Main purpose of job:

Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing our world.  The UK has responded with some of the world’s most ambitious legislation and domestic targets, embedding the green economy in all our industrial, research and growth strategies.  Internationally, the UK is one of the most significant contributors to international climate finance and active in pressing for global ambition in line with the 2015 Paris agreement to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees. As part of the British Government’s global response to the climate challenge and its commitment to help deliver the aims of the Paris Agreement (UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015), the UK has committed to doubling its ICF offer to £11.6 billion between 2020/2021 and 2025/2026.

South Africa is both vulnerable as an emerging economy, and a significant contributor to global greenhouse emissions. The British High Commission is strengthening its ability locally to work with partners across government, civil society and business on climate change issues, including resilience and the just energy transition. South Africa is a key strategic partner for the UK. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between South Africa and the UK, US, France, Germany and the EU (announced at COP26 in Glasgow, November 2021) is all about supporting South Africa to meet its ambitious NDC commitments, doing so in a just way.  As a developing country under UNFCCC, South Africa is dealing with the twin challenges of adapting to, and building resilience against climate impact that is already occurring and increasing.  As an influential member of the Africa Group, the G77 +China, G20, BRICS, South Africa is a key player in securing real progress within the UNFCCC negotiation process.

UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a £340 million capacity-building programme funded by the UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF). UK PACT supports ODA-eligible countries, including South Africa, with high mitigation potential to increase their climate ambition and implement that ambition more rapidly, more effectively, and more equitably. Key features of UK PACT are that it aims to respond explicitly to partner government demand for capacity building interventions, and that it shares UK expertise (for example in areas such as climate legislation, green finance, and renewable energy). South Africa is a key strategic climate partner for the UK. The UK PACT programme has delivered £ 5.5 million in technical assistance in South Africa to date and has recently committed to funding additional UK PACT projects. This support is in addition to the over £200 million of UK ICF that flows into South Africa from central funds through International and Development Finance Institutions.  The UK is looking to deepen its relationship with South Africa and is keen to bring to bear its skills and expertise from decades of low carbon leadership to help support the delivery of South Africa’s NDC.

The Just Energy Transition Partnership is a priority under the UK’s current Country Business Plan for South Africa and UK PACT and wider ICF are central to the UK’s contribution. Cleaner Greener Planet is also a priority focus sector under the Country Business Plan, with UK PACT and wider ICF being key to its delivery.

The Post Holder will be a public face of climate finance in South Africa, establishing and managing strategic stakeholders particularly with provincial and municipal governments, as well as the broader consultancy and programme management sector. The Post Holder will work closely with the UK PACT South Africa Country Lead and the contracted Delivery Partner to oversee the successful design and delivery of technical assistance projects in South Africa. The Post Holder will be expected to develop strong links with other colleagues working on JETP, Development, Economic Growth, Science and Innovation and Department of International Trade (DIT) teams within the High Commission and ICF programme leads in London.

This work falls under the policy and programmatic areas headed by the Head of Climate Change and Biodiversity at the British High Commission. The job holder will report to the UK PACT South Africa Country Lead at the British High Commission.

Roles and responsibilities:

South Africa-UK PACT Projects and Skill-shares Delivery (70%)

• Lead UK PACT programme delivery on specific projects (most likely at provincial and municipal levels), including demand scoping for potential projects at provincial/municipal levels.
• Operational management of UK PACT skill-shares. This will include supporting the UK PACT Fund Lead in London and the UK PACT Delivery Partner to identify opportunities for skill-shares and support their delivery.
• Provide political insight (provincial and municipal levels) and advise the High Commission Board and senior management on opportunities to strengthen both UK visibility and advocacy and campaign priorities.
• Manage the South Africa-UK PACT databases, ensuring that data is meticulously stored and easily accessible.
• Maintain a programme risk register for work across all UK PACT programme components and manage or escalate risks accordingly.
• Maintain a database of opportunities identified and the best UK PACT interventions for meeting demand (i.e. project, skills share or secondment).
• Speech writing for senior staff delivering speeches at South Africa-UK PACT related events.
• Manage the communications portfolio of South Africa-UK PACT, including identifying communications opportunities and co-designing these in collaboration with the UK PACT South Africa Country Lead and the Communications Team at the British High Commission.

Working jointly with the UK PACT South Africa Country Lead, the jobholder will:

• Support strategy development to assess where UK PACT technical assistance will have most impact, including through scoping with government counterparts, understanding the wider donor landscape and assessing what will bring about transformational change.
• Monitor and communicate on the overall impact of the South Africa-UK PACT programmes in South Africa.
• Maintain the relationship with the South Africa-UK PACT Fund Delivery Partner to monitor project and skill-shares delivery activities and progress.
• Establish good working relationships with project implementing partners and skill-shares experts and maintain a rhythm of engagement on project progress and activity development.

• Deliver ad hoc Climate Change policy research and reporting on specific policy and internal South African developments, with a lead focus on the energy sector.

• Deliver briefs for the six-weekly South Africa-UK PACT meetings with senior management as required.

Working closely with the (wider) ICF Programmes Lead (20%):

• Maintain a watching brief on wider ICF programmes including agility on data retrieval when necessary.
• Advise on read-across between South Africa-UK PACT and wider ICF programmes, including opportunities for combining programmatic resources for greater impactful project delivery.
• Collect and manage progress data for the delivery of ICF programmes in South Africa and report internally to the Programme Management Office (PMO) and other British High Commission returns. 

Corporate (10%)

• Lead on coordination of high-level Climate missions to South Africa, identifying opportunities for relevant dialogues to support the development of programmes, as well as supporting the planning and delivery of potential skill-sharing missions between the UK and South Africa
• Event design, management and delivery in support of both ICF and wider climate change campaign efforts in support of UK policy.
• Play an active part in the corporate life of the High Commission (including if necessary as a member of any High Commission Committees) to maximise the overall well-being of staff.

Resources managed:

Joint oversight of the multi-million-pound wider South-Africa UK PACT Country Fund budget.

We are looking for a proactive self-starter, able to work well and have a flexible approach to work whilst under pressure. The person should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills to build strong relations within the High Commission and support engagement with a wide range of stakeholders in South Africa with the following:

• Master’s degree in Political Science, International Relations, International Development or the Social Sciences. A recognised Programme Management qualification/accreditation will be acceptable in place of a Master’s degree
• Minimum 5 years of project/programme management experience, including at least 2 years leading on project delivery
• The ability to demonstrate strong interpersonal, communication and relationship skills
• Be a flexible and creative problem-solver, able to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems, and coordinate coherent and compelling programmes and projects
• Strong organisation skills, with an ability to ensure tasks are completed to high quality to required deadlines.
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Experience providing administrative and logistical support
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and ability to adjust to different audiences
• Excellent presentation skills
• Team player, driven by values