Senior Industrial Corridor Development Consultant

The medium-term programme framework (MTPF) 2026 - 2029 is UNIDO’s core strategic document and it is in line with UNIDO’s Vision 2050. It sets a renewed vision to support Member States and shape their industries for development. The priorities include fair and sustainable global and regional supply chains, ending hunger through innovation and local value addition, renewable and clean energy, sustainable energy access and climate action. Cross-cutting priorities focus on industrial and economic policy advice, skills development, fostering digitalization and artificial intelligence, gender equality and the empowerment of women, supporting youth, promoting cleaner production and circular economy, and leveraging private sector investment and development finance.

Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards-related activities; and (iv) convening and fostering partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer, investment mobilization, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Divisions/Offices in its Headquarters, Sub-regional Offices and Country Offices.

Under the overall direction of the Director General, and in close collaboration with all relevant organizational entities within UNIDO, the Directorate of Global Partnerships and External Relations (GLO), headed by a Managing Director, is responsible for UNIDO's relations with Member States and all external partners, including through the policymaking organs. It plays a central role for interaction and collaboration with traditional and non-traditional donors; oversees the regional bureaus as well as the network of established field offices, liaison offices and Investment and Technology Promotion Offices; and supports the implementation of particularly complex projects, programmes and special assignments, thus also fulfilling an important role in safeguarding their quality and the reputation of the Organization. The Directorate houses the Divisions of Policymaking Organs (GLO/PMO), Regional Bureaus and Field Coordination (GLO/RFO), Funding Partner Relations (GLO/FPR), and Investment and Technology Promotion Offices and Institutional Partnerships (GLO/ITP). The Directorate also ensures close coordination and collaboration among the Divisions as well as with relevant entities in the Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET) and the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS).

Under the supervision of the Managing Director of the Directorate of Global Partnerships and External Relations (GLO), the Division of Regional Bureaus and Field Coordination (GLO/RFO) coordinates the field representation and interventions of UNIDO in Member States and regions. Within this context, the Division is responsible for determining programmatic priorities for UNIDO's services and ensuring that UNIDO responds to the specific needs and requirements of Member States and development partners at the country and regional levels. It facilitates the development of regional strategies, country programmes (including Programmes for Country Partnership - PCPs) and monitors their implementation. The Division encompasses all the UNIDO field offices and the five Regional Bureaus: Africa (GLO/RFO/AFR), the Arab Region (GLO/RFO/ARB); Asia and the Pacific (GLO/RFO/ASP); Europe and Central Asia (GLO/RFO/EUR); and Latin American and the Caribbean (GLO/RFO/LAC).

This position is located under the Regional Bureau for Africa (GLO/RFO/AFR), which covers forty-six (46) African countries located in the four Sub-Saharan regions of Africa (West, Central, East and South) that are home of seven of the eight African Union’s recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs), namely the: Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Community of Sahel– Saharan States (CEN SAD), East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). These RECs are the building blocks of the African Economic Community (AEC). In addition, the Regional Bureau for Africa leads and coordinates the implementation of the UNIDO Strategy for Africa 2026-2029 and acts as UNIDO’s Focal Point for IDDA IV, the country groupings LDCs, LLDCs, MICs, SIDS including RECs in the region, African Union Commission (AUC), AU Development and Specialized Agencies including AUDA-NEPAD, AfCFTA Secretariat, and the Africa Business Council (AfBC).

PROJECT CONTEXT

Project ID 240407: The Mano River Union (MRU), comprising Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, provides an established platform for regional cooperation and possesses substantial industrial potential based on strategic minerals, agriculture, fisheries, coastal gateways, energy infrastructure and expanding regional markets. Key enabling assets include regional roads and border infrastructure, customs modernization, the Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea (CLSG) electricity interconnection, ports and logistics gateways, and emerging initiatives such as the proposed Guinea-Liberia Liberty Corridor.

Despite these assets, the corridor remains largely focused on connectivity and exports of unprocessed commodities. Existing infrastructure programmes and national initiatives have not yet been consolidated into an integrated industrial and spatial-development framework, effective governance mechanism or structured portfolio of cross-border investments.

UNIDO proposes to support the MRU Secretariat and its Member States in transforming the corridor into an integrated, green, inclusive and investment-oriented Strategic Economic and Industrial Corridor. The MRU–SEIC will connect transport, energy and digital infrastructure with regional value chains, industrial clusters, agro-industrial parks, mineral beneficiation, fisheries, logistics hubs, SMEs, skills and innovation. Its central proposition is to create an integrated regional production system that lowers trade and logistics costs, connects productive capacity to markets, attracts investment and enables the Member States to capture greater value from their resources.

Envisaged as a long-term programme covering approximately 2027–2037, the MRU–SEIC will be aligned with MRU and national priorities; the Economic Community of West African States Vision 2050; the African Continental Free Trade Area; the African Union Agenda 2063; the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa; the Fourth Industrial Development Decade for Africa; PAIDA and the emerging PAIDA–Strategic Economic and Industrial Corridors implementation pathway; the UNIDO Strategy for Africa 2026–2029; and relevant country and regional programming instruments. The present assignment will support the initial diagnostic, institutional and project-development phase and prepare the framework for an 18-24-month preparatory programme.

