Tiered Approach
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.
Background
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Mongolia Country Office supports the Government of Mongolia in achieving sustainable development outcomes in line with national priorities and the UNDP Country Programme. UNDP Mongolia places particular emphasis on integrated approaches to climate action, environmental sustainability, and inclusive governance. Within this framework, UNDP implements the Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Management of Natural Ecosystems Portfolio, which aims to strengthen climate resilience, promote low-emission development pathways, improve ecosystem management, and enhance institutional, policy, and financing mechanisms at national and subnational levels.
The Green and Inclusive Cities in Mongolia Project is a new national initiative implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) with technical and implementation support from UNDP, with the overall goal to support the transition toward integrated, inclusive, low-carbon, and climate-resilient urban development by strengthening urban planning and governance systems, improving cross-sectoral coordination, advancing results-based green budgeting and public finance, piloting inclusive and climate-responsive urban solutions, and enhancing institutional and human capacities at national and municipal levels. The project addresses critical environmental, social, and climate-related challenges arising from rapid urbanization and is implemented in Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Erdenet cities.
A central pillar of the project is transforming how cities plan, finance, and deliver development — strengthening municipal financial management and expanding access to innovative financing instruments such as blended finance, public–private partnerships (PPPs), and green municipal bonds to mobilize capital for low-carbon heating, clean transportation, flood protection, energy-efficient buildings, sustainable mobility, and ecological restoration. Against this background, the Green Finance Expert will lead the design and roll-out of innovative and sustainable financing solutions and strengthen the capacity of national and municipal institutions and development finance partners to structure, raise, and manage such finance.
The project is implemented through a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) under the oversight of a Project National Coordinator and in close coordination with national government and municipal counterparts.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Green Finance Analyst shall report to the National Project Manager (NPM). The incumbent shall work in close collaboration with the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) staff and the Consultants’ Team of the project, and in collaboration with UNDP’s sustainable-finance projects and teams. He/she is expected to liaise, interact, and coordination with other relevant stakeholders at the national and local level, including the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC), Ministry of Economy Development, Ministry of Finance, the UNDP Country Office, development banks and financial-sector partners, and the municipal authorities of Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Erdenet cities.
Scope of Work
Under the overall guidance of the National Project Manager (NPM), the Green Finance Analyst is responsible for developing and operationalizing green, urban, and innovative financing solutions for the project and its target cities. Specifically, the incumbent will:
Design and structure innovative financing solutions for green and inclusive urban development:
- Design, structure, and pilot innovative financing instruments — including green municipal bonds, blended finance vehicles, results-based/performance-based financing, guarantees, and de-risking mechanisms — for green urban infrastructure and services;
- Conduct financial feasibility, structuring, and de-risking analyses for priority green investments (e.g., low-carbon heating, clean transportation, flood protection, energy efficiency, and ecological restoration, agroforestry, organic food supply-chain), including cash-flow modelling, bankability assessment, and identification of revenue and repayment streams;
- Conduct risk, scenario, and stress-testing analysis of financing structures - including macro-fiscal and debt-sustainability considerations - and propose appropriate risk-mitigation and risk-sharing arrangements;
- Develop green urban investment pipelines and financing roadmaps for Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Erdenet, prioritizing projects against climate, biodiversity, social-inclusion, and financial criteria;
- Advise on the enabling policy, regulatory, and market conditions required to deploy green and innovative financing instruments at the municipal level;
- Pilot a green and inclusive municipal tax reform in Darkhan, including green levies or modified taxes with affordability and distributional safeguards for low-income households;
- Support the establishment or strengthening of a city/aimag sustainable development fund or investment corporation in Darkhan and Erdenet, with transparent governance, fiduciary controls, and a bankable project pipeline;
- Prepare an Ulaanbaatar Green Municipal Bond feasibility study and issuance roadmap - covering revenue streams, investor demand, legal readiness, and regulatory compliance - extendable to Darkhan and Erdenet as the legal framework allows;
- Support PPP structuring and revenue-earning service models in priority sectors (food-safety labs, water systems, waste logistics, park operations), using blended-finance models that combine public funds, concessional loans, and risk-sharing instruments;
- In coordination with the Renewable Energy Expert, design and test tailored financial instruments (interest-rate buy-downs, green mortgages, results-based subsidies, credit guarantees, and PPP frameworks) to scale up low-emission energy investments, with affordability and gender-responsive access assessments.
