Latest Job Vacancies at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP

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Coordinator – State of Finance for Nature (Senior Consultant)

Duties and Responsibilities

• UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP’s Ecosystem Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
• The loss of forest, and the accompanying loss of ecosystems and the services they provide, threatens the security and livelihoods of local communities, reduces access to clean water, decreases soil productivity and accounts for 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In recent years, it has become apparent that the most significant threat to the world’s remaining forests is conversion for commercial agriculture – whether from large-scale operations or smallholder farmers – as well as other non-forest use. Many of the environmental benefits of intact forest are unpriced ‘externalities’, resulting in the market mispricing natural forest assets. By converting forest to land and then producing tradeable commodities that the market can price, land users are able to take advantage of this perceived arbitrage opportunity. Anticipated global economic growth and changing diets will strengthen the demand for agricultural commodities and place additional pressure on forests in the foreseeable future, meaning that the pressure will get even bigger than it is today without a changing paradigm how land is managed and agricultural commodities are produced. The challenge is to advance sustainable land use by developing business models that can manage sustainable commodity production while also maintaining forests and forest ecosystem services.
• Against that background, UNEP initiated a new Climate Finance Unit that seeks to actively unlock and (re)direct public and private capital towards sustainable land use, including deforestation-free soft commodity production that lead to ‘net zero, nature positive’ impacts on the environment and improves rural livelihoods. Initially CFU focused on developing and supporting a number of (blended) finance facilities and business incubators as concrete solutions to unlock private finance for ‘net zero, nature positive’ land use practices. More recently, CFU is advancing the normative work through a number of strategies, including by tracking public and private finance through the ‘State of Finance for Nature’ (regarded as a flagship report by UNEP). The objective is to establish the ‘State of Finance for Nature’ series as a global initiative and authorative source of data and information to track public and private investment going towards nature-based solutions that governments can use to inform public policy and for businesses including financial institutions to be stimulated to scale up investment in assets and activities that constitute nature-based solutions. Against this background, UNEP’s Climate Finance Unit is seeking an experienced and motivated professional to help shape, enlarge and improve the State of Finance for Nature.
• Under the supervision of the Head, Climate Finance Unit and in direct collaboration with Lead Communication and Knowledge Management as well as the Project Manager of the Climate Finance Unit, he/she will lead this novel area of work.

The Senior Coordinator – SFN (consultant) will report to the Chief, Climate Finance Unit.

Under the supervision of the Chief, Climate Finance Unit, the Coordinator – State of Finance for Nature will:

• Report and production: Lead the development and production of the State of Finance for Nature (SFN) report as well as any country-related briefings or other derivative reports/products.
• Data analysis: Coordinate with the consultants/organistion who are carrying out the data analysis and drafting of the SFN report, including weekly calls, setting milestones, editing, reviews, and quality assurance.
• Continuously improve the methodology by which data from a variety of sources of extracted and used as well as methodologies to quantify investment needs related to nature-based solutions. In addition, engage with organisations who can help to improve the accuracy of data on nature-based solutions to ensure that the underlying that is being used progressively has lower uncertainty ranges (e.g. OECD)
• Management: Coordinate with existing consortium members, including WEF and ELD/GIZ about the State of Finance for Nature. Seek to further expand the management of the SFN management, based on onboarding of additional core partners.
• Engage with the Lead Communication & Knowledge Management of CFU to ensure that high quality communication and knowledge management products are produced that can increase the uptake and exposure of this work. Also ensure that the online SFN hub is continuously improved by working in close coordination with the CFU Lead on Communication & Knowledge Management.
• Engage with donors who are funding the State of Finance for Nature work (whether the global report, country-related analysis and/or communication) in close coordination with the Chief, Climate Finance Unit.
• Develop a strategy with derivative products, focused to ensure that SFN products are taken up by key target audiences, which means a solid Theory of Change, core identification of key target audiences, and roll out of additional service lines of SFN focused specifically on uptake of SFN results (essentially a focus on generating outcomes and impacts that are verifiable).
• Partnership extension: Identify other international/multilateral organisations who could be invited to join the consortium that was originally formed by UNEP, WEF and the ELD/GIZ to build growing momentum and authority for SFN to become the de-facto lead source of data and information on financing nature-based solutions.
• Country analysis & engage: Produce SFN country analysis and briefs/reports, with a view that the findings can inform government expenditure towards NbS related activities.
• Track outcomes and impact: periodic check against baseline and indicators, how the E&S impact and risk management work is being picked up by key target audiences.