Under UNIDO’s technical leadership, the assignment will be undertaken in coordination with the MRU Secretariat, Member States, ECOWAS and the Sierra Leone Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF) in the framework of the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS). The MRU Secretariat will provide regional ownership and programme anchoring; Member States will retain responsibility for national reforms and projects; ECOWAS will support regional policy alignment; UNIDO will lead the technical work; and PI-CREF/WAIIS will support investor convening and investment mobilization.

The consultant will also support the West Africa Ministerial Forum on Strategic Economic and Industrial Corridors, scheduled for 15–16 November 2026 in Freetown as a high-level pre-event to WAIIS 2026. The Forum will advance a broader West Africa SEIC framework, position the MRU–SEIC as an initial demonstration corridor, screen priority regional projects and translate validated political decisions and expressions of interest into project-preparation and implementation actions.

Any proposed endorsement, Compact, governance body, Project Preparation and Investment Facility, Corridor Observatory, partnership or financing commitment will remain subject to institutional decisions and clearances. The assignment excludes detailed engineering, complete feasibility studies, certified environmental and social assessments, transaction execution and certification of projects as bankable or investment-ready. Where specialist work is required, the consultant will identify the need and prepare appropriate terms of reference and follow-up arrangements.

The purpose of the assignment is to provide senior technical leadership for the initial development of the MRU–SEIC and its linkage to the broader West Africa SEIC approach and WAIIS investment architecture. The consultant will consolidate existing evidence, undertake corridor diagnostics, prepare the initial industrial and spatial framework, develop a structured regional investment portfolio, design governance and project-preparation mechanisms, support the Ministerial Forum and WAIIS, and establish a phased pathway for implementation, financing, monitoring and institutionalization.

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of the Regional Bureau for Africa and the day-to-day coordination of the designated GLO/RFO/AFR MRU Programme Focal Point, the consultant will work in close cooperation with relevant UNIDO technical divisions, field offices and approved regional and national counterparts, the consultant will undertake the following duties:

MAIN DUTIES

1. Inception, coordination and immediate event preparation

   • Review relevant policies, studies, programmes, data and investment pipelines.
   • Confirm the MRU corridor geography and map institutions, sponsors, partners and stakeholders.
   • Establish the methodology, evidence plan, consultations, missions, quality assurance and risk arrangements.
   • Coordinate inputs from UNIDO, MRU, Member States, ECOWAS, PI-CREF/WAIIS and partners.
   • Prepare an accelerated plan for the Ministerial Forum and WAIIS, including project-submission and screening arrangements.

2. West Africa SEIC Framework, Ministerial Forum and WAIIS (West Africa Integration and Investment Summit, Sierra Leone)

   • Prepare the draft West Africa SEIC principles/framework and position MRU–SEIC as an initial demonstration corridor.
   • Prepare the Forum agenda, technical papers, presentations, briefs, draft decision language, Freetown Declaration and MRU–SEIC Compact outline.
   • Screen 10–15 candidate regional projects and select at least five for accelerated preparation, subject to readiness.
   • Map DFIs, investors and industrial partners; support project clinics, investor engagement and matchmaking.
   • Develop the Data Room, Deal Room and Board Room interface and provide technical support during the Forum and WAIIS.
   • Record decisions and prepare the implementation and accountability pathway.

3. Comprehensive corridor diagnostic and investment business case

   • Apply the UNIDO Corridor Readiness Assessment Tool (CRAT), adapted to MRU conditions.
   • Assess the political mandate, industrial base, infrastructure, logistics, energy, water, digital systems, markets, trade facilitation, investment environment, institutions, skills, ESG, fragility, inclusion, pipeline and investment readiness.
   • Analyse trade and production flows, gateways, border crossings, cities, mining and agricultural basins, fisheries, hinterlands and regional complementarities.
   • Quantify, where data permit, market demand, logistics costs, trade, productivity, employment, value addition, exports and import substitution.
   • Identify constraints, missing links, quick wins and transformational opportunities.

4. Value chains, spatial framework, policy and governance

   • Prioritize regional value chains covering agro-industry, minerals and materials, fisheries and blue economy, forestry/bioeconomy, and manufacturing and industrial services.
   • Develop options for five to seven regional value-chain platforms.
   • Apply a network model linking gateways, productive nodes, industrial clusters and hinterlands.
   • Identify and assess Cross-Border Industrial Growth Triangles, strategic nodes, parks and SEZs.
   • Prepare the industrial and spatial-development framework and identify priority policy and regulatory reforms.
   • Design governance arrangements linking political oversight, programme delivery, national platforms and investment mobilization.

5. Investment portfolio, project preparation and financing

   • Expand and validate a 20–30-opportunity screening longlist and develop 10–15 priority project profiles.
   • Structure the portfolio around connectivity; productive capacity; utilities/digital; trade, policy and investment facilitation; and people, enterprises and sustainability.
   • Apply transparent impact, readiness, sponsor, market, ESG and financing criteria and classify projects by preparation needs.
   • Undertake preliminary economic and financial assessments and identify pre-feasibility, feasibility, safeguards, engineering and transaction-advisory requirements.
   • Design a stage-gated route from opportunity identification to preparation, financing, implementation and scale-up.
   • Design the proposed MRU Industrial Project Preparation and Investment Facility and develop financing, partnership and resource-mobilization strategies.

