Senior Port Consultant
Remote | Tianjin | Beijing
- Organization: AIIB - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- Location: Remote | Tianjin | Beijing
- Grade: ["consultant"]
-
Occupational Groups:
- Transport and Distribution
- Closing Date: 2025-08-27
Senior Port Consultant
Senior Port Consultant
Application close date
08/27/2025
1. Project Background
The Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) promotes high-quality cross-border connectivity infrastructure investment in developing countries through partnerships. MCDF advances this mission by supporting information sharing, capacity building, and project preparation to boost the application of International Financial Institution (IFI) standards and good practices in cross-border connectivity projects to ensure they foster sustainable development. The MCDF Secretariat supports the day-to-day operations of MCDF, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) serves as the Administrator of MCDF and host of the MCDF Secretariat. MCDF and partners are organizing a three-day conference on green and efficient ports. The objectives, topics, and structure are presented in these Terms of Reference. The main objectives of the proposed conference are: • Highlight the importance of developing resilient, sustainable, digital, and efficient ports to promote high-quality connectivity infrastructure • Share the latest technological, institutional, managerial, and financial innovations and reforms globally to support developing and upgrading ports to facilitate trade and sustainable development • Foster peer exchanges to deepen relations between IFIs, developing country port regulators, financiers, and port operators, and explore opportunities to finance the preparation and implementation of new and retrofit investments for resilient, sustainable, digital, and smart ports This combination of objectives makes the conference unique among the many other events focused on ports, trade, and maritime transport. The conference topics will cover: • Sustainability, including environmental and biodiversity issues, climate mitigation (including renewable energy and energy efficiency), and resilience to natural disasters and climate shocks, accidents, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and broader logistics, value chain, and trade route disruptions. The focus will be on the sustainability of port infrastructure rather than maritime shipping. • Digital transformation and efficient ports, including frontier technologies and applications to ports, and smart port solutions beyond digitalization processes, including port-terminal integration, port-city integration, hinterland connectivity, and broader supply chain integration. • Financing sustainable and smart ports, including innovations in PPPs, green financing, insurance for disasters and technological transformation, thematic bonds, and other innovative IFI tools. Financing issues and instruments specific to sustainability, digitization, and efficiency will be covered in the thematic sessions. The first two days of the conference will consist of technical sessions hosted at AIIB headquarters. The third day will be dedicated to a field visit to port operations near Beijing. The conference design will be highly interactive, allowing participants to engage with IFIs’ current and prospective clients, raise questions, and exchange feedback and ideas with participating peer ports and agencies in developing countries and global experts. The number of in-person participants at the conference will be limited to 80 to ensure high interactivity and engagement. There will be a hybrid connection for a very limited number of presenters who may not be able to travel to the conference but who have valuable practical experiences to share. The conference sessions will be recorded and edited for subsequent access by MCDF partners.
2. Objectives of the Assignment
MCDF is looking to contract two individual consultants for a period of 15 working days to support with the technical preparation and delivery of the conference. Additional details of the conference are as follows. The conference will feature three types of sessions: • Plenary technical overview presentations, where global experts will discuss the latest developments and trends pertaining to the conference themes: sustainability, digitalization, and finance. The presentations will be directly applicable to the challenges and opportunities of IFI clients participating in the conference. Highly technical presentations of advanced ports in OECD countries or frontier research topics will not be the focus of this conference. • Case study presentations and panel discussions on port enhancement journeys in developing countries and applicable lessons. These sessions will include time for audience questions and answers. • Roundtable exchanges, where participating countries can share questions or comments about IFI project preparation, the implementation of specific investments or policy improvements, or the financing of relevant investments. Other participants, including IFI staff, clients, and global experts, will exchange ideas and suggestions for addressing related challenges. Clients with more experience engaging IFIs will be encouraged to share their experiences with prospective clients. These exchanges are expected to continue during the conference’s open networking times. The conference will be designed for three primary audiences: • Government: Port authorities, port regulators, ministries of transport, customs, environment, and industry representatives, with a focus on developing countries • Financiers: IFI staff, developing country financiers, national infrastructure banks, and corporate banks • Private sector: A selected number of port operators, designers, builders, logistics companies, and global supply chain specialists Conference participants from developing countries are expected to be nominated by IFI partners. The conference is scheduled to take place in China in the week commencing 1 December 2025. The first two days of the conference will take place at the AIIB headquarters in Beijing. The field visit on the third day is proposed to take place in the city of Tianjin, a short train ride from Beijing. MCDF will provide logistical support and coordination for the conference, facilitating the issuance of visa invitation letters to participants, in close coordination with IFI partners. The conference will be co-organized with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) that are partners of MCDF, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), AIIB, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and World Bank.
3. Scope of Services
Support the technical preparation and delivery of the conference.
3. Scope of Services (Continued)
(No Value)
4. Consultancy Output / Deliverables
1. Identification and invitation of speakers from ports, regulators, and port authorities from developed countries 2. Advice on the technical content of sessions (presenters, topics, etc.), based on inputs from the co-sponsors 3. Prepare and deliver an overview presentation on a topic leveraging the consultant’s expertise (it is expected that each consultant will have a strong technical background on one of the conference topics: (i) smart digital ports; (ii) green and efficient ports; and/or (iii) financing of green and efficient ports) 4. Review presentations and provide advice to countries sharing their experiences, challenges, and lessons during the Participating Country Roundtable sessions 5. Participate in all sessions of the conference and be available to support the MCDF team during the conference on technical issues 6. Prepare brief technical summaries of about half the technical sessions and the field visit to be included in the internal conference report (about 10 pages in total, with five pages produced by each consultant) 7. Ad-hoc technical advice during conference preparation, and potential ad hoc follow-up activities
4. Consultancy Output / Deliverables (Continued)
(No Value)
5. Implementation Arrangement
The consultants will do the preparatory work remotely and travel to Beijing to participate in the conference.
5. Implementation Arrangement (Continued)
(No Value)
6. Support to the Consultant by the Bank
The consultants will report to the MCDF Platform Team Head on contractual matters and to the Senior Advisor to the MCDF CEO and technical lead of the conference on technical matters.
7. Knowledge Transfer and Training
The purpose of the conference is knowledge transfer. Technical summaries will be produced which highlight the conference’s key content.
Qualification Requirement
1. Master’s degree or above in business, finance, economics, public policy, international development, or similar areas from a reputable university. 2. Minimum 10 years of work experience on port and transport infrastructure in developing countries and related fields for IFIs, International Organizations, and leading consultancies, with well-recognized professional status in this area and strong technical background in one of the conference topics: (i) smart, digital, and efficient ports; (ii) green and sustainable ports; and/or (iii) financing of green efficient ports. 3. At least 5 years of experience designing and delivering knowledge sharing and capacity building in developing countries. 4. Strong contacts with ports in at least two of the following regions: North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, East Asia, Australia, and or the Middle East. 5. Excellent cross-cultural, inter-personal, and negotiation skills, with a proven track record. 6. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English. Written work must be of a publishable level.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.