Qualifications/special skills

• The senior consultant should have a Masters’ Degree in natural resource management, international development, economics or finance is required.
• Profiency in computer applications is desired.
• At least ten (10) years of professional experience working on nature or climate analytics, partnership building, preferably in areas related to finance, agriculture, forestry or marine environment is required.
• In addition, it would be an asset if the coordinator consultant has an excellent network think tanks, NGOs and (consulting) companies, as well as a broad network with international organisations.
• In addition, he/she should be autonomous and computer literate in standard software applications; have excellent writing and communication skills; good analytical skills with an interest in the topic of sustainable land use and green finance; have good interpersonal skills. Although, he or she will work in a small team, it is essential that the chosen candidate can work in an independent manner to complete the given assignments.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French or Spanish is a desirable.

NOTE: ”Fluency” equals a rating of ”fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ”Knowledge of” equals a rating of ”confident” in two of the four area.

Deadline: 02 August 2023

Sustainable Blue Economy Expert for Development of Integrated, Ecosystem-based Land-Sea Planning Guidelines for Kenyan Coast

Duties and Responsibilities

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is tcoordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues tthe attention of governments and the international community for action.
• UNEP’s Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. This post is in UNEP, Ecosystems Division at Marine and Freshwater Branch, under the direct supervision of Programme Management Officer.

Background:

• Kenya’s coast is endowed with rich natural resources, which drive the local and national economy besides supporting the livelihoods of local communities through provision of various ecosystem goods and services. These resources include coral reefs, seagrass beds, forests (both mangroves and terrestrial), fisheries, freshwater bodies, extractives among others. These resources are crucial in the development and achievement of Kenya’s Blue Economy ambitions. However, these resources which have supported community livelihoods for millennia with about 60% contribution tthe national economy are being degraded thus diminishing their inherent potential tprovide the much-needed goods and services.
• Integrated land sea planning proposed in the Go-Blue project as an approach treconcile sectoral conflicts, offers a great opportunity tengender sustainable management of the country’s coastal and marine resources. Under the County Government Act 2012, each county is by law required tdevelop their County Spatial Plan. What has not been deliberately factored intthis planning, is the fact that share trans-county resources mentioned above, making it necessary that from a planning perspective, counties must think beyond their geographical boundaries and work on mechanisms for integrated management of shared resources. This makes the integrated ecosystem-based land-sea planning framework guidelines under the Go-blue critical and timely as well.

Objective:

• Tprovide technical expertise tdevelop a consultative Integrated, Ecosystem-based land-sea Regional Planning guidelines enabling sustainable blue economies in the JKP region (GBlue Output 2.1) in order tharmonize and integrate land-based spatial planning and marine spatial planning approaches and practices at a national and regional county-level for sustainable development of Kenya’s blue economy.
• The addd-value of such Regional Planning guidelines will be:
• Enhanced knowledge and awareness of shared marine and coastal natural resources/blue economy assets across JKP counties at County and National scale.
• Enhanced information and scenarios on environmental and socio-economic impacts of maritime and land-based human activities on marine and coastal ecosystem services/blue economy assets across JKP counties at County and National scale.
• Enhanced capacity of counties and national government in policy-making and planning enabling sustainable management, use and protection of transboundary coastal and marine ecosystems and natural resources via integrated, ecosystem-based land-sea planning.

Scope of Work

• The development of the integrated land-sea guidelines must be tailored tthe environmental, social and economic domains within the specific Kenyan and counties contexts and be closely aligned with the national Marine Spatial Planning Framework under preparation. The guidelines will support the national government and the 6 counties of the JKP region intidentifying local synergies that need tbe prioritized in order tsupport a SBE. Treach this point, a shared regional vision/strategy/blueprint needs tbe developed together with the National Agencies (e.g. KMFRI, other) and the 6 counties of the region, ensuing transboundary marine and terrestrial ecosystems and natural resources are at the core of integrated land-sea policy-making, planning and management. A well-informed regional vision and strategy, requires a participatory process and the integration of the Spatial multicriteria analysis (MCA) and Capital Investment Planning (CIP) from UN-Habitat with UNEP’s Ecosystem-based Management Framework and Sustainable Blue Economy Transition Framework (SBE-TF). This will require the building of a team of three (3) experts in the domains of Marine, Land-use planning and Sustainable Blue Economy policy and economics, supported by twlocal experts in the fields of Kenyan sectoral legislations and governance and Kenyan marine protection.
• The Integrated, Ecosystem-based land-sea Regional planning guidelines aim tsupport the development of a Sustainable Blue Economy by considering and outlining relevant policy and governance arrangements and blue economy activities affecting the marine and coastal area across county jurisdictions, and how tdevelop these in an integrated way. These guidelines must be tailored tthe environmental, social and economic within the specific Kenyan and counties contexts.

