Programme Specialist – Climate Action

Support stakeholders in the climate change process and implement climate action activities.

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UNFCCC - UN Climate Change

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Application deadline 7 months ago: Tuesday 7 Oct 2025 at 00:00 UTC

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Overview

Support stakeholders in the climate change process and implement climate action activities.

You have:

  • At least 3 years of experience in project management related to climate change or environmental issues.
  • Strong understanding of climate change policies and frameworks, including the Paris Agreement.
  • Experience in stakeholder engagement and management, especially in international settings.
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct research and analyses in an environmental context.
  • Fluency in English is required; knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
  • Proven experience with monitoring and evaluation processes in project management.

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

The RCC provides direct technical assistance by engaging a variety of Party and non-Party stakeholders with tailor-made capacity building activities to improve their knowledge of climate change mitigation issues. It also develops a series of activities with the view to engage a broad network of negotiators, private sector actors, NGOs and IGOs to ensure participation to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The RCC combines the in-depth expertise on climate change issues with knowledge of the local context. RCCs goal is to catalyze and support regional engagement in the UNFCCC process to promote action towards the achievement of the objectives and goals of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement through effective collaboration with UNFCCC Divisions in Bonn, the UN Country Teams, the host institution, and other partners in the region.

Current RCC support include Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the development and adoption of climate policies and economic instruments (e.g., carbon market, carbon pricing, subsidy schemes), Adaptation, including Loss and Damage, MRV and transparency frameworks, facilitation of climate finance, Gender and Youth engagements in Climate Action, engagement on instruments foreseen by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and action by non-party stakeholders.

Under the overall guidance of the RCC Global Lead and direct supervision of the UNFCCC Regional Lead for Eastern and Southern Africa, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Support Stakeholders in the Climate Change Process • Provides technical and operational support to meetings, stakeholder workshops. • Drafts concept notes in preparation of meetings, and consultations with stake-holder to brief on the status of negotiations relating to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. • Assist in research activities and data management.

Operational assistance to the activities of the RCC

• Assists with the design and implementation of a capacity building plan, including the preparation and implementation of annual working plans. • Documents on the RCC work to UNFCCC and local stakeholders and contributes to the on-going learning and improvement through documentation of activities and lessons learnt. • Develops a communication plan to outreach regional key stakeholders to establish partnership’ including development of terms of collaboration and sharing information and best practices. • Upon delegated authority by the Regional Lead, represents the RCC in committees, meetings and other consultative activities involving partners, government(s), stakeholders, civil society, and other UN agencies.

Support to the implementation of climate action activities in the context of the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

• Contributes to the implementation of the secretariat’s Initiative for National Readiness for Implementation of the Paris Agreement by conducting research, analysis, and presentation of potential interventions to support the implementation of climate action on the ground. • Supports the implementation of the Article 6 Capacity Building Programme as guided by the secretariat through the Regional Lead. • Conducts an in-depth assessment of existing training and capacity building interventions available in the region including the identification of the needs in terms of capacity development of stakeholders. • Assist in monitoring contribution from youth representatives in the development of the Kampala Declaration Action Plan, which aims to progress the work on the topic of human mobility in the context of climate change.

☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Building Trust ☒ Client Orientation ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Self-Management ☒ Technological Awareness ☒ Working in Teams

• Administrating, monitoring, and reporting on implementation of activities • Operations, portfolio, programme, and project management in an international environment. • Experience of coordinating and consolidating input from multi stakeholders pertaining to mandated work plans, agreements, financial disbursement, and reporting modalities. • Good understanding of climate change issues.

The UN Volunteer will be based in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda that is located at 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) above sea level with a pleasant climate all year round which is uniformly warm and moderately humid, and temperatures that range between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. It is a family duty station that presents relatively good living conditions with adequate housing facilities (houses and apartments) readily available to rent, and with most of the economic and social amenities also available at affordable cost. Most commodities are available commercially with a wide variety of options. Utilities are generally reliable in the capital with a highly urbanized and cosmopolitan atmosphere where multinational corporations and international organizations are present. Uganda in general, and Kampala has high level of stability, security and permissiveness in terms of access and collaboration of UN agencies and humanitarian actors with the host government. Opportunistic crime incidents occur occasionally in the capital and elsewhere in the country but are generally localized in impact. All new staff undergo security briefing by United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and receive regular security situation updates. The current UNDSS Security Level for Kampala is Level 2.

Potential interview questions

Can you describe your experience with stakeholder engagement in climate action initiatives? The interviewer wants to assess your experience in working with diverse actors in climate change. Discuss specific instances where you successfully engaged stakeholders and the outcomes achieved.
What strategies would you use to develop and implement a capacity building plan? This question evaluates your understanding of capacity building in the climate change context. Pro members can see the explanation.
How do you stay updated with international climate policies and agreements? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Provide an example of a challenging project you managed related to climate change. Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Describe a time when you had to analyze complex data. What was your process? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
How would you approach drafting concept notes for stakeholder meetings? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
What role do you think gender and youth play in climate action efforts? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Why is adaptability important in the context of climate action? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Added 8 months ago - Updated 7 months ago - Source: unv.org