Consultant – Legal and Regulatory Advisor, Digital Asset Tokenization

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Egypt, +2 more states.

📋 Description

• The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a global non-profit, research-for-development organization collaborating with governments, civil society, and private sector entities to tackle water-related issues in developing nations and enhance scalable solutions. IWMI is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and operates as a CGIAR research center with offices in 15 countries and a worldwide network of researchers active in around 56 nations.

• IWMI is executing a regional initiative centered on Resilient Nature-Based Water Solutions (RNBWS) in Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon. Similar projects are also underway in Iraq, Bangladesh, and Sudan. These projects encompass environmental, agricultural, and social interventions, including the following examples:

• - Solar-powered irrigation systems for agriculture in Egypt.

• - A small-scale food processing venture supporting rural women and smallholder female farmers, known as Nawalla.

• - Restoration of irrigation canals and springs.

• - A training manual focused on gender-transformative curricula, along with the delivery of the accompanying training course.

• To implement its strategy for mobilizing innovative financing and scaling these interventions, IWMI aims to explore the tokenization of these assets as digital instruments. Tokenization—the process of representing ownership or value rights of real-world assets on a blockchain or distributed ledger—may present potential opportunities for attracting impact investors, enhancing transparency, and facilitating fractional ownership.

• Given the emerging and dynamic legal and regulatory landscape regarding digital assets across Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Bangladesh, and Sudan, specialized legal and regulatory expertise is essential to evaluate feasibility, structure compliant instruments, and guide the token issuance process.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT: The consultancy aims to provide technical advisory services to the Al Murunah and Al Murunah+ projects to assess the feasibility of and develop a business model and roadmap for the tokenization of the projects’ nature-based solution assets in Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine.

• The Consultant is expected to offer guidance to IWMI on selecting assets for tokenization, identifying potential benefits and incentives of tokenization, and delivering actionable recommendations on structuring compliant digital asset instruments in accordance with applicable national laws and relevant international frameworks.

• Success for this assignment will be measured by IWMI's ability to make an informed Go/No-Go decision on piloting tokenization in at least one priority jurisdiction, supported by a legally compliant structuring option, a documented risk framework, and enhanced internal staff capacity to engage credibly with regulators and investors.

• The consultancy will also illustrate the potential value of tokenization through the following outcomes:

• - Improved access to impact investment: Tokenization will allow asset owners, such as those with solar-powered irrigation systems, the Nawalla food processing enterprise, and rehabilitated irrigation canals, to attract a wider pool of impact investors by representing these assets as digital instruments.

• - Fractional ownership: Tokenization allows assets to be divided into smaller, investable units, lowering the entry barrier for investors and potentially broadening the funding base significantly. This is particularly relevant for enhancing women’s ownership of assets and their ability to use those assets as collateral.

• - Transparency and accountability: Blockchain-based instruments improve the traceability of fund utilization and asset performance, thus informing IWMI’s engagement with future donors and investors.

• - Scalability: A successful tokenization model in Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine could be replicated in other project countries, including Iraq, Bangladesh, and Sudan, thereby amplifying its impact.

• - Intellectual property (IP) monetization: Explore how non-physical outputs, such as the gender-transformative training manual, could generate ongoing revenue through tokenized licensing and royalty structures.

• DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: **Task 1: Inception Meeting**

• - The Consultant will conduct a brief inception meeting with the Al Murunah/Al Murunah+ project teams to establish a foundational understanding of tokenization and the expected deliverables throughout the assignment. This meeting will also be utilized to test and refine the asset selection criteria.

• **Task 2: Overall Regulatory Landscape Assessment**

• - Conduct a swift and thorough review of the legal and regulatory framework for digital assets and tokenization in Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine, covering:

• - Relevant securities, financial instruments, and fintech legislation in each jurisdiction.

• - Central bank regulations and digital asset frameworks (including regulatory sandbox programs, where applicable).

• - Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements pertinent to digital asset issuance.

• - Cross-border digital asset transaction rules applicable to the three countries.

• - Gaps, risks, and enabling conditions within each regulatory environment.

• **Task 3: Establish Asset Selection Criteria**

• - Collaborate with the project team to gain a comprehensive understanding of the available assets and create a structured asset evaluation framework.

• - Provide an analysis and recommendations for structuring a business model for one or more of the following assets as tokenized digital instruments:

• - Solar-powered irrigation systems: Evaluate options for tokenizing physical infrastructure assets (e.g., revenue-sharing tokens and asset-backed tokens).