Assignment tbe undertaken by the consultant

• The expert will, in close collaboration with the team of experts, and under the supervision of UN-Habitat and UNEP GBlue Planning Coordinators:
• Review key global, policies, legislation, strategies, guidelines and best practices relevant tSustainable Blue Economy planning in JKP region;
• Review Kenyan national policies, legislations and practices in the application of SBE-TF in ecosystem-based land-sea planning guidelines design, e.g. reflect system links, integrated policy framework, resource governance, spatial planning;
• Analyze national capacity and gaps as well as opportunities, including partnerships and collaborations in SBE, MSP and LSP in Kenya;
• Identify gaps and opportunities for integrating SBE, MSP with LSP and management in the Kenya Coast and propose strategies for overcoming challenges in terms of:
• Working across different counties and administrative levels with different approaches tmarine space; and
• Linking SBE, LSP and MSP processes that might be at different stages across the land-sea interface.
• Preparations of scenarios for transboundary resource use/impacts – blue economy sector strategies/opportunity
• Conduct interviews and meetings with selected stakeholders aimed thighlight interests and opportunities in SBE and better understand the context for the guidelines application and its application in the Regional Vision and Strategy;

Develop Integrated SBE spatial vision:

• Develop theory of change for SBE development across JKP region
• Strategic SBE spatial objectives (aligned with national marine spatial planning framework, climate change, etc.)
• Blue economy transition readiness assessment for JKP counties, including identifying enabling environment for implementation, capital investment planning and sustainable blue economy financing options.
• Conduct regular meetings with UN-Habitat and UNEP GBlue Planning Coordinators regarding the status of advancement of the work;
• Present the draft Strategy for technical review tthe JKP and GBlue team.
• Conduct twvirtual Expert Group Meetings with selected experts in order tvalidate the first draft of the guidelines and the final draft. The EGMs will be either online and/or in presence;
• Draft the Integrated, Ecosystem-based land-sea Regional Planning guidelines that will detail:
• Methodology tunderstand the system, and analyses the environmental, social economic baseline conditions and policy/institutional baseline within and across JKP counties tunderstand the starting point, including gaps and opportunities for a regional transition ta Sustainable Blue Economy;
• Methodology trealize the Strategic Vision development, including Policy analysis and assessment; realization of the strategic visioning process (with counties and national stakeholders) setting goals, operational objectives, targets and indicators for SBE at county/regional scale, development of the Integrated SBE spatial vision; development of Policy coherence analysis for JKP region; identification of blue economy sector strategies/opportunities; development integrated policy framework for sustainable blue economic development across JKP region.
• Methodology for the Integrated Ecosystem-based land-sea Regional Planning guidelines development, analysing existing/evolving spatial planning framework across the counties and identifying synergies that may support inter-county and ecosystem-based land-sea planning and prioritisation. It will include guidance for the analysis of existing/evolving marine and terrestrial policies, plans, and projects, for the gap analysis of counties/areas without existing and/or current plans and policies, for the implementation of validation workshops with key stakeholders, and application of multi-criteria analysis against vision objectives.
• Overall Implementation strategy for the Regional Vision, explaining how Operationalise/pilot Regional Ecosystem-based land-sea planning guidelines at county-level, incl. monitoring and evaluation system/metrics.
• Develop a SBE Action Plan for JKP Counties aligned tthe national BE Strategy and building on the completed BE sectors assessment report.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in subjects related tenvironmental or marine science, aquatic sciences, coastal development, urbanization, natural resource management, or related field of studies is required.
• Must have at least 7 years of work experience related tthe study priorities is required.
• Familiarity with Sustainable Development Goals in relation tSDG 14 on Life Below Water is desirable.
• Demonstrate previous experience conducting similar assignments at regional or global level is desirable.
• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills preferably with proven experience working in subjects related tSustainable Blue Economy.
• Publications. researchers whhave published in peer-reviewed journals will be given preference.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in excellent oral and written communication skills in English is required. 
• Fluency in other United Nations language is an advantage.

