Investment Specialist

The UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (UNCDF) in USA from Americas region had released this tender for Request for proposals are invited for Investment Specialist Deadline: 05-Apr-2023 00:00 (GMT -3.00) Atlantic Time (Canada), Caracas, La Paz BACKGROUND Launched in September 2020, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), is a finance instrument that blends private and public funding to support businesses and finance mechanisms that improve the health and sustainability of coral reefs and associated ecosystems while empowering local communities and enterprises. The GFCR currently consists of a Grant Fund managed by the United Nations and an Investment Fund, managed by Pegasus Capital Advisors (PCA), that operate under a single Theory of Change of Protect, Transform, Restore and Recover. The GFCR Grant Fund is administratively hosted by the UN Multi Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) and is supported by the GFCR UN Global Team (UNGT). The UN Global Team (UNGT) is an independent structure under the Global Fund for Coral Reefs Executive Board and manages the day-to-day activities and operations of the Grant Fund. While hosted within the MPTFO, the Global Team collaborates closely with relevant focal points of the Participating UN Organizations (UNDP, UNEP, UNCDF) and the Investment Fund asset management team. The UNGT has management, technical, and operational expertise, and one of its primary roles is to develop the Fund investment plans and manage approval of Grant Fund programme proposals in accordance with financial decisions made by the GFCR Executive Board and in collaboration with the Investment Fund partners. The Global Team guarantees that successful innovative blended finance solutions are developed in accordance with agreed-upon objectives and criteria specified in the Terms of Reference and criteria specified in the Standard Operations Manual. The GFCR Grant Fund supports programmes designed by lead implementing agents called Convening Agents to bring together a coalition of diverse partners to identify and incubate sustainable revenue generating businesses and financial instruments that mitigate local drivers of coral reef degradation and provide alternative livelihood opportunities for reef-associated communities. Within these programmes there are Technical Assistance Facilities (TAFs) and incubators to identify and incubate coral-positive businesses. In addition, the GFCR Investment Fund aims to invest primarily in equity of businesses to catalyse their adoption of the GFCR Investment Principles to ensure delivery on coral reef impact, outcomes of the Theory of Change, adherence to social and environmental safeguards, equal opportunity across gender and indigenous groups, and mitigate risk. The Investment Fund targets three sectors: (i) Sustainable ocean production; (2) Eco-tourism; (3) Circular economy and pollution management. For each deal of the Investment Fund, it is imperative that these anchor investments are designed using the principles of ecosystem-based management to build on the ecosystem of solutions within and around a particular investment to address multiple drivers of coral reef degradation and ensure benefits are shared among a wide array of local stakeholders. To support both Grant Fund programmes and the Investment Fund in delivering impactful solutions, the Blue Bridge service managed by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) supports the nascent blue economy pipeline of businesses across the investment spectrum. The Blue Bridge service supports Convening Agent programmes through two main functions: (1) Providing concessional capital in the form of recoverable grants, concessional loans, guarantees, etc.; (2) Resources for technical assistance to strengthen the capacity to develop viable business models from early-stage concepts, investment-readiness and in some cases post-investment technical assistance. SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED WORK Working on a daily basis with the Programme Analyst, in collaboration with UNCFD´s Blue Bridge Team and with overall reporting to the Deputy Head of the GFCR Grant Fund, the Investment Specialist will perform the following tasks: Engages with GFCR Convening Agents, Blue Bridge, the GFCR Investment Fund, to assess capacity gaps and develop strategic solutions through the design of a pipeline of reef-positive businesses that adhere to the GFCR Investment Principles to ensure delivery of coral reef positive impacts, outcomes of the Theory of Change, adherence to social and environmental safeguards, equal opportunity across gender and indigenous groups, and mitigate risk. Conducts reviews of the investment case in the programme proposals (and concept notes as needed). Conducts assessments of technical assistance needs for individual projects and identifies gaps in expertise or geographic coverage to provide technical assistance. Provides recommendations on how those gaps can be addressed through technical assistance providers. Assesses the pipeline of solutions of the Investment Fund to identify impact, safeguard, risks deficiencies and provide recommendation on increasing efficiencies and connectivity with other solutions, sources of financing, and communities. This includes recommendations on the configuration and roles of Technical Assistance Facilities (TAFs); As needed, conducts field missions to assess needs, identify gaps and provide recommendations for the GFCR pipeline to adhere to the GFCR Investment Principles, safeguards, gender policy, Theory of Change, etc. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE Academic Qualifications: Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in finance, sustainable development, business development, and/or other relevant field or Bachelor’s degree with additional two (2) years of experience in lieu of Master’s Degree. Experience: Minimum ten (10) years working in impact-driven business development, private equity, financial structuring or investments in diverse geographies including LDCs or SIDs; At least two (2) years working in the development context of coral reef countries; Minimum five (5) years in advising or deploying technical assistance to businesses to achieve impact objectives; At least four (4) years’ experience in the field of blended finance; Experience with the Blue Economy and blended finance approach is preferred. Languages: Fluent in written and spoken English. Working knowledge of another UN language (French and/or Spanish) is considered an asset. with tender notice no. 111782 published on 24 Mar 2023. The tender expired on 05 Apr 2023. This tender is sourced from Official Website and is eligible for suppliers interested in IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support. Interested bidders can obtain further information including complete bid documents or ways to participate by registering on Tender Impulse and referencing via Tender Impulse ID 2941054.