Team Leader, Environment, Energy and Climate Environment

Panama

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: Panama
Grade: Senior Executive level - D-1, Director - Internationally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
- Environment
- Meteorology, Geology and Geography
- Renewable Energy sector
- Resilience and Climate Change
- Climate Change
- Managerial positions
Closing Date: Closed

Background

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 Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

The Team Leader for Environment, Energy and Climate Environment cluster based in Panama Regional Hub is responsible for guiding and leading the provision of policy and programme advisory services, in multidisciplinary technical areas, covering environment, natural capital, energy and climate change to country offices and regional programmes in Latin America and Caribbean. Based on his/her recognized expertise in a relevant technical focus area, s/he contributes to formulation of policy standards, policies and frameworks in the environment and natural capital, energy and climate change area. S/he leads advocacy and represents the organization in the programme dimensions of the respective thematic area, mobilizing of resources, promoting partnerships and directing the work of staff within the team at regional and country level. S/he will facilitate the environment for providing integrated policy and program solutions in response to complex requests from the Country Offices and other partners. S/he will have double reporting lines to the Panama Regional Hub Manager as well as the BPPS HQ-based Lead of Environment and Natural Capital. This person would have substantive knowledge in key environmental areas covering biodiversity, chemicals, water and oceans, energy and climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. S/he will have the following functions:

Policy Advice and Programme Support Delivery
Support to Policy Formulation
Overall Management and Resource Mobilization
Partnerships, Representation and Advocacy
Knowledge Management

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Policy Advice/ Programme Support Delivery:

Provide substantive leadership, supervision and guidance to the Policy Advisors in the Regional Hub in their delivery of regional and global programmes and in provision of policy advisory and programme support covering environment and natural capital, energy and climate change to country offices, ensuring relevance of the services provided to country and regional context including crisis situations;
Work closely with the Country Support Team to effectively manage and coordinate country office demand for policy advisory and programme support services and enable teams to provide quality, relevant and timely services;
Provide leadership in ensuring that policies and tools in environment and natural capital, energy and climate change are relevant for crisis contexts, as well as in coordination with Crisis Bureau lead the provision of related contributions to UNDP SURGE for country offices; and
Ensure integrated and multi-disciplinary support to Country Offices working closely with other thematic clusters including the Country Support Team.

2. Support to Policy Formulation

As a world-class expert in the relevant thematic area, provides substantive inputs to the formulation of interventions to achieve the related results in UNDP’s Strategic Plan.
Working closely with the BPPS HQ-based Environment and Natural Capital, Energy and Climate Change leads, guide the BPPS environment and natural capital, energy and climate change teams outposted in the Regional Hub to support policy formulation by sharing regional lessons learned and best practices; and
Substantively contribute to the integration of UNDP’s work in environment and natural capital, energy and climate change into a coherent sustainable development policy and programming framework in support of the implementation of the UNDP Strategic Plan and post 2020 agenda.

3. Overall Management and Resource Mobilization

Lead, direct and manage the outposted BPPS teams in the environment and natural capital, energy and climate change, including supervising staff and overseeing work planning, budgeting and reporting; and
Facilitate the environment and drive the effort to mobilize financial resources to support the Cluster and ensure effective utilization of policy advisors and global programme staff in this Cluster outposted to the Regional Hub.

4. Partnerships, Representation and Advocacy:

Facilitate the team’s capacity to undertake the following:

Mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN and other relevant bodies and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships;
In close coordination with the Regional Hub colleagues and senior management, represent the Cluster in its area of expertise at regional discussions including interagency coordination and other regional fora to engage partners in advancing the Cluster’s strategic agenda; and
In close coordination with various Regional Bureau units, advocate the importance of the relevant thematic areas in various regional fora.

5. Knowledge Management:

Oversee, influence and promote the advance of policy dialogue in the Cluster’s thematic areas through cross-regional exchange of knowledge and collaboration, and synthesizing of knowledge emerging from the development and implementation of programmes;
Ensure the guidance and coordination of cross-regional exchange of knowledge to help influence/advance policy dialogue environment and natural capital, energy and climate change and present such material at regional and other forums; including support to South-South exchanges; and
Oversee the quality of knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in the thematic area, and ensure knowledge sharing and content management is in line with guidelines and using corporate tools.

Competencies

Corporate 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.

Technical/Functional

Primary

Sustainable Development:

Knowledge of sustainable development concepts, principles and issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, covering the economic, social and environmental dimensions.

Development Planning:

Knowledge of development planning processes at the national and local level and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Representation:

Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues).

Partnerships:

Ability to engage with other agencies and forge productive working relationships.

Resource Mobilization:

Ability to identify and organize programmes and projects to implement solutions and generate resources.

Secondary

Advocacy:

Ability to advocate a point of view and influence others.

Knowledge Management:

Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in economics, business administration, social sciences or related disciplines.

Experience:

15 years of professional work experience leading teams, providing policy advice and pioneering approaches in the environment and natural capital, energy and /or climate change and crisis and post crisis settings, at the international level.
Experience in developing country settings will be desirable.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Spanish.
Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese is desirable.

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.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

This vacancy is now closed.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: