Senior Advisor Carbon Market

The candidate is expected to work independently on a varied portfolio of activities, including project management and program development, collaboration with partners, quantitative and qualitative analysis, presentation of analytical results using digital tools and web-based platforms as well as collaboration with relevant colleagues across UNEP and UNEP-CCC sections.

The main responsibility of the candidate will be to : 

• Lead and provide a science-based analytic advice and project management in the areas of: 

• Capacity building for implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement with a focus on market-based approaches (Article 6.2 and 6.4). 

• Transparency, GHG accounting, reporting and review of NDC implementation using Internationally Traded Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) for ambition raising. 

• Analysis of SDG impacts, transformational change assessment and institutional development.

• Lead the work on tracking and analyzing Article 6 implementation across countries, including host party strategies, cooperation agreements, projects and methodologies, authorization procedures, reporting frameworks, etc.

• Lead the development of a user-friendly web-based platform for the Article 6 pipeline database, including stakeholder consultations, partner selection and coordination 

• Work on capacity building for development of carbon market activities and institutional frameworks for implementation of Articles 6 and 13 of the Paris Agreement in low- and middle-income countries.

• Coordinate with the head of section the ongoing work of the ID section, including: the development and management of institutional frameworks and databases for carbon market implementation, integrated assessment of mitigation policies and actions to achieve the global goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and greening the power sector in partner countries. 

• Lead the enhancement and development of GHG and SDG impact assessment of mitigation activities for trading in ITMOs using digital tools and data visualization approaches to present insights and open access data to provide transparency on global carbon markets.

• Be responsible for project management and coordination, allocation of budget resources within the assigned projects and for regularly monitoring and assessing performance against KPIs and project milestones. 

• Contributes to the visibility and communication of UNEP-CCC’s activities and outcomes publicly. This involves contributing to analytical work, resulting in both peer-reviewed publications and reports, perspectives, and policy briefings.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The process will be based on performance evaluation including the following:

• Successful completion of project management tasks that will be assigned to the staff, including timely submission of corresponding deliverables

• Successful and timely maintenance of the project website and online knowledge-sharing platform

Level of contribution to the strategic discussions and common tasks as part of the ID section.

a. Education 

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) preferably in Computer Science / Natural Science / Engineering / Business / Policy / Economics / Social science or related field is required.
• A First-level University degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) combined with two additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree.
• A PhD with a thesis related to carbon markets is an advantage.

b. Experience

• The candidate should have a minimum of 7 years of experience with carbon markets or related areas
• Experience working on carbon markets in emerging and developing countries is required.
• Data analysis and database management skills (Excel, SQL, Qlik, Tableau and other digital tools) is desirable
• Experience in impact assessment for sustainable development and/or transformational change is desirable
• Experience and knowledge of GHG mitigation methodologies is desirable
• Experience working in an international agency or organization is desirable
• Programming skills (e.g., Excel, Python, R, etc.) are desirable
• Experience in climate change negotiation and international climate governance, related to the Paris Agreement Articles 6 and 13 is desirable

c. Languages

Fluency in English (written and oral) is required. Fluency in one or more other UN languages, in particular French and Spanish is an asset.