UNCDF Is Hiring a Digital Finance Specialist (IPSA-11) Home-Based: Great Opportunity – Apply Now

Are you passionate about leveraging digital finance to drive inclusive economic growth? The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is looking for a highly skilled Digital Finance Specialist (IPSA 11) to join its dynamic team on a home-based, full-time basis. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced professionals to play a pivotal role in shaping digital finance strategies that transform markets, enhance financial inclusion, and create sustainable development impact.

About UNCDF

UNCDF is the UN’s flagship organization for catalytic blended finance, helping developing countries—especially least developed countries—mobilize capital to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing grants, loans, and guarantees, UNCDF catalyzes private sector investment and drives systemic change in local financial systems.

UNCDF focuses on three priority areas:

• SME Finance – supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises to access finance.
• Sub-National Finance – enabling local governments to access capital markets and strengthen fiscal transparency.
• Digital Finance – leveraging technology to enhance financial inclusion, particularly for women and youth.

With regional hubs in Dakar, Nairobi, and Bangkok and a sub-regional presence in the Caribbean and Pacific, UNCDF operates globally to create sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity.

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Role Overview: Digital Finance Specialist

The Digital Finance Specialist will lead the execution of UNCDF’s Digital Finance Strategy, serving as the focal point for operationalizing the Investment Conditionality principle across the portfolio. This role bridges the gap between private sector investment logic and UNCDF’s impact-driven mandate. The specialist will translate strategic objectives into measurable investment transactions that de-risk opportunities, mobilize follow-on finance, and promote inclusive digital financial ecosystems.

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Key Responsibilities

1. Diagnostics, Investment Conditionality, and Strategic Quality Assurance

• Apply diagnostic tools to identify systemic barriers in digital finance markets.
• Provide tactical guidance to regional teams for market analysis and investment readiness.
• Ensure that all pipeline proposals meet UNCDF’s Constraint-Based Readiness Tiers and Investment Conditionality standards.

2. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Advisory and Oversight

• Provide strategic guidance to national and sub-national governments on interoperable, secure DPI.
• Identify investment entry points where UNCDF’s grants and guarantees can catalyze adoption of key infrastructure like e-KYC and payment rails.
• Enhance the creditworthiness and fiscal transparency of local governments to facilitate access to capital markets.

3. Market Intelligence and Knowledge Integration

• Analyze global trends in fintech, AI, and venture capital to ensure UNCDF’s investment structures remain innovative and commercially viable.
• Deliver capacity-building initiatives to regional teams, sharing insights on diagnostics, investment conditionality, and market intelligence.
• Develop knowledge management frameworks to capture lessons learned and integrate them into investment decisions.

4. Capital Pathways Strategy, Investment Structuring, and Risk Mitigation

• Lead strategic alignment of capital deployment using the Capital Pathways Model.
• Structure Performance-Based Grants and concessional loans to mobilize private sector investment in digital finance.
• Define risk mitigation strategies for DPI assets, ensuring CAPEX and OPEX considerations are addressed for bankability.

5. Capital Mobilization and Regional Market Development

• Design blended finance structures, such as first-loss guarantees, to attract venture capital and impact investors.
• Ensure Digital Finance integration across all UNCDF capabilities and regions.
• Support the Latin America and Caribbean region in developing a robust pipeline of digital finance interventions.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree (7 years’ experience) or Bachelor’s degree (9 years’ experience) in Finance, Economics, Development Finance, or related field.
• Experience: Demonstrated expertise in investment management, digital finance, capital mobilization, and development finance. Proven track record in structuring multi-country financial portfolios is highly desirable.
• Skills:
  • Experience in fintech, AI, or digital financial services.
  • Knowledge of blended finance instruments to de-risk private capital.
  • Advanced financial modeling skills and ability to structure complex transactions.
  • Understanding of microfinance and digital finance ecosystems in emerging markets.
• Languages: Fluency in English is required; Spanish proficiency is an asset.

Competencies

UNCDF seeks candidates with high-level competencies across multiple domains:

• Core Competencies: Achieve results, think innovatively, adapt with agility, and champion diversity and inclusion.
• Technical Competencies: Strategic thinking, entrepreneurial mindset, partnership management, system thinking, and data-driven decision-making.
• Experience in Business Development: Proven ability to build relationships with commercial and multilateral partners, negotiate investment terms, and integrate UN-system capacity into actionable strategies.

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity

UNCDF is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, encouraging qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply. Employment decisions are based on merit, ensuring a safe, inclusive workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and abuse of authority.

Apply Now

This is your chance to join a global organization at the forefront of digital finance innovation and inclusive growth. The Digital Finance Specialist position is home-based, full-time, and open to Tier 1 and Tier 2 applicants. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a tangible impact on financial inclusion worldwide.