Environmental Law and Governance Specialist

The consultancy is expected to deliver: • A comprehensive Country Readiness Assessment Report assessing Uganda’s environmental legal, policy and institutional readiness for responsible investment in critical energy transition minerals. • An assessment of Uganda’s compliance with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Principles on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, including identification of strengths, gaps and priority actions. • Recommendations for strengthening environmental governance, responsible mining practices and green investment readiness. • Validated stakeholder consultation outcomes. • Recommendations for enhancing UNEP’s CETM Policy Package based on Uganda’s experience. Under the supervision of the Programme Management Officer (Industry and Economy Division) and the Legal Officer (Law Division), the consultant will undertake the following assignments: I Conduct a comprehensive assessment of Uganda’s policy, legislative, institutional frameworks relating to CETM and prepare a Country Readiness Assessment Report. The assessment shall: • Evaluate Uganda’s readiness to support environmentally responsible investment in critical energy transition minerals. • Assess the extent to which Uganda’s legal, policy and institutional frameworks align with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Principles on CETM, particularly regarding: o environmental stewardship; o protection of biodiversity and ecosystems; o climate change mitigation and adaptation; o sustainable land and water management; o pollution prevention and waste management; o mine closure and rehabilitation; o transparency and accountability; o human rights and community participation; o equitable benefit-sharing; o responsible investment and governance. • Assess the adequacy and effectiveness of environmental legislation, mining legislation, environmental impact assessment systems, strategic environmental assessment, environmental compliance and enforcement mechanisms, licensing procedures, monitoring systems and institutional coordination. • Identify legal, institutional and policy gaps that may limit Uganda’s ability to attract environmentally responsible investment while meeting international good practice. The assessment shall incorporate: • findings from field missions and stakeholder interviews; • literature review and analysis; • review of existing policies, legislation and institutional arrangements; • additional desk research. II Develop actionable recommendations for strengthening Uganda’s policy, legislative and institutional frameworks to support environmentally responsible development of critical energy transition minerals. Recommendations should include measures to: • strengthen environmental governance throughout the mining lifecycle; • improve environmental safeguards and compliance systems; • promote sustainable green mining practices consistent with international standards; • enhance environmental monitoring, mine rehabilitation and mine closure requirements; • strengthen biodiversity conservation, pollution control and water resource management; • improve institutional coordination and enforcement; • promote responsible investment consistent with the UN Secretary-General’s CETM Principles; • support climate-smart, resource-efficient and circular approaches to mineral development. III Facilitate stakeholder consultations and validation workshops involving relevant government institutions, environmental authorities, mining and environmental regulators, private sector representatives, civil society organizations, local communities, academia and development partners. The consultations shall: • validate findings from the readiness assessment; • identify barriers to environmentally responsible investment; • assess Uganda’s alignment with the UN Secretary-General’s CETM Principles; • identify priority reforms required to advance responsible and green mining; • validate recommendations for strengthening environmental governance and investment readiness. The consultant shall prepare presentations, provide technical inputs to workshop agendas, review stakeholder lists, contribute to workshop reports and incorporate stakeholder feedback into the final reports. IV Prepare a report containing recommendations for strengthening the UNEP CETM Policy Package based on lessons learned from Uganda’s country readiness assessment, including recommendations for improving environmental governance indicators, legal assessment methodologies and responsible mining guidance for broader application across Africa. V Work closely with UNEP, UNECA and national stakeholders throughout the assignment, providing regular progress updates and undertaking any additional tasks required under the project.

