Job Highlight This is a unique opportunity to contribute directly to Montenegro’s climate and economic transition by providing high-level fiscal and macroeconomic expertise to the Government. The position offers hands-on engagement with the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the integration of climate change into fiscal policy, macroeconomic planning, and public financial management in line with Montenegro’s NDC 3.0 commitments and EU Green Agenda requirements. The role provides significant exposure to national and international climate policy processes, close collaboration with key government institutions and development partners, and the opportunity to develop practical analytical tools that will inform evidence-based decision-making and long-term climate-resilient development.
About The Project Office
The Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) portfolio, based in Vienna, and with offices based globally is part of the UNOPS Global Portfolio Office. The Portfolio has built strong partnerships and is effectively managing a portfolio of over 500 million USD over the last 15 years to support key initiatives with fund management, project implementation and administrative support.
WEC effectively operationalizes partners' agendas with global approaches, as well as regional and country-specific activities focused on climate action, protection and conservation of the environment. Partners profit from WEC’s ability to operationalize and/or scale up their important substantive agendas, including in support of key multilateral environmental and climate agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the Cartagena Convention as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
About The Group
The NDC Partnership is a global coalition, bringing together more than 250 members, including more than 130 countries, developed and developing, and more than 110 institutions to deliver on ambitious climate action that helps achieve the Paris Agreement and drive sustainable development. Governments identify their NDC implementation priorities and the type of support that is needed to translate them into actionable policies and programs. Based on these requests, the membership offers a tailored package of expertise, technical assistance and funding. This collaborative response provides developing countries with efficient access to a wide range of resources to adapt to and mitigate climate change and foster more equitable and sustainable development. The NDC Partnership Support Unit is jointly hosted by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC). For this project, the Consultant will be contracted through UNOPS.
Role Purpose
The purpose of this role is to strengthen the Ministry of Finance’s capacity to integrate climate change considerations into fiscal policy, macroeconomic planning, and public financial management. The Advisor will provide targeted technical, analytical, and coordination support to identify institutional needs and progressively develop tools, models, and evidence-based policy recommendations that enhance the government’s ability to assess climate-related fiscal risks, guide climate-responsive budgeting, and implement Montenegro’s NDC 3.0 commitments. Working as an embedded expert within the Ministry, the Advisor will also facilitate effective collaboration between key national institutions and development partners, ensuring alignment with EU Green Agenda requirements and advancing Montenegro’s transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy.
Functions / Key Results Expected
The Technical Advisor on Fiscal and Climate Policy will provide specialized analytical, policy, and coordination support to the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the integration of climate considerations into fiscal and macroeconomic planning. The advisor will work closely with relevant directorates to develop practical tools, enhance institutional capacities, and guide the formulation of evidence-based fiscal and economic policies aligned with Montenegro’s NDC 3.0 commitments, EU Green Agenda requirements, and national development priorities. Key functions include:
- Provide expert advice on aligning fiscal policy, public financial management, and macroeconomic planning with Montenegro’s NDC 3.0 commitments, EU Green Agenda requirements, and national development priorities.
- Conduct a diagnostic phase, including workshops and technical consultations with relevant Ministry of Finance directorates, to map existing macro and fiscal methodologies, institutional processes, data availability, and tools. Deliver a diagnostic report identifying gaps, institutional needs, and priority areas for integrating climate-related risks into macroeconomic and fiscal analysis
- Identify institutional needs and priorities for macro-fiscal climate integration, and provide guidance for their progressive incorporation into planning processes, and identify and prioritize the core policy questions to answer through tools or models (e.g. macroeconomic impacts, fiscal risk exposure, revenue and expenditure implications), recognizing that different tools may be needed for different questions.
- Design a phased approach for the development of decision-support tools, models, or frameworks. Define short-, medium-, and long-term priorities, with clear sequencing for progressive adoption based on institutional capacities and data availability.
- Develop macroeconomic or fiscal assessment tool, either macroeconomic or fiscal in nature, such as a fiscal stress-testing instrument or a climate-related revenue/expenditure impact assessment tool, with supporting documentation. Facilitate its testing, calibration, and refinement through applied use cases.
- Prepare a technical and operational manual, including data requirements, assumptions, and periodic update procedures. Ensure the documentation supports long-term applicability and institutionalization of the tool(s).
- Strengthen institutional capacity within the Ministry of Finance by delivering targeted training, workshops, and guidance on climate fiscal policy, climate risk integration, and evidence-based macroeconomic analysis.
- Support policy development through analytical papers, policy briefs, and guidance notes on climate-related fiscal risks, carbon pricing, climate-responsive public investment, and green public finance reforms.
- Facilitate coordination between the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Region Development, and other institutions to ensure coherent implementation of fiscal and climate policies.
- Participate in technical working groups and inter-ministerial platforms, presenting analyses and recommendations to senior government officials and relevant stakeholders.
- Provide ongoing technical inputs to the Ministry of Finance and the NDC Partnership as required, ensuring alignment with broader public finance reform efforts and international climate commitments.
Key expected results include:
- Diagnostic of institutional needs, data systems, and priority policy questions to guide climate-fiscal integration.
- Development and piloting of an initial decision-support tool, calibrated for short-term use and institutional uptake.
- Strengthened methodologies, models, and processes for climate risk assessment in both macroeconomic and fiscal planning contexts.
- Improved integration of climate change into fiscal, budgetary, and economic policy formulation
- Enhanced cross-institutional coordination on NDC 3.0 implementation.
- Increased technical capacity within the Ministry of Finance to sustain climate-informed policymaking beyond the duration of the assignment.
Required
Education Requirements
- Master’s degree in economics, applied economics, development economics, public finance, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, public administration or closely related field with a strong quantitative or economic policy focus.
- Bachelor’s degree in economics, mathematics, physics, statistics, engineering, or other quantitative fields relevant to macroeconomic or fiscal analysis with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience (7 total) may be accepted instead of an advanced university degree.
Desired
- Specialized training or certification in macroeconomic modelling, fiscal risk analysis, climate finance, or public financial management.
- PhD in a relevant field is an asset.
Required
Experience Requirements
- Minimum 5 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas: macroeconomic analysis, fiscal policy design, climate-related economic modelling, or public financial management.
- Proven capacity to develop, apply, or guide the use of tools or models for decision-making, such as fiscal stress testing instruments, revenue/expenditure impact assessments, or macroeconomic scenario analysis related to climate risks.
- Demonstrated experience supporting government ministries (preferably Ministries of Finance, Economy, or Planning) in policy design, implementation, or capacity development related to climate-fiscal reforms or climate investment planning
Desired
- Experience working in Southeast Europe, Western Balkans, or EU candidate countries, with familiarity in EU Green Agenda requirements.
- Working knowledge of frameworks such as IMF’s Climate-PIMA, fiscal risk assessment tools, climate budget tagging, or macroeconomic projection platforms used by governments or IFIs.
- Familiarity with EU Green Agenda requirements and their implications for macroeconomic and fiscal planning
- Experience working with Ministries of Finance, international financial institutions, or in policy advisory roles at the intersection of climate and economic planning.
- Familiarity with analytical tools and frameworks used for climate-informed fiscal policy, such as stress-testing models, climate budget tagging, or long-term expenditure forecasting.
