Senior External Affairs Officer

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and strains on land and ocean health. Its grants, blended financing, and policy support help developing countries address their biggest environmental priorities and adhere to international environmental conventions. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $23 billion and mobilized $129 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 national and regional projects.

The GEF unites 186 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives.  An independently operating financial organization, the GEF is a financial mechanism for 5 major international environmental conventions: the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The GEF operates two funds to support adaptation to climate change: the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). In May 2002, the GEF Council approved the arrangements for establishment of these funds. To date, the LDCF and SCCF have provided over $1.5 billion in grant financing for over 300 adaptation projects in vulnerable developing countries. The two funds are also mandated to serve the Paris Agreement. In June 2022, the LDCF/SCCF Council approved the GEF Programming Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change for the LDCF and SCCF and Operational Improvements for July 2022 to June 2026.

The GEF Secretariat is seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior External Affairs Officer to manage outreach and visibility related to climate change adaptation, focused on the GEF-managed LDCF and SCCF.
The ideal candidate should have strong communication and interpersonal skills, experience of climate change and development issues, along with political acumen and the capacity to work effectively on sensitive issues with senior management, the LDCF/SCCF Council and across different agencies of the GEF partnership.

S/he will: be responsible for raising the profile and visibility of the LDCF and SCCF. The selected candidate will be responsible for developing and executing a communications strategy for the LDCF and SCCF, using a range of tools to bolster public and stakeholder awareness about both funds and the projects they support in Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, and other climate-vulnerable countries.

The candidate selected for this position will report to the GEF Head of Communications and be a part of the Communications and Outreach (GEFCO) unit, with a dual reporting line to the GEF LDCF/SCCF Manager.
Under the joint supervision of the [GEF Head of Communications and LDCF/SCCF Manager], the Senior External Affairs Officer will have the following duties: