The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the world’s foremost authority on environmental issues, providing leadership and fostering partnerships to promote sustainable development. UNEP inspires and empowers nations and communities to enhance their quality of life while safeguarding the needs of future generations.
The NDC Act & Invest Initiative is a global programme led by UNEP and currently funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and the NDC Partnership’s Partnership Action Fund (PAF) multi-donor trust fund. It is designed to help countries raise their climate ambition and translate their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted in 2025 into actionable, investable plans.
Building on lessons learned from the NDC Action project implementation and previous NDC cycles, the initiative addresses critical gaps in policy alignment, financing, and implementation. It brings together governments, development partners, and the private sector to develop coherent, science-based, and finance-ready NDC frameworks. Structured around three interconnected workstreams —fostering G20+ ambition and action, piloting policy and planning alignment, and providing deep-dive support to enhance NDC investability— the initiative aims to bridge the gap between climate commitments and tangible implementation.
By aligning national strategies, strengthening enabling environments, and working collaboratively with key partners —including the NDC Partnership, GIZ, UNDP’s Climate Promise, UNFCCC, multilateral development banks (MDBs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and private sector actors— NDC Act & Invest seeks to make the most recent and future generations of NDCs both more ambitious and more achievable, accelerating progress toward the 1.5°C goal and enhancing global resilience.
UNEP is seeking a consultant to support the integration of multi-level governance and subnational governments within NDC related processes. The consultant will work with and report to UNEP’s NDC Act and Invest. In particular, the Consultant will support the implementation of Workstream 2 of the NDC Act & Invest Initiative to deliver enhanced policy and planning alignment through creation of a new framework methodology, related guidance documents and spearheading its rollout in pilot countries.
Objective 1: Strengthen policy alignment and knowledge for NDC implementation – Contribute to the development of a policy alignment framework and accompanying tool under NDC Act & Invest Workstream 2. – Conduct targeted research and compile a compendium of existing policy alignment methodologies and approaches. – Develop high-impact case studies showcasing scalable models of policy alignment and subnational climate action. – Provide technical inputs to help foster an enabling environment for strengthened subnational climate action.
Objective 2: Strengthen partnerships and coordination for NDC implementation – Engage strategic partners (e.g., UNDP, GIZ, WRI, C40, NDC Partnership) to provide technical inputs, case studies, and knowledge exchange. – Contribute to UNEP’s engagement in related initiatives (e.g., CHAMP, UN-Habitat inputs), ensuring alignment with NDC Act & Invest. – Facilitate coordination and knowledge sharing among partners to strengthen coherence across NDC implementation efforts.