Regional Governance for Sustainable Coastal Management – Retainer

Background Information – UNOPS Water, Environment and Climate (WEC)

The Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) portfolio, based in Vienna, and with offices based globally is part of the UNOPS Global Portfolio Office. The Portfolio has built strong partnerships and is effectively managing a portfolio of over 500 million USD over the last 15 years to support key initiatives with fund management, project implementation and administrative support.

WEC effectively operationalizes partners’ agendas with global approaches, as well as regional and country specific activities focused on climate action, protection and conservation of the environment. Partners profit from WEC’s ability to operationalize and/or scale up their important substantive agendas, including in support of key multilateral environmental and climate agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the Cartagena Convention as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.

The South China Sea region and the UNEP/GEF SCS-SAP Project

The South China Sea is a semi-enclosed sea, which supports a number of unique habitats and ecosystems that are amongst the most biologically diverse shallow water marine ecosystems globally. The richness and productivity of the South China Sea and associated environments are, however, seriously threatened by high population growth, pollution, overharvest and habitat modification, resulting in high rates of habitat loss and impairment of the regenerative capacities of living resources. The socio-economic impacts of environmental deterioration are significant for the economies of this region.

Recognising that actions were urgently needed to halt degradation of the environment of this marine basin, the countries of the region sought the assistance of UNEP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the project “Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand” was implemented from 2003-2008. This included a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) of the issues and problems and their societal root causes as the basis for development of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) which was inter-governmentally adopted in 2008. The SAP established a series of objectives and priority costed actions for coastal habitats, land-based pollution management, and the overexploitation of fish stocks in the South China Sea

A multitude of organizations -including several UN agencies, regional inter-governmental organizations and NGO’s- are active in the SCS-SAP region in the fields of fisheries, environmental protection and sustainable development. Yet, coordination and collaboration in terms of communication and awareness building on the aforementioned environmental problems (and on the implementation of related solutions) is still incipient.

In May 2018, a US$ 15 million grant was released by the GEF to support the execution of the 5-year “SCS-SAP Project” (2018-2023). Due to various reasons, including the COVID19 pandemic, the project has been delayed and has been extended to June 2024 with a possibility of a further extension to 2026. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is the executing agency for the implementation of the SCS-SAP project.

A key outcome of the SCS-SAP project will be to facilitate a strengthened and formalised regional cooperation for the sustainable management of the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. Regional cooperation is essential for the sustainable management of regional seas and large marine ecosystems (LME) and most Regional Seas programmes have developed some form of formal regional cooperation. Any regional cooperation for the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand LMEs should be embedded within, or be an integrated part of, the Seas of East Asia under the Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). This would ensure long-term sustainability beyond the project life-time of SCS-SAP.

The SCS-SAP project will recruit a consultant to facilitate and lead the process of identifying options for regional cooperation mechanisms within the context of the seas of East Asia. The key deliverable from the consultancy will be an “Options Paper on Regional Cooperation in the Seas of East Asia, including the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand”.

Duty station:
Please be aware that this is a home-based position, with the duty station being your city of permanent residence. Regular travel may be required.

This is a retainer (consultant) national vacancy/position and will be hired for 12 months for a maximum of 220 working days with possibility of extension depending on performance and on availability of funds.

The consultancy will include the following key tasks:

• Desk Review of existing regional cooperation mechanisms around the world for regional seas and LMEs and summarizing findings into “List of Options” for regional cooperation in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand
• Coordinate with COBSEA to identify feasible regional cooperation options for elaboration and integration within the COBSEA framework
• National consultations on options for regional cooperation based on findings from above desk review, with the purpose to discuss and compile national priorities and recommendations for regional cooperation
• Draft Options Paper for Regional Cooperation within the context of the Seas of East Asia
• Present draft Options Paper at Regional Consultation
• Finalize Options Paper based on inputs and recommendations from regional consultation
• Develop presentation of Options Paper for regional cooperation in the Seas of East Asia, and presentation of Options Papers to the SCS-SAP Steering Committee (SCM)
• SCM Endorsement of Options Paper

Impact of Results

The Consultant on Regional Governance for Sustainable Coastal Management Co impacts on achievement of project results by directly contributing on the Outcomes 3.5: “Agreed arrangements for strengthened regional cooperation in the management of the marine and coastal environment of the South China Sea” for the South China Sea large marine ecosystem. This ensures client satisfaction and overall effective delivery of the UNOPS project, as well as contributes to the SDGs and UNOPS purpose.

Education

• Master’s Degree, or equivalent, in Marine Science, Social Sciences, Political Science, or related field.
• First level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) with additional two years of experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced university degree.

Experience

Required

• A minimum of 5 years of successful experience in in international waters and regional cooperation.
• Knowledge of, and experience with, coastal and marine issues in a regional seas context, including in the South China Sea.

• Experience of working with the UN system would be an asset.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese Mandarin) is an asset.

• Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA)
• Contract level: ICSC 10/LICA 10
• Contract duration: This is a retainer (consultant) national vacancy/position and will be hired for 12 months for a maximum of 220 working days with possibility of extension depending on performance and on availability of funds.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

* This is a Homebased position, and therefore the incumbent will need to use his/her own laptop and software.