Public and Digital Investment Specialist

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

UNDP is the United Nations’ lead agency on international development. We support countries and communities as they work to eradicate poverty, implement the Paris Agreement on climate change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We advocate for transformative change, and we connect countries to the resources they need to help people build a better life. Additionally, UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

The UNDP Rome Centre for Climate and Energy (the “UNDP Rome Centre”) is the key platform for the strategic engagement between UNDP and the Italian Government. It focuses on the critical policy areas of climate finance, youth engagement in climate action, and energy for development. These objectives are pursued through the effective implementation of its four main programmes:

•    PISTA (Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance)
•    Youth4Climate
•    Energy For Growth
•    Digital Flagship

PISTA, the Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance, aims to mobilise finance for climate, energy and the environment. Specifically, PISTA aims to support projects that contribute to the decarbonization efforts of developing economies and to their transition to climate-resilient economies, and it aims to catalyse international financial resources toward these initiatives. Matching impactful projects with investors and capital providers goes hand in hand with the engagement with financial institutions - both institutional and private - at Italian and global level. In its current portfolio, PISTA is supporting 24 projects across Africa, to which it is providing technical assistance with the goal of strengthening their bankability - from developing financial models, to enhancing environmental and social impact management, to more ad hoc project supportYouth4Climate promotes youth engagement in climate action, contributing to SDG13. Youth4Climate supports the implementation of youth-led and youth-inclusive solutions to environmental and climate challenges, both financially and through capacity development. It also gives young people around the world who are committed to fighting climate change a platform to engage with policymakers and global leaders.

Energy For Growth (“E4G”) aims to promote access to sustainable energy in developing countries, contributing to SDG7. The goal of the initiative is to assist partner countries in unlocking finance to scale up the diffusion of clean energy solutions, increase access to energy and boost the energy transition. E4G aims to foster the mobilization of public and private capital toward projects aligned with the international policy agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It does so by connecting UNDP's capacity and connections in emerging economies and developing countries with the public-private ecosystem of Italy and other G7 countries, in the crucial sector of energy.

The Italy–Africa Digital Flagship is a key initiative under the Italian Mattei Plan, implemented by the UNDP Rome Centre under its Strategic Initiatives portfolio, it is delivered in close partnership with national governments, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Italian public and private sector partners. It focuses on advancing digital public infrastructure, digital identity systems, agritech solutions, and data-driven governance, contributing to sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP Rome Centre requires an additional team member to work as a Digital and Public Investment Specialist to contribute to its growing pipeline of large, impactful, and bankable projects. The UNDP Rome Centre, through PISTA and other programmes, provides support to projects across sectors in the climate and energy space, helping them on project development (e.g., technical feasibility studies, financial viability assessments, environmental and social impact assessments, impact framework development, advanced stakeholder engagement etc.) and connecting such projects with financiers.

Among such projects, UNDP is providing preparatory phase technical support to the Government of Cote d'Ivoire under the Italy-Africa Digital Flagship Programme to translate strategic investment concepts in the thematic areas of climate-resilient agriculture, smart irrigation, AI and data innovation into structured, bankable and implementation-ready public sector projects.

Given the nature of the assignment, UNDP seeks to hire a specialist with experience in structuring public sector and public-private investment projects for multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and sovereign or blended finance platforms.

The successful candidate will make a crucial contribution to the Digital Flagship and PISTA team as a technical expert. The Specialist will play a pivotal role in overseeing and managing the post-origination phase of projects, that is ensuring interventions are designed to fit Italian and international DFIs/MDBs criteria to unlock climate finance and lead the investment structuring in collaboration with relevant DFIs/MDBs.

The Public and Digital Investment Specialist will report to the Digital Flagship team lead, and will have a secondary reporting to the PISTA team lead; she/he will engage with other UNDP Rome Centre colleagues as needed.

The scope of work over the course of the period may vary depending on the specific assignment and development of the programme.

A.    Investment Structuring and Bankability Advisory
•    Contribute to quality-assure the structuring of the two investment packages so that they are suitable for appraisal, financing and implementation, in line with the project's objective of producing executive feasibility studies and investment-ready project documents.
•    Support the definition of a clear and financeable investment perimeter for: (i) the integrated climate-resilient agriculture and smart irrigation package; and (ii) the AI and Data Innovation Hub.
•    Ensure that technical proposals are translated into coherent investment packages with clear CAPEX/OPEX assumptions, implementation sequencing, institutional responsibilities, and financing pathways.
•    Assess the bankability of proposed investments, identify critical gaps, and recommend measures to strengthen technical credibility, revenue logic where applicable, affordability, public value, sustainability, and implementation feasibility.
•    Support development of trancheable and modular investment options to preserve financing optionality and enable phased financing and implementation, as envisaged in the project strategy.
•    Ensure alignment of the financial structuring with likely appraisal requirements of CDP and other prospective financiers engaged in climate, digital infrastructure, agriculture, and public sector modernization.
•    Based on the project’s needs, support the identification of suitable co-financing partners and windows, including MDBs, bilateral development partners, climate funds, impact investors, and other DFIs to move to financial close.

