Minerals and Metals Specialist

Result of service

The tasks undertaken under this consultancy will ultimately contribute to achieving the following objectives:
• manage the digital knowledge hub on environmental aspects of minerals and metals, including updating of resources, liaising with relevant stakeholders and engaging communities of practice.
• assist with the development of webinars and trainings on priority areas such as governance, value chain aspects, tailings and mine closure, and circularity.
• support the development of a quarterly newsletter.
• assist with the drafting of project proposals.
• support the synthesis of insights and lessons emerging from industry actor consultations.
• support the development of business cases report based on industry engagement.
• support in preparing background documents, internal and external briefs, meeting summaries as well as communication activities, as requested.

Work location

Remote

Expected duration

2 months

Duties and responsibilities

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. Its 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  unit promotes responsible mining and sustainable use of mineral resources, including through resource efficiency and circularity. Unep's work on mining has been covering the following priority areas:
1. Strengthening laws and governance of minerals and metals
-facilitating intergovernmental processes around minerals and metals and promote environmental sustainability and circularity in mining governance.
2. Informing policy with science- increasing knowledge and evidence on environmental impacts: provide policy-makers and stakeholders with impartial assessments, knowledge and science on environmental threats and impacts of the mining industry;.
3. Innovation and better business
-encouraging businesses to improve their resource efficiency and adopt sustainable practices along the value chain. Background information since 2019, the united nations environment assembly (unea) has adopted four resolutions on the topic of minerals and metals. Unea 6/5 further advanced the agenda of enhancing environmental sustainability of minerals and metals by strengthening the focus on international cooperation, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building which unep supported through the unea 6/5 digital knowledge hub.

In december 2026, unea resolution 7/3 on strengthening international cooperation on the environmentally sound management of minerals and metals was adopted. It requests unep to compile submissions to inform the convening of dialogues among member states to discuss the following topics: (a) enhancing international cooperation on the sustainable management of minerals and metals; (b) resource recovery from mining waste and tailings through sustainable approaches, such as circularity;

(c) best practices for the environmentally sound management of minerals and metals; (d) enhancing cooperation to strengthen technological, technical, financial and scientific capabilities related to the management of environmental aspects of minerals and metals, in particular in developing countries. The mining unit is looking for a consultant specifically to support tasks related to industry engagement as well as knowledge and event management.

This will include the management of the digital knowledge hub and support of the industry engagement on…