Strengthen municipal public financial management (PFM) and own-source revenue:
- Assess municipal PFM systems (planning, budgeting, execution, revenue administration, accounting, and reporting) and identify entry points to integrate climate, green, and biodiversity considerations, including results-based green budgeting and green budget tagging;
- Support the strengthening and diversification of municipal own-source revenue, including land- and property-based instruments, user charges and tariffs, and land-value capture, to improve creditworthiness and fiscal space for green investment;
- Advise on aligning municipal capital investment planning and budgeting with green and climate priorities and integrating financing strategies into cities’ medium-term fiscal frameworks and urban development plans;
- Support the development of municipal creditworthiness and financial-sustainability improvement plans as a basis for accessing market-based and development finance;
- Implement green and climate-supportive Medium-Term Budget Frameworks and results-based green budgeting in the three cities, linking Green City indicators to planning, expenditure tagging, IFMIS, and INFF;
- Develop and apply an Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) framework for the biodiversity, climate, environmental, and social co-benefits of municipal investments, to support access to green finance and green bonds;
- Support public financial management reform enabling blended finance and inclusive oversight, aligned with decentralization;
- Strengthen institutional capacity for carbon finance (e.g., Verra, Gold Standard, MRV) and expand urban carbon-market readiness.
Engage development banks and mobilize institutional engagement:
- Engage national and international development banks, development finance institutions (DFIs), climate funds, and other institutional financiers to identify and structure co-financing and lending opportunities for green urban projects;
- Advise on the design or strengthening of financing vehicles and intermediation arrangements (e.g., project preparation facilities, on-lending, and credit-enhancement structures) that channel development finance to municipal and green urban investments;
- Assess the eligibility, appraisal, and safeguard requirements of relevant development banks and climate funds, and support the preparation of project concepts and applications that meet these standards;
- Facilitate technical dialogue between municipalities, MECC, and development finance partners to align pipelines, instruments, and timelines.
Build financing-sector partnerships and private-sector engagement:
- Map and engage financial-sector stakeholders — commercial banks, the central bank and financial regulators, capital-market institutions, institutional investors, insurers, and green/sustainable finance associations — to build partnerships for green urban finance;
- Support the design of public–private partnerships (PPPs) and private-sector engagement models for green urban infrastructure and services, including risk-sharing and revenue arrangements;
- Promote the uptake of sustainable-finance standards, taxonomies, and disclosure practices (e.g., green bond frameworks, second-party opinions, use-of-proceeds and impact reporting) among partner institutions;
- Organize and facilitate roundtables, investor dialogues, and matchmaking events connecting municipalities and project sponsors with prospective financiers.
Lead resource mobilization and fundraising:
- Develop and implement a resource-mobilization strategy to raise public, private, philanthropic, and blended capital for the project’s green and inclusive urban investments;
- Prepare high-quality investment cases, pitch materials, concept notes, and funding proposals for submission to donors, climate funds, development banks, and private investors;
- Identify and track funding opportunities and calls, and coordinate the preparation and timely submission of competitive applications;
- Establish systems to monitor, report, and communicate financing results, including capital mobilized (public, private, and co-financing leverage ratios) and associated climate, environmental, and social outcomes.
Provide capacity building, knowledge management, and cross-cutting support:
- Build the capacity of national and municipal officials and financial-sector counterparts through training, coaching, tools, and guidance notes on green and urban finance;
- Ensure that financing solutions are gender-responsive and socially inclusive, delivering equitable benefits to vulnerable groups, including residents of Ger areas;
- Capture and disseminate lessons learned and develop transferable, replicable financing models and knowledge products for cold-climate, rapidly urbanizing contexts;
- Support the preparation and publication of the annual Green City assessment report for the three cities, consolidating M&E results, budget analysis, and financing progress for citizens, donors, and investors;
- Ensure all technical reports, equipment, deliverables and any other products or specific terms of references that are produced or purchased by the project are at highest appropriate quality;
- Facilitate access of UNDP technical teams as per their oversight role to any technical products and deliverables of key activities both in terms of ad hoc requests and standard procedures.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Competencies
Core Competencies:
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Business Development
- Knowledge Facilitation: Ability to animate individuals and groups, internally and externally, and to design and facilitate activities, to share and exchange knowledge, information and ideas. Knowledge of tools and approaches to stimulate active participation, contribution, and exchange.
Business Management
- Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making
- Partnerships Management: Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies
- Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
- Resource Management: Allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with business needs and priorities and principles of accountability and integrity
2030 Agenda:
- People: Gender- Gender and Environment
- Partnerships: SDG Finance -Public Finance for the SDGs
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Finance, Economics, Public Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Development Finance, Environmental Economics, or a related field is required; OR
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above fields, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- Applicants with a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience.
- Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in public, green and/or sustainable finance, including demonstrated prior experience in comparable assignments involving development finance, public financial management, banking, or investment structuring, is required.
Required Skills:
- Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.
Desired Skills:
- Substantive expertise in fund/asset management and green financing, with direct exposure to municipal and local government finance and to development banks, DFIs (development finance institutions);
- Proven ability to lead the design or structuring of innovative and sustainable financing instruments (green loans, green bonds, blended finance, PPPs, or results-based finance);
- Proven ability to independently build economic analysis, financial modelling, feasibility and bankability analysis, and project cash-flow forecasting.
Required Language(s):
- Fluency in English and Mongolian is required.
Professional Certificates:
- Relevant certification in sustainable/green finance, financial analysis (e.g., CFA), or climate and renewable energy finance is an asset.
Equal opportunity
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.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
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.
Right to select multiple candidates
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.
Use of AI by candidates
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