United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Hiring for Sustainable Finance Intern at New Delhi Full Time

Sustainable Finance Intern

Background

UNDP has been supporting the Government of India in meeting its national and international priorities and commitments for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity including obligations under related multilateral environment agreements.

Under the Government of India-UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) programme, UNDP has supported the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in identification of innovative and blended finance solutions to reduce the finance gap for implementing the National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP). The project has supported the development of the Biodiversity Finance Plan which includes 12 innovative solutions for financing biodiversity conservation.

Currently, BIOFIN in India is supporting the Ministry in demonstration of five potential biodiversity finance solutions, namely, Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Public Finance (Agriculture Sector), the Corporate Social Responsibility, Access and Benefit Sharing, Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Financial Services and Financial Technologies (FinTech), which holds a great potential for enhancing positive biodiversity outcomes through digital innovation as well as the recently added Nature-related Risk Assessments and Disclosures in India.

BIOFIN is also supporting The Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). TNFD was established in 2021 in response to the growing appreciation of the need to factor nature in financial and business decisions. The TNFD is a global, market-led initiative with the mission to develop and deliver a risk management and disclosure framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks and opportunities, with the ultimate aim of supporting a shift in global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes and toward nature-positive outcomes.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a new Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) that will be replacing the existing Business Responsibility Report (BRR). It is voluntary for the 2021-22 financial year and mandatory from 2022 onwards for the top 1000 listed firms. The change is intended to bring greater transparency and facilitate identification of ESG-related risks and opportunities. Currently, the SEBI-proposed BRSR framework does not fully help to understand how individual companies impact nature i.e. the steps undertaken by companies to mitigate and address their negative impact on nature from their respective business-related activities, nature-positive opportunities undertaken by companies, and the funding allocated towards nature positive and nature negative activities.

Towards this, UNDP seeks to engage an Intern to provide overall support towards implementation of the BIOFIN project through in-depth literature review and research, collection and collation of data and analysis of trends and patterns in data. The intern will also be expected to assist the team in development of model frameworks specific to five major sectors in India on nature-related disclosures. These frameworks will strengthen the mandatory nature and climate-related financial disclosures under the BRSR and will also form the basis for providing training and certification to Environmental Auditors on Standards of Sustainability Reporting to refine nature-specific auditing processes and enhance credibility of sustainability reporting in the country.

The Intern will report to the Head- Climate Change, Resilience, Biodiversity and Chemicals Management, UNDP India, and shall be closely working with the other BIOFIN team members.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of Head- Climate Change, Resilience, Biodiversity and Chemicals Management, UNDP India, the intern is expected to undertake the following tasks:

Research/ Literature Review:

• Conducting in-depth review of various technical reports (corporate sustainability reports, Environmental Impact Assessments, Biodiversity Impact Assessments etc.), policy documents, scientific studies to extract information on the nature-related risks induced by five select sectors in India. This sector specific information should pertain to nature-related risks such as Land/Water/Sea Use Change (Terrestrial Ecosystem, Freshwater Ecosystem, Marine Ecosystem), Resource Exploitation (Water Use), Climate Change (GHG emissions), Pollution (Non GHG air pollutants, Water pollutants, Soil pollutants, solid waste), Invasive species or others.

• Conducting research to extract recommended targets/ metrices on mitigating nature-related risks from o select ESG reporting standards and frameworks such as GRI, SASB, ESG European Union Regulatory Initiatives, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), CDP, SASB, UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), among others o existing tools used to identify potential nature-related risks linked to business activities such as the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), Global Biodiversity Information Facility, InVEST, UN Biodiversity Lab (previously Nature Map), Resource Watch, (Environmentally Extended) etc.

Data Analysis and Data Visualization:

• Gather and analyze data from various databases and sources and assist with identification and analysis of trends or patterns in data
• Assist with summarizing and interpreting statistical results.
• Support in generating visual slides for senior UN leadership; help develop and maintain standard data and visual templates.
• Assist in producing custom visual outputs such as charts, graphs, infographics using graphing tools or via standard graphic design software like Adobe Suite.
• Assist in preparing ToRs for engagement of technical agencies in the implementation of the project activities
• Shall also undertake any other related tasks as requested by UNDP.

Competencies

• Strong sense of collaborative work, excellent communication, and interpersonal skills
• Keen attention to detail
• Excellent research skills
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise
• Is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda;
• Strong research and writing skills as well as ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
• Ability to collect, organize, interpret and present data with quality and accuracy
• Has an aptitude for technology. Experience with data visualization software a plus
• Knowledge of environmental data, sustainability/ESG reporting frameworks such as Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI), GRESB, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), CDP, SASB, or SBTi’s are a strong plus
• Ability to produce quality document with quick turnaround time.
• Good team player and ability to adapt to change in work environment

Required Skills and Experience

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

(a) Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme) on relevant subject such as Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Finance, Economics, Sustainability Management or a closely related subject.

(b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent) on relevant subject such Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Finance, Economics, Sustainability Management or a closely related subject

(c) Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above), within 1 year of completion of the degree

(d) Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.