Kampala, Uganda

6 months, part-time

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. This position is located in UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division while collaborating closely with UNEP’s Law Division. The Industry and Economy Division provides solutions to decision-makers and helps change the business environment by offering platforms for multi- stakeholder dialogue and cooperation, innovative policy options, pilot projects and creative market mechanisms to improve the quality of the environment and the well-being of citizens. It promotes sustainable patterns of consumption and production, makes efficient use of natural resources, ensures safe management of chemicals and contributes to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. This opportunity is located within the Mining Unit at UNEP. The Unit promotes responsible mining and sustainable use of mineral resources, including through resource efficiency and circularity. The Law Division is the lead Division responsible for advancing UNEP’s work in environmental law, governance, and related policy issues, including those related to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). The Division provides technical support to countries to develop, strengthen, and implement environmental law, and to build the capacity of stakeholders and institutions for effective compliance and enforcement. The accelerating global transition towards low-carbon and renewable energy systems has significantly increased demand for critical energy transition minerals (CETMs), including copper, cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel and rare earth elements. These minerals are indispensable for renewable energy technologies, battery storage, electric mobility and modern electricity networks. At the same time, their extraction presents significant environmental, social and governance challenges, including biodiversity loss, water pollution, land degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, community impacts and human rights concerns. Uganda possesses significant mineral resources with growing potential to contribute to global energy transition value chains. As exploration and investment increase, Uganda has an opportunity to position itself as a supplier of responsibly produced CETM while ensuring that mineral development contributes to sustainable development, environmental protection, climate resilience and inclusive economic transformation. Recognizing these opportunities and challenges, the United Nations Secretary-General established the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals (CETM Panel), which released its report Resourcing the Energy Transition: Principles to Guide Critical Energy Transition Minerals toward Equity and Justice in September 2024. The report outlines voluntary global principles aimed at ensuring that the extraction, processing and trade of critical energy transition minerals support sustainable development through environmental stewardship, human rights, transparency, value addition, equitable benefit-sharing and international cooperation. Building on these principles, the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, UNEP, UNCTAD and UNDP launched the United Nations Task Force on Critical Energy Transition Minerals in December 2025 to strengthen international cooperation and support countries in improving governance, environmental safeguards and responsible investment across CETM value chains. Within this context, UNEP and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are implementing the project “Building Environmentally Responsible Investment Readiness in Critical Energy Transition Minerals (CETM)”. The project seeks to strengthen the policy, legal and institutional frameworks of mineral-producing countries to attract responsible investment while safeguarding ecosystems, supporting climate goals, enhancing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable and inclusive mineral development. The project consists of three interlinked outputs: 1. Development of an integrated policy package covering regulatory, environmental, institutional and enforcement measures, including indicators and a readiness dashboard. 2. Country readiness assessments applying the policy package. 3. Capacity building to address identified gaps and support implementation. Uganda is one of four pilot countries selected for the readiness assessments alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zambia. The country assessments will evaluate national readiness to support environmentally responsible investment in critical energy transition minerals while assessing alignment with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Principles on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, identifying policy, legal and institutional gaps, and recommending reforms that promote responsible and green mining.

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Natural Resources Law, Mining Law, Environmental Management, Sustainable Development, Mining Engineering, Natural Resources Governance, Environmental Governance, or a closely related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience in one of the above fields may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. • At least five years of progressively responsible experience in environmental law, environmental governance, mining law, natural resources management or sustainable development is required. • Demonstrated expertise in environmental regulation of the mining sector, environmental impact assessment, environmental compliance and enforcement, biodiversity conservation, climate change, or sustainable mineral governance in Africa is highly desirable. • Experience assessing legal and institutional frameworks against international environmental standards or global governance principles—including the United Nations Secretary-General’s Principles on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, environmental and social safeguards, ESG frameworks or related international instruments—will be an advantage. • Previous experience with UNEP, UNECA, other United Nations entities, or international environmental governance initiatives is desirable. • Experience working in Uganda is an advantage. Competencies The consultant should demonstrate: • Strong analytical and legal research skills. • Excellent knowledge of environmental governance and responsible mining. • Strong understanding of environmental dimensions of the global energy transition and responsible mineral value chains. • Ability to analyze complex legal, institutional and environmental issues and translate them into practical policy recommendations. • Excellent report writing and presentation skills. • Strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills. • Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.

Excellent command of written and spoken English

Not available.