Mountain Governance Expert - Level A

Result of Service Specific outputs and deliverables as well as deadlines and timelines to be reviewed and agreed upon with the Programme Management Officer of Vienna Programme Office in alignment with the Project Document (PRC approved PoW Project 112.9) and its logical framework.

Specific Deliverables will include among others:

- Operational contribution with regards to milestones and deliverables that UNEP is accountable for under respective project / outcome 2 of overall Adaptation at Altitude programme - Operational contribution with regards to milestones and deliverables that UNEP contributes to under respective outcomes 1, 3 & 4 of overall Adaptation at Altitude programme - Operational contribution with regards to milestones and deliverables that UNEP is accountable for under the PRIMA project, especially outputs 3 and 4

Work Location Vienna, Austria

Expected duration The contract will be for 4 months, starting end of August and going until end of December 2022.

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The UNEP - Vienna Programme Office coordinates the UNEP Mountain Network and maintains a number of different projects related to sustainable mountain development and climate change adaptation including the SDC-funded programme „Adaptation at Altitude: Taking Action in the Mountains“ (2019-2023).

The overall objective of the programme is to increase knowledge on climate change and appropriate adaptation solutions in mountains and feed it into science-policy platforms for informed decision-making in national, regional and global policy processes, in order to increase the resilience and adaptive capacity of both mountain communities and ecosystems to climate change.

The programme - which has been initiated and fully funded by the Swiss Agency of Development of Cooperation (SDC) – therefore responds with 4 distinct outcomes: Outcome 1: Improved availability and use of mountain observation data and information services support regional and global knowledge products on climate change impacts in mountains, Outcome 2: Mountain climate change adaptation is integrated into planning and policy processes of regional bodies/frameworks/platforms/initiatives and their national constituencies as the result of strengthened science-policy dialogue platforms, Outcome 3: Knowledge on climate change adaptation solutions in mountains is strengthened and capitalized at the regional and global level. Outcome 4: Major global policy processes are taking climate change adaptation in mountains into account. UNEP besides ICIMOD (responsible for Himalayas) and CONDESAN (responsible for Andes) has been selected by SDC to lead the work under Outcome 2 to support regional policy action in the South Caucasus (targeting Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and East Africa (targeting Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania) as well as the inter-regional level. It is widely recognized that the most effective responses to the challenges posed by climate change in mountain regions stem from a regional approach due to the cross-border nature of mountains. Cooperation and exchange at regional levels tap into local (traditional) knowledge, foster to address challenges of mutual concern and support to develop adequate solutions taking into account specific regional circumstances. Strengthening regional cooperation and concrete action is furthermore seen as an effective catalyzer for adequate policy integration of mountain adaptation at national levels.

The interventions take into account UNEP´s cooperative advantage and experience of providing and supporting regional platforms for cooperation in mountain regions. They further build on the outcomes of the Austrian-funded project “Climate change action in developing countries with fragile mountainous ecosystems from a sub-regional perspective” (ended 2019), where assessment work has been undertaken (participatory Mountain Adaptation Outlooks) and first regional policy action has been catalyzed leading to follow-up action at both national and regional level. The activities within this new project aim to further continue these processes and support concrete regional policy action and use them as a catalyzer to support national adaptation action.

As complementing activity to the Adaptation at Altitude programme, UNEP and the implementing partner Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) of the University Berne launched the project “Promoting innovations for sustainable development in mountain areas” (PRIMA) in Q1 2022. PRIMA’s overall objective is to promote collaboration among partners and across mountain regions on innovative approaches that provide mutual benefits and enhance the effectiveness of actions towards inclusive sustainable mountain development. PRIMA’s purpose is to trigger innovative out-of-the box thinking, assess novel approaches and facilitate wider access to and adoption of innovations.

The overall outcome is intended to provide for community-based and non-governmental organisations, entrepreneurs, policymakers, impact investors and researchers to be informed about innovative approaches for sustainable mountain development and become encouraged to form partnerships for applying these in other mountain regions. In addition to the overall project management, UNEP is responsible for implementing a Mountain Innovation Fair and facilitating an award for one promising innovative approach in mountains.

The International Consultant will undertake the following duties and responsibilities under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Programme Management Officer of the UNEP - Vienna Programme Office – SCC, who coordinates the implementation of the Adaptation at Altitude programme and PRIMA project on behalf of UNEP.

Operational support to implementation of the Adaptation at Altitude and PRIMA projects, including regular reporting:

- Implementation of tasks that UNEP is responsible for under outcome 2 of the overall SDC-funded Adaptation at Altitude programme - Implementation of tasks that UNEP contributes to under respective outcomes 1, 3 & 4 of the overall SDC-funded Adaptation at Altitude programme - Implementation of tasks that UNEP is responsible for under the ADA-funded PRIMA project and supporting overall project coordination

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Master’s Degree in Natural Resources and Environment and / or International Affairs or similar is required.

Experience: A minimum of 4 years of work experience in environmental sector / international affairs, preferably with a focus on sustainable mountain development / climate change adaptation / regional governance-related aspects is required.

Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. In addition, knowledge of another official UN language will be considered as a strong asset.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.