Senior Programme Specialist (Climate Change), P5, MENA Regional Office, Amman-Jordan#00117191
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, Climate Security
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism.
How can you make a difference?
The post will serve as the authoritative advisor for the MENA region on strategies, policies, approaches, knowledge and best practices on climate change, climate adaptation, environmental degradation, sustainable energy, and climate related aspects of disaster risk reduction. The post will provide technical advice to regional management team, country offices and government partners and lead on generation of regional public goods on the subject.
Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
Regional advisory support
- Advise key national government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners on policies, strategies, approaches, and best practices on climate change, sustainable energy, and other environmental issues to support programme development planning, management, implementation, and delivery of results.
- Participate in regional/country programme planning, preparation, and review to provide advice on formulation, design, management, enhancement, and communication of climate change related policy, including setting priorities and results-based management goals.
- Participate in regional key events and strategic discussions to influence policy discussions and agenda setting on climate change, sustainable energy and other environmental issues.
- Work with the regional team to ensure inclusion of climate change, sustainable energy and other environmental issues as well as DRR across UNICEF's work, including but not limited to WASH, Health, Education, Social Inclusion, Nutrition, Urban, and humanitarian response.
Country office support
- Collaborate with Regional Management/Country Office teams throughout all stages of programming to provide technical support to programme preparation, implementation and monitoring for results.
- Provide policy guidance and technical support to national external partners/internal colleagues to develop national policies/strategies for UNICEF assisted programmes.
- Contribute to the planning and conduct/update of situation analysis to ensure that current and evidence-based data on climate change related issues are available to guide UNICEF's strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights.
- Manage and coordinate technical support around climate change related issues ensuring it is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion so as to adequately support scale-up and delivery.
- Evaluate/facilitate synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes and projects with UNICEF Strategic Plans and priorities, donors' development strategies/policies, national priorities/competencies, and UN System development interventions/initiatives.
Programmatic monitoring and assessment
- Ensure effective and efficient monitoring and evaluation of different country programmes within the region. Ensure that climate change related initiatives enhance policy dialogue, planning, supervision, technical advice, management, training, research, and support; and monitoring and evaluation.
- Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sector reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine and to provide advice on required action/interventions to achieve results.
- Submit/share assessments on climate change related initiatives, in country offices highlighting critical issues and suggestions for enhancing performance and delivery of sustainable results.
Advocacy, networking, and partnership building
- Establish effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, and other UN agencies to support sustained and proactive commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and to achieve global UN agendas such as the Paris Agreement.
- Consult and collaborate with national/global colleagues/partners/allies to develop a partnerships framework to leverage resources for enhancing/scaling up initiatives to address climate change, sustainable energy, and other environmental issues.
- Participate and/or represent UNICEF (as delegated/designated) in key events/meetings and in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on climate change and related topics.
Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
- Promote critical thinking and introduce technological and programme innovations, approaches and good practices in the region for climate change related initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
- Lead and/or develop policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
- Lead/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on climate change, sustainable energy, DRR and other environmental issues related programming, advocacy and technical support.
- Lead knowledge exchange including collecting and sharing best practices and lessons learned on greening UNICEF's operations.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education:
Advanced university degree in Climate Science, Meteorology, Environmental engineering, Energy or Climate change, or other relevant disciplines.
Experience:
A minimum of ten years of relevant work experience focused on developing countries, in areas related to development cooperation in climate change adaptation, low carbon development, environmental pollution, sustainable energy.
Specific expertise in programme/project formulation, implementation, monitoring and review and evaluation related to climate change adaptation and low carbon development in developing countries.
Proven experience in successfully developing, formulating, and overseeing the implementation of adaptation and low carbon development projects for the GEF/LDCF/SCCF, Adaptation Fund, GCF, and/or other sources of climate finance.
Familiar with children's rights and gender in the context of climate change adaptation and low carbon development and/or natural resources management is highly desirable.
Experience of working in developing contexts is required. Work experience in the Middle East and North Africa region is an added advantage.
Excellent analytical and writing skills, advocacy and presentational skills is required.
Language:
Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of Arabic or French is an asset
For every Child, you demonstrate
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it.
Core Competencies:
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)
During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks:
“UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.
UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”.
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
