Senior Policy Expert on Finance for Sustainable Food Systems

Result of Service - Database (in suitable format to facilitate consultation) capturing actions / policies taken by governments, standard setting bodies (e.g. SASB, Climate Bonds Initiative), coalitions of financial regulation authorities (e.g. NGFS), coalitions of Governments (e.g. ASEAN), international regulatory frameworks (e.g. Basel III), and other players to stimulate deforestation-free, sustainable land use and food systems. The database shall include a quantitative or qualitative assessment of the degree of effectiveness of policies implemented/administered.

• Report (max 30 pages) outlining:

- The actions taken thus far by governments, standard setting bodies, financial regulation authorities, international regulatory frameworks, and other players - Barriers and opportunities to stimulate a transition to sustainable land use - Concrete measures governments and other players can take to a) stimulate financing of sustainable land use and food systems; b) ‘standardize’ the framing, measuring and monitoring of impacts in relation to sustainable land use and food systems - Prioritization of stakeholders that UNEP should engage with and concrete actions that UNEP should foster with these stakeholders in the coming months.

Work Location Home-based

Expected duration 8-month consultancy

The consultant will work for 8 months from 1 May 2022 until 31 December 2022. The consultant can either be home-based or based in the UNEP’s offices in Geneva, Switzerland. If home based, the consultant’s time zone needs to allow for frequent exchanges with stakeholders in different geographical areas across the globe.

Duties and Responsibilities UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate 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. UNEP's Ecosystem Division supports countries in conserving, restoring and sustainably managing their terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, the biodiversity they contain and the products and services they provide for human well-being and prosperity. It helps countries reduce pollution from land-based activities, increase resilience to climate change and reflect linkages between poverty and the environment in their development planning. Located within the Ecosystem Division, the Climate Finance Unit focuses on unlocking and scaling up private and catalytic public finance for sustainable land use. The Climate Finance Unit works closely with the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a strategic partnership between UN Environment and the global financial sector, with the mission to identify, promote, and realize the adoption of best environmental and sustainability practice at all levels of financial institution strategies and operations.

The ways in which we produce, sell, process, transport and consume food are having negative impacts on our health, environment, climate, and society. Sustainable food systems, on the other hand, have the potential to transform a problem into a solution, addressing challenges related to deforestation, climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, poverty reduction, and health —from the insurgence of pandemics to nutrition. With less than a decade left until the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline in 2030, it is imperative that finance becomes more sustainable, driving the inclusive economic growth that the world so desperately needs. Bringing sustainable food systems to the forefront of the finance agenda offers an indispensable opportunity to contribute to achieving SDGs 2, 3, 8, 12, 13 and 15 spanning food security, good health, sustainable economic growth, responsible consumption and production, climate action and life on land. To foster the transition to more sustainable food systems through the finance lever, UNEP is executing—in collaboration with CIFOR—the Green Finance for Sustainable Landscapes (GF4SL) project, funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). UNEP-led activities have the following objectives: 1. Increase financial institutions’ and corporates’ commitments to finance deforestation-free commodity production / sustainable land use, including setting clear targets and a roadmap. 2. Facilitate a common understanding among financial actors of what sustainable land use investments mean and how to measure and monitor environmental and social impacts of loans/investments To increase the visibility and impact of this project, UNEP has partnered with other four organizations working on finance for sustainable food systems—EAT, FAIRR, Food Systems for the Future, and World Business Council for Sustainable Development—to create the Good Food Finance Network (GFFN). GFFN is a network of high-level leaders, technical experts and agropreneurs from finance, business and the public sector combining their resources and intellectual capital to promote investment and provide finance solutions for sustainable food systems. GFFN drives change in both food systems and finance systems. GFFN promotes voluntary action by representatives of the finance and agri-food sectors to show the path towards sustainable business models and finance solutions for food systems. Nevertheless, to achieve a global transformation in food systems, a change in course needs to be significantly incentivized and/or regulated along the value chain, so that sustainable food production, processing, transport and consumption, healthy nutrition and food security for all can gradually replace business as usual, unsustainable food systems. Introducing mandatory disclosure by financing institutions on the environmental and social impacts of their investments (e.g. on deforestation), promoting minimum environmental and social requirements for public finance for agriculture, broadening the scope of emerging standards for green & sustainable financial products to include the agricultural sector are some examples of actions that can be taken by Governments, financial regulation authorities and standard-setting initiatives to create an enabling environment for sustainable investments. To identify the most important levers that can be used to foster an enabling policy environment in key countries or regions to further the transformation, UNEP is looking for a Senior Policy Expert on Finance for Sustainable Food Systems.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Senior Policy Expert on Finance for Sustainable Food Systems will identify the best entry points to mainstream sustainable land use and food systems finance globally. The selected consultant will be responsible for the drafting of a report outlining what conditions governments, financial regulation authorities, standard-setting bodies and other stakeholders can put in place to stimulate a transition to sustainable land use. Moreover, the report should prioritize types of stakeholders that UNEP should engage with and concrete actions that UNEP should foster with these stakeholders in the coming months.

Tasks:

• Mapping of existing work carried out in this domain, including literature review and research on/outreach to major NGOs active in this space (e.g. WWF), standard setting bodies (e.g. SASB, Climate Bonds Initiative), coalitions of regulatory authorities (e.g. NGFS), coalitions of Governments (e.g. ASEAN), international regulatory frameworks (e.g. Basel III), and other players
• Identify what policies and actions governments of key producing countries (e.g. Brazil, Indonesia, China, US, etc.), national and international financial regulation authorities, and standard setting bodies have taken to stimulate a direction of capital towards deforestation-free, sustainable land use and food systems. Assess the degree of effectiveness of policies taken to date and identify advocacy needs for actions beyond and above those already taken by individual governments/ financial regulatory authorities
• Identify existing barriers created by the current national or international regulatory environment (e.g. Basel III)
• Identify, frame and recommend what measures governments and other players can take to a) stimulate financing of sustainable land use and food systems; b) ‘standardize’ the framing, measuring and monitoring of impacts of investments in land use and food systems

• Based on the outcomes of the analysis, prioritize the stakeholders that UNEP should engage with and concrete actions that UNEP should foster with these stakeholders in the coming months.

  Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in public finance, public policy, public administration, international relations or a related discipline. Experience: It is a requirement for the candidate to have at least seven years of progressively responsible work experience as policy expert within the fields of sustainability, agriculture and/or finance. Experience working for Governments or financial regulation authorities is preferred, as well as experience working in international contexts. t. Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consulting position, fluency in oral and written English is required.

Knowledge of other United Nations languages is an asset. The consultant must have excellent listening and communications skills. Demonstrable experience in writing top-notch communication material and delivering convincing talks is an advantage.

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.