UNDP Jobs - 40623- Project Coordination Specialist

Project Coordination Specialist - Climate Risk

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-Oct-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

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

UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) provides policy, practice development and programmatic services through technical, capacity development and knowledge management support to UNDP Country Offices and national counterparts on disaster risk reduction and recovery. Recognizing the growing incidence and increasing magnitude of climate-induced disasters and risks, a major element of risk reduction work focuses on capacity development to assess, reduce and manage climatic risks and impacts on key socio-economic development sectors.

With a view to address climate induced hydro-met disasters and impacts (on key socio-economic development sectors and community livelihoods), UNDP’s integrated climate risk management approach seeks to strengthen risk management practice by harmonizing risk reduction and adaptation to develop a holistic approach. Climate Risk Management (CRM) looks at risk management from a development perspective and harmonizes risk reduction (building on the DRR work by Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery) and adaptation (incorporating climate adaptation work by Energy and Environment Group, Bureau for Development Policy) to manage climate-related risks as a key enabler of development.

The efficacy of CRM approach is sought to be demonstrated through programmatic interventions seeking to assess the impacts of climate variability and change on the overall risk profile in the context of increasing hydro-met disasters and impacts on key development sectors like agriculture, water, health, crop production, natural resources, environment etc. in high-risk regions/countries. This necessitates a better understanding of climatic risks and impacts vis-à-vis extreme disaster events and key socio-economic development sectors and community livelihoods. This will help devise appropriate risk reduction and adaptation interventions to reduce and manage the risks and impacts and promote national as well as community level resilience.

Under the Climate Risk Management-Technical Assistance Support Project (CRM-TASP), jointly formulated and implemented by BCPR and BDP-EEG (Bureau for Development Policy-Energy and Environment Group), climate risk assessments have been conducted in 17 high-risk countries. The assessment of climatic risks is sought to be further strengthened.

Integrated Climate Risk Management Programme (ICRMP)

With a view to further strengthen the climate risk management agenda, UNDP-BCPR has formulated the Integrated Climate Risk Management Programme (ICRMP) to expand the evidence-base for climate risk management, promote convergence of Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) approaches by formulating CRM frameworks and build risk reduction and adaptive capacity of institutions, administrative/sectoral agencies and communities. ICRMP aims to (i) formulate DRR-CCA frameworks; (ii) strengthen and expand evidence base for climate risk management by assessing climatic risks to key development sectors and overall risk profile; (iii) build risk reduction and adaptive capacities of institutions, administrative/sectoral agencies and communities; (iv) mainstream climate risk management (DRR and CCA) into national and sector-specific development plans and (v) facilitate implementation of climate risk management interventions to build resilience.

The Programme is envisaged to be implemented in six countries in the first instance with an overall objective to further strengthen the CRM capacity. The key outputs will help promote convergence and mainstreaming of climate risk management, strengthen evidence base for CRM at national and sub-national levels, develop institutional, sector-specific and community adaptive capacity and promote knowledge management on CRM-related issues. The Project will help countries in designing and implementing programs aimed at addressing the changing patterns of disaster and climate risks, build their analytical capacity and mitigate their impact on national development process and community livelihoods.

The overall objective of the Program is to “strengthen and expand evidence-base for climate risk management by assessing climatic risks to key development sectors, formulate DRR-CCA frameworks and build risk reduction and adaptive capacities of institutions, administrative/sectoral agencies and communities with a view to mainstream climate risk management (DRR and CCA) into national and sector-specific development plans and facilitate implementation of climate risk management interventions to build resilience”.

The implementation of the Program will require working with the Regional Service Centers, the Regional Disaster Reduction Advisors, the focal points of DRR and Environment practices in UNDP COs to liaise with the national nodal agencies and other stakeholders, preparing Work Plan for global and national set of activities, supporting COs with preparing program documents, addressing implementation aspects across six countries through the UNDP COs and ensuring timely reporting to the donor etc. The stakeholders for the Program include the UNDP COs, the counterpart national agencies/departments working on DRR, environment and climate change related issues, sector-specific agencies, technical institutions, regional organizations and communities along with DRR and adaptation practitioners.

The Program adopts a challenging yet novel approach by seeking to bring together disaster risk reduction and adaptation practices/practitioners at country level along with technical climate monitoring and analysis institutions/organizations to work with identified climate-sensitive sector(s) and the communities to build climate risk management capacity. The approach aims to harmonize the expertise and knowledge of disaster risk reduction and adaptation practices to address climate-induced risks and impacts. This necessitates a dedicated technical and program management support to ensure speedy and timely implementation of envisaged activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Coordinator shall discharge the following duties and responsibilities:

Programme Development, Planning and Implementation:

Develop a program work plan as well as annual and country-specific work plans in close coordination with the CRM team and the concerned UNDP COs;
Formulate a program implementation strategy including results framework etc.;
Interact with program country COs and national counterpart agencies and stakeholders;
Ensure an inclusive, participatory and transparent implementation process;
Support COs with formulation/organization of strategies, project briefs, inception meetings, technical inputs, training programs, coordination and other activities including addressing cross-cutting issues like gender, governance etc.
Ensure timely preparation of reports on progress, achievements and challenges and reports for submission to the donor as required;
Ensure delivery of resources and results according to planned targets;
Provide requisite technical advise and information to the COs for project implementation especially the components related to climate risk assessment, capacity development etc.;
Promote harmonization of DRR and CCA approaches at CO level with improved synergy between both the practices.

