Environmental Affairs Officer, P4

Environmental Affairs Officer, P4

UN ESCAP - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Bangkok, Thailand

Org. Setting and Reporting

The mandate of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is to promote sustainable and inclusive development and regional connectivity in the Asian and Pacific region. ESCAP’s role as a regional development arm of the United Nations Secretariat is to support its membership with policy oriented research and analysis, normative support and technical assistance and capacity building, to respond to the development priorities and changing needs of the Asian and Pacific region.

This position is located in the Environment and Development Policy Section, in the Environment and Development Division. The incumbent reports to the Chief of Environment and Development Policy Section.

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Environment and Development Policy Section, and overall supervision of the Director, Environment and Development Division, the incumbent is required to perform the following duties with the aim of strengthening policy and decision-making by members and associate members on environment and development challenges:

Providing technical cooperation by:

• Designing, delivering and monitoring technical cooperation projects and activities that respond to the needs of member states, integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development policies;
• Developing partnerships, and deploying innovative approaches to deliver high-quality, policy-relevant analyses and other services to support policy and decision-making by government entities;
• Developing project documents to support fund-raising efforts from diverse donors that respond to the needs of member states and demonstrate good understanding of the issues and challenges addressed, and practical project implementation challenges;
• Designing and working with others to deliver high-impact forums (of all sizes, including regional dialogues, expert group meetings) for capacity building, consensus building and/or the exchange of knowledge among government officials and other stakeholders, engaging relevant UN and other partners as far as possible;
• Liaising with, and developing productive working relationships with government officials, maintaining consistent and responsive communications;
• Undertaking missions to member States, either alone or as a participant in a diverse team, as part of ESCAP’s technical cooperation activities, ensuring that the organization’s role is constructive and credible;
• Organizing capacity development workshops and study tours for government officials and others, ensuring that the material is appropriate for the needs and based on effective needs assessment.

Producing knowledge products, research and analysis by:

• Designing and supervising high-quality analytical work as a basis for policy advocacy, intergovernmental dialogue or cooperation, or projects in the areas of natural resources management;
• Managing all aspects of the publication process of knowledge products from concept to layout;
• Organizes expert group meetings, seminars, etc. on development issues to inform substantive work, ensuring appropriate engagement of team members and highest quality expert inputs;
• Contributing to inter-disciplinary work with other Divisions and entities and ensuring contributions of diverse perspectives in substantive work;
• Keeping up to date on environment and development challenges facing the region and global developments.

Providing support to intergovernmental and multistakeholder processes and dialogues by:

• Providing substantive support to regional cooperation on environment and development to intergovernmental bodies including the Commission and Committees and other ad hoc intergovernmental meetings, including the preparation of documents, taking stock of relevant mandates, latest developments and stakeholder perspectives;
• Providing organizational support to regional cooperation on environment and development to intergovernmental bodies including the Commission and Committees and other ad hoc intergovernmental meetings, ensuring appropriate consideration of government perspectives and organizational processes;
• Providing substantive and organizational support to multistakeholder processes and forums, including the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development;
• Prepares speeches and other inputs for presentations by senior staff, taking into account the audience and up-to-date developments.

Contributing to the work of the Environment and Development Division by:

• Manages project team members and interns, as applicable, in line with staff rules and regulations;
• Supporting administrative and substantive processes of the Division and the UN Organization, through various inputs and in specific roles, as required;
• Participates in intra- and inter-Departmental undertakings of broader concern to represent the views or interests of the organizational unit;
• Ensures smooth administrative arrangements for all activities, working in close collaboration with administrative teams, and ensuring adherence to respective administrative instructions;
• Collects and analyzes data to provide insights and supports data visualization to support data-driven planning, decision-making, and reporting.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Ability to apply economic theories and concepts in different sectors of economic and sustainable development. Ability to conduct independent research on economic topics, determine suitability, validity and accuracy of data provided by different sources. Ability to identify and develop sources for data collection. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management;
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed;
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental management, natural sciences or social sciences with environment-related courses, or other related interdisciplinary field of study, is required;
• A relevant first-level university degree in the above fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in research and analysis, policy advocacy, regional cooperation, and/or technical cooperation projects related to environment and development challenges, including one or more of the following areas: water resources management, transboundary environmental management, air pollution, oceans, climate mitigation, climate adaptation, environmental governance, and/or nature-based climate solutions, is required;
• Experience in working with multilateral environmental agreements is required;
• Demonstrated experience with data analysis and the use of data related to natural resources management is required;
• Demonstrated experience with producing publications and knowledge products is required;
• Demonstrated experience in establishing partnerships with key stakeholders, including academic institutions, civil society and/or the private sector is required;
• Demonstrated experience working in and/or with developing countries is required;
• Experience working with the national government in an area relevant to environment and development is desirable;
• Experience in policy-relevant and innovative research and analysis related to environmental development is desirable;
• Relevant work experience in the Asia-Pacific region as demonstrated by living and working in the region outside of home country is desirable;
• Experience in the United Nations Common System or in international organizations similar to those in the UN Common System is desirable.

Languages

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

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