Consultant to Support Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) in Fiji, New York, United States

## Consultant to Support Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) in Fiji, New York, United States - Organization:DESA - Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Office:DESA New York, USA The ultimate result of this service is to advise Fiji to develop and execute a financing strategy that aligns with its sustainable development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through tailored technical assistance and country-specific advice, the consultant will assist Fiji in building its capacities related to Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs). This will involve leveraging INFF guidance materials provided by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF), as well as drawing insights from relevant analytical work conducted by development partners in the field of financing for development. Additionally, the consultant will benefit from technical support on INFFs from UNDESA/FSDO as part of the mentorship component. Duties and Responsibilities In the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), Member States recognized that “cohesive nationally owned sustainable development strategies, supported by integrated national financing frameworks, will be at the heart of our efforts” to implement the 2030 Agenda. This commitment was carried forward through subsequent Financing for Development follow-up processes, including the 2018 FfD Forum, where Member States emphasized the need to translate national financing frameworks into investable projects and pipelines. Most recently, in the 2025 Sevilla Commitment, Member States reinforced this approach by committing to develop and strengthen country-led and nationally owned sustainable development strategies, supported by INFFs, including through scaled-up technical assistance and capacity-building. In 2019, 16 countries committed to pioneering the INFF approach, and by 2025 Governments in over 80 countries were taking steps to develop and operationalize INFFs. INFFs provide a comprehensive framework and roadmap for countries to implement the SDGs and operationalize the AAAA at the country level. INFFs map the landscape for financing sustainable development (including all financial and non-financial means of implementation of the AAAA) and lay out a country’s financing strategy to implement targeted policies and reforms in order to reach the SDGs. INFFs can help national authorities identify, mobilize, and align financing and other means of implementation to meet national sustainable development priorities and the SDGs. As widely recognised in international agreements1, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face particular challenges for financing sustainable development, which undermine their sustainable development gains and their progress towards the SDGs. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the heightened economic insecurity triggered by the war in Ukraine have affected SIDS disproportionately, undermining their ability to respond and recover. In this context, it is imperative that SIDS develop and implement financing strategies that can support their recovery and ensure their resilience. As they seek to recover from the multiple crises and build back better, INFFs can help support financing strategies for SIDS to achieve national sustainable development priorities and the SDGs, including gaps identified by the Voluntary National Report (VNR). UNDESA designed a capacity development project to support INFF design and implementation in four selected SIDS -two in Africa, one in the Caribbean, and one in Asia-Pacific- with targeted technical assistance. The project, currently funded by the Government of Italy, is part of the broader Financing for SIDS Initiative (FINS Initiative) jointly developed by the Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) and the SIDS Unit of Division for the Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) at UNDESA and has a national component and a peer learning component. The key features of the national component of the project are: (i) the deployment of country-based integrated experts (“embedded experts”); and (ii) a mentorship program. As partner government departments in many SIDS have strained technical capacity and high turnover, the in-country support is critical to ensure knowledge transfer and sustainability. The embedded experts, who will be selected based on their financing expertise, will work directly in the country of assignment to support local structures and processes. FSDO will ensure technical backstopping and accompanied coaching via a mentorship program. The country mentor(s) (a role taken on by FSDO/UNDESA) will undertake regular check-ins with the embedded experts and their government focal persons to establish and probe progress made, challenges and lessons, and next steps. Complementary to these efforts, online capacity development products will be leveraged to scale up in country technical assistance. In the spirit of INFFs, the technical assistance to be provided under the project has been designed to be flexible and responsive to the needs of the target SIDS governments. It may be comprehensive, covering all sectors and relevant sources of financing for their national priorities, including consideration of the range of governance reforms needed; or it may focus on a specific sector of interest to the government, e.g., domestic resource mobilization, climate and disaster risk reduction finance, social protection, and/or infrastructure financing. The key principle is to ensure an integrated approach to addressing the focus area of selection. As for the peer learning component of the project, UNDESA will encourage and co-facilitate information transfer and peer learning among SIDS on INFF implementation good practices and lessons learned, through regional and thematic meetings and workshops. This component will benefit from the support and close collaboration within UNDESA, which will provide the unique global, regional, and subregional SIDS perspective regarding common areas of concern, challenges, needs, priorities and possible solutions shared by SIDS. UNDESA’s technical support will be complementary to the in-country support provided by UNDP and other development partners and falls within the programmatic work of the INFF Facility that was launched in April 2022 by UNDESA, UNDP, the OECD, the European Union and the Governments of Italy and Sweden in response to the increased demand for support on INFFs. The Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) of UNDESA is currently seeking the services of a consultant to support the INFF capacity-building activities to be carried out under the project, as embedded expert in Fiji. The consultant will work at the Ministry of Strategic Planning, National Development & Statistics of Fiji (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry). The consultant will be based in Fiji and will report to UNDESA/FSDO through the Policy Analysis and Development Branch (PADB) staff designated as his/her Supervisor. The objective of this assignment is to provide embedded technical support to the Ministry of Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics of Fiji in advancing the Financing Strategy under the INFF process, in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) 2025–2029 and Vision 2050, the Ministry’s 5-year Implementation Booklets (IBs) which guide the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and the national budget, and the preparatory framework for the forthcoming NDP mid-term review. The consultant will support the Ministry in reviewing and refining the draft Financing Strategy, identifying financing gaps, mapping potential financing options and partner engagement opportunities, and strengthening the institutional and coordination arrangements needed to support implementation. The consultant will work in coordination with the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) of the Fiji and in close collaboration with other UNDESA divisions, other relevant parts of the UN system, includ