Consultant for Financial Inclusion and Gender

Job Posting Organization:
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda and promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system. Established in 1972, UNEP has been at the forefront of environmental governance and advocacy, working with 193 member states and numerous partners to address pressing environmental challenges. The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, collaborates closely with 33 countries in the region, integrating its activities into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). UNEP's mission is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus, monitor the global environment, and bring emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. The organization focuses on sustainable finance and investment to scale up forest and climate protection efforts, ensuring robust environmental and social safeguards are in place. UNEP provides technical support to LAC countries on various topics, including safeguards, financial innovation, inclusion, and gender approaches for REDD+ initiatives, as well as expert knowledge management, advocacy, communications, and finance efforts to address significant challenges related to deforestation and forest degradation in the region.

Job Overview:
The main objective of this consultancy is to contribute to UNEP’s team in matters of safeguards, financial inclusion, and gender, providing additional expertise on TREES safeguards as part of the 2025 Technical Assistance (TA) activities under the UN-REDD Programme in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. The consultant will focus on the work plan with Peru, Mexico, and Colombia, collaborating closely with UNEP’s financial experts working on the Results-Based Payments (RBP) project in Paraguay and the Central America Dry Corridor Restoration Flagship Project. The consultant will lead work planning and implementation on financial inclusion and gender within the 2026 UN-REDD Technical Assistance activities in LAC, strengthen the Central America Dry Corridor Flagship Restoration Project through strategic inputs, and provide specialized technical inputs on financial inclusion and gender for the Paraguay REDD+ Project. Additionally, the consultant will contribute to knowledge management and capacity-building activities, ensuring systematic application, monitoring, and reporting of gender-responsive actions across relevant projects. The consultant will prepare high-quality progress reports and technical inputs for UNEP, UN-REDD, donors, and others, and develop knowledge products, training materials, and advocacy tools promoting inclusive finance and gender-transformative approaches. The consultant will also provide strategic guidance for the design and delivery of regional events focused on financial inclusion and gender equality.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The consultant will perform a variety of duties and responsibilities, including leading work planning and implementation on financial inclusion and gender within the 2026 UN-REDD Technical Assistance activities in LAC. They will strengthen the Central America Dry Corridor Flagship Restoration Project through strategic inputs to deliverables related to financial inclusion and gender equality. The consultant will provide specialized technical inputs on financial inclusion and gender for the Paraguay REDD+ Project, ensuring alignment across key outputs and reporting. They will contribute to knowledge management and capacity-building activities, including the design and facilitation of workshops and country missions. The consultant will ensure systematic application, monitoring, and reporting of gender-responsive actions across relevant projects, prepare high-quality progress reports and technical inputs for UNEP, UN-REDD, donors, and others, and develop and disseminate knowledge products, training materials, and advocacy tools promoting inclusive finance and gender-transformative approaches. Additionally, the consultant will provide strategic guidance for the design and delivery of regional events focused on financial inclusion and gender equality.

Required Qualifications:
The position requires a Bachelor’s degree in environmental management, law, economics, administration, social sciences, or closely related fields. A Master’s degree in the same areas is also required. The consultant should have at least three years of experience working with environment, natural resources, climate change, or development topics. Experience in financial inclusion, design/management of financial mechanisms or financial policies, and working with environmental and social safeguards in the LAC region is desired. Additionally, experience working with a gender approach and in REDD+ and/or forest governance is preferred.

Educational Background:
Candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree in environmental management, law, economics, administration, social sciences, or closely related fields. A Master’s degree in these areas is also required to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in environmental management and policy-making.

Experience:
The consultant should have a minimum of three years of professional experience working in areas related to environment, natural resources, climate change, or development topics. Experience in financial inclusion, the design and management of financial mechanisms or policies, and working with environmental and social safeguards in the LAC region is highly desirable. Additionally, familiarity with gender approaches and experience in REDD+ and/or forest governance will be beneficial for this role.

Languages:
Fluency in both Spanish and English is required for this position, as the consultant will be working in a bilingual environment and will need to communicate effectively with stakeholders from various countries in the LAC region.

Additional Notes:
The consultancy is expected to last for 5 months and 11 days, and the work will be home-based. The United Nations does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process, including application, interview, or training. The organization does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.