Inception Consultant

Background Information - WEC

UNOPS Water and Energy Cluster (WEC) supports the design and management of multi-stakeholder initiatives by providing services in financial and grant management, procurement, human resources, and project management.

The cluster has supported projects in the areas of water resource management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and transparency, energy access and distribution and environmental conservation under the Paris Agreement. The WEC has also supported operations and financial management services, in Vienna, the rest of the ECR region and beyond.

The main partners include UN agencies such as UNEP and UNDP, bilateral donors (Nordic countries, Germany and Italy), the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs (such as CIFF and CWF).

Background Information – Project Specific

The South China Sea is a strategic body of water surrounded by nations that are currently at the helm of industrialization and rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Recent findings of the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme identified coastal communities bordering the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand as being among the most at risk globally from coastal and marine environmental degradation.

This issue has been acknowledged by the countries of the South China Sea, who have committed to a 20-year process of cooperation to reverse environmental degradation trends. This is evidenced by the intergovernmental endorsement of the Strategic Action Programme for the South China by Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This commitment was further reinforced in 2016 when the abovementioned countries signed a special Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) committing to cooperate with one another to implement the Strategic Action Programme (SAP).

This commitment provided a clear signal to the International community to support the financing of the SAP through various projects, including the project entitled “Implementing the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea”. The project aims to address habitat degradation, land-based pollution and regional cooperation. The overall goals of the project include:

●        Maintain an environment at the regional level, in which collaboration and partnership in addressing environmental problems of the South China Sea, between all stakeholders, and at all levels is fostered and encouraged;

●        Enhance the capacity of the participating governments to integrate environmental considerations into national development planning; and to strengthen and expand the network of scientists, government officials and civil society;

●        Assist countries in the medium term in meeting the targets of the approved SAP for the South China Sea (SCS) through implementation of National Action Plans, and strengthening regional co-ordination.

The incumbent is responsible to support project inception and to work towards meeting all the enabling requirements for supporting effective project execution. Hence, the incumbent will be expected to further define both the national and regional activities and prepare the required project management tools. 

The assignment will also focus on the preparation of the required documents for the project inception workshop in line with UNOPS and UNEP requirements and guidance.

Specifically, the incumbent is be responsible for the following.

• Hold bilateral dialogues with countries to review the status of implementation of national activities in meeting the SAP targets (baseline from 2008) and, facilitate definition of national activities to be financed under the SCS SAP implementation project, including required resources alongside with identification of intervention sites and required partners to support execution;
• Define national activities per partner organization including baseline definition, detailed TORs, workplan and budget with emphasis on the first year of execution;
• Define regional activities in consultation with SEAFDEC, including budget and workplan with emphasis on the first year of execution
• Review project governance mechanism including partners’ roles and responsibilities, and further definition of the implementation arrangement including adjustment to the project organogram both at the national and regional levels including preparation of an MoU between the UNEP, UNOPS and SEAFDEC outlining operational modalities.
• Revise overall project budget and further definition on an activity per activity basis of the project budget with emphasis on the first year of execution.
• Formulate the project implementation and procurement plan for year one.
• Formulate/detail the project Theory of Change (ToC)/results framework.
• Formulate a detailed monitoring and reporting framework to report on environmental status and stress reduction including a mechanism to support baseline setting and identification of management priorities at the sites. This detailed monitoring and reporting framework will also facilitate reporting on project achievements in line with the UNOPS Project Management Manual (PMM) requirements, including the risk management system);
• In consultation with UNEP, UNOPS and SEAFDEC, prepare documentation for the inception phase workshop, and help coordinate its organization.
• Help finalize TORs for the various member of the Project Implementation Unit.
• Formulate the communications strategy for the project including elements of national outreach strategies;
• Prepare communications and information updates to partners to keep parties informed during the inception phase.

• A minimum of master’s degree in marine biology, ecology, coastal habitats and marine fisheries, resource management or relevant field is required.
• A bachelor’s degree combined with two additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the master’s degree.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of progressive working experience in an international and project setting is required.
• At least 3 years of this experience must involve managing and/or formulating projects, including elements such as financial/budget management, monitoring and evaluation, and stakeholder management.
• Demonstrated competence in the management of environment and water related projects are strongly desirable.
• Demonstrated competence in the management of large multi-country and multi-disciplinary projects, such as GEF-funded projects, is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in Southeast Asia, and familiarity with its geopolitical, cultural, social and economic setting, including international treaties and environmental agreements, highly preferred.
• Expertise in managing multiple and high-level stakeholders and government partners, including production and dissemination of public awareness materials for their consumption, would be considered an asset.
• Knowledge of the United Nations system and/or Global Environment Facility, including their administrative processes, is an asset.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Working knowledge of other United Nations languages and/or regional/local languages is an asset.

Travel requirements:

• Up to a week to UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen 
• A maximum of 4 weeks to visit participating countries

Contract type: International ICA, Retainer

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.