Battery End of Life Consultant

Organizational Context

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority, setting the environmental agenda and promoting sustainable development within the UN system. The Industry and Economy Division encourages sustainable consumption and production patterns. This role sits within the Sustainable Mobility Unit, focusing on the Caribbean region's growing challenge of managing end-of-life electric vehicle batteries.

Job Purpose

This consultancy aims to address the escalating challenge of managing end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the Caribbean region. As EV adoption increases, so does the volume of waste batteries, posing significant risks due to inadequate infrastructure and high shipping costs in Small Island Developing States. The consultant will support the design of a regional hub-and-spoke model for the collection, consolidation, and transboundary shipment of these batteries. This initiative seeks to establish viable, responsible end-of-life solutions, improve health and safety, and create predictable export pathways, thereby mitigating environmental contamination risks and easing the administrative burden on national authorities.

Responsibilities

The consultant will prepare a comprehensive assessment report to support the design of a regional hub-and-spoke model for end-of-life EV battery management in the Caribbean. Key duties include conducting a stock take of battery imports, exports, and EV registrations; analyzing current and projected waste flows, disposal, and export practices; assessing infrastructure readiness for collection, storage, packaging, and transport; mapping shipping routes, logistics providers, and safety requirements; identifying institutional and functional barriers (regulatory, technical, logistical); and mapping key stakeholders and their roles. The consultant will work under the supervision of Programme Management Officers.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of work experience in transport projects or battery waste management, specifically within Latin American/Caribbean countries, is required. Experience in data collection, research, data analysis, and report development is necessary. Familiarity with transport planning and modelling is highly desirable.

Skills

Analytical skills, presentation skills, communication skills, data collection and research, data analysis and modelling, report development, transport planning frameworks, transport modelling, battery waste management.

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