Project Coordination Officer

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

Jointly with the Government of China, Climate and Environmental Health Team at UNICEF China is implementing around 10 projects in the field of environment and climate change, public health and sanitation. Projects relevant for this UNV vacancy are as follows:

1. Piloting Climate Smart Water, Sanitation and recycling systems in schools and health care centers in rural areas – technology being trailed include solar heating, water saving, rain capture, water recycling, waste to fertilizer systems, etc. We are also helping develop capacities locally through trainings and supporting government to scale up the piloted systems through quantifying the gap between the demand and coverage of sanitation and designing mechanisms to bridge the gap e.g. through joint procurement to reduce unit cost, blended and concessional finance, etc.
2. Development of water and sanitation technology e-catalogue to reduce information asymmetries on Chinese ever growing water and sanitation technology market. The beta version of the E-catalogue is already available and includes functions allowing users to filter, sort and search technologies based on environmental footprint and water consumption.
3. Supporting the government to develop technical guidance on youth engagement in climate action to leverage the potential of young people towards the achievement of China’s dual carbon goals.

We are also planning to start working on the following projects: 1. Climate Landscape Analysis – a research and advocacy project aiming to model the impact of climate change and of climate mitigation policies on children and households as well as to design and advocate for measures to ensure that socially vulnerable children are adequately protected. 2. Climate Smart Schools (CSS) – capitalizing on China’s low carbon technologies and existing capacities, UNICEF’s CSS project will be directed to support China’s efforts in greening school education and will focus mainly on two pillars: a. Development and pilot of a scalable school-based climate awareness extracurricular module for teachers, administrators and students; b. Design and development of Climate Footprint Management Information System involving two modules: • Resource Module – providing schools/school districts an easy access to information and tutorials on climate smart technologies, policies, and standards; • Electronic Portal for Energy and Water Consumption Monitoring – providing gas, water, and electricity consumption as well as CO2 emissions data per schools and school districts.

Under the primary supervision of Programme Officer Climate, Sanitation and Environment, the UN Volunteer will support environmental health and climate team in designing and implementation of the above mentioned projects by:

o Finding, analyzing, synthesizing, summarizing, translating relevant documents, data and information that will be feed into project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation o Helping with organizing events, drafting minutes of important meetings, assist in planning of field visits, etc. o Liasing and communicating with different stakeholders per supervisor’s instruction o Participating and contributing brainstorming discussions on project design and implementation o Undertake other tasks as needed and instructed by the supervisor

Furthermore, UNVs are encouraged to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities (for instance, IVD celebration events); • Get acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking; • Contribute news and articles on field experiences and submit them to UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UNV volunteers; • Promote online volunteering and encourage individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering Service whenever technically feasible.

Results/Expected Output: Timely and at high quality completed assigned tasks to support project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation via: • finding, analyzing, synthesizing, summarizing, translating relevant documents, data and information • provided support towards organizing events, drafted minutes of important meetings, assisted in the planning of field visits, etc. • helped to communicate with relevant stakeholders and potential implementing partners per supervisor’s instruction • contributed brainstorming discussions on project design and implementation • completed other tasks as needed and instructed by the supervisor

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

Environmental Engineering, Environmental Policy/Science/Management, Energy Policy, Earth Science, Public Administration, Public Policy or related field

Strong data skills are highly desirable Solid research and academic writing experience is highly desirable Strong communication, teamwork, time/project management/coordination skills are must Experience in working for an international organization would be considered as an asset

The duty station of the national UN Volunteer is located in Beijing city, where modest public infrastructure and health services are available. It is the foremost political and cultural metropolis in China. The city has excellent health services available. In general, rent for apartments in central locations is high relative to other regions in China, but quality is good. Beijing is well served by many shopping malls, large supermarket chains and international brands. Buses and subways are the most common form of mass transportation. Metered taxis are widely available and domestic and regional travel by train and airplane is popular.

The National UN Volunteer receives a standard volunteer living allowance (VLA), which is intended to cover their accommodation and basic living expenses. In China the VLA is 10201.83 RMB per month. The National UN Volunteer is entitled to an excellent health, life and disability insurance package. A modest Settling-in Grant and end of assignment allowance will also be provided, along with travel to and from the duty station. International travel to duty station will not covered by UNV. The National UN Volunteer is entitled to 2.5 days personal leave per month and government official holidays.