Result of Service
Strengthen engagement and collaboration between UNEP FI members, central banks, banking regulators, supervisors, policymakers and other strategic stakeholders as relevant.
Coordinate and support dialogue, knowledge exchange and relationship-building initiatives that advance mutual understanding of sustainable finance challenges, opportunities and emerging regulatory developments.
Help translate policy and regulatory developments into practical insights for members, while communicating member perspectives and implementation experiences across relevant stakeholder groups.
Support the development of resources, engagement approaches and partnerships that strengthen the connection between voluntary banking commitments and the evolving policy and regulatory landscape. The consultant’s work will also contribute to upholding UN core values, ensuring that a human rights-based approach, the principle of leaving no one behind and gender equality and women’s empowerment are integrated throughout their work at UNEP FI.
Work Location
Working remotely / Home-based
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. UNEP’s work is firmly grounded in the UN core values, including the human rights-based approach, the commitment to leaving no one behind, and the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment across all activities.
The overall objective of the UNEP’s Industry and 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 implementation of corresponding activities. The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is the strategic partnership between the United Nations and over 500 banks, insurers and investors. For over 32 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 workstreams and regional activities, peer learning, methodology development, training, and research, UNEP FI promotes sustainable finance and helps the financial industry align with and contribute to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Global policy and regulatory measures on sustainable finance have increased substantially over recent years. Public policy critically affects the ability of financial institutions to generate sustainable positive and reduce negative impacts through financing decisions.
It affects the sustainability and stability of financial markets, as well as social, environmental and economic systems. Sustainable finance policies have become central to enabling and accelerating a successful transition. Launched in 2019 by UN Secretary-General Guterres and bank CEOs from around the world, the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) guide the transition towards a sustainable global banking industry that plays a key role in helping society achieve its goals for a sustainable future.
With these Principles, banks commit to strategically aligning their business with, and scaling up, their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Paris Agreement on Climate. A strong implementation framework defines clear accountabilities and requires each bank to set, publish, and work towards ambitious targets, and to report publicly on their positive and negative impacts and on progress in implementing their commitments.
Over 350 banks from more than 90 countries, jointly representing about half of the global banking sector by assets, are now Signatories of the Principles for Responsible Banking. Banks play a key role in supporting the transition to the real economy; however, systemic change requires the engagement of diverse actors. Properly engaging with stakeholders, with a special focus on Banking sector regulators, Governments, and non-financial policymakers, is critical to enabling member banks to deliver on their commitments and better support their clients.
UNEP FI can act as a convener between the member banks and the relevant stakeholders. UNEP FI requires the consultant to work in tandem with subject matter experts and the UNEP FI Secretariat to support policy-related developments and projects and strengthen UNEP FI's relationships with key stakeholders. The consultant will carry out this role as part of UNEP FI’s policy and banking teams and, where relevant, in close collaboration with other UNEP FI's teams.
Purpose of the Assignment: The consultant will support UNEP FI's Banking and Policy teams in strengthening dialogue and collaboration between the responsible banking community and the regulatory community, including central banks, supervisors, and policymakers. Acting as an interface between UNEP FI members and regulatory stakeholders, the consultant will facilitate trusted exchanges, support strategic convenings, develop substantive briefing and discussion materials, and help translate regulatory and policy developments into practical implications for member banks.
The consultant will contribute to building mutual understanding between regulators and the banking sector on emerging sustainability-related risks, transition challenges, implementation experiences, and the policy conditions needed to support real economy transition, while helping identify areas for continued engagement and collaboration at global and regional levels.
The consultant will also strengthen the connection between voluntary banking frameworks, including the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), and the evolving policy and regulatory landscape, helping members better understand how these frameworks interact in practice and equipping them to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to current and emerging regulatory and supervisory expectations. Objectives: The result of the consultant’s work will be the following successful high-quality outputs defined under the outputs and deliverables section.
Specific tasks and responsibilities: Engagement and dialogue between central banks and members
Coordinate the planning, delivery and follow-up of global or regional dialogues between central banks/supervisors and the UNEP FI governance bodies, including agenda development, stakeholder outreach, input briefing papers, facilitation support, meeting summaries and follow-up actions.
Support the development of future dialogue outputs, including discussion papers, publications or other knowledge products for the wider PRB community and central banks.
