INTER-REGIONAL ADVISER IN BLENDED FINANCE AND SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT, P5

Organisation: DESA - Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Location: New York
Contract: R
Deadline: 2 December 2026

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Strategic Engagement and Policy Integration Branch (SEPIB), Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The Inter-regional Adviser (IRA) will work under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Strategic Engagement and Policy Integration Branch and the overall guidance of the Director of Financing for Sustainable Development Office. The Office is mandated to provide policy guidance and support for follow-up to the agreements and commitments reached at the International Conferences on Financing for Development. The work of the Office builds on the mandates of the intergovernmental outcome documents of the Financing for Development process, including the annual Economic and Social Council Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up (FFD Forum) and the 2025 Sevilla Commitment. Information on the Financing for Sustainable Development Office can be found on https://financing.desa.un.org. The Sevilla Commitment provides a global framework for financing for development, with sustainable investment as one of its core elements. To support implementation, the Sevilla Commitment invites countries to catalyse investment through, and bring projects to, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Investment Fair. The Fair was established in 2018 as a global platform for knowledge sharing and partnership building around mobilizing SDG investments. It fosters peer learning, partnership building and investor exchanges to help countries promote more investible, SDG-aligned opportunities and strengthen their ability to prepare and structure projects. The services of the IRA aim to ensure the provision of high-level technical expertise, the transfer of knowledge from global entities to Governments on policy-related issues and development strategies and the formulation, assessment or evaluation of projects and programmes. The incumbent will be expected to advise on complex policy and institutional issues and to strengthen the link between FSDO’s normative and analytical work and country-level capacity development support. Working with governments, development banks, and other relevant stakeholders and financing partners, the IRA on Blended Finance and Sustainable Investment will provide technical advisory services and capacity support to governments in identifying, preparing, packaging, and promoting SDG-aligned investment opportunities, improving their investment readiness and, as appropriate, presenting and bringing these opportunities to the SDG Investment Fair. The incumbent will also provide intellectual and strategic leadership on the further development of the Fair. The IRA is a member of DESA’s IRA Network. The services of the IRA need to comply with intergovernmental guidance on the use of the Regular Programme on Technical Cooperation (RPTC), when appropriate, and with strategies and guidance concerning capacity development activities endorsed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and supported by the Capacity Development Programme Management Office (CDPMO).

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Branch and the overall guidance of the Director, the incumbent is responsible for the following: Mandatory tasks: • Provides policy advice online and/or through short-term field missions to Governments and other relevant stakeholders in developing countries upon their request on the promotion of sustainable investment and the implementation of the Sevilla Commitment (A/RES/79/323). This includes demand-driven technical advisory services and capacity support to governments in identifying, preparing, structuring, packaging, and promoting SDG-aligned investment opportunities, improving their investment readiness and, as appropriate, presenting them to the SDG Investment Fair. • Monitors, studies and analyzes the trends and best practices in sustainable investment, blended finance, project preparation, and related policies, and prepares policy advisory notes to inform governments as well as feed into the intergovernmental process in collaboration with other FSDO branches. • Provides leadership in the design/redesign of national policies and strategies, upon requests from developing countries, for catalyzing sustainable investment and advancing the implementation of the SDGs, the Sevilla Commitment, and other relevant international commitments, norms and standards. • Provides leadership in the design of capacity development programmes, projects and activities on investment project preparation and financing at national, regional and global levels and contributes to implementation, monitoring and evaluation as well as reporting on these initiatives. • Provides strategic advice on the objectives, design, and further development of the SDG Investment Fair and related activities, including approaches to project sourcing, investment readiness, investor engagement, and partnership development. • Provides leadership in the implementation of gender mainstreaming guidelines by assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. • Makes substantive contributions to global/regional/sub-regional/national workshops, seminars, colloquia, and other training events, including proposals concerning agenda topics, possible participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc. • Provides leadership in the Department’s resource mobilization strategies, notably as far as extra-budgetary funding is concerned. • Liaises with relevant professional networks and makes relevant external capacity development resources available to DESA. • Establishes and nurtures close relationships with stakeholders, both within and outside the UN system, in creating partnerships and an active network in the area of sustainable investment, including private investors and development finance institutions. • Provides inputs for the normative and advocacy functions of FSDO based on the capacity development expertise, including by translating investment research and lessons from country-level advisory work into strategic advice that can inform follow-up to the Sevilla Commitment and the FFD Forum, in close collaboration with other FSDO branches. • Performs other duties as required.

Competencies