National Technical Officer – Industry

Requisition ID: 4531 
Grade: NOC 
Country: Brazil 
Duty Station: Brasilia 
Category: Project-funded Professional and higher 
Type of Job Posting: External
Employment Type: Staff-Full-time
Appointment Type: Fixed Term – 200 series
Indicative Minimum Net Annual Salary: 358,538 BRL  
Application deadline: 10-Oct-2024, 11:59 PM (CEST)  

Vacancy Announcement
Only nationals of the country of the duty station are eligible to apply. 
Female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

I. Organizational Context

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013 as well as the Abu Dhabi Declaration adopted at the eighteenth session of UNIDO General Conference in 2019, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States. The relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development is recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will frame United Nations and country efforts towards sustainable development. UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. Accordingly, the Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in four strategic priorities: Creating shared prosperity; Advancing economic competitiveness; Safeguarding the environment; and Strengthening knowledge and institutions.

Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards and quality-related activities; and (iv) convening and partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Divisions/Offices in its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Hubs and Country Offices.

Under the overall direction of the Director General, and in close collaboration with all relevant organizational entities within UNIDO, the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS), headed by a Managing Director, ensures the Organization’s application of strategies and interventions for sustainable industrial development related to environment, energy, Micro, Small and Medium-Enterprises (MSMEs), and digitalization. The Directorate also oversees the Organization’s normative contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through industrial policy advice and capacity development. Through coordination in-house and with Member States and industry stakeholders, it ensures that the services provided in these areas contribute to effective and appropriate technical, business and policy solutions and are focused on results, scaling up and positioning UNIDO as a leading platform for industrial development in developing countries and global fora.

Under the supervision of the Managing Director of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS), and in close coordination with other organizational entities within UNIDO, the Division of Energy and Climate Action (TCS/ECA) assists Member States in the transition to low-carbon and climate resilient economies through the promotion of renewable energy, energy efficiency solutions and breakthrough technologies in industry and other key sectors, diversifying supply chains for renewable energy manufacturing and stimulating innovation to address critical climate and energy related challenges.

The position is located within the Energy Systems and Industrial Decarbonization Unit (TCS/ECA/ESD), which promotes the emergence, deployment and large-scale adoption of sustainable energy technologies to drive the decarbonization of energy systems and industrial processes. It supports Member States to charter pathways for net zero industrial development through the development of conducive policies. It also promotes the deployment of crosscutting energy efficiency solutions, electrification and carbon management of industrial processes in large and small-scale industries. It charters norms and standards for reporting embodied carbon in products and supports member states in developing the reporting and verification structures to support compliance with global standards.

Brazil Industrial Decarbonisation Hub (ID Hub)

The international climate finance landscape can be complex, fragmented and a challenge to access for developing countries. The opportunity costs to developing countries of navigating and accessing such diverse sources of international support can be considerable. In the absence of transparency around different activities, there is a real risk of duplication or gaps in support. This is the case for all sectors. Yet mobilizing support to tackle emissions from industrial sectors presents a particular challenge.  Industry currently accounts for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, with the IEA expecting industry to be the largest source of CO2 emissions by 2035 under current country commitments. Many low carbon technologies face considerable barriers to deployment, including high costs, immature markets or readiness to deploy. Compared to some other sectors, the offer of support to developing countries for industrial decarbonization is less developed in both breadth and scale. Yet industrial development is vital for the social and economic prosperity of emerging markets and developing economies. It is therefore essential to support economies that wish to align industrial development with ambitious net-zero commitments.

The Brazil ID Hub is a sector-specific country platform, co-convened by the Brazilian and UK Governments, to help mobilise, coordinate and aggregate international finance, investment and technical assistance, behind Brazil’s Industrial Decarbonisation ambitions. The intention here is to provide a common high level coordinating mechanism to maximise the use and collective impact of the full suite of international assistance and investment channels over time.

