UNEP Consultant for the Development of Technical Guidance and Tools to Support Investment Plans

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. UNEP serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment and coordinates 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. The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, works closely with the 33 countries of the region and integrates its activities into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). The project "Promoting the restoration of productive ecosystems in the Central American Dry Corridor" is a Flagship Initiative of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, focusing on the formulation of the "Investment Plan for the Restoration of Productive Landscapes in the Dry Corridor and Arid Zones of the SICA Countries." This Investment Plan articulates the financial strategy, prioritized restoration actions, estimated costs, financing architecture, and the monitoring, evaluation, and learning indicators needed to scale up productive restoration at the regional level. The UNEP aims to develop an integrated set of practical guidance and decision support tools to help users strengthen their capacities to prepare Investment Plans, mobilize financial resources, implement priority investments, and monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve the implementation of the Plans.

Job Overview:
The consultancy aims to deliver an integrated set of practical guidance and decision-support tools that enable countries to transform Investment Plans into finance-ready investment portfolios and effectively monitor, evaluate, and adaptively manage their implementation. The consultant will develop three interrelated products: a practical tool providing guidance on transforming an Investment Plan into a pipeline of projects and finance-ready investments; a practical tool to support countries in monitoring, evaluating, learning from, and adaptively managing the implementation of their Investment Plans; and a technical document consolidating the review, recommendations, and proposed improvements arising from key project outputs. The consultancy will provide technical advice to countries and key stakeholders in translating Investment Plans into finance-ready investment pipelines, strengthening monitoring, evaluation, learning, and adaptive management systems, and enhancing the coherence, consistency, and complementarity of the project's knowledge products. The consultant will work closely with the UNEP Central American Dry Corridor Project Coordinator and under the supervision of the UNEP Programme Management Officer UN-REDD for the Latin America and Caribbean Office.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The consultant shall perform the following activities: Identify and analyze good practices on project preparation and investment structuring for ecosystem restoration; Review and synthesize key requirements, eligibility criteria, and expectations of relevant financing sources and financial instruments for ecosystem restoration; Develop methodological guidance and practical approaches for designing and structuring bankable restoration projects and investment opportunities; Design practical tools such as checklists, templates, matrices, and other resources to support project preparation and resource mobilization; Apply the guidance tool to the three pilot countries in line with their financial strategy; Provide recommendations to strengthen dialogue and collaboration among governments, financial institutions, international cooperation partners, and the private sector; Develop a practical Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework tailored to the implementation of Ecosystem Restoration Investment Plans; Define a core set of indicators to monitor implementation progress, restoration results, financing, resource mobilization, and governance; Design practical tools and templates to support financial-relevant data collection, analysis, reporting, and performance assessment; Integrate learning and adaptive management approaches to enable periodic updates of Investment Plans; Apply the MEL framework to the three pilot countries; Develop practical templates, checklists, and reporting formats for consistent monitoring and reporting; Review selected project documents and technical tools related to ecosystem restoration investment planning; Assess the technical quality, consistency, completeness, and practical applicability of the documents; Provide written recommendations to strengthen methodologies, tools, guidance, and technical content; Prepare a consolidated technical review summarizing key findings, recommendations, and proposed improvements for the selected project outputs.

Required Qualifications:
ACADEMIC: A Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, biology, science, or a related field is required. PROFESSIONAL: A minimum of 5 years of proven experience in climate and sustainable finance, investment planning, natural resource management, or related fields is required. Experience with project preparation, investment planning, resource mobilization, monitoring, evaluation, and learning is desirable. Experience developing practical guidance, toolkits, templates, and technical review reports for multilateral organizations, governments, or international development programmes is desirable. Experience in the United Nations or other international organizations is desirable.

Educational Background:
A Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, biology, science, or a related field is required for this position.

Experience:
The position requires a minimum of 5 years of proven experience in climate and sustainable finance, investment planning, natural resource management, or related fields. Experience with project preparation, investment planning, resource mobilization, monitoring, evaluation, and learning is desirable, as well as experience developing practical guidance and toolkits for multilateral organizations or international development programmes.

Languages:
Fluency in English is required for this position, while basic knowledge of Spanish is desirable. This language proficiency is essential for effective communication and collaboration with stakeholders in the region.

Additional Notes:
The expected duration of the consultancy is 4 months, and the work location is 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.