• - Food processing enterprise (Nawalla): Evaluate options for equity-like or utility token structures representing operational value or returns.

• - Spring and/or irrigation canal rehabilitation.

• - Training manual: Evaluate intellectual property (IP) tokenization options, including licensing rights and royalty structures.

• - For each asset, the analysis should identify the most suitable token type (utility, security, or hybrid), legal vehicle, and jurisdiction for issuance.

• **Task 4: Develop a Business Model for Tokenization**

• - For the selected assets, design a business model for tokenization, followed by an online consultative meeting with the project team.

• - Develop a compliance framework for the digital asset issuance process, including:

• - Investor eligibility and accreditation requirements for each jurisdiction.

• - Disclosure and prospectus obligations (where applicable).

• - Information requirements related to the identified interventions.

• - Data protection and cybersecurity considerations.

• - Environmental and social safeguard requirements linked to nature-based solutions standards.

• - A risk register identifying key legal, regulatory, and reputational risks.

• **Task 5: Tokenization Roadmap / Implementation Plan**

• - Prepare a phased implementation roadmap for the tokenization of the identified assets, including:

• - Recommended sequencing of asset tokenization (short-, medium-, and long-term).

• - Priority jurisdiction(s) for piloting the first token issuance.

• - Key milestones required regulatory approvals, and estimated timelines.

• - Guidance on platform selection criteria (permissioned vs. public blockchain and applicable technology standards).

• - Recommended legal documentation, including term sheets, smart contract legal wrappers, and investor agreements.

• - Presentation of the roadmap and recommendations to IWMI, followed by the formal close-out of the assignment.

• DELIVERABLES:

• - Inception Workshop and Presentation Draft - Includes an introduction to tokenization, its benefits, and how it can be applied within Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), as well as the proposed work plan, methodology, and stakeholder engagement plan for the assignment.

• - Overall Regulatory Landscape Assessment Report (Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine) - A comprehensive assessment of the legal and regulatory landscape governing digital assets and tokenization in the three target countries.

• - Asset Analysis and Legal Structuring Options Report - A report analyzing each asset class, the asset selection criteria, and the legal structuring options for each asset class, followed by a brief presentation of the findings.

• - Business Model and Compliance Framework - Development of the tokenization business model, compliance framework, and risk register, followed by a brief presentation of the findings.

• - Tokenization Roadmap and Recommendations Report - A comprehensive implementation roadmap and recommendations report, followed by a close-out presentation.

⛳️ Requirements

• MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED **Essential:**

• - Advanced degree in Law, specializing in financial law, capital markets, or technology.

• - At least 7 years of professional experience in legal advisory, with a clear focus on financial instruments, securities law, or emerging digital asset regulation.

• - Proven track record in advising on digital asset issuance, tokenization, or blockchain-related legal structures.

• - Direct experience with regulatory frameworks in at least two of the three target countries: Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine.

• - Strong understanding of MENA financial regulatory environments, including securities regulators, central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments, and fintech legislation.

• - Proficiency in English; fluency in Arabic is a significant advantage.

• **Desirable:**

• - Experience with impact finance, green bonds, or financing instruments related to nature-based solutions.

• - Familiarity with international digital asset standards (FATF guidance, MiCA, IOSCO frameworks) and their relevance to MENA jurisdictions.

• - Established connections with relevant regulatory authorities in Jordan, Egypt, and/or Palestine.

• - Previous experience with international development organizations, NGOs, or donor-funded programs.

🏝️ Benefits

• This is an internationally recruited consultancy role; therefore, individuals with relevant qualifications and experience are strongly encouraged to apply. The duration of the contract is five and a half (05.5) months.

• HOW TO APPLY: Submit your application for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. Applications will be accepted until 24:00 IST on August 17, 2026, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Your application must include the following:

• - Technical Proposal: A description of the proposed methodology, approach, and work plan (maximum of 5 pages).

• - Company Profile / Individual Curriculum Vitae (CV): Demonstrating relevant experience, expertise, and qualifications.

• - Examples of Relevant Prior Work: At least two samples of comparable assignments (e.g., legal assessments, regulatory analyses, or digital asset advisory reports).

• - Financial Proposal: An itemized budget or daily consultancy rate, inclusive of all fees and expenses.

• - References: Contact details of at least two clients for whom similar assignments have been completed recently.

• Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged; however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

• *IWMI believes that diversity fuels our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is vital to our mission. We offer a multicultural, multicolored, multigenerational, and multidisciplinary working environment. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and prioritizes gender equity. We therefore strongly encourage applications from individuals of all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, and gender identities.*