Position description
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the focus of the political process to address Climate Change. The UNFCCC secretariat supports the Convention, its Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement through a range of activities, including substantive and organizational support to meetings of the Parties and the implementation of commitments. It is a dynamic organization working in a politically challenging environment to help resolve one of the defining issues of our time.
Where will you be working
This position is located in the UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn, Germany in the Adaptation Division which supports Parties in enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change. It facilitates the provision of holistic technical guidance and advice to Parties on all aspects of adaptation and resilience, especially on assessing climate change risks and sharing knowledge; planning responses to impacts and vulnerability; and enhancing implementation and reviewing progress. The division supports a number of processes, including the process to formulate and implement national adaptation plans (NAPs), the Nairobi Work Programme, the Global Goal on Adaptation, and four constituted bodies (Adaptation Committee (AC), Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) and its Facilitative Working Group (FWG), Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG), and Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM ExCom).
What will you be doing
Reporting directly to the Director of the Adaptation Division, the Chief of Section leads the Review subdivision which supports the provision of coherent, holistic guidance on adaptation to Parties; provides technical analyses, syntheses and input for the Global Stocktake; and facilitates the engagement on adaptation to promote action towards the achievement of the objectives and goals of the Convention and the Paris Agreement. The incumbent oversees three units:
- Global Goal on Adaptation unit which advances the implementation of mandates to operationalize the Global Goal on Adaptation;
- Adaptation Committee unit which supports the Adaptation Committee and its work plans;
- Reporting and Engagement unit which supports adaptation communications and the associated registry, adaptation transparency, stakeholder engagement and outreach; as well as the adaptation component to the Global Stocktake.
Your responsibilities
- Developing strategy, policy and operational guidelines to ensure the achievement of Review subdivision’s mandates:
- Provides in-depth advice and guidance on evolving conference mandates and emerging programmes;
- Develops and implements a strategy for interacting and cooperating with external entities, in particular Parties to the UNFCCC, United Nations agencies, research institutions and other relevant governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations in the area of adaptation; and
- Provides advice to the Director, Deputy Executive Secretary and Executive Secretary on the adaptation issues under the Adaptation Committee as well as Review subdivision activities.
- Providing technical leadership to the substantive work of the subdivision in order to meet current and evolving mandates and challenges of the subdivision:
- Provides substantive leadership and policy guidance to the subdivision; manages support for the intergovernmental negotiations on the agenda items under the subdivision’s responsibility; manages the organization of intersessional activities such as workshops, expert meetings and informal consultations; and develops and implements measures for quality control of the subdivision’s outcomes, including official documents and communications with relevant external actors;
- Ensures that relevant mandates, decisions and implementation guidelines are elaborated into technically sound, viable, sustainable programmes of work, prioritizing and planning activities and outputs within financial constraints;
- Ensures synergy and coordination of the work of the subdivision with that of other organizational units in the Adaptation Division and in other divisions within the secretariat; in the same context provides substantive and organizational support to the Director to achieve internal consistency in approaches to adaptation in the secretariat while contributing to the overall strategic goals of the secretariat; and
- Launches new activities as mandated by the COP.
- Ensuring the effective and accountable management of the subdivision’s financial, human and material resources:
- Plans and manages the financial resources of the subdivision with integrity, and ensures accountability to the secretariat and its donors and contributors, monitoring budgets and expenditures and deciding on relevant follow-up action; provides substantive input to the biennial Programme Budget document. Raises supplementary funds as needed;
- Ensures the equitable and transparent management of the subdivision’s staff; plans and establishes the human resources needs of the subdivision based on their most effective use to achieve the core mandates of the secretariat; leads and manages staff of the subdivision including the provision of technical, policy and administrative guidance, delegation of relevant responsibilities, advising on the relevant unit work strategies to achieve the subdivision’s goals, monitoring performance of staff (as second level supervisor) and following up on staff performance through counselling and training activities; and
- Ensures that the material resources allocated to the subdivision are maintained and secured.
- Representation: During the intergovernmental process the Chief of Section directly supports and represents the Director in policy and technical discussions at the working group and SB chair level. The Chief of Section exchanges information with, provides as well as receives guidance from and enhances coordination with representatives of UNFCCC Parties, UN and other international organizations and bodies, research institutions and officers of the negotiating bodies of the UNFCCC.
