Programme Management Assistant at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• The incumbent will provide support in the development, implementation and monitoring of the food system programme under the Regional Office of Africa’s Ecosystems/Nature Unit sub-programme The programme responds to the UNEP Medium Term Strategy that focuses on the triple planetary crises of nature/biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution/waste crises. Food systems are an important driver of environmental change particularly in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity loss. Unsustainable practices such as expansion of agricultural land, overuse of fertilisers, and mono-cropping have been linked to ecosystem degradation and loss of several ecosystem services. Africa being depended on agriculture for its economic growth and reliance on rain fed agriculture is vulnerable from the triple planetary crises and hence the need to ensure that environmental sustainability is embedded in the national food systems transformation pathways.

Under the direct supervision of the Regional sub-programme coordinator of the Nature/Ecosystems sub-programme and the overall guidance of the Deputy Regional Director, the incumbent will be responsible for:

• Analysing the national food systems transformation pathways of African countries to identify the extent of coverage of environmental sustainability and gaps that would require additional review/intervention to ensure that the pathways are sustainable.
• Developing tools and guidelines to be used in supporting national task forces in unpacking the national food systems transformation pathways to mainstream environmental dimensions.
• Supporting implementing partners and countries to incorporate environmental dimensions in food systems transformation pathways in Africa through identification of priorities and needs of countries and bringing these to the attention of the Unit.
• Supporting to compile UNEP Africa Office inputs to the Opportunities and Issue-Based Coalition (OIBC)‘s work on food systems and advocacy work to mainstream environmental dimensions in the work of the UN agencies in supporting African Union’s work on food systems including the Regional Economic Communities.
• Supporting the Unit to establish linkages between food systems transformation and other initiatives and programmes in the region such as One Health, Ecosystem Restoration, and the implementation of the Kuning-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including regional preparatory activities, support to the African Group of Negotiators on Biodiversity, the African Ministerial Conference on Environment, etc.
• Undertaking other duties as may be requested from time to time to ensure the smooth running of the Unit/office

Qualifications/special skills

• High School Diploma is required.
• Supplementary training in environmental science, agriculture/ agricultural economics, natural resources management/ natural resources economics, or a closely related area of study is desirable.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in programme/project management, natural resources management is required.
• Experience working in the Africa Region at  an international organization equivalent to the United Nations is desirable.
• Experience in data analytics is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.