Technical Specialist, Critical Minerals and Investment

Organizational Context

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Global Portfolios Office (GPO), based in Geneva, supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by delivering project management, fund management, and operational support. The organization partners with governments and UN agencies to implement initiatives in areas like sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding, particularly in challenging environments. This role sits within the Green Industrialization team at SEforALL, hosted by UNOPS.

Job Purpose

This role is crucial for operationalizing a robust investment framework for minerals-to-manufacturing and green industrialization in Africa and Southeast Asia. The Technical Specialist will quantify investment opportunities across key value chains, benchmark international financing models, and develop regional and national industrialization strategies. A key focus is bridging the gap between political commitments and capital deployment into bankable, domestically owned green industrialization assets. The position requires close coordination with regional partners like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the African Development Bank to ensure the viability of proposed financing mechanisms and structures, ultimately aiming to unlock Africa's significant potential in strategic minerals and clean energy investment.

Responsibilities

The Technical Specialist will conduct investment opportunity and gap assessments, synthesizing global and regional trends in critical minerals and green industrialization to quantify investment needs and financing gaps. This includes mapping and surveying stakeholders such as investors, financiers, DFIs, and industry players to analyze investment barriers and identify conditions for mobilizing domestic capital. The role involves benchmarking international financing platforms and instruments to inform domestic industrial development pathways. Additionally, the specialist will assess the feasibility of a dedicated financing mechanism, proposing design options, governance, and an implementation roadmap. Stakeholder engagement, including mapping and consultation with government entities, private sector actors, and DFIs, is essential to validate proposed financing mechanisms and ensure institutional alignment.

Work Experience

A minimum of 5 years of progressive professional experience is required in investment banking, mining value chain project finance, development finance, or energy/economic policy development. Demonstrated expertise in green industrialization and critical minerals value chains is essential. Experience collaborating with Multilateral Development Banks, Development Finance Institutions, and Sovereign Wealth Funds to design and structure investment facilities or industrial development frameworks is also required.

Skills

Analytics, Energy Policy, Governmental Affairs, Manufacturing, Minerals, Project Finance, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Planning, Supply Chain Strategy.

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