Project Development Specialist

Job Description

Green Growth Nepal (GGN) is a five-year programme (2024-2029) funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by PwC. GGN is the successor to the Accelerating Investment and Infrastructure in Nepal (AIIN) programme. The aim of GGN is to foster green, resilient, and inclusive growth across Nepal, with a focus on:

National Green Growth (Component 1): work with federal and provincial governments to improve policies and institutions that promote green growth and investment.

Green Growth for Cities (Component 2): work with federal and subnational governments and the private sector to advance green urban development through integrated policy reform, intergovernmental coordination, and the mobilisation of private sector-led or private-public partnership sub-national projects

Financial Sector Deepening (Component 3): work to mobilize both domestic and international finance for green growth projects.

While Component 2 has a strong policy and government engagement capability, there is a recognised need to strengthen dedicated capacity for private sector mobilisation, project origination, and facilitation to accelerate delivery outcomes. The Project Development Specialist position is established to complement the policy and coordination strengths of Component 2 by providing focused leadership and expertise on project identification, structuring, and engagement with private sector actors, while operating within a unified component framework.

Objective of the Position

The objective of the Project Development Specialist is to accelerate the development and mobilisation of bankable green urban projects under Component 2, including by strengthening engagement with private sector actors and supporting sub-national governments to translate policy and planning priorities into implementable projects.

Scope of Work
The Project Development Specialist is expected to contribute to the identification, scoping and execution of priority project development tasks, which will be implemented through approved task-level TORs in line with GGN programme governance and arrangements.

Specifically, the Project Development Specialist will undertake the following core functions:

Project Pipeline Development

• Engage with the private sector, government agencies, and other relevant parties to identify and prioritise a pipeline of green urban projects aligned with Component 2 objectives and sub-national government priorities.
• Support municipalities and provincial governments to translate policy and planning priorities into implementable project concepts.
• Ensure alignment of project concepts with relevant national and sub-national policies and regulatory frameworks.

Private Sector Engagement

• Engage with private sector developers, investors, utilities, and service providers to assess commercial interest and feasibility of identified projects.
• Facilitate structured dialogue between public sector stakeholders and private sector actors to address regulatory, commercial, and implementation barriers.
• Help develop investor ready materials and ability to pitch project ideas to potential investors to garner their interest and feedback.

Project Development and Facilitation

• Lead or support early-stage project development activities, including preparation of concept notes, pre-feasibility inputs, and development pathways, up to commercial closure of the project.
• Support exploration of appropriate delivery and financing models, including private sector–led and PPP approaches, as relevant.
• Work to improve bankability of projects by applying private-sector perspectives on risk allocation, revenue models, guarantees, as well as investor appetite.
• Help provide guidance on leveraging private capital, guarantees and blended finance where appropriate.
• Coordinate technical advisory inputs required for project preparation.
• Facilitate and support the private sector and/or sub-national governments in navigating approvals, coordination, and early-stage implementation readiness.

Coordination within Component 2

• Work closely with the Component 2 Lead to ensure project activities are fully integrated with policy reform, planning, and intergovernmental coordination efforts.
• Contribute to Component 2 work planning and internal coordination mechanisms.
• Participate in Component 2 review and coordination meetings as required.

Reporting and Quality Assurance

• Provide regular updates on project pipeline status, progress, risks, and bottlenecks to the Component 2 Lead and Team Leader.
• Contribute inputs to programme reporting related to Component 2 delivery.
• Ensure adherence to GGN standards, safeguards, and FCDO requirements.

Cross-Cutting

• Integrate environmental, social, governance and climate considerations into project development activities.
• Support inclusive and sustainable urban development outcomes aligned with GGN objectives.
• Provide private sector technical expertise to Component 1 and 3 of GGN on an ad hoc basis, as required.

Key Deliverables (Indicative)

• A prioritised pipeline of green urban projects with defined development pathways.
• Records of private sector engagement for priority projects.
• Project concept notes and/or early-stage project development outputs for selected projects.
• Periodic progress updates and inputs to Component 2 reporting.
• Deliverables and timelines will be further defined through approved workplans and task-level TORs.

Governance and Accountability

• The Project Development Specialist reports functionally to the Component 2 Lead, who retains overall accountability for Component 2 coherence, and performance. but will also have a direct reporting line to the Team Leader as well, who will also provide strategic oversight, ensure alignment with overall programme objectives, milestones, deadlines and deliverables and support resolution of cross-component or high-level issues.
• The role operates within a unified Component 2 governance structure, but will be expected to operate fairly autonomously in delivering their objectives

Level of Effort and Contractual Modality

• The level of effort of the position will be ascertained based on Component 2 needs and available programme resources.
• Engagement will be based on output-based TORs, subject to PwC contracting arrangements and FCDO approval.
• The Project Development Specialist will undertake technical and project development activities through specific, time-bound task-level TORs prepared in consultation with the Component 2 Lead and the Team Leader.
• Each task-level TOR will define scope, outputs, timelines and level of effort and will be subject to approval in accordance with GGN and FCDO procedures prior to commencement.
  The task-level TORs will be drafted by the Project Development Specialist or other relevant experts and will be reviewed by the Component 2 Lead and the Team Leader prior to submission for approval.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Essential:

• Advanced degree in engineering, management, economics, finance, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in infrastructure or urban project development, preferably at sub-national or municipal level.
• Demonstrated experience engaging private sector actors and supporting mobilisation of investment for infrastructure or urban projects.
• Strong understanding of early-stage project development, structuring, and public–private interfaces.
• Strong soft/human skills, and ability to work in a team.

Desirable:

• Experience in green or climate-aligned urban infrastructure sectors.
• Familiarity with Nepal’s urban governance and regulatory environment.

• Experience in donor-funded programmes.

  Note; This is a Part-time position currently, with potential to transition to full-time in the future.