The ID Hub Secretariat will be led by UNIDO and supported by LeadIT and the UK Embassy in Brasilia, reporting to Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade & Services (MDIC) and the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

The Brazil Industry Hub seeks to play a crucial role in convening and coordinating international actors to support Brazil’s industrial clean transition. Through the coordination of international and domestic actors, it will facilitate engagement between international actors – bilateral partners, multilateral funds, technical assistance programmes, private sector coalitions and initiatives, UN bodies – and the government of Brazil to mobilize support for its industrial transition. It aims to ensure different types of support on offer fit well together and help to identify new opportunities for future engagement with international partners. If successful, this pilot could provide a valuable model to scale up and replicate across other economies and sectors to accelerate decarbonization and foster the next green industrial revolution.

Approach and deliverable

The IDHub will achieve this objective by capitalizing on the UK and Brazil’s combined convening power and strategic international roles to deliver on: 

• Knowledge sharing: The Hub will facilitate the exchange of information to learn from others’ experience on industrial decarbonisation and provide advice on transition pathways.
• Identifying support: The Hub will assist Brazil to identify support from a diverse range of international actors, tailored to specific objectives. This will include efforts by the UK to align its own international climate finance support with the objectives of the Hub.
• Accessing international assistance: The Hub will support Brazil to access international climate finance, capacity building offers and initiatives, using the facilitative function of the Hub to identify new areas for complementarity and collaboration.

The IDHub will deliver on the approach outlined above on the basis of a work plan. The work plan will outline key objectives which the Hub will work to support in high-emitting industrial sectors and set targets for delivery by COP30. The work plan will be published to help all countries and initiatives see how they too could support the Hub’s work and deliver on Brazil’s aspirations. It will also help the Hub to monitor and update partners on delivery over time.

IDHub governance: roles and responsibilities

The IDHub will be run by a Secretariat, which is hosted by UNIDO and resourced by MDIC and DESNZ representatives, alongside LeadIT. The Secretariat will be responsible for:

• Facilitating engagement with key international stakeholders, including but not limited to industry representatives, technical assistance providers, international initiatives;
• Leading on the development, review and delivery of the workplan, updating it as needed to ensure progress against objectives;
• Providing technical advice on pathways and opportunities for industrial decarbonization in Brazil;
• Preparing the three meetings per year of the Director-level Steering Group as well as the biannual high-level ‘Transition Dialogue Group’ which once a year will include ministers.

II. Main Responsibilities

The role will be responsible for delivering activities the ID Hub workplan at official level, working closely with the ID Hub to execute UNIDO-led areas of work and coordinating/collaborating with international technical assistance providers to ensure delivery coherence elsewhere. This is expected to include close collaboration with a range of partners including for example MCTI, the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA), and UK research institutes (as well as UNIDO Partnership for NZ Pillar 2) to identify partnership opportunities to support capacity building in research and innovation and supporting the identification of opportunities for impactful development and demonstration concessional finance. The role is also likely to involve close collaboration with Industrial Transition Accelerator to support the development of project pipelines across metals, cement and fertilisers subsectors. The role will assist the National Coordinator Officer and the ID Expert in fulfilling Secretariat function. 

ID Hub Key Responsibilities

Technical Officer will assume responsibility for the provision of ID Hub Workplan technical execution services around the ID hub 3 core pillars: (i) institutional frameworks, (ii) project preparation & delivery, (iii) research & innovation, ensuring the deliverables are at the right level of quality and within the allocated budget and timeframe, through:

