United Nations Environment Programme is looking for a Principles for Responsible Banking Review Expert (Contract)

Organization: United Nations Environment Programme

Location: GENEVA

Level: CON - CON

Job Family: ENV

Application Deadline: 06 March 2026 at 04:59 UTC

Job Opening Number: 26-United Nations Environment Programme-272726-Consultant

Apply via: UN Inspira Portal

Result of Service

The consultant will assess banks' progress in implementing the Principles for Responsible Banking and provide structured, individualized feedback through annual meetings and written reports. The consultant will contribute to consolidated data and insights for collective progress reporting, identify cases requiring governance escalation, and highlight emerging trends and good practices to strengthen peer learning and sustainable banking capacity within UNEP FI.

Work Location

Working remotely / Home-based

Expected duration

8 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

The overall objective of the UNEP's Industry and Economy Division is to encourage decision makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. It promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision making and the building of corresponding activities.

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is the strategic partnership between the United Nations and over 500 banks, insurers and investors. For over 32 years UNEP FI has been shaping and driving the international sustainable finance agenda, setting global standards and growing a global network of leading financial institutions. Through its work-streams and regional activities, peer learning, methodology development, training and research, UNEP FI promotes sustainable finance and helps the financial industry align with and contribute to the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

To ensure the effective implementation of the Principles for Responsible Banking, the Banking Board approved accountability mechanisms. The Review team is responsible for designing and executing them. That includes the individual as well as the collective review process. It includes an annual review, feedback & review meeting (mostly virtual) between the UNEP FI Secretariat and each Signatory Bank, following the Signatory Bank's annual reporting. In addition to ensuring each bank is making progress at an adequate speed and providing feedback and support, the outcomes and learnings from these meetings will feed into 3 of 9 the broader peer learning and support structure all banks benefit from, as well as the biennial collective progress report the community of Signatories has agreed to publish through UNEP FI.

The Review team also prepares cases of banks not in line with their commitments for the governance process.

The Review Team compiles and shares the data it gathers from the reviews in ways that enable the other teams to make good use of the data, both for informing our guidance and support work and effectively managing the membership.

The Review Team works closely with regional coordinators during the individual review process and draws on subject-matter expertise within the Banking Team and the UNEP FI team to provide targeted support to banks. UNEP FI is thus looking for a Review Expert to support this feedback & review process.

Specific tasks and responsibilities would include:

• Assess banks' progress and shortcomings in implementing the PRB and deliver structured feedback. The individual annual feedback is composed of a meeting (mostly virtual) once a year and a written report. Meetings will ideally be held with UNEP FI's respective regional teams, with whom the Review Expert is expected to collaborate closely. After the meeting, the Review Expert prepares and sends an individualized report to the bank to support their internal discussions.
• Input the assessment results in a central database that is used to consolidate the status of collective implementation, follow up on banks' progress and provide data for analysis, reports, dashboards, and the biennial progress report.
• Based on your review and in coordination with the Banking Team Lead, identify cases where banks need to take additional action to be in line with their commitments. Where shortcomings are not addressed adequately, in coordination with the Banking Team Lead refer the case to UNEP FI's banking governance body.
• Identify case studies and good practices to feed into the systematic peer learning program and communications implemented by another part of UNEP FI's Banking Team.
• Share your knowledge and experience and help develop sustainable banking expertise within UNEP FI.

Specific tasks and responsibilities:

The consultant will:

• Deliver high-quality individual assessments of PRB Signatory Banks' implementation of the Principles for Responsible Banking, identifying both progress and areas for improvement. Each assessment will 9 of 9 include an annual feedback meeting (mostly virtual) and a written, tailored report to support the bank's internal discussions and action planning.
• Collaborate closely with UNEP FI's regional coordinators to deliver feedback meetings and ensure regional relevance and coherence. Prepare individualized written reports following each meeting to guide banks in strengthening alignment with the principles.
• Input all review results and key findings into UNEP FI's central database to contribute to the monitoring of collective implementation progress and to provide validated data for the biennial PRB Collective Progress Report.
• In coordination with the Review Team Lead, identify banks requiring additional action to meet their PRB commitments. Where shortcomings persist, ensure referral to UNEP FI's banking governance body in accordance with established procedures.
• Capture and share examples of good practice and case studies to inform UNEP FI's peer learning and knowledge-sharing activities, helping to build sustainable banking expertise across the initiative.
• Contribute to quality assurance by reviewing and validating feedback outputs to ensure accuracy, tone, and consistency with UNEP FI guidance. Participate in calibration sessions to promote a harmonized approach among reviewers.
• Propose and support the implementation of process improvements to enhance the efficiency, consistency, and quality of the Individual Feedback and Review Process, including updates to templates and methodologies.

The consultant shall be under the overall supervision of the Head of UNEP FI and report directly to the Review Team Lead, UNEP FI and the consultant will be working in close coordination with the Banking Team Co-Lead, UNEP FI.

Qualifications/special skills

Education: A master's degree in economics, finance, environment, international relations, social sciences, development or a related field is required. A bachelor's degree could be taken in lieu of master's degree provided the selected candidate has 9 years of relevant experience.

Minimum 7 years of experience in sustainable banking or related field, preferably in a bank is required. Acquainted with and directly involved in implementing international sustainable banking best practices and standards is required. Ideally, previous experience in advisory/consulting roles is required. Experience in reporting to C-level executives and/or Boards in Financial Institutions is an asset.

Languages

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required and fluency in oral and written Spanish is highly desirable.

Additional Information

Skills & Knowledge:

• Experience and expertise in sustainable banking to be viewed as a credible expert by the banks whose progress he/she will review and provide feedback and support. Thus, a minimum of 7 years of experience in sustainable banking or a related field. Well acquainted with and have been directly involved in implementing international sustainable banking best practices and standards.
• Collaboration skills with team members and external partners to achieve the agreed goals. Ability to quickly gain and then maintain people's trust. Team player, have an interest in and derive joy from collaborating with others. As such, he/she also enjoys sharing knowledge and expertise and helping colleagues develop.
• Ability to quickly understand, synthesise and analyse substantial amounts of information. The successful candidate delivers consistently high quality within agreed timeframes. He/she follows through on commitments towards others, especially towards your constituency/clients. He/she can adapt your behavior and style of communication to different cultural contexts. He/she is fluent in English, as this is UNEP FI's working language. Beyond English, fluency in other languages, especially in Spanish or other official UN languages, is highly desirable.
• The tasks he/she will be responsible for in this role are the basis for ensuring all Principles for Responsible Banking Signatories are in line with their commitments. That support is provided and processes set in motion where this is not the case. This role is thus crucial for the legitimacy and credibility of the Principles, their signatories and ultimately UNEP FI. Consequently, as the successful applicant he/she must have demonstrated integrity throughout his/her career.
• He/she is motivated and driven by the purpose the team/organization is working towards and the impacts we are trying to achieve. When deciding to apply for this position, please consider that the remuneration and benefits for this position will be lower than what would be offered in the financial industry for a position requiring similar qualifications and experience.

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