Result of Service

The expert delivers a financing landscape and pathway analysis for the agriculture and transport components of NDC 3.0 (aligned with the NZIP 2060 and the forthcoming sectoral NDC Investment Plan), investability screening of the long-list of candidate projects in the two sectors (as per Activity 1.3), full bespoke financial models and structuring/de-risking options for the government-validated short-list of priority projects, investor-ready teasers/investment memoranda and a financier mapping, documented investor engagement, and the transfer of models and methodologies to the NCCC and relevant MDAs.

Work Location

Home-based, with missions to Abuja, Nigeria

Expected duration

160 working days over 12 months, from 25 September 2026 to 25 September 2027.

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. 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. The NDC Act & Invest is a global project led by UNEP and currently funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and the NDC Partnership’s Partnership Action Fund (PAF) multi-donor trust fund. It is designed to support countries raise their climate ambition and translate their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) submitted in 2025 and 2026 into actionable, investable plans. Structured around three interconnected workstreams: fostering G20+ ambition and action, piloting policy and planning alignment, and providing deep-dive support to enhance NDC investability, the project aims to bridge the gap between climate commitments and tangible implementation. By aligning national strategies, strengthening enabling environments, and working collaboratively with key partners, including the NDC Partnership, GIZ, UNDP’s Climate Promise, UNFCCC, multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and private sector actors, the NDC Act & Invest seeks to make the next generation of NDCs both more ambitious and more achievable, accelerating progress toward the 1.5°C goal and enhancing global resilience. The NDC Act & Invest team, based within the Mitigation Branch in Paris, is responsible for the global management and overall coordination of the project across partner countries, in line with UNEP’s delivery model. The team also acts as the main liaison between UNEP and the NDC Partnership, coordinating UNEP’s responses to country support requests shared through the Partnership, identifying and applying for additional funding where appropriate, and consolidating implementation and progress reporting. In addition, the team maintains close coordination with related projects under the IKI Programme to ensure coherence and synergies across initiatives. Nigeria submitted its Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) to the UNFCCC in September 2025, committing to economy-wide absolute emissions reductions of 29% by 2030 and 32.2% by 2035 relative to the recalculated 2018 baseline of 573.5 Mt CO2e, on a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2060. Nigeria estimates that US$337 billion will be required over 2026–2035 to implement the NDC 3.0 (US$195 billion for mitigation and US$141.5 billion for adaptation), with 80 per cent conditional on international support. The NDC 3.0 foresees explicitly the preparation of an Implementation Strategy and Action Plan (ISAP) and an NDC Investment Plan, while the Net Zero Investment Plan (NZIP, endorsed in May 2026), prepared under the auspices of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), estimates total investment needs of approximately US$2.04 trillion to 2060, around US$38 billion per year to 2030, against tracked climate finance flows of only about US$2.5 billion per year in 2021/2022. Following the Government of Nigeria’s request channeled through the NDC Partnership, UNEP, through Workstream 3 of NDC Act & Invest project, has agreed with the NCCC to provide support structured around two complementary components: (i) technical assistance to the development of a comprehensive, inclusive and actionable Implementation Strategy and Action Plan (ISAP) for NDC 3.0, translating NDC targets into costed, monitorable and implementation-ready interventions; and (ii) targeted deep-dive support to advance priority measures towards investability and bankability, through pre-feasibility work, business model design, financial structuring and investor engagement, in the two priority sectors confirmed with the NCCC: agriculture and transport. The implementation timeline for this support was validated by the NCCC in June 2026. Institutional ownership, coordination and decision-making rest with the NCCC and the relevant federal and state Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), UNEP and its experts provide technical inputs and analysis in support of this Government-led process. The support is delivered by a team of three experts: an agriculture sector expert, a transport sector expert, and a financial engineering, structuring and modelling expert, working under UNEP’s coordination and in close collaboration with each other. The financial engineering, structuring and modelling expert acts as the technical lead expert of the team, coordinating and consolidating the technical inputs of the two sectoral experts into a coherent, cross-sectoral investment pipeline and financing package. Closing Nigeria’s climate investment gap is the central challenge of NDC 3.0 implementation. Nigeria has pioneered sovereign green bonds in Africa (with a third series of NGN 50 billion launched in June 2025), developed a Carbon Market Activation Policy projecting a market worth US$0.74–2.5 billion by 2030, and is working to activate the National Climate Change Fund, alongside instruments such as NIRSAL risk-sharing facilities, local-currency guarantee providers, and development finance from the World Bank, AfDB, IFC, EIB, KfW, AFD and bilateral partners. The endorsed NZIP 2060 identified persistent barriers: foreign exchange risk, high cost of capital, a thin pipeline of bankable projects, limited project preparation capacity and a limited PPP track record, and calls for de-risking instruments, blended finance structures and stronger project preparation as priority responses, with target public-private funding splits of roughly 50/50 for transport and around 60% public for AFOLU. Under the agreed support, the deep-dive investability work in the agriculture and transport sectors responds directly to this gap by converting prioritized NDC 3.0 measures into financially structured, investor-ready propositions. The approach is consistent with international good practice on NDC financing and investment strategies, which rests on four components: assessing financing needs and gaps, mapping the financial landscape, reviewing the enabling environment, and developing pipelines of