Consultants on Climate/SDGs Debt SWAP Initiatives in The Arab Region

Finance & Economy

Overview

Support and guide debt swap initiatives in pilot countries

You have:

• A Master's degree in economics, social sciences, environment or related area is required.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in debt or climate or macroeconomic issues is required.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French and Arabic is desirable.
• Previous experience in contributing to implementing bilateral debt swap, debt for nature swaps is desirable.

Result of Service The objective of the Committee is to support and guide the process of the operationalization of the debt swap donor nexus initiative in pilot countries, such as Jordan, since the formation of the Committee in March 2021. With the successful operation of the Committee, ESCWA is extending the period of the Advisory Committee to 2023 to extend the initiative to support Egypt and Tunisia and to support the advocacy of the initiative

Work Location Home-Based

Expected duration 1 Year

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) has launched a Climate/SDGs Debt Swap – Donor Nexus Initiative in the Arab region. The initiative supports member States that are facing challenges of climate finance, high debt burdens, and their fiscal pressures are exacerbated by the adverse impact of the COVID-19. The initiative also provides opportunities for debtors, creditors and donors to accelerate implementation of the SDGs and Paris Agreement, while achieving climate-sensitive national development objectives in line with global development goals.

The main functions of the Advisory Committee will involve their participation in four meetings in 2022 (ideally, one in each quarter of the year). The meetings aim to help operationalizing the ESCWA DSM through their contributions as listed below, but not necessarily limited to it.

• Provide strategic guidance on rules and feasibility of swap in specific contexts, including rules of engagement with creditor(s) and Paris Club Secretariat;
• Facilitate discussion with creditor(s)/donor(s) for negotiating the debt swap proposal for specific country contexts, and travel if required for in-person meeting (see point 6 on travel arrangements);
• Provide guidance on identifying risks, addressing potential challenges and sensitivities such as that facilitates negotiation between debtor and creditor.
• Provide strategic guidance on networking and advocacy related to the DSM, including with G7/G20/UN Secretariat, to advance this initiative;
• Review and provide comments on debt swap proposals for specific country context and provide comments on associated studies that contribute to operationalizing the debt swap initiative.

ESCWA will function as secretariat. The Project Coordinator of the “Debt Swap for Climate/SDGs Finance”, or delegated official by ESCWA’s senior management, will facilitate the meetings of the Advisory Committee in close coordination with ESCWA’s senior management. The meetings of the Committee may be done in virtual setting or in physical setting as deemed necessary and decided upon consultation with the Chair of the Advisory Committee and ESCWA’s senior management.

Meeting notes will be documented by ESCWA staff and will be shared with the Advisory Committee.

Qualifications/special skills A Master's degree in economics, social sciences, environment or related area is required.

All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of 10 years of experience in debt or climate or macroeconomic issues is required. Previous experience in contributing to implementing bilateral debt swap, debt for nature swaps, both in the region and outside it is desirable.

Languages Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, fluency in English is required.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: careers.un.org