National Project Officer (Climate and Community Governance)

Context/Reporting line:

The impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly evident in Iraq. Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns have led to more frequent and severe droughts, desertification, water scarcity, floods, sand and dust storms, soil salinity, and soil pollution. This undermines agricultural productivity, food security, and health, and exacerbates structural drivers of conflict such as unequal access to services, disputes over water and land ownership, political marginalization, and lack of trust in government. This combination of environmental and human security factors contributes to community fragility and may compel people to move. In order to support the Government of Iraq to address these challenges, as well as to build community resilience to the changing environment and to support people in their mobility choices, IOM’s Peacebuilding and Stabilization Division is pursuing a number of complementary programs and research streams.  A key focus is on supporting local governance as it relates to climate change, which entails actions such as strengthening access to services; building trust between citizens and local, sub-national and/or national government; and engaging the government at national and sub-national levels in policy dialogue and development.   

Under the general guidance of the Senior Programme Coordinator (Peace Bldg&Stabl), the overall supervision of the Programme Coordinator (PSD), and the direct supervision of the Climate Security Officer, this position will support two pillars of IOM’s Peacebuilding and Stabilization Division: Pillar I: Research and fieldwork in the areas of climate change, disaster risk reduction, and local governance; and Pillar 2: Engagement with local authorities on issues of local governance in the areas of climate change, climate induced displacement, and disaster risk reduction.

Core Functions / Responsibilities

1. Facilitate engagement with government counterparts at national (Baghdad) level and support IOM colleagues to engage government counterparts at the sub-national level in southern Iraq (provincial and local authorities) on issues related to governance and climate change.
2. Facilitate policy dialogues, workshops, or other engagement between local authorities and community members on issues related to climate and governance.
3. Facilitate scenario-based planning with local government actors and/or civil society from a disaster risk reduction perspective.
4. Facilitate workshops or roundtables on issues related to climate action and/or local governance.
5. Support mapping exercises around civil society actors and academic actors engaged in climate change action, including by conducting interviews or other outreach strategies.
6. Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with community members in locations across Iraq, on topics related to climate change, disaster risk reduction, and community dynamics. 
7. Conduct interviews with local authorities in locations across Iraq, in order to understand local perceptions and capacities related to climate change, disaster risk reduction, and governance capacities. 
8. Conduct duty travel as required – up to 40% of time is expected to be spent on duty travel across Iraq, including overnight stays. 
9. Perform other duties as may be assigned.

While this vacancy is open to both Internals and Externals, priority shall be given to qualified Internal applicants.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications via this link:

https://jobs.my-soc.org/apply/20240815145142/ypxEvVl3N2kg0Miza9hu5nUQo       

In order for an application to be considered valid, IOM only accepts online profiles duly completed. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.