Background
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.
Within the GPN, the Crisis Bureau guides UNDP’s corporate crisis and fragility-related strategies and vision for crisis prevention, response and recovery. The Bureau has the responsibility for support to prevention, crisis response, resilience, recovery and peacebuilding work under the auspices of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. Crisis Bureau staff provide global strategic advice to UNDP management and technical advice to regional hubs and Country Offices; advocate for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. As part of the Global Policy Network (GPN), the Crisis Bureau works in an integrated manner with UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) ensuring that issues are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. Peace outcomes are delivered in a coherent manner, working across the GPN that includes the Governance team in Bureau of Policy and Programme Support.
The Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions (CPPRI) Team covers the following thematic/programming areas as part of the GPN:
- Conflict prevention and peacebuilding;
- Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE);
- Core government functions, including local governance in transition, conflict and fragile settings; and Climate security
As a member of the Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions Team (CPPRI) and the Climate Strategies and Policies Team (CSPT), the Team Leader – Climate Security is the global technical lead on climate security for the Global Policy Network and will provide intellectual and strategic leadership as well as technical guidance on climate, environment, peace and security. S/he works with teams in the Crisis Bureau, as well as across UNDP’s Global Policy Network (GPN) particularly with NCE, the Regional Hubs, Country Offices and Global Policy Centers, overseeing the development of substantive approaches, products and tools on climate, environment, peace and security to support policy and programming services to UNDP Country Offices.
The Team Leader will have a primary reporting line to the Head, Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding & Responsive Institutions (CPPRI) and will be matrixed to the Senior Climate Change Policy Advisor/ Head of Climate Strategies and Policy NCE/CSPT.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Team Leader – Climate Security will be responsible for the following duties:
Summary of functions:
- Strategic policy and analysis, and advisory support;
- Overall management and coordination;
- Strategic advocacy; and
- External relations.
- Strategic policy and analysis, and advisory support
- Monitors and reports on wider global and regional trends and developments relevant to the effective positioning and efficient functioning of the UNDP offer on climate, environment, peace and security, in support of the implementation of the UNDP Strategic Plan.
- Provides strategic policy advice analysis and guidance on climate security to Regional Bureaux, Regional Hubs, Global Policy Centers and Country Offices.
- Designs policy initiatives for different contexts on key emerging policy agendas, in collaboration with policy teams in HQ and Regional Hubs bringing in perspectives and knowledge from Country Offices and the regions, and as appropriate, UN missions and other UN entities, and South-South and triangular cooperation.
- Guides the quality assurance of policy services and foster policy innovation in the specific thematic area to enhance programme delivery.
- Develops guidance and provides oversight on mainstreaming climate security and environmental peacebuilding approaches into national and local policy, strategy and planning processes, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), peace processes, UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCFs) and Common Country Assessments (CCAs).
- Leads strategic analysis, think pieces, briefs and reporting on matters pertaining to UNDP’s policy and strategic priorities, work plans and working methods in collaboration with GPN colleagues.
- Leads information collection and analysis on climate-related security risks in the country or region assigned. assesses trends which might affect the political situation and the political impact of intra-regional issues, making use of the UN Climate Security Mechanism Toolbox, as appropriate.
- Overall management and coordination
- Sets the direction for the thematic area under oversight of Head of CPPRI, including roles and responsibilities, accountability and reporting.
- Leads and manages staff working on climate security in the formulation and implementation of the substantive work plan of the team and oversee staff accountability.
- Coordinates the implementation of the UNDP’s climate security offer with other teams in the GPN and ensures alignment with the prevention offer, the Climate Promise and UNDP’s other corporate offers, including on fragility, stabilization, human mobility and risk-informed development, etc.
- Supports the UN peace and security pillar in strengthening internal capacity or the analysis of the impact of climate change on prevention and sustaining peace.
- Provides inter-agency coordination and prepares inputs for analytical reports and papers to the General Assembly, Security Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, etc.
- Provides oversight to UNDP’s climate security programming, including under the Peacebuilding Fund and ensures coordination of UNDP’s climate security projects with the Climate Security Mechanism, the UN Community of Practice on Climate Security and other related UN inter-agency initiatives as required.
- Partnerships, Resource Mobilization, and Representation and Advocacy
Lead the climate security thematic area to:
- Develops and maintains partnerships with Member States, including the Group of Friends on Climate Security, the informal experts group to members of the Security Council on climate security, the Climate Security Experts Group and Network, the research community and civil society.
- Mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies (e.g. EOSG, World Bank, DESA, DPO, DPPA, the EU, FAO, UN Women, WFP, etc.) and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives.
- Participates in conferences, seminars and academic fora related to his/her assigned area of expertise.
- Coordinates UNDP’s climate-security resource mobilization efforts.
- Performs other related duties as required.
- Knowledge Management:
- Guides and coordinates cross-regional exchange of knowledge by collaborating with policy teams in Regional Hubs to research, develop and share knowledge-based tools and guidance to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area and present such material at various fora.
- Oversees the knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in the specific thematic area, ensuring that knowledge sharing and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.
- Leads UNDP knowledge generation, lessons, innovations, policy developments, programmatic offers and practice experiences on climate security, populate relevant Communities of Practice (CoP), and equally benefit from insights and value added by CoP members, as well as contribute to building UNDP’s roster capacity across these thematic areas with world-class expertise.
- Drafts notes, background papers, talking points, speeches and other correspondence for senior UN officials.
- Provides up-to-date information to senior officials regarding substantive political matters and country or regional issues with a focus on climate-related security risks.
Competencies
Innovation:
- Ability to make new and useful ideas work.
Leadership:
- Ability to persuade others to follow.
People Management:
- Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.
Communication:
- Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.
Delivery:
- Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement.
Technical/Functional:
Peacebuilding and Reconciliation
- Ability to support peace processes to facilitate recovery and development.
Conflict-Sensitive Programming:
- Ability to use methods and tools to monitor conflict triggers and determine impact of various dynamics in conflict-prone situations.
Project Management:
- Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
Relationship Management:
- Ability to engage with other parties and forge productive working relationships.
Knowledge Management:
- Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.
Coordination:
- Ability to manage complex relationships through pathways of knowledge exchange, capacity development, funding relationships and strategic engagement.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree) in political science, conflict studies, political economy, or other related social sciences. In lieu of an advanced degree, a Bachelor university degree with additional years of experience.
Experience:
- Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in the areas of climate security, climate change, environmental sustainability, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding;
- Experience working with the UN/UNDP on climate security, climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding issues is required;
- Experience of conflict prevention programmes at the regional, national and/or global levels required;
- Experience in conflict and political analysis, and strategy development required;
- Experience in political economy analysis is required.
Language Requirements:
- Fluent written and spoken English is required. French and Spanish is highly desirable, and knowledge of other UN languages is a plus.
Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
Disclaimer
Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
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