• Identify opportunities and activities where the Partnership for Net Zero Industry Technology Collaboration & Pipeline Development can align with and enhance the delivery ID Hub workplan;
• Support the Project Manager and NPO in the development and delivery of the workplan/action plans/trackers to ensure consistency with Brazil’s national priorities and programmes;
• Organize and conduct technical briefings and debriefings on the ID Hub for the country, sub regional aspects, resources and development towards maximizing the Hub performance level;
• Undertakes on-site project visits as required to ensure smooth programme delivery;
• Support the NPO in the delivery of UNIDO’s Secretariat functions, and preparation for relevant meetings (including ID Hub Steering Group and Roundtable;
• Assist the NPO in coordinating and aligning the activities of the ID and H2 Hubs to ensure synergies and effective delivery across both Hubs.
• Support the NPO in the coordination of the Working Groups;
• Work with the NPO to map Brazilian and UK firms’ interest in joint RD&D projects in priority areas, including universities and research and technology organizations as partners;
• Work with the NPO to develop shortlist of opportunities for Brazil-UK research and innovation partnerships;
• Identify assistance to be fulfilled by an accelerator/incubator, and mapping of potential hosts in synergy with industrial decarbonisation clusters;
• Provide technical review/inputs to the submission innovation and technology proposals to different calls (Accelerate 2 Demonstrate, ESMAP Industry Decarbonisation Programme, International Science Partnership Fund);
• Identify potential activity to support the development of Brazil R&I ecosystem;
• Establish benchmark and best practices exchange on innovation in the decarbonization area in Brazil and globally;
• Conduct research and assist in identifying innovative technologies and make recommendations;
• Providing technical advice on pathways and opportunities for industrial decarbonization in Brazil.

Reporting:

• Support the NPO in the development of the project progress report compared to the planned ID Hub indicators as specified in the work plan and in line with the procedures and guidelines by Government of Brazil and UNIDO.
• Maintains records of project handover note submitted deliverables, documents, files, equipment and materials that are part of the project;
• Prepare ad-hoc project reports upon request of the project manager, the donor and/or the counterparts;
• Performs other related duties and assignments as required by Project Manager at UNIDO HQ and the UCR in Brazil.

III. Core Values and Competencies

Core Values

WE LIVE AND ACT WITH INTEGRITY: work honestly, openly and impartially.

WE SHOW PROFESSIONALISM: work hard and competently in a committed and responsible manner.

WE RESPECT DIVERSITY: work together effectively, respectfully and inclusively, regardless of our differences in culture and perspective.

Key Competencies

WE FOCUS ON PEOPLE: cooperate to fully reach our potential –and this is true for our colleagues as well as our clients. Emotional intelligence and receptiveness are vital parts of our UNIDO identity.

WE FOCUS ON RESULTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: focus on planning, organizing and managing our work effectively and efficiently. We are responsible and accountable for achieving our results and meeting our performance standards. This accountability does not end with our colleagues and supervisors, but we also owe it to those, we serve and who have trusted us to contribute to a better, safer and healthier world.

WE COMMUNICATE AND EARN TRUST: communicate effectively with one another and build an environment of trust where we can all excel in our work.

WE THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND INNOVATE: To stay relevant, we continuously improve, support innovation, share our knowledge and skills, and learn from one another.

IV. Minimum Organizational Requirements

Education: Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in economics, engineering, sciences, communications, environment, business administration, or other relevant discipline is required.

Technical and functional experience:

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible working experience in the field of sustainable development through implementation of technical cooperation or development programmes/projects, including some exposure at the international level is required.
• Exposure to the needs, conditions and problems of the country context is required.
• Experience/knowledge of other development agencies’ work in Brazil is required.
• Experience in building partnerships and coordination networks is desirable.
• Experience/knowledge of development agencies, donor communities, private sectors, government and relevant institutions in the field of industry decarbonization in Brazil is desirable.
• Experience in all phases of the Project Cycle is desirable.

Language: Fluency in English and Portuguese are required. Working knowledge of other official language(s) of the United Nations, is desirable.

For further information on salaries, refer to the International Civil Service Commission website: https://icsc.un.org/

Employees of UNIDO are expected at all times to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity, both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for jobs at UNIDO.

All applications must be submitted online through the Online Recruitment System Correspondence will be undertaken only with candidates who are being considered at an advanced phase of the selection process. Selected candidate(s) may be required to disclose to the Director General the nature and scope of financial and other personal interests and assets in respect of themselves, their spouses and dependents, under the procedures established by the Director General.