Environmental Officer

Minimum age: 25 years old. Nationals of the country of assignment are not eligible, except the assignments in Headquarters duty stations.

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Environmental Affairs Unit, the Environmental Officer will be responsible for coordinating and managing actions on environmental and cultural issues in the mission; establishing, implementing, monitoring and revising as necessary the mission’s Environmental Management System (EMS). The duties listed below are part and parcel of this task on the mission’s EMS:

1. Policy and Guidance:

2. Support the of Chief of Environmental Affairs Unit in the drafting and/or review of the mission’s environmental policy and objectives (including directives, Annual Mission Environmental Statement, Standard Operating Procedures, etc);

3. Conduct environmental assessments and surveys of operations in the mission, including Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA);

4. Produce the mission’s Environmental Baseline Study (EBS), if no such study has been done, or update existing EBS as necessary;

5. Produce the mission’s Environmental Action Plan (MEAP);

6. Assess the consumption of water, electricity and generation of waste through the Field Remote Infrastructure Management tool;

7. Produce the Environmental Emergency Preparedness Plan with relevant offices.

1. Management of Environmental Unit:

2. Support to manages/supervises the environmental unit of the mission;

3. Support in overseeing the administration and recruitment of personnel of the environmental unit; Environmental Action Plan – Implementation:

4. Lead, coordinate and monitor the implementation of the mission’s EAP, including data collection and reporting;

5. Maintain a record of environmental issues and actions thereon at the mission, including, for example, a list of potentially hazardous installations within the mission (e.g. petrol station, warehouse storing flammables) in cooperation with fire marshals or other staff at the mission designated to deal with emergencies;

6. Investigate complaints or reports of pollution, contamination, health hazards and other environment-related incidents;

7. Submit periodic reports on environmental issues at the mission, to the Chief of Environmental Affairs Unit including policy compliance status reports as required for DFS;

8. Recommend to the Chief of Environmental Affairs Unit to undertake such measures as may be required to prevent or mitigate environmental problems;

9. Advise relevant officers or offices on environmental issues arising from the assessments, studies and plans, including environmental information relevant to the operations of the mission;

1. Awareness and Training:

2. Promote awareness on environmental issues;

3. Provide an environmental briefing to all mission personnel including police and military contingents during their induction training; Coordination and Partner Relations:

4. Liaise on environmental issues with local authorities and the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and relevant United Nations bodies and agencies present in the country or region hosting the mission; and

5. Carry out any other tasks required to support the DOS Environmental Policy for UN Field Missions and the environmental objectives of the mission as directed by the Chief of Environmental Affairs Unit.

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental management, science, engineering or related area. A first university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.