- Resource Mobilization: Enhances the secretariat’s effectiveness in resource mobilization efforts by identifying potential donors or approaching Parties requesting additional activities to discuss financial resource requirements for potential or on-going projects. Provides substantive input to the secretariat’s central resource mobilization and partnership subdivision in the Operations Department;
- Knowledge Management:
- Ensures synergy and coordination of the work of the subdivision among the other subdivisions as well as with other divisions within the secretariat to ensure that the work of the subdivision is informed by and of other relevant activities and contributes to achieving the overall mandates and goals of the secretariat;
- Leads and participates in environmental scanning for current knowledge and science, best practices and lessons learned pertaining to adaptation issues through thematic focal points accountable for continual outreach and internal dissemination of same;
- Contributes to the identification, creation, distribution and adoption of substantive data, information, insights and experiences relating to UNFCCC’s mandate, processes, global best practices and lessons learned.
- Performs any other job-related activity required to meet the overall Adaptation Division as well as secretariat-wide mandates, goals and objectives, including participating in the overall management of secretariat-wide and division-wide activities, such as serving as a member of relevant management committees as assigned, and deputizing for the Director as needed.
Competencies
- Applying Professional Expertise: Creates a culture across the unit/programme which values expertise and multidisciplinary cooperation, and takes action to address behaviors which undermine this culture; Promotes alternative sources of expertise and best practice to create cutting edge, robust and sustainable solutions; Engages with substantive leaders outside the business unit and organization to maintain professional expertise; Institutionalizes coaching and professional development within the business unit to build substantive expertise; Sets benchmarks and performance standards for delivery in accordance with identified best practice, and monitors the business unit’s capacity to deliver;
- Communicating with impact: Promotes the organization’s mission and values with authority and gravitas to external stakeholders at all levels; Engages effectively in complex and sensitive negotiations; Communicates regularly and openly with staff at all levels within the business unit and across the organization; Expresses views and messages that reinforce the strategic goals of the organization; Identifies and involves key staff in constructing and delivering critical communications with stakeholders; Deals swiftly with inappropriate or inaccurate communication, and takes responsibility for the communications standards in the programme / unit.
Managerial Competencies
- Exercising Sound Judgment and Decision-Making: Creates an environment where decisions are taken expeditiously; Contributes to broader organizational decisions, providing a considered and impartial perspective which takes the interests of the organization, and all those affected, into account; Assimilates multiple sources of information, identifies high-level themes, and recognizes subtle interrelationships across issues; Challenges the assumptions behind decisions, and their underlying logic, stepping away from the immediate situation to consider the wider context; Ensures decisions made within individual units, departments or divisions do not adversely impact operations elsewhere within the organization; Oversees the decisions of managers within own unit / programme, holding them to account for their decisions without undermining their authority.
Your qualifications
Educational Background
- Required: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in natural or social sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, economics or a related discipline is required.
Experience
- Required: At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in the field of global climate change issues, including strategic planning and management and/or intergovernmental processes. A minimum of 2 of the 10 years must include formal experience in leading teams of professionals engaged in climate change or other environmental activities. A minimum of three years’ experience in an international environment is required.
Language skills
- Fluency in English is required, including strength in both written and oral communications as demonstrated through the writing of technical and other official documents and experience in representation and catalyzing consensus among diverse partners. Knowledge of a second official UN language would be an asset.
Other: Specific professional knowledge
- Knowledge of the UNFCCC intergovernmental support process is essential;
- Familiarity with global climate change issues;
- Managing financial resources, technical professional and general service support staff.
Job-related skills
- In-depth understanding of the strategic direction of global climate change issues;
- Proven ability to identify, develop and/or assess medium to long-term policy requirements;
- Ability to persuade people with varying points of view and catalyze partnerships to achieve consensus on sometimes competitive objectives;
- Ability to identify key strategic issues, opportunities and risks as well as to convey difficult political issues and positions to senior management;
- Proven ability to provide effective leadership to staff.
Application instructions
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