UNDP Jobs - 51954- Policy Specialist, Climate Change

Policy Specialist, Climate Change

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP provides technical support to deliver on, and contribute to, sustainable development and resilience-building. UNDP’s services build on UNDP’s growing portfolio of mitigation and adaptation projects and programmes for which UNDP provides oversight, quality assurance, global and regional policy and technical advisory services in the areas of climate change policy coherence & agenda setting: capacity building for climate finance and Policy and technical support to regional service centers and country offices, particularly focused on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)/Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The Policy Specialist, Climate Change based in New York is responsible for contributing substantive advice and technical expertise, advocacy, relationship building and knowledge to the thematic area of Climate Change within the Bureau and UNDP as a whole. S/he collaborates with teams across UNDP’s Regional Hubs, Country Offices and Global Policy Centers, to provide quality policy services and advance UNDP’s credibility in this thematic area, delivering coherence and technical advice in this area. S/he is responsible for performing and contributing to the following:

Policy Dialogue, Coherence, Research and Development;
Policy Advice/ Programme and Project Delivery Support;
Policy Positioning and Representation;
Partnerships and Resource Mobilization;
Knowledge Management.

Reports to: P6, Head – Climate Change.

Duties and Responsibilities

Policy Dialogue, Coherence, Research and Development:

Provide substantive inputs on climate change policy issues and strategic issues emerging from international climate change negotiations, including for a post-2015/2020 institutional and financial regime, related to adaptation and climate risk management
Provide substantive inputs for HQ policy briefs/position papers prepared in collaboration with other practices that address links between climate change and development concerns; .
Promote convergent DRR-CCA approaches through comprehensive assessments of risks of climate-related disasters as well as impacts in development sectors. Technical guidance on mainstreaming disaster and climate risk management into the development processes.
Develop guidance and tools on key areas of climate change, especially the UNFCCC negotiations and climate finance for the implementation of global policy standards, including testing and roll out of tools and methodologies;
Develop policy initiatives for different contexts on key emerging policy agendas, including on climate change mitigation, adaptation and fiancé, in collaboration with policy teams in the Regional Hubs bringing in perspectives and knowledge from Country Offices and the regions.
Manage UNDP’s approach and engagement to the UNFCCC negotiations and related technical meetings and events;
Coordinate UNDP’s delegations to UNFCCC meetings;
Liaise with the UNDP focal point for the Green Climate Fund to ensure coherence across UNDP’s approach and engagement with climate finance issues and stakeholders;
Coordinate UNDP’s strategy and engagement with major events and summits on climate change;
Develop relevant analysis and guidance, in close collaboration with BPPS strategic positioning team, on emerging issues of global significance on climate change, especially the UNFCCC negotiations and climate finance and contribute to new research, including through working with the Global Policy Centers.

Policy Advice/ Programme and Project Delivery Support:

Serve as a coordinator for the Boots on the Ground programme, providing policy support to a global network of regional and national policy advisors, in particular countries participating in the Strategic Initiative to Address Climate Change in LDCs (the “Boots on the Ground” initiative), ensuring linkages between the programming portfolio (climate/disaster risk) and global and regional policies;
Supports UNDP’s work to assist countries in designing policies to foster long term adaptation measures, working in close collaboration with the Natural Capital Team; Facilitate integration of climate risk management (DRR-CCA) in the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and in the national DRR Strategies/Frameworks.
In collaboration with the BPPS teams in the Regional Hubs, provide technical advisory services related to UNDP’s climate change policy portfolio, especially on the UNFCCC negotiations, climate finance, national climate funds and other areas of high demand from governments;
Apply integrated multi-disciplinary approaches, including through setting up, coordinating and engaging with Development Solutions Teams (DSTs), to meet policy and programming needs in line with corporate guidance and standards;
Respond to ad-hoc requests by countries on climate policy issues, especially those related to the UNFCCC negotiations and climate finance;
Lead UNDP’s technical and advisory support to COP Presidents, Subsidiary Body Chairs, UNFCCC groupings and developed and developing country delegations in the UNFCCC process; and
Contribute inputs from the climate policy perspective – such updates from the UNFCCC negotiations - to global, regional, national and sub-national programmes and projects.

Policy Positioning and Representation:

Provides inputs to UNDP’s reporting on the status of international climate change negotiations and on outreach and awareness raising on UNDP’s climate change adaptation work;
Provide substantive and content input to contribute to mobilizing, fostering and strengthening strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives on climate change;
Prepare briefing notes and speeches;
Represent UNDP in climate change-related meetings, including inter-governmental, private sector and academic fora;
Promote UNDP’s brand on climate change, including developing global messages and collaborating with the UNDP;
Communications Team to promote those messages through social media film and other tools.
Provide substantive input in the process of advocating the importance of the thematic area in various fora, including academia and civil society, with a view to deepen related political commitment and related reforms; and
Support Team Leaders in engagement in UN interagency coordination in relevant policy areas by drafting briefing, preparing for and participating in meetings.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization:

In collaboration with BERA, support the Team Leader to engage with global partners and develop/implement resource mobilization plan under corporate guidelines, including to fulfill corporate and donor reporting, advocacy and information-sharing requirements;
Provide substantive inputs related to global external partnerships in the area of work; and
Develop implementation plan to foster strategic partnerships with UN and external partner institutions, Governments, private sector, academia, NGOs, and CSOs.
Provide strategic and technical advice to programmes and groups within the UNFCCC process, such as the Work Programme on Long-Term Finance; and
Collaborate with UN agencies, Governments, IFIs, private sector, academia and other partners to support system-wide outcomes at global summits and events.

Knowledge Management:

Conduct analyses of strategic and emerging climate change adaptation issues through a top-down/bottom-up flow of policy and programme work that is disseminated within UNDP;
Collaborate with UNDP practices like environment, poverty reduction, governance, knowledge management etc. for coherent sustainable development approaches to address issues of concerns;
Coordinate team contributions and support to corporate KM activities, whether at the global, cross-regional or region-specific level to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area in collaboration with policy teams at HQ and in Regional Hubs; and
Coordinate and perform knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in the specific thematic area, and verify that knowledge sharing and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

Ability to get things done.

Technical/Functional:

Primary:

Climate Change (General)

Knowledge of climate change Including climate change international regime) and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Climate Change Adaptation

Knowledge of climate change adaptation concepts and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Project and Programme Management

Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Partnerships

Ability to engage with other agencies, donors, and other development stakeholders and forge productive working relationships.

Knowledge Management

Ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge.

Climate Change Mitigation

Knowledge of climate change mitigation concepts and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Secondary:

Resource Mobilization

Ability to identify and organize programmes and projects to implement solutions and generate resources.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in environmental management, sustainable development, economics, business administration, social sciences or related disciplines.

Experience:

7 years of professional work experience providing policy advice and programme support in the general area of Climate Change in different development contexts;
Experience working in developing country settings is required;
Expertise in the content of the UNFCCC negotiations and climate finance.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English, both written and oral;
Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.