Careers at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities

• This consultancy post is located in UNEP / Ecosystems Division / GEF Biodiversity and Land Degradation unit.
• The consultant will as well as work under the direct supervision of the Task Manager, (based in Geneva, Switzerland) and the overall guidance of the Portfolio Manager, of the GEF Biodiversity and Land Degradation Unit based in Nairobi.
• The project “Implementing Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) Site Conservation and Preventing Global Extinctions” has been designed for four beneficiary countries, namely Chile, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Madagascar. In the 2018 global AZE map update, 853 AZE sites were identified globally for 1,483 AZE trigger species, as many sites have more than one species that triggers the site’s AZE status. Of these 853 sites, 43% remain completely unprotected, and of the 57% of sites that are fully or partially protected, many are still in urgent need of improved management to safeguard AZE trigger species.
• In many cases, habitat conservation and management measures need to be complemented by species-specific measures (e.g., to curb illegal taking in the wild, provide artificial breeding sites or prevent disease or invasive species). Of the 853 AZE sites globally, 21 are in Chile, 4 are in the Dominican Republic, 53 are in Madagascar, and 39 are in Colombia. All AZE sites are also Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA).
• The project’s objective is to improve the conservation of AZE sites in four countries (Chile, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Madagascar). Achieving this objective requires collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, also interaction between countries for experience and knowledge exchange.

Qualifications/Special Skills

• An advanced university degree in environmental sciences, international development or other relevant political or social sciences area is required.
• A University degree in the same areas is acceptable with two additional years of relevant experience.
• A minimum of 7 years of technical / evaluation experience, including of evaluating large, global programmes, including overseeing project teams, managing complex budgets, interacting with oversight personnel or committees, and demonstrating adaptive management when necessary is required.
• Hands-on experience in managing national and international natural resources projects concerning biodiversity monitoring, assessment and conservation, natural resources management, protected areas, land and forest management, capacity building etc. is highly desirable.
• Working experience in an international environment is desirable.
• Experience in the project target areas (AZE sites)/beneficiary countries (Chile, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Madagascar) is an asset.

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Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake the following duties:   

• Lead the preparation of the CEO endorsement document and its attachments.
• Coordinate the development and implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.
• Be responsible for the design of all substantive elements of the CEO endorsement document and its annexes, including the log-frame, budget, indicators, baseline scenario, alternative scenario, stakeholders, risks, consistency with national priorities, institutional arrangements, gender action plan, knowledge management, theory of change (ToC), and monitoring and evaluation.  
• Prepare an outline of the strategy and methodology to develop such elements, including a provisional timetable.
• Ensure that the substantive elements are aligned with national strategy and planning documents though the consultation of national expert.
• Ensure that the latest templates from GEF and UNEP are used in the preparation of the CEO endorsement document and associated annexes. • Inform UNEP on the status of work and highlight, in a timely manner, risks related to the quality of the information received and the fulfillment of the project’s development schedule. 
• Support the national consultant in organizing and undertaking the stakeholder consultation workshop (online) to consult with the relevant national counterparts, discuss the baseline situation, map the gaps and barriers, collect relevant country data, agree upon a project intervention logic (log frame and Annex A results framework) and discuss initial institutional arrangements for execution.  
• Undertake a gender analysis, ensure project deliverables are gender sensitive and prepare a gender action plan.
• Prepare a presentation for internal discussion to UNEP management describing national circumstances and context, baseline, barriers, proposed intervention, and indicators.  
• Support the national consultant in organizing and undertaking the stakeholder validation workshop (online) to validate the CEO Endorsement document with national stakeholders.
• Prepare a final overall stakeholder consultation report. The GEF requires that a report is prepared and submitted on stakeholder consultations undertaken during the PPG.
• Prepare a final and complete version of the CEO Endorsement Document and annexes for UNEP internal review and submission to GEF Sec.
• Prepare the submission package of the CEO endorsement document and associated annexes to the UNEP Project Review Committee (PRC) and draft the responses to the Committee’s reviews.
• Prepare the submission package of the CEO endorsement document and associated annexes to the GEF secretariat and draft responses to Secretariat reviews.

Qualifications/Special Skills

• An advanced university degree in economics, environmental sciences, management, or a related discipline is required;
• A first level degree with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree;
• A minimum of two years of experience in drafting project proposals in the field of climate change, environment or development is required;
• Experience working with GEF or UNEP projects is desirable;
• Experience in working for multilateral or bilateral funding entities in the field of climate change, environment or development is desirable;
• Experience working on projects in Georgia is desirable.

Deadline : Jul 7, 2024