Greening Financial Systems TA Country Lead Montenegro

Project: Greening Financial Systems Technical Assistance Programme (GFS TA)

The Greening Financial Systems Technical Assistance Programme (GFS TA) is an EIB flagship initiative focused in supporting regulators and financial intermediaries in creating an enabling environment to catalyse funding and integrating climate risk in the investment process. The GFS TA Programme is structured into two components, offering advisory and tailored support to amplify climate action to central banks, regulators, and financial intermediaries.

1. Component 1 focuses in supporting central banks and financial supervisors in addressing climate risk and green financing.
2. Component 2. Supporting financial institutions in scaling up green financing.

A transversal component is aimed at improving green finance capacities, fostering knowledge sharing among FIs, central banks and regulators, as well as raising awareness.

DAI is looking to recruit a Country Technical Assistance Operations Lead (Country Lead) in Montenegro

Country Lead Role

The Country Lead will provide strategic and technical insight to the GFS TA Implementation Team, on a continuous part-time basis. This will be used in informing the GFS Implementation Team and the Programme Management Team at EIB on current practices and emerging trends within the financial sector, with respect to climate action, climate risk management and green finance, such as the introduction of national or bank-specific green financing programmes and products, new commercial bank climate or green finance initiatives and general climate and environment activities and initiatives of a non-financial nature that could be relevant to the GFS TA.

The Country Lead is the relationship manager for the GFS TA, and as such, s/he is the visible face before public and private sector stakeholders, assuring they have a clear, single focal point of contact and that TA sub-assignment team leads have ongoing local support and advice of their work programmes. The Country Lead will contribute with a specialised perspective on the developments and implementation of existing approaches and instruments to scale up green and climate financing through financial intermediaries, whether at the national level or specific to certain leading-edge financial intermediaries. The Country Lead is expected to bring an understanding of the challenges and barriers to climate risk management and green finance at the national level, as well as of potential opportunities for removing institutional, regulatory and market barriers through the GFS TA sub-assignments. It is of particular importance to pay attention to the knowledge and capacity building events and activities that help to bridge the gaps between policy and practice, hindering green investment and proper climate risk management at the national level.

Knowledge required:

• An understanding of both the national and international green and climate finance landscape, including an understanding of the state of implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), how national commitments before the Paris Agreement are tracked, and how financial institutions currently approach, and/or which financial institutions are active with respect to, climate action, climate risk management and green finance.
• Awareness of national green and climate finance initiatives that fit within the GFS Programme and the ability to reach country representatives of those initiatives when and as needed to carry out the functions of the Country Lead role. Understanding and knowledge of climate finance reporting platforms, tools and methodologies to track progress on climate action.
• A general understanding of climate risk management, stress tests and scenario building, as well as experience in supporting reporting under the TCFD framework, ISSB and other standards for climate risk disclosures and reporting.
• Proven capacities in efficient coordination and oversight of complex and simultaneous project activities. Ability to provide guidance and oversight to small teams including when such teams are working remotely.
• Experience in designing and delivering training programmes, workshops and presentations for diverse stakeholder groups, preferably with an emphasis on financial system stakeholders.
• Understanding of financial markets, commercial bank operations and key elements of credit analysis, particularly with regard to ESG due diligence, and climate finance. Knowledge of the activities and programs of national development banks and specialized public sector lending institutions, and the activities, products and services of domestic financial institutions, especially with respect to the use of green credit lines.
• Capacity to provide strategic and executive insight, including the assessment of promising coordination and synergies with other programmes operating in parallel to the GFS TA Programme.