Background

In June 2022, the European Council granted Moldova EU candidate status, a pivotal achievement that underscores the nation’s commitment to aligning its policies with EU standards. This status brings significant responsibilities, notably in adopting the EU Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity priorities, including environmental and climate change acquis. Moldova’s progress will require transformative reforms to align with the European Green Deal objectives.

UNDP Moldova plays a critical role in supporting the country’s green transition by fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, capacity building, public awareness, and the implementation of green solutions. These efforts address pressing challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, and energy insecurity. Moldova’s vulnerability to climate impacts, exacerbated by reliance on agriculture, water scarcity, and institutional limitations, necessitates strengthened adaptation planning and capacity development.

Environmental degradation remains a pressing issue, driven by inadequate waste management, outdated technologies, and overexploitation of natural resources. To mitigate these challenges, Moldova must accelerate the integration of green practices across its economic sectors, particularly in urban areas where air pollution levels are highest.
Energy security also poses a major concern. Moldova’s dependence on imported fossil fuels and inefficiencies in energy supply highlight the urgency of diversifying energy sources and enhancing renewable energy production. Strengthening the energy sector is vital, given its status as the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions.

In the area of green finance, UNDP supports the development of an enabling framework to mobilize public and private investments in support of sustainable development and climate action. Recognizing structural gaps and market inefficiencies in Moldova’s financial ecosystem, UNDP works closely with national authorities, financial institutions, and development partners to strengthen policies, instruments, and capacities for sustainable and climate-aligned financing.

Through targeted analytical work and stakeholder engagement, UNDP contributes to the development of strategic frameworks and action plans that promote the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, support the alignment with EU sustainable finance standards, and facilitate access to green and climate finance.

By piloting innovative financial instruments and mechanisms—such as green investment frameworks, risk-sharing facilities, and blended finance approaches—the programme aims to catalyze investments in priority green sectors. These efforts are instrumental in supporting Moldova’s climate commitments and green transition objectives, while also advancing alignment with the EU acquis and the country’s EU accession process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strengthening Green Finance Policy and Strategic Frameworks

Provide high-level strategic advisory support to strengthen Moldova’s green finance policy ecosystem in alignment with EU accession requirements and Moldova’s climate, energy, and economic reform agenda.

The assignment will focus on strategic guidance, policy positioning, and institutional coordination rather than detailed technical drafting or quantitative modeling. The Analyst will:

• Review and provide strategic assessment of the existing national policy and regulatory framework related to green finance, sustainable investment, climate and energy financing, and ESG reporting in light of relevant EU legislation and standards (EU Sustainable Finance Framework, EU Taxonomy, SFDR, CSRD, State Aid rules, EIB/EBRD practices).
• Identify high-level policy, regulatory, and institutional gaps that may constrain the mobilization of public and private capital for green transition objectives.
• Develop a strategic policy alignment roadmap for green finance in line with the EU Accession Implementation Plan, outlining priority reforms, sequencing considerations, and institutional responsibilities.
• Provide strategic advice to responsible authorities on integrating green finance considerations into national economic development, energy, climate, and public finance frameworks.
• Provide senior-level advisory support in EU accession–related negotiations and bilateral screening processes related to sustainable finance and green investment frameworks.

Strategic Analytical Input on Green Finance for Green Transition Objectives

Provide strategic direction and conceptual framing for analytical work on green finance in support of green transition objectives. The Analyst will:

• Guide the preparation of an analytical paper from a green finance perspective, ensuring strong policy relevance and strategic positioning.
• Provide conceptual inputs on medium-term (5 years) and long-term (10–15 years) financing needs and economic implications of green transition policies.
• Advise on the strategic application of market-based instruments, focused on assessing readiness and sequencing of introducing market-based instruments (e.g., environmental taxes, carbon pricing concepts, emissions trading–type approaches, green certificates), focusing on policy options, feasibility, and alignment with EU practices rather than detailed technical design.
• Ensure that socio-economic and gender dimensions are strategically integrated, with attention to differentiated impacts and the need for gender-responsive financing mechanisms.
• Support the formulation of clear, policy-oriented recommendations that quantify broad impacts (based on available studies and inputs) and articulate practical financing pathways.

Integration with the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF)

Provide strategic guidance on aligning green finance priorities with the Integrated National Financing Framework. The Analyst will:

• Assess, at a strategic level, the landscape of public, private, donor, and IFI financing instruments relevant to green transition.
• Advise on options to crowd in private sector investment (e.g., blended finance, guarantees, concessional mechanisms), focusing on policy enablers and institutional reforms.
• Provide strategic recommendations on strengthening national financing mechanisms, including the National Environmental Fund (NEF).
• Advise on linking green finance priorities with the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and broader public finance reforms.
• Explore policy-level options for developing more self-sustaining national green financing schemes over time.