Develop and implement a roadmap for continued engagement with central banks, supervisory authorities and relevant networks. Member support on policy and regulatory developments
Contribute to research, guidance notes, events and/or capacity-building activities that strengthen members’ understanding of the relationship between regulatory developments and voluntary banking commitments, including the Principles for Responsible Banking, helping banks interpret and respond to evolving policy and regulatory expectations.
Facilitate coordination between policy, banking and regional teams to ensure consistency of messaging and member support. Governments and non-financial policymakers
Support selected policy engagement and/or capacity building initiatives that bring together financial institutions, governments and other non-financial policymakers to advance sustainable finance and real economy transition objectives, including by bringing practical market perspectives into policy implementation discussions.
Identify priority policy processes where UNEP FI members can contribute practical banking sector perspectives.
Work closely with the UNEP FI Banking Board, regional teams and relevant stakeholders to coordinate and amplify responsible banking perspectives in policy discussions.
Raise awareness of the value of the PRB and the achievements of the UN Responsible Banking Community with policymakers.
Ensure that all communications outputs reflect UNEP and UN core values, including a human rights-based approach, the principle of leaving no one behind and gender equality and women’s empowerment, and contribute to internal awareness of these values.
Support the implementation of UNEP FI’s 2026–2029 Social Action Plan by including all relevant measures from the plan in their work. Outputs and Deliverables: Engagement between central banks and members
One global Strategic Dialogue between central banks/supervisors and UNEP FI governance bodies successfully planned, delivered and followed up. The global dialogue can be substituted by a regional dialogue, as relevant.
Two regional central bank-member bank policy dialogues successfully organised and documented.
Briefing papers, discussion notes, stakeholder mappings, meeting summaries and recommendations prepared to support the global or regional dialogues.
At least one knowledge product, such as webinars, discussion paper, publication or synthesis report developed to disseminate insights from central bank engagement activities to the broader PRB community.
A draft stakeholder engagement plan for continued engagement with central banks, supervisory authorities and relevant networks developed and periodically updated. Member support on policy and regulatory developments
At least one resource, guidance notes, webinar, workshop or capacity-building activity delivered to support member understanding of the relationship between regulatory developments and voluntary banking commitments, including the Principles for Responsible Banking.
Inputs provided to UNEP FI projects, publications or member-facing resources that clarify the implications of emerging policy and regulatory developments for banks. Governments and non-financial policymakers
Contributions to at least one policy engagement activity delivered, such as dialogues, capacity building, publication, event, roundtable or other engagement mechanism, as appropriate.
Contribute to identifying current and potential engagement opportunities between UNEP FI members and policymakers, including observations and recommendations for future engagement, as appropriate.
Support with coordinating real economy policy engagement activities across UNEP FI teams relating to the Banking sector. The above deliverables will be developed and implemented in alignment with UNEP FI’s Social Action Plan and guided by the UN’s core values. The consultant will report to: Overall supervisor: The Head of UNEP FI. Direct Supervisor: 1) The Banking Programme Manager, UNEP FI. 2) The Policy Lead, UNEP FI.
Qualifications/special skills
Education: A master’s degree in finance, law, economics, public administration, business administration, marketing or communications, or international relations is required. A bachelor’s degree could be taken in lieu of a master’s degree, provided the selected candidate has 9 years of relevant experience. Professional Experience: At least 7 (seven) years of relevant professional experience and expertise in banking regulation, supervision, stakeholder management, policymakers, banking, or sustainable finance is required. Work experience in an international setting or different world regions is desirable.
Languages
Languages: English is the working language of UNEP FI. Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish or other United Nations languages is an asset.
Additional Information
Skills & Knowledge:
Excellent drafting, communication and presentation skills in English.
Strong project management and coordination skills, including the ability to manage multiple stakeholders and workstreams simultaneously.
Ability to work effectively in a multicultural and geographically dispersed environment, collaborating horizontally within the team.
Experience working in an international organization, membership organization, financial institution, regulator or policy-focused environment is desirable.
Professional networks among regulators, policymakers, banking associations or financial institutions would be an asset.
Ability and willingness to travel up to once per quarter.
Knowledge of global sustainable finance policy and regulation, prudential regulation and other policy developments affecting the banking sector.
Experience engaging with central banks, financial regulators, supervisors, policymakers, financial institutions or industry associations.
Strong stakeholder management and convening skills, including the ability to facilitate dialogue among diverse stakeholders.
Ability to analyse sustainable finance policy and regulatory developments and translate them into concise, practical insights for financial institutions.
Knowledge of the Principles for Responsible Banking, sustainable banking practices, or related sustainable finance frameworks is desirable.