Ref: 08th August 2023

End Term Review Evaluator

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational Setting and Reporting:

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations systems designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.
• The InforMEA Initiative brings together over 20 MEA Secretariats and their hosting institutions to enhance knowledge-sharing across MEAs for the benefit of Parties and the environment community at large. It promotes harmonized voluntary standards and horizontal interoperable information systems as it steers the development and evolution of the project.
• The Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements, InforMEA, is the online home of MEAs. It seeks to do justice complexity and broad range of information available from MEAs and intends to reduce the time effort by stakeholders to obtain relevant knowledge and process available information. It is entirely committed to horizontal interoperability” of information and knowledge systems among MEAs and organizations, a key principle in the SG’s Data Policy in overcoming misaligned standards, and mixed quality data. By building a sustained and reliable shared knowledge base for better analysis and policy information it contributes to greater coherence to the implementation and enforcement of international environmental law.
• This position is in the InforMEA Phase III project of the Law Division at the Nairobi Duty Station.

Responsibilities:

• Partnership and Coordination: The End-Term Review (ETR) will assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of the implementation partnerships and approaches that were established to deliver the project and the engagement with MEAs and other international organizations.
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Risk Management: A further focus of the ETR will be on the extent to which adequate monitoring has been undertaken throughout the period. The review will assess how lessons learned have been captured and operationalized throughout the period under investigation. It will examine how effectively the project management incorporated relevant technical knowledge on good practices.
• Gender Mainstreaming: The ETR expert will assess the extent to which the project sought to strengthen the mainstreaming of gender into project implementation. The Review will weigh measures taken to this end and how successful those have been in addressing specific rights and gender-related aspects.

Specific Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Strategic Positioning, Concept and Design: The End-Term Review Evaluator will assess the concept and design of the overall scope of the InforMEA Phase III project, including an assessment of the appropriateness of the objectives, planned outputs, activities, and inputs as compared to cost-effective alternatives. Identify niche areas where UNEP can further add advantage and efficiency to the programme/project.
• The strategic positioning and design of the project will also be reviewed against the strategic questions of interest to UNEP and to which the project is believed to be able to make a substantive contribution.

The questions are structured to address two levels:

• Addressing the InforMEA Project, and the balance between its components.
• Addressing the question of strengthening the Environmental Treaties Programme and making it genuinely an umbrella programme for activities under UNEP’s Environmental Governance and Conventions branch at the Law Division.
• The End-Term Review Evaluator will also be forward-looking and explore opportunities for UNEP to position itself as the anchor for cooperation and synergies among the Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

Reporting lines:

• Under the overall supervision of the Director, UNEP Law Division, the Consultant shall report directly to and take day-to-day direction from the InforMEA III Project Manager.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences as well as experience in project monitoring and evaluation.
• A first degree may be accepted in lieu of a master’s degree with 9 years of experience.
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in environmental policies, environmental governance, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) is required.
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in Project Management, Monitoring and Reporting of environment-related projects is required.
• Familiarity with Knowledge and Information Management policies, practices, approaches, and systems is desirable.
• Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP and MEA Secretariats is desirable.
• Proven experience of evaluating multi-donor projects and using the theory of change and result-based logical framework approach is desirable.
• Relevant training in Project Management, Monitoring and Reporting of environmental related projects is required.

Languages

Excellent written and spoken English is required for this post.

