Programme support for mainstreaming and business outreach

Result of Service The Secretariat’s tasks related to mainstreaming and business engagement in preparation for and resulting from the work of Subsidiary Bodies, as well as preparations for the Business and Biodiversity Forum to be held in parallel to COP15, are delivered in a timely fashion to the satisfaction of the business officer and the head of the BETI Unit.

Work Location Montreal

Expected duration Six months.

Duties and Responsibilities Organizational setting

The United Nations Environment Programme 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. At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for 'sustainable development'. The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature in Rio in 1992. The Convention has three main objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) is located in Montreal and is administered by United Nations Environment Programme. Its main tasks are to arrange for and service meetings of the Conference of the Parties, including preparation of pertinent documentation, operation of the central node of the clearing-house mechanism, liaison and coordination with other international bodies and processes and, in close collaboration with these partners, the provision of technical support for the effective implementation of the Convention.

Duties and responsibilities

- Support the organization of regular and ad-hoc meetings, teleconference calls and exchanges towards an integrated long-term mainstreaming approach as requested in decision 14/3 and subsequent guidance, including planning and preparations for an Ad-Hoc Technical Expert Group, and support to calls and outreach activities in preparation for deliberations on draft GBF targets 14, 15, 16, 18 and 19 of WG-2020 3 at the Resumed Sessions in January 2022. This will include inviting and confirming attendance of participants, preparing briefing notes and reports and list of action points for meetings, keeping updated listserves of networks, and maintaining digital files of documents and correspondence, generating and updating the agenda for meetings, providing briefings building on available documents, and maintaining correspondence and exchanges with key partners.

- Organize monthly meetings of the Global Partnership for Business and Biodiversity (GPBB), including the organization of teleconferences, invitations and support to agenda development and execution of events, presentations and speaker facilitation; production of successive drats and publication of the GPBB newsletter, including the issuance of invitations for contributions, compilation of outcomes and editing support, publication and distribution of the newsletter and maintenance of records of issues and listserves;

- Support the planning and preparations for the B&B Forum at COP 15, including the organization of teleconferences, the issuance of invitations for contributions, support to agenda development, compilation, editing and publication of outcomes and maintenance of records of participants;

- Provide technical and logistical support to the planning of sectoral toolkits, including the engagement of players, support to partnership development and resource mobilization, as appropriate.

- Support the BETI programme officers in their work on other areas of competence of the Unit as appropriate.

Qualifications/special skills Competencies:

Communication: Ability to speak and write clearly and effectively; ability to communicate effectively with audiences of various levels of seniority and technical knowledge, tailoring language, tone, style and format appropriately; ability to communicate with various stakeholders in politically sensitive situations with diplomacy and tact.

Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with professional and technical staff at senior and junior levels from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Planning and Organizing: Ability to identify priorities, work to tight deadlines, handle concurrent projects and coordinate with the work of others.

Skills in planning and organizing meetings, preparing background documentation, reports, minutes, content production, preparation of communication materials such as newsletters and supporting the execution of events and projects are required, preferably at international level.

Academic Qualifications: High school diploma is required. A graduate degree in environment, economics or related areas is desirable.

Experience: Three (3) years of working experience in secretarial and programme assistance support in international organizations linked to the environment are required. Experience in the UN and particularly related to the CBD, and on mainstreaming, economics or business links are desirable.

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of other United Nations languages is desirable.

Additional Information SPECIAL CONDITIONS

Applicants must be Canadian residents or citizens or have permission to work in Canada.

TRAVEL

Travel may be required depending on the assigned tasks. The Secretariat will cover the travel costs as per the UN Travel policy.

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.