Project Management – Financial, Administrative and other resources:

Coordinate and supervise day-to-day management of the project including budget management, smooth and timely project implementation and efficient use of resources;
Ensure compliance with operational, financial management, procurement and human resources procedures of UNDP;
Prepare financial reports, recording/accounting documentation and make the financial operations transparent to stand audit and evaluation requirements;
Hire, supervise and manage external short-term consultants (individual or institutional) as required and liaise with administrative/finance/project team in COs on substantive and operational issues;
Facilitate project approval and budget revision processes as per UNDP policies, procedures and guidelines
Prepare reports – financial and progress – as required by UNDP and donor reporting systems;
Liaise with financial management team of DRRRT and the Resource Management Division (RMD) of BCPR for financial, administrative and other requirements.

Knowledge management, communications and partnership building:

Ensure identification, documentation and synthesis of experiences, good practices and lessons learned under the Program for organizational sharing and learning;
Compile and upload documents/communication materials/reports and other information products produced under the Program on CRM web space and share on partner e-networks;
Organize and conduct e-discussions on technical and programmatic aspects under the Program;
Facilitate partnership building approach with international and regional organizations/institutions to complement national-level convergence with INGOs/NGOs/CBOs, academic and research institutions and other actors
Collaborate with EEG-BDP on risk reduction and adaptation issues and build synergies with GEF and other on-going initiatives;
Facilitate contribution to on-going global discourse on post-HFA, MDGs, climate change, sustainable development and other policy processes;
Support an environment of learning and information sharing within the Program, DRRRT and external audience.

The incumbent will work in close coordination with the CRM sub-practice and other thematic areas of the DRRRT and contribute to strengthening the DRR practice and climate risk management agenda as per the Strategic Framework for DRR and contribute towards achieving the outcomes of the Global DRR-CRM Program. The programmatic and policy interventions are designed to enhance the effectiveness of risk management agenda of UNDP by integrating disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation practice of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) and the Bureau for Development Policy (BDP). The enhanced risk management approach will contribute towards promoting sustainable development by addressing climate-induced risks and impacts.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Integrity and fairness – embody;
Promote vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Display cultural sensitivity and adaptability;
Treat all people fairly without favoritism irrespective of gender, religion, race, nationality and age.

Technical/ Functional Competencies:

Good understanding and knowledge of disaster risk reduction and climate risk management agenda and frameworks as well as on-going global policy discourse on climate change and DRR as well as sustainable development and resilience building agenda;
Good understanding of key socio-economic development processes and patterns especially in developing countries with higher dependence on climate-sensitive development sectors;
Competence to harmonize DRR-CCA approaches and ability to integrate them with development processes and programs;
Strong technical understanding of climate variability and change processes and their impacts;
Ability to identify and explore linkages/interface of CRM with practices like poverty reduction, conflict, environment, governance, sustainable development etc. and adopt a cross-practice approach;
Familiar with UNDP project management practices and administrative/financial systems.

Managerial competencies:

Ability to build strong relationships with external actors - cultivate productive relationships with donors, partners and other important institutions and individuals;
Excellent oral and written communication skills;
Ability to anticipate and understand client needs, formulate clear strategic plans, prioritize interventions, and allocate resources according to priorities;
Ability to develop innovative solutions – encourage and contribute creative solutions to address challenging situations;
Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment;
Communication skills with ability to relate to people of different;
Sensitivity towards gender concerns and cultural practices;
Demonstrated ability to see issues from others perspectives;
Ability to draft and write concise notes, reports; make presentations; interact with a range of stakeholders and present/share the analysis in from a practitioners’ perspective.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's Degree or higher in disaster risk reduction, climate science, environment, international development and/or related field. The academic qualifications must be supported by the following experience.

Experience:

5 years’ of experience of working in the field of disaster risk management, climate adaptation, environment management, water resources and related fields especially in developing country contexts;
Experience of harmonizing DRR-CCA approaches preferably in global/regional/sub-regional projects with a focus on promoting a CRM approach;
Familiarity of disaster/climate interface with sustainable development, water and sanitation, environment management etc.;
Previous experience of handling/working on UNDP projects on DRR/CRM will be an asset.

Language requirement:

Fluency in English, both oral and written is required; working knowledge of other UN official language is an asset.