Ref:  21 August 2023

Senior Programme Management Assistant, G7

Responsibilities

• Monitor budgetary commitments, including verification of charges and obligation documents in UMOJA for all financial transactions and evaluates trends of financial implementation and makes necessary recommendations to Task Manager.
• Review, appraise and revise, as necessary, all submissions for substantive programmes / projects, ensuring compliance with guidelines and programme / project objectives; identifies problems / issues, seek clarification from departments, assess replies, and prepares a summary for the manager with suggestions for further action.
• Establish proper monitoring systems through scheduled reporting, review meetings and missions. Independently provides a full range of programme / project management and implementation information covering all phases of the programme / project cycle for the project initiatives, seeking guidance only in exceptional circumstances.
• Research, compile, analyse, summarize, and present basic information/data on the portfolio of projects highlighting noteworthy issues/trends for consideration by Management.
• Track resolutions and other legislative decisions that affect programme / project content and oversees the preparation of the relevant database(s) to ensure the incorporation of programmatic and other changes enacted by legislation.
• Prepare monitoring checklists, identifying stages of programme / project development, funding source, inputs by reviewing internal and external bodies, and follow-up actions required.
• Maintain and establish specific information products for the unit and assists management in providing information products to others.
• Maintain data governance and accuracy.
• Maintain data management tools in the unit.
• Supervise guides and trains other general service staff in the function.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures
• Perform any other duty as may be assigned.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Advanced and in-depth knowledge of Excel is desirable. The ability to perform analysis, modeling and interpretation of data in support of decision-making. Shows pride in work and in achievements; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; Remains calm in stressful situations. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise, is willing to learn from others; Places team agenda before personal agenda; Supports and acts in accordance with final group decisions, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• PLANNING AND 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.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.
• Professional qualification in Administration, Accounts, finance or related field is desirable.
• Specialization in Business Information systems is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in programme / project administration and or Administration / Finance and Budget administration or related area is required.
• Experience in information management, database systems and use of power BI is required.
• Experience working with Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP) such as Systems Applications and Products (SAP) specifically on Grantor and Fund Management Modules and Business Intelligence (BI) reporting is required.
• A minimum of one (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.
• Experience within the United Nations system or a similar international organization is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of other official United Nations languages is desirable.
• Note: “Fluency equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and “knowledge of” equals a rating of “confident” in two of the four areas.

Ref: 21 August 2023

Pact for Nature Consultant

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational Setting:

• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP’s Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
• The Education, Youth and Advocacy Unit oversees the education outreach and a series of youth projects for UNEP at its headquarters in Nairobi. This includes everything from engaging Universities through the Youth and Education Alliance to engaging with partners in the gaming industry and youth movements.

Reporting:

• The consultant will report to the Chief, Youth, Education & Advocacy Unit

Scope of Work
The consultant’s duties will include the following projects:

• Green Job for Youth Pact: Work to further develop this initiative that was launched in 2022, with 2023 to secure partners joining the initiative and support the delivery of the UNDA work in up to 4 countries in 2023.
• Sport for Nature: Support the Sport for Nature initiative with UNEP working in collaboration with IUCN and IOC to support the delivery of the initiative.

Qualifications/special skills

• Master’s degree in communications, international relations, political science, sustainable development, environmental science or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in the field of project management is required
• Project management: 5 years of experience of working in highly complex projects of a global nature efficiently and effectively is essential
• Innovation: Ability to think creatively about how to evolve pre-existing programmes to have maximum impact is essential.
• Communications: Able to bring a diverse group of individuals and partners together act on a common agenda and able to write high quality texts and proposals as required is essential
• Project design: A strong track record of designing projects that secure buy-in and generate results is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English and French is required

Deadline: 01 August 2023

Principal Consultant for Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GEF Project “Multi Country Project to Strengthen Institutional Capacity on LMO Testing in Support of National Decision Making” – GEF ID 5283”

Duties and Responsibilities

ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING.

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations systems designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. This consultancy is located at Headquarters in the Evaluation Office which reports directly to the Executive Director. The consultant reports to the Director of the Evaluation Office and the Evaluation Officer managing the evaluation.

THE PROJECT

• The project purpose was to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection in the field of safe transfer, handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from LMOs that could have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, also taking into account risks to human health, and specifically focusing on transboundary movements.
• The objective was to build and strengthen institutional and human capacities for living modified organisms (LMOs) detection in support of national biosafety decision making processes in selected Southern African countries. The focus was to build capacities in six countries: Angola, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique.

THE EVALUATION

• In line with the UNEP Evaluation Policy and the UNEP Project and Programme Management Manual, the Terminal Evaluation is undertaken at operational completion of the project to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. The Evaluation has two primary purposes: (i) to provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements, and (ii) to promote operational improvement, learning and knowledge sharing through results and lessons learned among UNEP, RAEIN-Africa and key project country stakeholders. Therefore, the Evaluation will identify lessons of operational relevance for future project formulation and implementation, especially where follow-on interventions or a second phase of the project are being considered. Recommendations relevant to the whole house may also be identified during the evaluation process.

THE EVALUATION TEAM

• For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of a Principal Evaluator and one Evaluation Specialist who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in consultation with the UNEP Task Manager, Fund Management Officer, the Sub-programme Coordinator for Nature Action (formerly, Healthy and Productive Ecosystems), and the Sub-programme Coordinator of the Environmental Governance Sub-programme.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PRINCIPAL EVALUATOR

• The Principal Evaluator will be responsible, in close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, for overall management of the Evaluation and timely provision of its outputs. S(he) will be responsible for translation of the final Executive Summary of the report in either French or Portuguese.

