, livelihoods, and peace & security.
• Support the preparation of concept notes, expressions of interest, funding proposals and investment cases.

Requirements

• A Master’s degree or equivalent in climate change, environmental economics, finance, international development, public policy or a related field, with 10 years of relevant experience, is required
• A Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 12 years of relevant experience is required
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in climate finance, development finance or related sectors.
• Demonstrated experience working with international climate finance mechanisms and multilateral funds, such as the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, Adaptation Fund or Climate Investment Funds.
• Experience engaging with governments, regional institutions, development banks, donors or climate finance institutions is highly desirable.
• Proven experience in stakeholder engagement, project development and technical advisory work.
• Familiarity with UN or international development institutions is an asset.

Skills

• Climate Finance
• Development Finance
• Climate Finance Mechanisms
• Green Climate Fund
• Global Environment Facility Projects
• Adaptation Fund
• Climate Investment Funds
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Project Development
• Technical Advisory
• Institutional Capacity Building
• Government Engagement
• Regional Institutions Engagement
• Development Bank Engagement
• Donor Engagement Strategies
• Climate Finance Institutions Engagement
• Public Policy
• Environmental Economics
• International Development
• Climate Change

Languages

English, French