Project Officer at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Scope

The assignment will involve coordination of the programme implementation in the Seven African countries in the policy and networking components to achieve sustainable development and poverty eradication through the transition to an inclusive green economy and a shift to sustainable consumption and production patterns and practices.

Objectives

• Implementation of the SWITCH Africa Green Programme.
• Management of the Project including reporting on project results and outcomes.
• Coordination with the Project Steering Committee and other stakeholders.
• Provision of top-quality policy advice services to the Government and facilitation of knowledge

building and management.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate the development, contribute to implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects, etc.; monitors and analyzes programme/project development and implementation.
• Prepare technical, financial and implementation reports of the programme for the donor (European Commission) and internal UNEP reporting requirements.
• Contribute to preparation of specific policy instruments in collaboration with national governments and other strategic partners.
• Organizing technical workshops and meetings between national policymakers, and officials from UN agencies, the EC, other bilateral/multilateral development partners and regional and sub-regional organisations in Africa.
• Apply and adapt policy tools and capacity building activities developed under SWITCH Africa Green in other UNEP projects on resource efficiency and SCP, including in other regions.
• Facilitate policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
• Prepare various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc.
• Organize consultative and other meetings, conferences, and propose agenda topics, identify participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
• Undertake networking activities; disseminate results and transfer the SWITCH Africa Green experience, best practices and tools, conduct training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Organize and prepare background papers and concepts for launches, validation workshops, technical workshops and other meetings.

Reporting Lines

• The IC will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Coordinator, Resource
• Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production, in the UNEP Resource Efficiency and
• Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) sub-programme in the Africa Office.

Qualifications/special Skills

• Advanced University Degree in development economics, environmental law, sustainable development, natural sciences, engineering or related discipline is required.
• A first university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in environmental projects or programme management or related area.
• Experience with projects funded by European Commission is an added asset.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills on technical and policy aspects of green businesses and eco-entrepreneurship and use of Sustainable Consumption and Production practices is desirable.
• Ability to deliver outputs against tight timelines is highly desirable.

Languages

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