Public and Digital Investment Specialist (Open to all applicants).

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

UNDP Rome Centre requires an additional team member to work as a Digital and Public Investment Specialist to contribute to its growing pipeline of large, impactful, and bankable projects. The UNDP Rome Centre, through PISTA and other programmes, provides support to projects across sectors in the climate and energy space, helping them on project development (e.g., technical feasibility studies, financial viability assessments, environmental and social impact assessments, impact framework development, advanced stakeholder engagement etc.) and connecting such projects with financiers.

Among such projects, UNDP is providing preparatory phase technical support to the Government of Cote d'Ivoire under the Italy-Africa Digital Flagship Programme to translate strategic investment concepts in the thematic areas of climate-resilient agriculture, smart irrigation, AI and data innovation into structured, bankable and implementation-ready public sector projects.

Given the nature of the assignment, UNDP seeks to hire a specialist with experience in structuring public sector and public-private investment projects for multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and sovereign or blended finance platforms.

The successful candidate will make a crucial contribution to the Digital Flagship and PISTA team as a technical expert. The Specialist will play a pivotal role in overseeing and managing the post-origination phase of projects, that is ensuring interventions are designed to fit Italian and international DFIs/MDBs criteria to unlock climate finance and lead the investment structuring in collaboration with relevant DFIs/MDBs.

The Public and Digital Investment Specialist will report to the Digital Flagship team lead, and will have a secondary reporting to the PISTA team lead; she/he will engage with other UNDP Rome Centre colleagues as needed.

The scope of work over the course of the period may vary depending on the specific assignment and development of the programme.

• →Core Competencies:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Infrastructure Finance, Engineering, Business Administration, International Development, or a related field is required, OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor´s degree) in the above fields in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of an advanced university degree.

• Minimum of 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in project development, investment structuring, transaction advisory, infrastructure finance, development finance, or related fields is required.
• Proven track record of experience in preparing, structuring, appraising or financing complex public sector or sovereign-backed investment projects, an emerging market or developing country is required.
• Demonstrated experience working on projects involving one or more of the following: irrigation or water infrastructure, climate-resilient agriculture, digital public infrastructure, data centers/cloud systems, innovation ecosystems, or public sector digital transformation is required.
• Strong experience reviewing or developing feasibility studies, business cases, investment cases, financial models, implementation roadmaps and procurement strategies for major projects in emerging economies and developing countries is required.
• Prior professional experience with, or directly advising on projects financed by, institutions such as the World Bank Group, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Investment Bank, or other multilateral development banks and development finance institutions is desired.
• Experience with sovereign lending, blended finance, climate finance, or large public investment programmes supported by MDBs/DFIs is desired.
• Experience in structuring projects to meet lender appraisal requirements and investment committee standards is desired.
• Experience with entire investment management cycle including demonstrated ability to structure blended finance support and/or advisory services to enhance project bankability is desired.
• Demonstrated experience with safeguards, climate finance rationale, institutional assessments, and implementation arrangements required for investment approval is desired.
• Experience engaging public authorities, technical ministries, implementing agencies, and private sector actors to develop implementable, financeable investment projects is desired.
• Experience in Africa, including Francophone Africa is desired.

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in French is highly desirable.

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.