UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) - Sustainable Banking Principles for Responsible Banking Review Expert

Result of Service The Review Expert will be responsible for preparing for and delivering feedback & support meetings and individualized reports to PRB Signatory Banks, therefore providing support for their implementation of the Principles. The successful candidate will provide regular updates to the Banking Team about trends, challenges and good practices identified through the feedback and support process. He/she will identify cases where banks are not in line with the commitments and address them within the agreed governance process.

The successful candidate will coordinate the production of the Collective Progress Report in 2023. He/she will join the Individual review and feedback team, and engage in the Banking Team retreats periodically.

Work Location Geneva (remote working possible)

Expected duration 12 months

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, 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.

The overall objective of the UNEP’s Economy Division is to encourage decision makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. It promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision making and the building of corresponding activities.

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is the strategic partnership between the United Nations and over 400 banks, insurers and investors. For over 30 years UNEP FI has been shaping and driving the international sustainable finance agenda, setting global standards and growing a global network of leading financial institutions. Through its work-streams and regional activities, peer learning, methodology development, training and research, UNEP FI carries out its mission to help the financial industry align with and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and with that take on the crucial role it must play in achieving a sustainable future.

UNEP FI’s Banking Team is responsible for the initiative’s work with its over 450 member banks in more than 60 countries around the world. This includes overseeing and supporting the implementation of the Principles for Responsible Banking.

About the Principles for Responsible Banking: On 22nd September 2019, UNEP FI member banks representing USD 47 trillion and with that over a third of the global banking industry officially signed and launched the Principles for Responsible Banking together with UN Secretary General Guterres. The Principles for Responsible Banking guide the change towards a new, sustainable global banking industry that takes on a key role in helping society to achieve its goals for a sustainable future. With these Principles, banks commit to strategically align their business with and scale up their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Paris Agreement on Climate. The Principles are supported by a strong implementation framework that defines clear accountabilities and requires each bank to set, publish and work towards ambitious targets and report publicly on their positive and negative impacts and progress in implementing their commitments. Banks that are not in line with their commitments can be removed from the list of signatories.

In order to ensure the effective implementation of the Principles for Responsible Banking, accountability mechanisms were approved by the Banking Board. The Review team is responsible for designing and executing them. That includes the individual as well as the collective review process. It includes an annual review, feedback & support meeting (mostly virtual) between the UNEP FI Secretariat and each Signatory Bank, following the Signatory Bank’s annual reporting. In addition to ensuring each bank is making progress at an adequate speed and providing feedback and support, the outcomes and learnings from these meetings will feed into the broader peer learning and support structure all banks benefit from as well as the biennial collective progress report the community of Signatories has agreed to publish through UNEP FI. The Review team also prepares cases of banks not in line with their commitments for the governance process. The Review Team compiles and shares the data it gathers from the reviews in ways that enable the other teams to make good use of the data both for informing our guidance and support work and effectively managing the membership. The Review Team works closely with the regional coordinators in the individual review process and makes use of the subject-matter expertise within the Banking Team as well as the UNEP FI team to provide targeted offers for follow-ups to banks.

UNEP FI is thus looking for a Review Expert to support this feedback & support process and the delivery of a Collective Progress Report.

Objectives & Expectations: The Sustainable Banking Experts leads engagements with PRB Signatory Banks to provide feedback & support for their effective implementation of the Principles. In addition to ensuring each bank is making progress at an adequate speed and providing feedback and support, the outcomes and learnings from these meetings feed into the broader peer learning and support structure all banks benefit from as well as into the biennial collective progress report the community of Signatories has agreed to publish through UNEP FI.

Outputs: - Feedback meetings and written reports delivered to the banks. - Identification of cases where banks need to take additional action to be line with their commitments. Where shortcomings are not addressed adequately, in coordination with the Banking Team Lead referring the case to the Banking Board. - Identification of case studies and good practices. - Coordination of the production of the Collective Progress Report in 2023.

Specific tasks and responsibilities: - Assess banks’ progress and shortcomings on the implementation the principles and deliver structured feedback. The individual, annual, feedback is composed of a meeting (mostly virtual) once a year and a written report. Meetings will ideally be held with UNEP FI’s respective regional coordinators, with which the Review Expert is expected to collaborate closely. After the meeting, the Review Expert prepares and sends an individualized report to the bank to support their internal discussions. - Input the assessment results in a central database that is used to consolidate the status of collective implementation, follow up on banks’ progress and provide data to the biennial collective progress report. - Based on your review and in coordination with the Banking Team Lead, identify cases where banks need to take additional action to be in line with their commitments. Where shortcomings are not addressed adequately, in coordination with the Banking Team Lead refer the case to UNEP FI’s banking governance body. - Identify case studies and good practices to feed into the systematic peer learning program, implemented by another part of UNEP FI’s Banking Team. - Share your knowledge and experience and help develop the sustainable banking expertise within UNEP FI. - Coordinate the production of the Collective Progress Report in 2023.

The consultant will report to the Head of UNEP Finance Initiative, who is the overall supervisor, and report directly to the Review Team Lead.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: University degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, finance, environment, international relations, social sciences, development or a related filed. A first-level university degree in combination with additional relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Working experience: - Minimum 7 years of experience in sustainable banking. Preferably in a bank. - Acquainted with and directly involved in implementing international sustainable banking best practices and standards. - Ideally, previous experience in advisory/consulting roles. - Experience on reporting to C-level executives and/or Boards in Financial Institutions is an asset.

Skills & knowledge: Experience and expertise in sustainable banking to be viewed as a credible expert by the banks whose progress he/she will review and provide feedback and support. Thus, minimum 7 years of experience in sustainable banking. Well acquainted with and have been directly involved in implementing international sustainable banking best practices and standards.

Ability to quickly understand, synthesize and analyze substantial amounts of information. The successful candidate is reliable, and delivers consistently high quality within agreed timeframes. He/she follows through on commitments towards others, especially towards your constituency/clients. Ability to quickly gain and then maintain people’s trust. Team player, have interest in and derive joy from collaborating with others. As such, he/she also enjoy sharing knowledge and expertise and helping more junior colleagues develop.

He/she can adapt your behavior and style of communication to different cultural contexts. He/she is fluent in English, as this is UNEP FI’s working language. Beyond English, fluency in other languages, especially other official UN languages, is highly desirable.

The tasks he/she will be responsible for in this role are the basis for ensuring all Principles for Responsible Banking Signatories are in line with their commitments and that support is provided and processes set in motion where this is not the case. This role is thus crucial for the legitimacy and credibility of the Principles, their signatories and ultimately UNEP FI. Consequently, as the successful applicant he/she must have demonstrated integrity throughout his/her career.

He/she is motivated and driven by the purpose the team/organization is working towards and the impacts we are trying to achieve.

Languages Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is a requirement.

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.