Environment SDG Indicators Disaggregation Consultant at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. UNEP is the custodian for 25 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators which cover topics related to water, ocean, land, natural resources, protected areas, and environmental policy.
• UNEP’s Early Warning and Assessment Division is the lead division for the Environment Under Review Sub-programme (SP-7) that aims at empowering stakeholders in their decision making with quality data and assessments made available on open platforms. Through this, the Early Warning and Assessment Division works to provide timely, scientifically credible, policy-relevant environmental assessments, data and information for decision-making and action planning for sustainable development. It also spearheads UN-wide monitoring and reporting on the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs.
• This consultancy is in the SDGs and Environment Statistics Unit, of the Capacity Development and Innovation Branch of the Early Warning and Assessment Division. The SDGs and Environment Statistics Unit acts as the coordinator for work related to the SDG indicators and official environment statistics within UNEP.
• The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has elevated the profile of the environmental dimension of development and how to monitor this dimension. UNEP began to implement the European Commission funded project on Enhancing Capacity for Measuring Progress towards the Environmental Dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The project aims to ensure the uptake of adopted SDG methodologies for indicators where UNEP is custodian. It also aims at strengthening national capacity for designing coherent and integrated policies for sustainable development, monitoring, and reporting on the environmental dimension of the SDGs through (1) enhancing capacity on environment statistics through training programmes, (2) ensuring dissemination and uptake of the global methodologies through targeted capacity development for key SDG indicators at the national level and (3) deepening UNEP’s analysis of trends at the global and regional levels, including interlinkages between the various goals, targets, and indicators.
• UNEP has identified 92 environment-related SDG indicators. The methodologies of these indicators propose data to be disaggregated at various levels. Although all indicators methodologies included proposed disaggregation, the link between the need for disaggregated data, its link to policy and its impact on societies, the economy and the environment is lacking.
• The aim of the consultancy is to develop a one pager per environment-related SDG indicator, including data disaggregation, as well as how to use the disaggregated data in policymaking and its potential impact on societies, the economy and the environment.
• The consultant shall develop one page for each of the 92 environment-related SDG indicators including: (a) proposed disaggregation, in collaboration with UN Custodian agencies of the respective SDG indicators; (b) link to policymaking at national level; and (c) impact on societies, the economy and the environment.
• Under the supervision of the Head of the SDGs and Environment Statistics Unit of the Capacity Development and Innovation Branch of the Early Warning and Assessment Division, UNEP the consultant will;
• Develop one pager format to be used as a standardized template for all 92 environment-related SDG indicators
• Research probable disaggregation for each of the 92 environment-related SDG indicators
• Liaise with UN custodian agencies for each indicator to discuss and approve the final proposed disaggregation
• Research the link of proposed disaggregation to policymaking at national level and its impact on societies, the economy and the environment.
• Prepare the document in English and submit for revision by UNEP
• Attend to the comments submitted by reviewers and finalize the report.

Qualifications/special skills

• A Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences or Statistics is required. A doctoral degree is desirable.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in indicators development, data and disaggregation is required.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in policy development is required.
• Proven expertise and experience in English report writing is required.
• Experience in the UN system and in a government/intergovernmental setting is desirable. Proven expertise and experience in working on sustainable development goals indicators is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required.

Deadline: 22 May 2023