Intern -Climate Change Transparency Monitoring and Evaluation

Contract

This is a Internship contract. It usually requires 0 years of experience, depending on education. More about Internship contracts.

Background Information - Job-specific

Water and Energy Cluster (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, bilateral agreements (with the Nordic Countries, Germany, and Italy), the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs (such as CIFF and CWF).

Initiative for Climate Action Transparency

The Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) is an initiative under WEC.

ICAT helps countries better assess the impacts of their climate policies and actions, and fulfil their transparency commitments under the Paris Agreement. It does this by increasing the overall transparency capacities of countries, including the capacity to assess the contribution of climate policies and actions on countries’ development objectives, and providing appropriate methodological information and tools to support evidence-based policy-making. ICAT’s innovative approach is to integrate these two aspects.

ICAT currently works with 40 developing countries worldwide to support their work on NDCs, including tracking of implementation, further policy development and related Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV). Work covers sectoral policies (renewables, energy efficiency, transport, etc.) and cross-cutting aspects such as the link to sustainable development benefits, transformational change, and integration of subnational and non-state actors.

ICAT is funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Italian Ministry of the Ecological Transition (IMET) and the ClimateWorks Foundation.

Functional Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Project Management Support Specialist, the incumbent will be responsible for collecting, analysing and visualising data as a part of ICAT’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Uptake (MELU) framework. The framework aims to capture the impact of ICAT’s work in countries.

The incumbent may also be asked to conduct background research related to different aspects of ICAT’s work and activities, in particular in relation to the work progress in developing climate action transparency frameworks implemented together with the ICAT beneficiary countries. The research findings will be used by the Secretariat as input for ICAT’s impact assessment and other planning activities, and for material to be used for outreach purposes.

1. Duties and Responsibilities

MELU Reporting:

• Liaise with ICATs implementing partners to support the collection and collation, review and analysis of data for the MELU framework;
• Ensure timely provision of surveys related to the MELU KPIs and follow up where required. This includes keeping track of new BUR, National Communication, NDC submissions and End of Project Surveys;
• Assist in interpretation of trends and drawing insights from project and survey data;

• Support the further development of the MELU framework based on experience in data collection and analysis, this includes supporting an external consultancy commissioned to review ICAT’s impact so far and the MELU framework with provision of data and contacts with implementing partners;

• Assist with developing strategic information, including data visuals and reports, that communicates key evidence with diverse stakeholders.

Grants Management Support:

• Assist the tracking and review of deliverables under ICAT Grant Support Agreements;
• Assist maintenance of dashboards used for Grants management;
• Assist the review of Grant Agreements and Grant Agreement Amendments.

Research support:

• Assist with background research on aspects related to the work of ICAT, in particular analyzing the role ICAT plays globally in supporting countries to build their institutional transparency infrastructure. Assistance will also be required for research on specific topics related to the countries covered by ICAT, with a focus on their GHG emissions and climate policies and actions in a global, regional and national perspective, in particular, the importance of their NDCs, the sectors covered by ICAT work, and other parameters;
• Assist analysis and assessment of the different ICAT transparency initiatives and their contribution and impact on ICAT countries’ climate policies and actions aimed at contributing to the implementation of transparency frameworks and further enhancing of their NDCs;

• Assist on compiling metrics used by countries as part of the climate action MRV, besides emissions data;

• Assist the preparation of statistical charts, tables and reports, extracting data from various sources to contribute to the preparation of background papers and outreach material;

• Assist the preparation of background research for the preparation of meeting notes and draft work plans for ICAT projects;
• Perform other duties as required based on ICAT Secretariat’s needs.

2. Training components and learning elements

The incumbent will have full access, for his/her thesis research, to ICAT’s project files, in particular to files and products developed in the context of the implemented activities at the country level.

The incumbent will have the opportunity to join the ICAT Secretariat meetings, including any relevant high-level meetings, and get exposure to key stakeholders involved with climate action and transparency, such as other UN agencies (UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP, UNU), several country and multi-partner donors, international non-governmental organizations and representatives from country beneficiaries.

The incumbent will also have full access to UNOPS intranet, the Project ERP system and the Communities of Practice (COPs) in Project Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Innovation and Research, Sustainable Infrastructure, etc.

3. Participation in missions or training courses

The incumbent will have access to the UNOPS Learning Zone and apply for training in Programme Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Coaching, Competency Based Interviews and mandatory training as per UNOPS policy.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Academic qualifications

The applicant should have completed a Bachelor degree, or be enrolled in a postgraduate program or have graduated from such studies within three (3) years prior to the start date of the intern assignment.

Area of study should preferably relate to climate change, development studies, and/or environmental management.

Language Skills

Proven fluency of English – oral and written required.

Any other UN language would be a distinct advantage.

Computer Literacy

Proficiency in Microsoft Office/Google Suite is essential, including knowledge of the advanced functions of Excel. Experience with data visualization tools (e.g. Google Data Studio) is also essential to this role.

Internship-related experiences

Applicants are not required to have professional work experience but experience working or volunteering in any of the following areas is highly desirable:

• Climate change
• Monitoring and evaluation of programmes in the development field
• Statistical analysis

Additional requirements

• Strong data analysis skills;
• Ability to synthesise large amounts of information and communicate it clearly;
• Efficient time management skills, including the ability to manage multiple ongoing projects alongside tasks requiring a quick turnaround;
• The incumbent is responsible for abiding by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS;
• The incumbent is responsible for arranging their own travel and securing any necessary visas;
• The incumbent should provide confirmation that they are fit specifically for the duty station conditions, as certified by a medical practitioner. Interns are responsible for receiving clearance from a medical doctor.

Contract type, level and duration - Internship

Contract type: Internship Contract level: N/A Contract duration: 6 months : January - June 2022

This internship is not designed to lead to a staff position with UNOPS. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of the internship.

Interns may be eligible for a monthly stipend from UNOPS provided that they do not receive funds from other institutions. Further, UNOPS may provide a one time travel lumpsum. However, they must make their own arrangements for accommodation, travel and necessary visa arrangements.

For more details about UNOPS internships please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Internships-and-volunteering.aspx

Additional Considerations

• 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
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.