Responsibilities

Programme Management:

• Analyze the assessment programme mandates, particularly as stated in General Assembly (GA) and United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) decisions, and translate the mandates into strategic programme directions, policies, outputs and concrete work programmes including budget allocations and the UNEP Medium Term Strategy.
• Integrate the work programme of the Branch with other programmes of the division and as well as those of other UNEP divisions.
• Secure approval of the work programme by the UNEP’s Project Review Committee (PRC).
• Consult, negotiate and develop cooperation with appropriate assessment programmes within the UN system, such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Educational, Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) etc. and relevant national, regional and international organizations and secure agreement on collaborative mechanisms.
• Develop, direct and coordinate the different projects of the Big Science Branch related to thematic and integrated assessment, and Global Environment Outlook (GEO).
• Coordinate the development of policy relevant summaries and forecasts based on the findings of the major scientific assessments and the identification of emerging issues of potential international importance and organize their effective and targeted dissemination: including United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA), other relevant UN bodies and governments.
• Develop and direct the implementation of strategies and frameworks for the integration of scientific assessments and reports produced at global and regional levels or in thematic areas and their integration with national and regional activities.
• Report on programme performance to appropriate authorities in the organization and to UNEA e.g. through the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) and the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA).
• Undertake regular analysis of the EWAD assessment mandate and activities and propose, as required, policy options and recommendations for modification and change in the overall implementation of the work programmes.

Programme Implementation:

• Discuss ongoing and planned assessment and reporting activities of the Branch with other divisions of UNEP and ensure that these are incorporated into an integrated programme of work for the division and for UNEP.
•  Identify and discuss potential assessment and reporting activities with other divisions of UNEP, negotiate and coordinate the development of joint activities with UNEP divisions and external partners and oversee the implementation of the identified joint activities.
• Undertake regular monitoring of progress of the Branch programme of work and the individual projects and activities, assess the effectiveness of the results achieved and develop proposals to enhance performance as appropriate.
• Develop and direct the development of new approaches, procedures, methodologies and tools for UNEP’s assessment and reporting activities.
• Evaluate procedures, methodologies and approaches used by national and regional institutions and international organizations to assess environment and development interactions and support informed decisions.
• Analyze alternative approaches and methodologies and their global, regional and thematic relevance in function of targeted user communities or policy and decision-making processes.
• Coordinate the establishment and implementation of international cooperative agreements and mechanisms to develop appropriate procedures to implement UNEP’s mandated assessment and reporting functions and ensure their international scientific validity and acceptability.
• Promote the acceptance and use of appropriate assessment and reporting approaches, procedures and methodologies by UNEP and relevant national and international organizations.

Policy Advice and Guidance:

• Conduct high level technical and policy related consultations on matters related to the programme with policy makers and directors of institutes and international assessment programmes.
• Develop policy initiatives on programme issues for intergovernmental and interagency meetings of minister and other high-level officials.
• Provide regular updates and briefs to the Director, EWAD, Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director on issues related to policy servicing and planning in the context of programme implementation.
• Provide technical advice and appropriate support to governments and assist in organizing and convening intergovernmental meetings of policy makers and technical experts to formulate, adopt and implement global, regional and national assessment programmes.
• Represent EWAD and/or UNEP at external meetings, as requested by the EWAD Director and/or the UNEP Executive Office.
• Ensure that UNEP’s BSB functions are integrated across UNEP Sub-programmes.
• Carry out additional tasks from time to time as requested by the Director of EWAD.

Programme Budget and Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Provide supervisory leadership to professional and general service staff of the Branch, setting objectives and targets with them, inculcate in them, UN and UNEP ethical values and principles, monitor and appraise their performance, ensuring compliance with performance Appraisal System, identify their training needs and facilitate an environment of teamwork and high productivity.
• Manage all non-human resources matters of the Branch in the most effective and efficient way.
• Review human and financial resource requirements for programme implementation and determine priorities for budget allocation.
• Liaise with the Budget and Fund Management Service and Division of Administration Services of UNON on financial, personnel and administrative matters.
• Monitor financial performance of the activities and projects to ensure cost effective implementation of the work programme.
• Leads team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need.

Qualifications

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or Doctorate degree, or equivalent) in natural and environmental sciences, natural resources management, economics or related fields is required. A first-level degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Work Experience

• Minimum 15 years of relevant working experience delivering and managing scientific assessments and network of scientists including at least five (5) years at the national, regional and global levels is required.
• Experience  with the operation and requirements of the UN or similar International organization particularly with regard to developing countries is required.
• Progressive working experience in the management of programmes/projects and supervision of staff in a multicultural setting is desirable.
• A mixture of working experience in developed and developing countries and training in scientific assessment tools, methods and processes is desirable.
• Experience in diverse areas and pertaining to different aspects of environment and development is desirable.
• Experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

How To Apply

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Deadline : Dec 22, 2023