Development of Green Capital Market Instruments

Provide strategic and institutional advisory support related to the development of green finance instruments in the capital market. The Analyst will:

• Assess the overall readiness of the national capital market ecosystem to support green instruments (e.g., green bonds, sustainability-linked bonds, ESG-linked securities) from a regulatory and institutional perspective.
• Identify strategic barriers to introducing and scaling sustainable finance instruments.
• Provide policy-level recommendations to align capital market practices with EU sustainable finance standards.
• Advise on institutional and regulatory reforms that could stimulate issuer and investor participation, including incentive frameworks and awareness-raising measures.

Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening

Provide strategic direction for strengthening institutional capacity in green finance. The Analyst will:

• Identify capacity gaps across public institutions, regulators, and market actors.
• Design a high-level capacity development framework focused on EU sustainable finance standards, green financial instruments, ESG and climate risk considerations, and public–private financing models.
• Support the conceptual design of trainings, workshops, and policy dialogues in coordination with UNDP and beneficiary institutions.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Provide strategic facilitation and high-level coordination support among:
  • Relevant ministries
  • Financial regulators and the central bank
  • Capital market institutions
  • Private sector representatives
  • Donors and IFIs
• Support high-level dialogue with EU institutions and development partners to ensure policy coherence and alignment.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Policy Uptake

• Provide strategic advice on:
  • Integrating green finance indicators into national monitoring frameworks linked to EU accession and climate policies.
  • Strengthening evidence-based decision-making and institutional coordination in green finance.
  • The Analyst will focus on conceptual guidance and policy integration rather than detailed data system design.

Institutional Arrangement

The Green Finance Policy Analyst will work under the supervision of the Project Manager and the Climate Change, Environment and Energy Programme Analyst or Specialist and will ensure the provision of high-quality development services and analytical products within the scope of the Programme and the assigned area of responsibility. The incumbent will support national and local counterparts through the application of Human Rights–Based Approach (HRBA) and Gender Equality (GE) principles.

The Green Finance Policy Analyst will work in close cooperation with the Green Transition project team to ensure the effective achievement of results, proactively anticipating and contributing to the resolution of complex project andpolicy-related issues, as well as supporting timely and accurate information delivery. The incumbent is expected to ensure full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement, and administrative rules, regulations, policies, and strategies, as well as contribute to the implementation of effective internal control systems.

The Green Finance Policy Analyst assignment will be home-based, with up to six visits to the Republic of Moldova during the course of the assignment.

For official travel, PSA holders are entitled to DSA (Daily Subsistence Allowance) and travel costs in accordance with the established UNDP travel policy, except that the travel class is restricted to economy class regardless of the duration of travel. The DSA is calculated based on the destination of the duty travel, in line with the standard UN rates.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback 

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible  

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident 

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships 

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination  

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business Direction and Strategy - Strategic Thinking 

• Develop effective strategies and prioritised plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.

Business Development - Knowledge Generation 

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need.
• Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.

Business Management - Partnership Management  

• Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

Business Management - Project Management

• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Digital - Innovation capacity building

• Ability to define and create conditions for trying out new ways of working or introducing new problem-solving approaches to an organisation.
• Ability to develop, manage and evaluate a learning curriculum that raises awareness, builds confidence, strengthens innovation capabilities around a certain method, tool or technique; or helps develop an innovation mindset. 
• Ability to create the authorising environment (mandate, incentives) to embed and spread new ways of working. 
• In-depth knowledge of one or more innovation methods, broad knowledge of innovation processes, and innovation management. 
• Ability to align a learning and development strategy with a broader innovation strategy.

Digital - Alternative finance 

• Ability to identify potential alternative forms of finance and mobilise them for the purpose of addressing development challenges. 
• Ability to review the skills, capacities, procedures and protocols that are needed to enable new financial mechanisms. 
• Ability to assess the risks, limitations and implications of using new financial mechanisms.
• Set up the processes and structures to design, testing and implement new financial mechanisms. 
• Managing outreach and stakeholder engagement.
• Set up the processes and structures to design, testing and implement new financial mechanism. 
• Managing outreach and stakeholder engagement.

2030 Agenda Planet - Climate 

• Climate Strategies and Policy: Financing Strategies, Plans and Investment Frameworks.

2030 Agenda Planet - Climate  

• Water Climate Climate Strategies and Policy: Financing Strategies, Plans and Investment Frameworks.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Education Requirements

• Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Finance, Business Administration, European Studies, International Relations, Law, or other relevant fields is required; OR 
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant work experience 

• A minimum of 2 years (with Master’s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree of proven professional experience relevant to the finance area in a EU country or international level. 

Required skills 

• Working experience in the EU finance legislation harmonization process or/and accession negotiations in finance sector.  
• Proven experience providing high-level strategic policy advice to government or regulatory institutions.
• Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) 

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section  

• Experience in working with local and/or national governments;
• Experience in working with UNDP; 
• Experience working with international institutions in the finance field.  

Required Language(s) 

• English is required. 
• Knowledge of Romanian will be an asset.

Professional Certificates    

• Any relevant certification on sustainable finance.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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