Overview
The Project Specialist on Investable Nature Project Pipeline will lead in constructing a private sector-related pipeline for investable projects to finance nature. The role involves providing global technical assistance, increasing global partnerships with the private sector, training national teams, and ensuring quality control over national pipelines.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and finalize the methodological framework, templates, and criteria for identifying, screening, and preparing investable nature-positive projects.
- Conduct trainings on designing a high-quality investable pipeline of projects for nature finance.
- Serve as the lead technical advisor to country teams on project sourcing, pre-feasibility analysis, financial structuring, and design of credible revenue streams.
- Develop guidance on an enabling environment to facilitate private sector investment in nature.
- Develop guidance on establishing national working groups to engage the private sector in nature finance.
- Ensure the updated BIOFIN Workbook methodology better integrates private and finance sector engagement.
- Collaborate with partners to design pipelines of projects for synergies with UNDP.
- Map, prioritize, manage relationships, and develop partnerships with financial institutions and corporates.
- Design the scope, methodology, and structure for national enabling environment studies.
- Provide guidance for planning and designing national working groups to empower the private sector in nature finance.
- Analyze the investment appetite of local and international private capital for project types.
- Assess financial disbursement chains and identify relevant stakeholders.
- Lead the conceptualization and drafting of the initial design and concept for a global or regional investment matchmaking platform.
- Prepare a roadmap for the platform, including trial, expansion, technical specifications, and a strategy for gathering investor interest.
- Ensure continuous contact and coordination with relevant partners to leverage existing knowledge and project pipelines.
- Design and deliver specialized capacity-building workshops.
- Systematically gather and synthesize lessons learned from pipeline creation and enabling environment work.
- Produce and disseminate high-quality knowledge outputs.
Required Experience
Minimum 5 years (with Master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant professional work experience in the finance sector, development banks, private equity, impact investment with linkage to environment, nature, climate, or sustainable finance. Experience in the private sector (corporate, private financial institution or development finance institution) is required. Experience managing relationships with the private sector and different type of investors and financiers including social and/or environmental impact investors is required. Experience in developing pipeline of bankable projects in developing countries is required. Working experience with UNDP and/or another international organization is desirable. Experience in designing investable/bankable projects in developing countries in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, tourism, fisheries or water is desirable. Experience in setting up multi-partner / blended finance facilities/ transactions is desirable.
Qualifications
An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Management, Finance, Economics or a related field is required, OR. A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the fields mentioned above with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the master’s degree. A professional licence in finance is desirable (e.g., CFA or equivalent).
