UNDRR Consultant Opportunity 2026: Strengthening Fiscal Resilience in the Maldives

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is seeking a Consultant to support a project aimed at integrating disaster scenarios affecting critical infrastructure into macro-fiscal analysis in the Maldives. This initiative will enhance fiscal resilience, strengthen institutional capacity, and improve disaster risk-informed public financial management in a highly climate-exposed Small Island Developing State (SIDS).

 Project Overview

The Maldives faces unique fiscal and climate challenges:

• Economic structure: Tourism accounts for 25–30% of GDP and over 60% of foreign exchange earnings, making the country highly sensitive to external demand and climate shocks.
• Fiscal pressures: Public debt has increased due to large infrastructure investments, limiting fiscal space.
• Climate vulnerability: Average ground elevation is only 1.5 meters above sea level, exposing critical infrastructure to coastal flooding, storm surges, sea-level rise, and extreme rainfall.

Disasters impacting infrastructure can create macroeconomic and fiscal ripple effects, including:

• Declines in tourism and service exports
• Disruptions to transport and logistics
• Reconstruction expenditure pressures
• Revenue volatility and debt sustainability challenges

This project focuses on Budget Stress Testing to assess potential fiscal and macroeconomic impacts and strengthen coordination for risk-informed fiscal planning.

 Key Responsibilities

The Consultant will:

1. Scenario Development
   • Develop disaster and economic stress scenarios specific to the Maldives, focusing on climate hazards and tourism-related shocks.
   • Coordinate data collection and validation with the Ministry of Finance and other agencies.
   • Facilitate inter-agency consultations to align scenarios with national priorities.
2. Economic and Fiscal Modeling
   • Provide technical interpretation of macro-fiscal modeling outputs.
   • Collaborate with data scientists to access fiscal and macroeconomic data.
   • Assess implications for fiscal balances, debt sustainability, and fiscal buffers.
3. Risk and Policy Integration
   • Evaluate existing disaster risk financing instruments and resilience investments.
   • Identify fiscal vulnerabilities related to critical infrastructure exposure.
   • Integrate stress test findings into fiscal planning and public financial management.
4. Stakeholder Engagement & Capacity Building
   • Coordinate technical workshops and stakeholder consultations.
   • Facilitate collaboration between the Ministry of Finance, National Disaster Management Authority, and other agencies.
   • Review analytical work from international partners (ADB, World Bank, IMF, UNDP).
5. Reporting & Documentation
   • Prepare technical reports summarizing scenarios, modeling results, and policy implications.
   • Provide inputs to strengthen risk-informed fiscal decision-making in the Maldives.

 Qualifications & Skills

• Education: Advanced university degree in Economics or related field. A first-level degree with at least two additional years of relevant experience may be considered.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years in macroeconomic analysis, fiscal policy, macro-fiscal forecasting, debt sustainability, and public financial management.
• Proven expertise in country-level macro-fiscal frameworks (MTFF, budget formulation, DSA).
• Experience in quantitative economic analysis, econometrics, and scenario-based policy assessment.
• Track record of working with Ministries of Finance, Central Banks, and international financial institutions.
• Experience in assessing fiscal risks related to climate vulnerabilities in SIDS contexts is highly desirable.
• Languages: Fluency in English and Maldivian is required.

 Duration & Location

• Duration: 8 months
• Duty Station: Male, Maldives
• Compensation: No fee; consultancy terms apply as per UNDRR arrangements

 Why This Role?

This consultancy offers the chance to:

• Contribute to climate risk-informed fiscal planning in a highly exposed SIDS
• Collaborate with international financial institutions and government agencies
• Engage in scenario-based macro-fiscal modeling for disaster resilience
• Support capacity building in public financial management and disaster risk reduction