Senior Programme Management Office P5 Job at UNEP

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• Job Opening ID: 284641
• Job Network : Economic, Social and Development
• Job Family : Programme Management
• Category and Level : Professional and Higher Categories, P-5
• Recruitment Type : Position Specific Job Openings – Fixed Term Limited
• Duty Station : NAIROBI
• Department/Office : United Nations Environment Programme
• Date Posted : Oct 2, 2026
• Deadline : Oct 31, 2026

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Org. Setting and Reporting

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. UNEP’s Ecosystem Division drives conservation, restoration and sustainable use of ecosystems to achieve benefits for nature and people: today and future generations. The division works with Member States and partners to strengthen resilience by providing policy and technical support to catalyze sustainable social and economic transformation for biodiversity, people and peace. The overall objective of the Division is to support countries in conserving, restoring and sustainably managing their terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, the biodiversity they contain and the products and services they provide for human well-being and prosperity. The Ecosystems Division’s Marine and Freshwater Branch provides science, governance, and strategic communications expertise to drive action across the marine, coastal, and freshwater ecosystems, responding to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and pollution.

This post’s location is in UNEP’s Ecosystems Division, Marine and Freshwater Branch, at the Nairobi duty station. The incumbent will be responsible for the direct implementation of the work plan, monitoring and evaluation and other activities in the Source to Sea Pollution Unit. Under the general guidance of the Director or Deputy Director of UNEP’s Ecosystem Division and under the direct supervision of the Principal Coordinator of the Marine and Freshwater Branch, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

Responsibilities

• Takes the lead to develop, implement and evaluate assigned programmes/projects; directs subordinates in source-to-sea relevant Programme/project development, implementation, monitoring and assessment, including ecosystem degradation, habitat destruction and wetlands, coastal and high seas physical alterations; directs review of relevant documents and reports; identifies priorities, problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and initiates follow-up actions.
• Ensures implementation of gender mainstreaming guidelines by assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.
• Directs research and programme evaluation and presents information gathered from diverse sources.
• Coordinates policy development; reviews the assessments of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or research activities and studies.
• Undertakes survey initiatives; guides design of data collection instruments; reviews, analyzes, and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
• Supervises preparation of various written outputs, e.g., background papers, analysis, substantial sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications.
• Directs substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations.
• Manages outreach activities; designs and conducts training workshops, seminars, and makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Leads field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries.
• Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements) and ensures preparation of related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget).
• Serves as an effective spokesperson and establishes collaboration and partnerships with key officials at all levels inside and outside the organization.
• Ensures effective utilization, supervision, and development of staff; Guides, evaluates and mentors staff.
• Leads team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need.
• May perform other duties as required.

Competencies

Professionalism: Knowledge of the substantive field of Source-to-Sea Pollution work. Ability to identify key strategic issues, opportunities and risks related to environment dimensions of health. Ability to communicate clearly links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals. Demonstrated ability to provide innovative technical leadership by performing and/or overseeing the planning, development, and management of operation. Demonstrated ability to negotiate and apply good judgment. Proven ability to analyze complex data and produce reports leading to sound policy recommendations for achieving sustainable development. The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Ability to think strategically, to identify key emerging sustainable development issues and related policy implications. 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.

Planning& 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.

Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

Building Trust: Provides an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion; manages deliberately and predictably; operates with transparency; has no hidden agenda; places confidences in colleagues, staff members and clients; gives proper credit to theirs; follows through on agreed-upon actions; treats sensitive or confidential information appropriately.

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or Doctoral degree, or equivalent) in Environmental Management, Environmental Science, or a related field is required.
• A first-level degree in the specified fields of study in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in environmental Programme and project management is required.
• At least 5 years of experience developing and implementing Source-to-Sea approaches across multiple countries is required.
• Demonstrated experience managing teams in international contexts, with direct supervision responsibilities, is required.
• Experience with the coordination of global multi-stakeholder partnerships is desirable.
• Experience with convening intergovernmental expert groups on source to sea relevant topics is desirable.
• Experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
• For this job opening, English is required. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).

Required Languages

Language	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
English	UN Level III	UN Level III	UN Level III	UN Level III

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

The monthly net salary for a Senior Programme Management Officer (P-5) at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya ranges from approximately $12,898 to $16,314 USD. This translates to an estimated annual net base salary of $154,773 to $195,772 USD, depending on your exact step level and dependency status. [Source: UN Talent]

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