The Evaluation Team members will work together to undertake the following:
Inception phase of the Evaluation, including:

• preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff;
• draft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the project;
• prepare the evaluation framework;
• develop the desk review and interview protocols;
• draft the survey protocols (if relevant);
• develop and present criteria for country and/or site selection for the evaluation mission;
• plan the evaluation schedule;
• prepare the Inception Report, incorporating comments until approved by the Evaluation Manager

Data collection and analysis phase of the Evaluation, including:

• conduct further desk review and in-depth interviews with project implementing and executing agencies, project partners and project stakeholders;
• (where appropriate and agreed) conduct an evaluation mission(s) to selected countries, visit the project locations, interview project partners and stakeholders, including a good representation of local communities. Ensure independence of the Evaluation and confidentiality of evaluation interviews.
• regularly report back to the Evaluation Manager on progress and inform of any possible problems or issues encountered and;
• keep the Project/Task Manager informed of the evaluation progress.

Reporting phase, including:

• draft the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that the evaluation report is complete, coherent and consistent with the Evaluation
• Manager guidelines both in substance and style;
• liaise with the Evaluation Manager on comments received and finalize the Main Evaluation Report, ensuring that comments are taken into account until approved by the Evaluation Manager
• prepare a Response to Comments annex for the main report, listing those comments not accepted by the Evaluation Team and indicating the reason for the rejection; and
• (where agreed with the Evaluation Manager) prepare an Evaluation Brief (2-page summary of the evaluand and the key evaluation findings and lessons)
• prepare a translation of the Executive Summary in French and Portuguese.

Managing relations, including:

• maintain a positive relationship with evaluation stakeholders, ensuring that the evaluation process is as participatory as possible but at the same time maintains its independence;
• communicate in a timely manner with the Evaluation Manager on any issues requiring its attention and intervention.
• The Principal evaluator shall have had no prior involvement in the formulation or implementation of the project. The consultant will sign the Evaluation Consultant Code of Conduct Agreement Form.
• The Principal evaluator will be selected and recruited by the UNEP Evaluation Office through an individual Special Service Agreement (SSA) consultancy contract.
• Comprehensive terms of reference will be shared with consultant separately.

Qualifications/special skills

• A first level university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required.
• An advanced degree in the same areas is desirable.
• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience is required, and evaluation experience and a broad understanding of biosafety and biodiversity are required.
• Working knowledge of development oriented organizations, Intergovernmental processes and United Nations coordination bodies are an added advantage.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English and Portuguese is a requirement and knowledge of French is desirable.

04 August 2023

Finance and Budget Assistant, G6

Responsibilities

• May be acting as Certifying Officer on behalf of and in the absence of programme managers at offices outside of headquarters.
• Providing support with respect to the review, analyses and preparation of the medium-term plan and its revisions.
• Preparing supporting documents (narrative and supporting tables) with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements.
• Assisting managers in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions.
• Undertaking research and providing support to higher level Finance & Budget Officers with respect to budget reviews of relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies.
• Monitoring expenditures and comparing with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• Reviewing requisitions for goods and services to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and (b) availability of funds.
• Assisting in preparation of budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Monitoring integrity of various financial databases.
• Verifying accuracy of input data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued.
• Coordinating with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.
• Reviewing, analysing and preparing payments to third-parties, commercial entities, with respect to settlement of certified death and disability, contingent-owned equipment, stores, pay and allowances, and letters of assist claims.
• Assisting staff members, fund management officers and donors regarding queries on payment and deposit-related issues.
• Keeping up-to-date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Drafting or preparing correspondence to respond to inquiries in respect to relevant financial and budget matters.
• Maintaining and keeping up-to-date files.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• May be responsible for providing guidance, training and daily supervision to other general service staff in the area of responsibility.
• Performing other related duties, as assigned.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Good knowledge of general administrative processes and procedures in particular those related to programme/project administration, implementation and evaluation; Ability to perform analysis, modeling and interpretation of data in support of decision-making. Ability to extract and format data. Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; Remains calm in stressful situations; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; Places team agenda before personal agenda; Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent is required. Supplemental training in Administration, Finance or related field is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of work experience in finance, budget, accounting, administrative services or related area is required.
• Experience with Global funds such as Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund (AF) and/or Green Climate Fund (GCF) is desirable.
• Experience working with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as Systems, Applications and Products (SAP), eg, UN Umoja, in grants management, funds management and financial management modules is desirable.
• One (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.

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