Lead Technical Editor for the Update of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Central Framework

Result of Service

The consultant, as the lead technical editor for the update of the Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Central Framework, will provide editorial oversight of the update process to ensure consistency and coherence across the updated recommendations. To this end, the consultant will draft guidance notes on selected issues; provide substantive inputs to the development of additional guidance notes prepared during the update process; participate in and contribute to the meetings of the task teams and the United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA) Technical Committee, prepare reports summarizing substantive feedback from the global consultations; recommend agreed treatments and propose edits for inclusion in the updated SEEA Central Framework.

Work Location

Home-based. Participation in regular video/call conferences with UNSD team and other stakeholders in the SEEA Central Framework update process will be required.

Expected duration

7 months

Duties and Responsibilities

In March 2012, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Central Framework was adopted as “the initial version of the international statistical standard for environmental-economic accounts” by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC). Since its adoption, global implementation of the SEEA Central Framework has gained momentum, going from 54 countries implementing the SEEA Central Framework in 2014 to 97 countries in 2025, and is only expected to grow. While there is strong and growing interest in the SEEA Central Framework, the data demands that national statistical offices face with regards to the environment have evolved rapidly since 2012. For instance, climate change and biodiversity loss have moved from the periphery to the front and centre of many policy makers’ minds. Policy makers are more and more looking to create policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable finance, biodiversity, circular economy, etc. The United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA) has recognized that the SEEA Central Framework should be kept up to date to meet user needs and reflect the relevant recent updates in statistical standards and classifications. In particular, the adoption of the 2025 System of National Accounts (SNA) provides further impetus to update the SEEA Central Framework to ensure that the two standards remain aligned and consistent, as appropriate. As a result, in 2024, the UNSC endorsed the proposed update of the SEEA Central Framework. The UNCEEA and its Technical Committee on SEEA Central Framework will undertake the update with the objective of submitting the updated SEEA Central Framework to the UNSC in 2028. Twenty-nine issues were identified for the update of the SEEA Central Framework by the UNCEEA and endorsed by the UNSC in 2025. Guidance Notes are prepared to address each issue and provide recommendations. Four task teams have been established under the UNCEEA Technical Committee to advance the discussion on the Guidance Notes and prepare drafts for review by the UNCEEA Technical Committee and ultimately for global consultation. The Guidance Notes were organized into three distinct sets, referred to as “tranches”, to facilitate the workflow management and support the review process during global consultations. The first tranche of guidance notes for the initial set of nine issues has already been completed and the responses to the global consultation have to be analyzed and summarized. The update process will continue throughout 2026, focusing on preparing the global consultations for tranche # 2 and tranche # 3 (with around ten guidance notes in each tranche). The list of guidance notes that correspond to each of the three tranches can be found here: https://seea.un.org/content/consultation-update-SEEACF. In this context, the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNSD) seeks to engage a consultant as lead technical editor for the update of the SEEA Central Framework. The consultant will provide editorial leadership and technical oversight of the update process to ensure accuracy, coherence and consistency across the updated recommendations, develop Guidance Notes on targeted issues, lead technical discussions, and recommend agreed treatments and guidance for the updated SEEA Central Framework. Work Assignment: Under the supervision of the Chief of the Environmental-Economic Accounts Section of UNSD, and in collaboration with UNSD staff and other stakeholders in the SEEA Central Framework update process, the consultant will undertake the following activities: * Draft and finalize technical Guidance Notes on selected issues (as per the expected output 1), ensuring that the drafts are reviewed and discussed by the relevant task teams and by the UNCEEA Technical Committee, and that feedback is incorporated; * Review, revise and redraft all Guidance Notes prepared by multiple authors, in the capacity of lead technical editor, ensuring incorporation of feedback, consistency across issues, and readiness for global consultations. * Participate in meetings of the task teams and the UNCEEA Technical Committee; provide technical advice to support discussion; and ensure overall conceptual consistency and coherence of updated recommendations; * Review and summarize feedback from each tranche of the global consultations on the Guidance Notes, identify outstanding issues that need to be resolved, and develop preliminary recommendations for the updated SEEA Central Framework, ensuring that feedback from the global consultations is appropriately reflected in the preliminary recommendations; * Draft summary reports on the substantive feedback from tranches 1, 2 and 3 of the global consultations; * Draft technical notes, as required, for relevant stakeholders and communities beyond environmental accounting community; * Prepare presentations for outreach activities with other relevant groups of experts, including the London Group on Environmental-Economic Accounting, as appropriate, and support the coordination activities across the relevant macroeconomic statistical standards. The consultant is expected to produce the following outputs: 1. Technical Guidance Notes for each of the following issues: a) A9: Consistency with the 2025 SNA – focus on accounting for environmental transactions (further elaboration of issue A9 on consistency with 2025 SNA with special focus on issues related to environmental transaction) b) A9: Consistency with the 2025 SNA – all other issues (further elaboration of issue A9 on consistency with 2025 SNA with special focus on topics related to the recording of catastrophes, leasing of land, stranded assets, accounting for land, Supply and Use Tables and Input-Output Tables (SUT/IOT) globalization) c) A6: Introduction of thematic accounts and strengthening the link to policy d) A7: Links to the social domain. 2. Revised and finalized set of additional technical Guidance Notes authored by others, ready for submission to global consultations tranches #2 and #3. 3. Summary reports on the substantive feedback on all Guidance Notes from each tranche of the global consultations as follows: a) Report on global consultation tranche #1 b) Report on global consultation tranche #2 c) Report on global consultation tranche #3 4. Draft preliminary set of recommendations for the updated SEEA CF for discussion with Task Teams and Technical Committee, documenting agreed treatments and identifying outstanding issues. 5. Draft technical notes and presentations for outreach activities and coordination with relevant groups of experts, as appropriate. 6. Draft reports on the progress of work.

Qualifications/special skills

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in statistics, economics, political sciences, international studies and development, environmental sciences, or related field. A first-level university degree, in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying work experience in the domains relevant to the work assignment, may be accepted instead of the advanced university degree. Experience: * A minimum of twenty-five (25) years of progressively responsible experience within a government administration, UN system, non-governmental organization, consultancy service or a related organization is required. * Experience in area of national accounting, environment statistics or environmental-economic accounts is required. * Experience in providing technical assistance and/or capacity building on environmental-economic accounting is required. * Experience in drafting international level technical guidance is required. * Experience with compilation of environmental-economic accounts is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in both spoken and written English is required.

Additional Information

Competencies: * Professionalism: Provides technical advice in the development of methodologies with a view to improving statistical capabilities and standards of broad applicability. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to the supervisor. * Planning& Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. * Judgement and decision making: Identifies the key issues in a complex assignments, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly. Gathers relevant information before making a decision. Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them. Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the assignment. Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information. Checks assumptions against facts. Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.