bankable projects (OECD/UNDP, Investing in Climate for Growth and Development, 2025). The expert will contribute directly to the achievement of the objectives of the NDC Act & Invest support to Nigeria agreed with the NCCC, as described in section 1 above. The expected results outlined below correspond to the main milestones of the work plan and are accompanied by performance indicators to assess their achievement. Result 1: Financing landscape and pathway analysis for the agriculture and transport components of NDC 3.0. o Activity 1.1: Review the NDC 3.0 by 2035, the Net Zero Investment Plan 2060, the Landscape of Climate Finance in Nigeria (2024), the Carbon Market Activation Policy and related frameworks, and prepare a sector-level financing needs and gap assessment (reconciling NDC 3.0 cost estimates with NZIP investment needs and tracked climate finance flows) and a financing pathway note for the two sectors, aligned with the NZIP’s four-pillar climate finance strategy and the forthcoming NDC Investment Plan. o Activity 1.2: Map financing sources and instruments relevant to the two sectors, domestic public (budget, sovereign green bonds, National Climate Change Fund), international public (GCF, GEF, Adaptation Fund, MDBs, DFIs, bilateral partners, etc), private (commercial banks, pension funds, private equity and venture capital, corporates), and carbon markets/Article 6 and results-based finance, including eligibility criteria, indicative ticket sizes and risk appetites, and identify applicable de-risking and local-currency solutions (guarantees, first-loss capital, foreign exchange mitigation, blended structures), as well as project preparation facilities (e.g. GCF Project Preparation Facility, World Bank Global Infrastructure Facility, etc). The mapping will include a concise review of the enabling environment for climate investment in the two sectors (policy and regulatory frameworks, institutional arrangements, market conditions and data/MRV systems), identifying binding constraints and priority reforms. o Activity 1.3: Lead the financing and investability dimension to the pipeline screening and prioritization criteria and conduct investability assessments of the long-listed candidate investments, jointly with the two sectoral experts. Result 2: Financial models and structuring options for the prioritized agriculture and transport pipeline. o Activity 2.1: Develop bespoke, transparent and auditable financial models for each short-listed project (capex/opex, revenue and cash-flow projections, sensitivity and scenario analysis, and key indicators such as IRR, NPV and DSCR), based on the technical inputs provided by the sectoral experts and on a common cost assumption register, maintained jointly with them, documenting for each major capex/opex item its source, unit basis, sizing logic, date, geographic adjustment, contingency, uncertainty range and sensitivity case. o Activity 2.2: Design capital structure and financing options for each project, grant, concessional and commercial mixes, blended finance structures, guarantees and other de-risking instruments, PPP and SPV arrangements, local currency solutions, and potential carbon revenue streams under the Carbon Market Activation Policy and Article 6, with clear risk allocation matrices. o Activity 2.3: Peer-review cost and revenue assumptions with the sectoral experts and support the validation of the models and structuring options with the NCCC, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and other government counterparts. Result 3: Investor-ready documentation, investor engagement and capacity transfer o Activity 3.1: Prepare investor-facing documentation for each prioritized project (investment teasers and/or investment memoranda, presenting for each project its objectives and link to NDC 3.0 targets, expected outcomes, capital needs, proposed financing structure, risk assessment and return profile, and implementation milestones), using a standardized project template, and a financier mapping matching each project to suitable financiers, instruments and project preparation facilities. o Activity 3.2: Prepare the technical content for, and support, investor roundtable(s) and bilateral engagements convened under the project with MDBs, DFIs, climate funds, domestic financial institutions and private investors, document feedback and revise the investor-ready materials accordingly. o Activity 3.3: Deliver working session(s) transferring the financial models and methodologies to the NCCC, the Federal Ministry of Finance and relevant MDAs, including reusable model templates and methodological guides enabling counterparts to update and replicate the analysis, and prepare a final consolidated report with a financing roadmap and recommendations feeding into the NDC Investment Plan process, including a monitoring and update framework for the roadmap and recommendations for its public signposting (e.g. in the NDC Investment Plan, the Biennial Transparency Report and NDC Partnership platforms) to enhance visibility to investors and development partners. Expected deliverables: o 1.a Inception detailed report with methodology (including the common cost assumption register template), detailed work plan and financial macro assessment for the two sectors. o 1.b Financing landscape and key instruments mapping for the agriculture and transport sectors, with sector financing needs and gap assessment, financing pathway to 2035 and enabling-environment review, with technical and policy note annexes. o 1.c Investability screening inputs of the full portfolio of projects and the pipeline of prioritized projects (jointly with the sector experts: agriculture and transport). o 2.a Draft financial models for the short-listed priority projects in both sectors. o 2.b Completed and detailed financial models for priority projects. o 2.c Financing structuring and de-risking options with risk allocation matrices, validated with government counterparts. o 3.a Investment memoranda and financier mapping for all prioritized projects. o 3.b Final consolidated report bringing together: (i) a cumulative investor engagement report documenting the market dynamics, bilateral engagements and investor roundtable(s) conducted throughout the assignment, from inception to closure; (ii) the final investor-ready package (teasers/memoranda and financier mapping) reflecting cumulative investor feedback; (iii) a synthesis of the capacity-building sessions embedded in each phase of the assignment, together with the associated training materials and methodological guides handed over to national counterparts; and (iv) a financing roadmap for the two priority sectors feeding into the NDC Investment Plan process. Specific tasks and responsibilities See above. Across all tasks, the consultant will:

Provide financial engineering, structuring and modelling expertise across the agriculture and transport pipelines, ensuring methodological coherence with the NZIP’s climate finance strategy and other key financing and investment frameworks in the country.
Lead the financing landscape and instruments mapping and contribute to the investability dimension to the pipeline screening and prioritisation.
Build transparent, auditable and detailed financial models and design capital structures, blended finance and de-risking options for each prioritised project, based on the technical inputs of the sector experts.
Prepare investor-facing documentation (investment memoranda, financier mapping, and other technical content as appropriate) and support investor engagement with MDBs, DFIs, climate funds, domestic financial institutions and private investors.
Validate assumptions, models and structuring options with the NCCC, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and other counterparts and transfer the models and methodologies to national institutions.
Mainstream gender equality, social inclusion and just transition considerations into the proposed financing structures (e.g. inclusive financing windows for women-led enterprises, smallholders and MSMEs).
Coordinate and consolidate the technical inputs of the two sector experts (project data, cost and revenue assumptions, technical parameters) into the financial models, structuring options and investor-ready package, organising regular team working sessions and a common workplan and templates (including a shared cost assumption register), and coordinate with the NDC Partnership in-country facilitation to align with other financing initiatives and avoid duplication. Key Competencies o Excellent command of financial modelling, investment appraisal, risk analysis and structuring methodologies, with the ability to build transparent, auditable models usable by national counterparts. o Strong analytical and drafting skills, with proven ability to produce investment-grade documents for government endorsement and investor audiences. o Ability to design and facilitate technical working sessions and investor engagements, transferring knowledge to government counterparts. o Solid capacity to deliver multi-output assignments in a team setting, working hand-in-hand with sector specialists. o Rigour, ability to work under pressure, and strict respect of deadlines. o Advanced proficiency in Excel-based financial modelling; proficiency in MS Office and data visualization tools.

Qualifications/special skills

o An advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in finance, economics, business administration, engineering combined with finance, or a related field is required. A professional qualification such as CFA is an asset. o At least twelve (12) years of experience in project finance, infrastructure or climate finance, investment banking, development finance or transaction advisory, including in emerging markets. o Demonstrated track record building project-level financial models (capex/opex, revenue and cash-flow projections, sensitivity and scenario analysis, IRR/NPV/DSCR) and structuring transactions across the capital stack, including blended finance, guarantees and first-loss structures, concessional and commercial debt, equity, PPP/SPV arrangements and local currency solutions. o Strong working knowledge of climate finance sources and instruments, including GCF, GEF, Adaptation Fund, multilateral development banks and DFIs, bilateral donors, green and sustainability bonds, carbon markets and Article 6 mechanisms, and de-risking and foreign exchange mitigation instruments. o Proven experience preparing investor-facing documentation (investment memoranda, pitch materials) and engaging MDBs, DFIs, climate funds, institutional investors, commercial banks and private investors. o Experience in the agriculture/agribusiness and/or transport/e-mobility sectors is a strong asset, familiarity with Nigeria’s financial sector and climate finance landscape (e.g. sovereign green bonds, NIRSAL, local-currency guarantees, pension funds) and prior work in Nigeria or Sub-Saharan Africa are highly desirable. o Familiarity with international good practice on NDC financing and investment strategies and climate project pipeline development (e.g. NDC Partnership, OECD/UNDP and MDB guidance) is an asset. o Experience in designing gender-responsive and inclusive financing approaches, including for women-led enterprises, smallholders and MSMEs, is an advantage.

Languages

o Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory.

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.

Financial Engineering, Structuring and Modelling Expert – Nigeria’s NDC 3.0 Investment Pipeline