Programs Officer at United Nations

Requirements

• Development and implementation of UN Environment’s terrestrial ecosystems portfolio
• In the context of UN Environment’s Climate Change Strategy and Ecosystems Management Programme, lead development and implementation of UN Environment’s mountain, agricultural landscapes, forests and drylands programmes in cooperation with other Divisions and offices across UN Environment;
  lead the implementation of UN Environment’s activities within the United Nations Collaborative Partnership on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (the UN-REDD Programme);
• Facilitate partnerships for dialogue and implementation with, inter alia, government partners and the private sector and with experts from national and international organizations, including the Food and Agriculture
• Organization, The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Bank, United Nations
• Development Programme, Center for International Forestry Research, International Fund for Agricultural
• Development, World Agroforestry Centre and UN Forum on Forests;
• Coordinate activities to facilitate development and implementation of the terrestrial ecosystems programme including the mobilization of resources, initiating and/or assessing the viability of environmental projects and programme elements in ecosystem management and making recommendations to the Branch Coordinator and Division management;
• Liaise with relevant UN agencies, inter-governmental, governmental and non-governmental organizations and private sector entities to ensure collaboration in programme development and implementation;
• Coordinate the preparation of reports for presentation to senior management, governing councils and intergovernmental bodies ensuring quality of technical papers and follow up to Senior Management Team decisions;
• Develop and advocate innovative concepts and tools designed to improve or re-orient the management of terrestrial ecosystems with UN Environment’s policy objectives;
• Lead, organize and/or participate in substantive discussions, meetings and conferences and represent the unit at international, regional or national meetings and provide programmatic and substantive expertise;
• Provide policy and programme guidance to Branch Coordinator and Division management to align unit activities with UN Environment’s overall mandates and strategic objectives;
• Report on the status of implementation of the work programme regularly as scheduled by the UN reporting requirements;
• Enhance UN Environment’s engagement on Forests, Mountains, Drylands and Agriculturally dominated Landscapes:
• Review and analyse UN Environment’s current work on terrestrial ecosystems and develop potential areas of future engagement into a comprehensive project portfolio;
• Liaising and consulting to tap into the strengths of the relevant UN Environment Divisions and
• Regional/Country Offices to design a cross-divisional project portfolio;
• Design and develop management tools and capacity building activities to assist countries in managing terrestrial ecosystems including agriculturally dominated landscapes.
• Management of the Terrestrial Ecosystems Unit:
• Recommend to the Branch Coordinator the allocation of financial resources, justifying administrative and/or results-based budget proposals and work plans; monitor and report on budgetary performance of the Unit;
• Manage staff performance and ensure ongoing professional development, continued learning and the right mix of skills and competencies; under delegated authority from the Division Director and Branch Coordinator initiate and recommend approval of personnel actions;
• Guide and support professional and general service staff in meeting their objectives and outputs; foster teamwork and communication in the Unit and across organizational boundaries; d) Undertake duties in accordance with the delegated authority;
• Perform other duties as may be required.

Qualifications

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in a natural resources discipline or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible work in Land/Forestry/Biodiversity or ecosystem management/natural resources management.
• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the advertised post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of French or Spanish is highly desirable
• Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; Identifies priority activities and assignments; Adjusts priorities as required; Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; Uses time efficiently.