B.    Appraisal Readiness and Transaction Support
•    Review feasibility outputs to ensure they meet the level of definition needed for financing review, procurement preparation and smooth implementation without further design work, consistent with the project document.
•    Contribute and support on due diligence expectations commonly applied by MDBs/DFIs, including requirements related to technical feasibility, economic justification, safeguards, climate rationale, governance, procurement, operations and maintenance, and institutional readiness.
•    Support the development of investment memoranda, decision notes, financing briefs, and presentations tailored to prospective financiers and government decision-makers.
•    Contribute to the packaging of documentation required for downstream engagement with financing institutions, including review of procurement strategy, implementation roadmap, governance arrangements, and risk mitigation measures.
•    Identify issues that may affect appraisal timelines or financing decisions and propose mitigation measures early in the preparation process.

C.    Coordination with Feasibility Study Teams and Stakeholders
•    Work closely with the multidisciplinary consulting teams engaged for the agriculture-irrigation and AI Hub feasibility studies, whose scopes include engineering, hydrology, climate analysis, digital systems architecture, cybersecurity, institutional modelling, financial structuring, and safeguards.
•    Participate in technical working groups, validation workshops, and review sessions convened under the project governance arrangements.
•    Advise UNDP and government counterparts on strategic engagement with key sectoral ministries and technical agencies to ensure investment structuring is grounded in national systems, implementation realities, and institutional mandates.
•    Support structured engagement with Italian partners and other strategic stakeholders to ensure alignment with financing priorities, appraisal standards and market expectations.
•    Provide targeted advisory inputs for discussions with engineering firms, technology providers, agritech companies, cloud and data infrastructure providers, and other relevant market actors, in compliance with transparency and procurement rules.

D.    Quality Assurance and Knowledge Contribution
•    Provide expert review and written comments on inception, interim and final feasibility outputs, with particular focus on investment logic, financing strategy, implementation readiness and institutional sustainability.
•    Contribute to the quality assurance of project outputs against international infrastructure and development finance appraisal standards, as well as UNDP's investment preparation standards reflected in the sample ToR.
•    Capture lessons learned and good practices on structuring integrated public sector investments that combine physical infrastructure, digital systems, climate resilience and institutional reform.
•    Contribute to internal knowledge products or strategic notes that may support replication of the model in other countries under the Italy-Africa Digital Flagship Programme.

E.    Knowledge Sharing, Monitoring and Evaluation
•    Monitor activities to track progress, results, and identify areas for improvement for assigned investment projects
•    Report on project effectiveness and impact, contribute to the development of the PISTA's annual report by providing data and insights on performance of projects under the Specialist’s responsibility
•    Assist with donor engagement and relationship management activities as required, including for the timely publication and dissemination of reports against the Digital Flagship and PISTA milestones and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
•    Contribute to knowledge sharing initiatives within the Digital Flagship and PISTA team and with UNDP Country Offices.

The incumbent may also be requested to perform other related tasks necessary for the successful delivery of the assignment.

4.    Institutional Arrangement
•    The incumbent will be office-based;
•    The incumbent will report to the Digital Flagship team lead and will have a secondary reporting to the  PISTA team lead, and will work in close coordination with UNDP Country Office, relevant UNDP technical teams, the Project Board, and the Technical Working Groups established for the two feasibility studies.
•    The incumbent will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment.
•    International mission travel may be required. 
 

Competencies

• Core Competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

• Cross-Functional & Technical competencies: 

Business Direction and Strategy-System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Management-Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment

Business Management & Partnerships Management: Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

Finance & Development Finance Expertise: Ability to develop and work with innovative financing mechanisms and instruments, e.g. social/development impact bonds, guarantees, climate finance, etc.

Digital & Alternative Finance: Ability to identify potential alternative forms of finance and mobilise them for the purpose of addressing development challenges. Ability to review the skills, capacities, procedures and protocols that are needed to enable new financial mechanisms, and to assess the risks, limitations and implications of using them. Ability to set up the processes and structures to design, test and implement new financial mechanisms, including managing outreach and stakeholder engagement.

Digital & Digital Transformation Design: Practical and strategic skills in digital transformation design for governments and organisations.

Business Management & Communication: Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. .Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Infrastructure Finance, Engineering, Business Administration, International Development, or a related field is required, OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor´s degree) in the above fields in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in project development, investment structuring, transaction advisory, infrastructure finance, development finance, or related fields is required.
• Proven track record of experience in preparing, structuring, appraising or financing complex public sector or sovereign-backed investment projects, an emerging market or developing country is required.
• Demonstrated experience working on projects involving one or more of the following: irrigation or water infrastructure, climate-resilient agriculture, digital public infrastructure, data centers/cloud systems, innovation ecosystems, or public sector digital transformation is required.
• Strong experience reviewing or developing feasibility studies, business cases, investment cases, financial models, implementation roadmaps and procurement strategies for major projects in emerging economies and developing countries is required.
• Prior professional experience with, or directly advising on projects financed by, institutions such as the World Bank Group, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Investment Bank, or other multilateral development banks and development finance institutions is desired.
• Experience with sovereign lending, blended finance, climate finance, or large public investment programmes supported by MDBs/DFIs is desired.
• Experience in structuring projects to meet lender appraisal requirements and investment committee standards is desired.
• Experience with entire investment management cycle including demonstrated ability to structure blended finance support and/or advisory services to enhance project bankability is desired.
• Demonstrated experience with safeguards, climate finance rationale, institutional assessments, and implementation arrangements required for investment approval is desired.
• Experience engaging public authorities, technical ministries, implementing agencies, and private sector actors to develop implementable, financeable investment projects is desired.
• Experience in Africa, including Francophone Africa is desired.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in French is highly desirable.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

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