Biodiversity Investment Facility (BIF) Analyst

As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas; sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, and climate and disaster resilience. UNDP’s mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change, and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

The Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) is a global UNDP-led initiative supporting countries to identify and implement finance solutions that seek to close the biodiversity finance gaps. In South África, BIOFIN has developed a biodiversity finance plan and is implementing prioritized finance solutions to mobilize resources for conservation. The Nature Climate and Energy (NCE) Unit leads UNDP’s work on biodiversity, climate, sustainable finance, and environmental management, aligning with national priorities, the Paris Agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the UNCCD 2018–2030 Strategic Framework, and the Sustainable Development Goals. BIOFIN operates in a complex multistakeholder environment, requiring alignment across government, private sector, civil society, and academia. Engaging the private sector in biodiversity finance is relatively new in South África and demands innovative approaches and capacity building, including innovative and blended finance mechanisms to de-risk investments in nature-positive outcomes.
As part of the finance solutions for South Africa, BIOFIN is providing technical support to the Development Bank of Southern África (DBSA) in establishing a Biodiversity Investment Facility (BIF) as a blended finance platform to mobilize and deploy capital at scale for biodiversity, climate-resilient, and nature-based investments across South África and the broader African region.
The Facility is designed to:
- Safeguard ecological infrastructure underpinning DBSA-financed assets
- Address nature-related and climate-related risks (e.g. water insecurity, land degradation)
- Unlock private sector investment into biodiversity and nature-based solutions
- Advance DBSA’s commitments under its Net Zero Statement and Just Transition Framework

The objective of this assignment is to provide technical, financial, and programme management support to the DBSA Climate and Nature Finance team in the design, operationalization, fundraising, and implementation of the Biodiversity Investment Facility. For this purpose, BIOFIN is looking for an expert to be seconded to DBSA and contribute to the development, scaling and implementation of the new facility.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the United Nations Development Programme Biodiversity Finance Initiative (UNDP BIOFIN), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) or their designated mandated representatives, the United Nations Volunteer (UNV) will support:

1. Facility Design and Structuring
• Support refinement of the Biodiversity Investment Facility (BIF) structure and financial instruments;
• Develop investment criteria and governance frameworks;

2. Pipeline Development and Project Preparation
• Identify and develop a pipeline of biodiversity projects;
• Support feasibility and financial modelling;

3. Fundraising and Resource Mobilisation
• Prepare funding proposals and investor materials;
• Engage donors and development partners (Global Environment Facility (GEF), bilateral donor funding, etc.);

4. Programme Management and Implementation
• Track implementation progress and key performance indicators (KPIs);
• Coordinate stakeholders;
• Maintain regular communication with the UNDP BIOFIN team;

5. Knowledge Management
• Develop thought leadership and reports;
Results/expected outputs:
• As an active UNDP team member, provide efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support to UNDP, DBSA, and their beneficiaries in accomplishing assigned functions, including:
• BIF implementation plan;
• Project pipeline sourcing;
• Funding proposals;
• Quarterly reports;
• Bi-annual progress reports to BIOFIN