UNEP is one of three original, founding implementing agencies of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), alongside the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GEF also partners with 15 other Agencies to help developing countries and those with economies in transition to meet the agreed incremental costs of measures designed to achieve global environmental benefits in six focal areas: biological diversity, climate change (both mitigation and adaptation), international waters, chemicals and wastes management and, land degradation.

The position is located in UNEP, Corporate Services Division (CSD) at the Nairobi duty station. Under the overall supervision of the GEF Coordinator, the Programme Officer will carry out the following duties:

Responsibilities

• Follow trends, patterns and early warning of issues related to the GEF portfolio size, shape and relevance and coordinate with GEF Secretariat and focal area Portfolio Managers in pipeline management in absence of the GEF Coordinator.
• Analyze GEF policies and prepare options to update existing UNEP internal operational and procedural compliance policies, systems, and procedures for achieving compliance within UNEP and with GEF Secretariat.
• Contribute to develop and implement all business operations relating to compliance; develop and maintain a compliance recordkeeping system to prepare for and inform assessments and audits through detailed reports as needed.
• Performs consulting assignments, in collaboration with the client, by planning facilitating workshops, through other interactive sessions and assisting in developing the action plan the client will use to manage the change.
• Assists in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
• Undertakes survey initiatives; designs data collection tools; reviews, analyzes and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
• Prepares various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications.
• Provides substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations.
• Undertakes outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Participates in or lead field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries.
• Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget).
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to environmental issues and sustainable development, compliance with Global Environment Facility policies and related monitoring systems. The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Ability to identify policy, programing and system issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Effective professional networking and negotiation skills. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills with strong attention to detail to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. 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.
• CREATIVITY: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.
• CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, environmental sciences, business administration, environmental management or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is an advantage.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, preferably in the context of environmental management, research and development or related area is required
• Experience in GEF project life cycle including development, implementation and reporting is required.
• Working knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as SAP and Integrated Planning Management and Reporting (IPMR) is required.
• Experience in donor reporting is desirable.
• 2 years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Interns work five days per week under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned.

Responsibilities

Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual's background; the intern's assigned office as well as the internship period.

• Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Digital Strategy Section, the intern will:
• Research, compile, draft and edit basic information for use in the preparation and production of social media and web content, often under tight deadlines.
• Monitor and analyze statistics related to digital content.
• Gather social media content at special events (film screenings, concerts, exhibits, etc.).
• Assist in the creation of original content for digital platforms.
• Attend meetings as an observer.
• Manage meeting agendas and draft meeting notes.
• Create presentations and training curricula.
• Carry out research tasks and provide inputs into digital strategy planning and activities.
• Assist with special projects as assigned.

Competencies

• 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 the 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..
• Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

• Applicants must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:
  • Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
  • Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree program (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent);
  • Have graduated with Bachelor's degree, Masters, PhD or equivalent
• Be computer literate in standard software applications (Microsoft Office);
• Have demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter;
• Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

Preferred areas of studies:

• Communications, Information Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Media Studies, Journalism, or related field.

Work Experience

• No working experience is required to apply for the United Nations Internship Programme. Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship.
• Proficiency in computer software applications (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.
• Experience in social media, website, or digital communication is desirable.

Assessing and reporting on the state of the world’s environment is a fundamental mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) process emerged out of this mandate. It is a consultative, participatory process with a strong element of capacity building for global environmental assessments aimed at the interaction between science and policy decision-making. The GEO process has many elements. It supports multi-stakeholder networking, provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge, promotes intra and interregional cooperation in identifying and addressing key environmental issues and concerns and builds capacity at many levels. Meeting user needs cuts across all elements of GEO outputs. To meet user needs and in response to Governing Council, UN Environment Assembly decisions and Agenda 21, since its inception of GEO in 1995, the process has been expanded, refined and applied to a wide range of GEO products resulting in a family of reports and publications. Each has its own purpose, process and identity but is unified by the expert-driven, participatory and consultative characteristics of the GEO approach. The GEO-6 specialized reports (so-called major advocacy products) build on the findings of UN Environment Global Environment Outlook report (GEO-6) and provide scientific analysis on the environment and the implications for various stakeholders such as businesses, local government, policy makers, technical experts and the youth. They will contribute to strengthening the Science-Policy Interface.

Specific tasks and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the World Environment Situation Room Unit, Big Data Branch, Science Division. The Head of Unit, WESR unit, the consultant will work in the World Environment Situation Room (WESR) and in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) units to deliver three nomination portals to facilitate effective nomination of GEO-7 advisory groups, experts and inaugural meetings, conduct WESR Monitoring and Observability and develop authentication and authorization functionality for the API and provide technical support to partners and ensure hand over, training and orientation of the web and technical work of the GEO.

Qualifications/special skills

Skills:

• Programming skills in PHP, MVC Frameworks and Docker hub is required. Additionally, strong communication skills and planning skills is desirable.

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computational Intelligence or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or Information Systems in combination with two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree is acceptable.

Experience:

• A minimum of three years of experience in information technology or related area are required for this consultancy. Proven experience in system's analysis and design, computer programming including advanced programming skills. Experience in the development of applications using MS SQL and relational databases and a good understanding of latest web technologies such as HTML 5 and CSS.3 is desired. Experience in working with international organizations dealing with environmental issues is desired. UN experience is desirable.
• Must be able to work with minimum supervision, while being an integral part of a team involving members of staff from a wide range of disciplines.