6. Integrated programme design, sustainability and institutionalization

   • Integrate productive energy, digital transformation, quality infrastructure, strategic minerals, agro-industry, enterprise development and investment promotion into the MRU–SEIC programme.
   • Mainstream climate resilience, resource efficiency, circular economy, responsible minerals, safeguards, gender, youth, SMEs, local suppliers, skills and community benefits.
   • Develop the results framework, data architecture and monitoring arrangements.
   • Design the proposed MRU Industrial Corridor Observatory and knowledge platform.
   • Prepare the 18–24-month preparatory programme, including technical components, specialist inputs, governance, indicative budget, financing and implementation arrangements.
   • Deliver validation, capacity development and handover activities.

7. Final reporting and handover

   • Consolidate activities, consultations, outputs, decisions, investment engagements, challenges, lessons and outstanding actions.
   • Complete the technical and administrative handover to UNIDO and designated counterparts.

Perform other related tasks as assigned by the Chief of the Regional Bureau for Africa in support of the UNIDO Strategy for Africa and regional industrial-development priorities.

MINIMUM ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Education: Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in economics, industrial development, economic geography, regional or urban planning, public policy, international development, infrastructure planning, finance, engineering, business administration or other relevant discipline is required. Specialization in economic corridor development, regional industrial planning, spatial planning project preparation or investment programme development is required.

Technical and Functional Experience:

• At least ten (10) years of progressive professional experience in industrial development, regional economic integration, economic-corridor development, spatial development, infrastructure-led growth, value-chain development, investment planning or closely related fields, including substantive responsibility at the senior and international level, is required.
• Leadership or substantive technical responsibility in at least three complex assignments involving economic corridors, regional integration, industrialization, industrial clusters or special economic zones (SEZs), spatial master planning or investment programmes is required.
• Proven experience in undertaking economic, spatial, institutional and political-economy diagnostics and translating findings into strategies, implementation roadmaps and investment pipelines is required.
• Experience developing business cases, market assessments, project profiles, prioritization systems and project-preparation pathways is required.
• Experience in facilitating multi-country and multi-institutional processes involving governments, regional organizations, private-sector actors, financial institutions, development partners and affected stakeholders is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of inclusive and sustainable industrial development, industrial policy, regional value chains, trade and logistics, productive infrastructure, climate resilience and environmental and social sustainability is required.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare high-quality analytical, policy and decision-making documents for senior policymakers, regional institutions and financing partners is required.
• Experience working in developing countries, particularly in West Africa, is desirable.
• Experience in at least two MRU Member States and familiarity with MRU and ECOWAS institutions, the AfCFTA, Agenda 2063, PIDA, IDDA IV, PAIDA and African corridor-development frameworks is desirable.
• Experience using GIS, spatial economic analysis, value-chain tools, multi-criteria project appraisal, cost-benefit analysis or financial modelling is desirable.
• Experience working with UNIDO, another United Nations entity, an international financial institution, a regional organization or a bilateral development agency is desirable.
• Experience in fragile or conflict-affected settings and in conflict-sensitive, gender-responsive and climate-resilient programme design is desirable.
• A demonstrated record of mobilizing partnerships or financial resources for large, multi-sector development programmes is desirable.

Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Fluency and/or Working knowledge of French is strongly desirable.

CORE VALUES AND BEHAVIORS

Core Values

EXCELLENCE – Deliver high-quality results; continuously improve performance.

INTEGRITY – Uphold ethical standards; act transparently and responsibly.

INCLUSION – Promote respect, diversity, and fairness.

HUMILITY – Show self-awareness; value others’ contributions.

HUMANITY – Act with compassion; align work with sustainable development.

Core Behaviors

CONNECT & COLLABORATE – Build trust through effective communication and teamwork; share knowledge and embrace diversity.

ANALYSE & PLAN – Use data and evidence to inform decision-making; plan proactively and prioritize effectively.

DELIVER RESULTS WITH POSITIVE IMPACT – Take ownership and deliver high-quality outputs; align work with UNIDO’s mission and objectives.

LEARN AND DEVELOP – Continuously develop skills and capabilities; seek feedback and share knowledge with others.

ADAPT AND INNOVATE – Respond flexibly to change; embrace innovation and new approaches.

This appointment is limited to the specified project(s) only and does not carry any expectation of renewal. Employees of UNIDO are expected at all times to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity, both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for jobs at UNIDO.

All applications must be submitted online through the Online Recruitment System. Correspondence will be undertaken only with candidates who are being considered at an advanced phase of the selection process. Selected candidate(s) may be required to disclose to the Director General the nature and scope of financial and other personal interests and assets in respect of themselves, their spouses and dependents, under the procedures established by the Director General.

Visit the UNIDO website for details on how to apply: www.unido.org

NOTE: The Director General retains the discretion to make an appointment to this post at a lower level.

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