Coordinator for the project Resilient Watersheds

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for the overall coordination of the project and will collaborate with the Ministry of Environment to achieve project objectives by delivering the planned outputs on schedule while working with UNEP to provide technical and operational expertise. It is expected that Coordinator for the project Resilient Watersheds in Panama execution will be responsible of tasks of the EUROCLIMA+ funded project “Fostering climate change adaptation in Panama through ecosystem approach for water executing the tasks outlined in Clause 4.2 of the Terms of Reference. Specific tasks and responsibilities The Project Coordinator´s main duties and responsibilities will include:

Project Implementation

• Effectively implement project initiatives with project counterparts and UNEP by complementing existing capacities and providing oversite and support where needed;
• Facilitate decision making on activity execution, particularly related to planning, budget, and implementation issues;
• Prepare annual work plans and budgets and manage activities, and monitoring spending using guidance from the Technical Advisory Panel and the Steering Committee. The work plans will provide guidance on the day-to-day implementation of the project noting the need for overall coordination with other projects implemented by UNEP in Panama.
• Provide inputs to strategic planning, achievement of targets and objectives;
• Facilitate technical training and deliver presentations during events and other engagements;
• Conduct field visits to project sites for the provision of hands-on support and quality assurance;
• Ensure technical, administrative, and logistical support is given to the projects;
• Represent UNEP at meetings, technical sessions, project events, ceremonies, and functions.

Technical Support

• Provide technical guidance to Project partners for the preparation of the project outputs;
• Initiate and assist with the design, organization, and facilitation of consultation meetings, training, workshops, and other activities;
• Provide specific technical input on the implementation and documentation of project activities directly within her/his technical area including editing and/or drafting and/or proof reading of technical reports and studies;
• Provide oversight and technical guidance to international and national consultants recruited to undertake/support the implementation of project activities;
• Collaborate with UNEP in the development of Terms of References for consultants and sub-contractors.

Coordination and Networking

• Network and foster functional relationships with project counterparts and other key stakeholders;
• Facilitate or participate in workshops, webinars, and meetings as necessary.
• Liaise with and ensure strategic partnerships with the responsible Institutions of the beneficiaries at the national and sub-national levels and coordinate with them for the implementation of the Project and the achievement of the expected results.
• Participate and promote dialogue in the community of practices and/or webinars that will be implemented within the project. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
• Work in partnership with project counterparts and UNEP for the timely submission of periodic, accurate, and professional (narrative and financial) progress reports to management and other stakeholders as required;
• Ensure adequate tools are in place to track all progress, achievements, challenges, and lesson learned;
• Promote learning and knowledge sharing amongst all related stakeholders;
• Contribute to knowledge sharing, producing documentation for case studies and lessons learned;
• Support with the preparation of assessments and studies as required.

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. The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, Panama, works closely with the 33 countries of the region and its activities are integrated into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). UNEP seeks to support countries in Latin America to implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new Paris Agreement and the priority actions defined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Latin American countries. To support the adaptation planning in the water sector in Panama, it is pivotal to have access to quality climate and hydrological data, technical capacities to analyze and use such data to inform planning processes and demonstrate cost-effective adaptation solutions as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Measures. As a result, UNEP is working with the government of Panama to execute a two-years project “Fostering climate change adaptation in Panama through ecosystem approach for water security at the water basin level” funded by EUROCLIMA+. EUROCLIMA is the European Union flagship cooperation programme on environmental sustainability and climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean (LACO). It aims at contributing to the LAC region’s Green Transition, through climate mitigation and adaptation efforts and through the protection and conservation of biological diversity. This objective will be achieved through two main outputs, which are: 1) strengthened enabling environment for a green transition (integrated policies, legal frameworks, sectoral plans and financial instruments) and; 2) transformative approaches in key areas for the green transition are developed, demonstrated and scaled up through the mobilization and leveraging of public and private finance. EUROCLIMA is funded by the European Commission (EC), along with the German, French and Spanish governments, and is implemented by agencies of the European Union (EU) Member States (AECID, AFD, Expertise France, FIIAPP, GIZ) and the UN (UN Environment, ECLAC, and UNDP). The aim of the project is to transform the planning processes for adaptation to climate change in the water sector in Panama through enhancing climate information for 10 watersheds, strengthening institutional capacities and demonstrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) solutions in three watersheds.

The project is organized in four main areas of work:

• Improve and tailor climate data and information for effective adaptation planning and action in the water sector;
• Enhance institutional capacity for climate-informed adaptation planning in the water sector;
• Pilot Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) interventions to build resilience of communities and ecosystems in selected watershed;
• Enhance knowledge management and learning to inform policy making and upscaling of best practices.

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for the overall coordination of the project and will collaborate with the Ministry of Environment to achieve project objectives by delivering the planned outputs on schedule while working with UNEP to provide technical and operational expertise. He/ She will be supervised by the Regional Subprogramme Coordinator of Climate Change for Latin America and the Caribbean Office and will be based in the office of the Ministry of Environment located in Panama City, Panama , where he/she will attend the office full time, 40 hours per week, from Monday to Friday. The incumbent will also be required to travel on a regular basis to the project’s targeted areas, as required by the project’s implementation and with costs covered by UNEP.

Qualifications/special skills

ACADEMIC:

• Bachelor’s degree in geography, environment, natural resources management, engineering or a closely related field is required.
• Master’s degree in environmental science, Environmental Management, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Management, Water Resources Management, Development Studies, project management or a related field is required.

PROFESSIONAL:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in project coordination, management and reporting is required.
• Experience and knowledge in the field of water resource management, integrated watershed management, natural resources management, climate change, disaster risk reduction or a closely related field is required.
• Experience working with climate change scenarios and climate risk analyses is desirable.
• Experience in coordinating multidisciplinary teams is desirable.
• Working experience in Panama for national or local institutions and/or government, with the correspondent legal suitability to practice in the country is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of ecosystem-based adaptation is desirable.
• Experience in public consultation and capacity building processes associated with environment and sustainable development is desirable.

LANGUAGE:

• Fluency in Spanish is required
• Confident level of English is required.

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Sound knowledge of climate change adaptation strategies and ecosystem-based adaptation is required.
• Knowledge of integrated water resource management practices is desired.
• Skills using Geographic System of Information (GIS) for vulnerability and risk assessments are desired.
• Familiarity with watershed or water surface modeling using software such as HEC-RAS is desirable.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, to communicate complex, technical information to both technical and general audiences, including strong policy advice skills is desired.
• Proven ability to collect, verify and analyze information, and to finish and present work with a high degree of accuracy and technical quality, in relatively short time is desired.
• Ability to work independently and as a team.
• Motivated and dynamic to jump-start activities

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/236415?language=en