Transboundary Environmental Data-Sharing Consultant at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• The vision of the Digital Transformation subprogramme is to harness technological advancements to enhance UNEP’s capability to respond to the needs of member states in an agile manner as they undertake action to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature loss and pollution. It realizes a problem-based, user-centric approach to enable the design and development of digital products and services by pursuing three strategic intervention actions as outlined in the MTS 2022-2025:
• Catalyzing a digital ecosystem of data and platforms to monitor trends, commitments, and solutions to the triple planetary crisis: establishing data standards and digital platforms for the timely and transparent monitoring of environmental change, and risks as well as foresight and progress towards MEAs and SDGs at both global and national levels.
• Convening partnerships and multi-lateral engagements to influence markets, supply chains and consumer behaviors: transforming decision-making, choices and behavior of governments, businesses, and individual consumers to enhance environmental sustainability.
• Facilitating country-level engagement to strengthen digital literacy, digital capacity, and governance: supporting country-level needs within regional and global context to identify priority use cases, influence policies, and build capacities to advance national environmental sustainability goals.
• Number of digital applications and engagement platforms created with UNEP support to support electronic governance and enhance public participation in environmental monitoring, consensus building, decision making and digital transformation linked to climate, nature and chemicals and pollution actions, including the reduction of environmental digital technology inequalities in impact chains, consumer behaviors and policymaking.
• The rapid development of digital technologies and their integration into environmental governance is transforming how countries address and share environmental challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
• Transboundary data sharing, especially in regions like East Africa, is critical to fostering collaborative efforts and ensuring that countries can leverage data-driven insights for sustainable decision-making. While data sharing holds significant potential to address these challenges, it also brings risks related to data privacy, security, and governance must be addressed comprehensively. To meet these challenges, UNEP requires a Transboundary Environmental Data-Sharing Consultant to lead the development of a use case for transboundary environmental data sharing agreements for the East African region with focus on Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda.
• This use case will outline the legal, technical, and operational frameworks necessary for data sharing, while identifying key stakeholders and facilitating collaboration between regional and national actors. The consultant will work closely with UNEP’s Chief Digital Office, ensuring that the proposed frameworks address environmental data governance and support the countries' sustainability goals. This consultancy aligns with UNEP’s mandate to promote sustainable development through digital transformation and environmental governance. It ensures that transboundary data sharing enhances regional cooperation without compromising the security, integrity, and usability of environmental data.
• The consultant will also lead the use case validation process with stakeholders and contribute to UNEP’s Global Environmental Data Strategy (GEDS) to position the organization as a global leader in environmental data management. This post is remotely located with minimal travel to Nairobi, and reports to the Chief Digital Officer.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Computer Science, environmental Science, International development, Law or a similar field.
• At least 8-10 years of experience in data-sharing initiatives, especially involving cross-border cooperation.
• Familiarity with environmental data and its legal/technical frameworks is essential.
• Technical expertise in drafting use cases, legal framework analysis, functional requirements, and leading validation processes is essential.
• Extensive, proven experience in collaborating with various stakeholders to drive data-driven insights and solutions is required.
• Experience with digital transformation projects, preferably within the UN system or international organizations is a strong asset. Proficiency in stakeholder engagement and facilitation.