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

## Public and Digital Investment Specialist (Open to all applicants)., Rome, Italy - Organization:UNDP - United Nations Development Programme - Office:UNDP in Rome, Italy 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 is the United Nations' lead agency on international development. We support countries and communities as they work to eradicate poverty, implement the Paris Agreement on climate change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We advocate for transformative change, and we connect countries to the resources they need to help people build a better life. Additionally, UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. The UNDP Rome Centre for Climate and Energy (the “UNDP Rome Centre”) is the key platform for the strategic engagement between UNDP and the Italian Government. It focuses on the critical policy areas of climate finance, youth engagement in climate action, and energy for development. These objectives are pursued through the effective implementation of its four main programmes: - PISTA (Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance) PISTA, the Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance, aims to mobilise finance for climate, energy and the environment. Specifically, PISTA aims to support projects that contribute to the decarbonization efforts of developing economies and to their transition to climate-resilient economies, and it aims to catalyse international financial resources toward these initiatives. Matching impactful projects with investors and capital providers goes hand in hand with the engagement with financial institutions - both institutional and private - at Italian and global level. In its current portfolio, PISTA is supporting 24 projects across Africa, to which it is providing technical assistance with the goal of strengthening their bankability - from developing financial models, to enhancing environmental and social impact management, to more ad hoc project supportYouth4Climate promotes youth engagement in climate action, contributing to SDG13. Youth4Climate supports the implementation of youth-led and youth-inclusive solutions to environmental and climate challenges, both financially and through capacity development. It also gives young people around the world who are committed to fighting climate change a platform to engage with policymakers and global leaders. Energy For Growth (“E4G”) aims to promote access to sustainable energy in developing countries, contributing to SDG7. The goal of the initiative is to assist partner countries in unlocking finance to scale up the diffusion of clean energy solutions, increase access to energy and boost the energy transition. E4G aims to foster the mobilization of public and private capital toward projects aligned with the international policy agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It does so by connecting UNDP's capacity and connections in emerging economies and developing countries with the public-private ecosystem of Italy and other G7 countries, in the crucial sector of energy. The Italy-Africa Digital Flagship is a key initiative under the Italian Mattei Plan, implemented by the UNDP Rome Centre under its Strategic Initiatives portfolio, it is delivered in close partnership with national governments, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Italian public and private sector partners. It focuses on advancing digital public infrastructure, digital identity systems, agritech solutions, and data-driven governance, contributing to sustainable development and inclusive economic growth. Duties and Responsibilities 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. A. Investment Structuring and Bankability Advisory - Contribute to quality-assure the structuring of the two investment packages so that they are suitable for appraisal, financing and implementation, in line with the project's objective of producing executive feasibility studies and investment-ready project documents. - Support the definition of a clear and financeable investment perimeter for: (i) the integrated climate-resilient agriculture and smart irrigation package; and (ii) the AI and Data Innovation Hub. - Ensure that technical proposals are translated into coherent investment packages with clear CAPEX/OPEX assumptions, implementation sequencing, institutional responsibilities, and financing pathways. - Assess the bankability of proposed investments, identify critical gaps, and recommend measures to strengthen technical credibility, revenue logic where applicable, affordability, public value, sustainability, and implementation fea