Project Management Support - Associate (Research & Admin)

Contract

This is a LICA-6 contract. This kind of contract is known as Local Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally only for nationals. It's an external contract. It usually requires 6 years of experience, depending on education. More about LICA-6 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 Nordics, 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) 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 more than 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 Environment (IMELS) and the ClimateWorks Foundation. Currently ICAT is funded until June 2026.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the ICAT Director, the incumbent will be responsible for performing a variety of administrative processes, providing support to the Director and the ICAT team, including the management of the ICAT office in Bonn, and for conducting background research on aspects related to the operations of ICAT and potential partnerships, ensuring high quality and accuracy of work.

Functional Responsibilities

Administrative and general support - Keeps track of the Directors appointments and prepares briefing and background material and ensures this is shared with the Director in due time before the meetings; - Provides administrative support to conferences, workshops, retreats of the ICAT team by scheduling and organizing meetings (also video- or tele-conferences) and receiving visitors; - Coordinates with the Bonn premise management and ICT support on common services requests including those relating to office space, office access, cleaning, procurement of office supplies and petty cash management; - Establishes and maintains efficient working relationship with stakeholders (e.g. UNOPS WEC team, DSC, AC, Implementing Partners, UNFCCC secretariat); - Assists with the drafting of correspondence to partners and high level officials as well as other responses to external requests; - Provides accurate and timely information on processes and pending issues to the supervisor; - Maintains the records on administrative, financial and logistical activities of the Bonn personnel/office; - Provides administrative and logistical support for missions, events and travel including organization of tickets, hotel bookings, transfers, visa facilitation, DSA payments, etc. in coordination with ICAT Operations Associate.

Research support - Follows relevant policy developments, in particular decisions adopted under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and alerts the team of new developments; - Keeps abreast of upcoming events in the area of Climate Change, such as the UNFCCC calendar and calendars of other relevant for a, and alerts the team as necessary; - Researches and retrieves information and statistical data from internal and external sources; - Prepares statistical charts, tables and reports, extracting data from various sources; - Prepares background research on specific topics related to ICAT activities and partnerships; - Prepares background notes and presentations for meetings, visits and conference calls and keeping track of formal documents and policy decisions of relevance to ICAT; - Provides substantive input to project documents and documents prepared for the ICAT Donor Steering Committee (DSC), the Initiative Coordination Team (ICT) and Advisory Committee (AC); - Conducts fact checks on information received from other sources, including the implementing partners of ICAT; - Follows up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken and coordinates collection and submission of the reports to the supervisor.

Knowledge building and Knowledge sharing - Supports meetings (online and in person), prepares draft minutes for these meetings and takes notes and keep records of various types of meetings; - Supports the organization and delivery of webinars, training and learning initiatives on project related topics; - Supports preparation of outreach material, both online and for print, including drafting, formatting and graphics support; - Provides sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice by synthesizing of lessons learnt and dissemination of best practices; - Contribute feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize productively; - Supports collection, reviewing and publishing on ICAT Website of ICAT project deliverables; - Supports the management of an ICAT contact database in collaboration colleagues from the ICAT team; and - Maintains ICAT Secretariat’s documentation including records and files, ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education - Completion of secondary school is required. - Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Climate Change or equivalent disciplines is strongly desirable.

Experience - Minimum of six years of relevant experience in operations’ support services, research, climate change and/or office management support in national or international public or corporate organizations is required. - In case of a First Level University Degree or a Master Degree, some of the required experience may be discounted. - An understanding of climate change and related global policy issues is required. - An understanding of MRV and transparency is an advantage. - Some experience in UN system organizations is desirable. - Proficiency in computers and office software packages (MS Office/Google Suite) is required. - Experience in handling web-based management systems and in the use of Enterprise systems including OneUNOPS is desirable. - Proficiency in data management and use of data visualizations tools is an asset.

Language Requirements - Strong command of English (written and oral) is required. - Working knowledge of another official UNOPS language would be an asset.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Contract type, level and duration

1. Contract type: LICA
2. Contract level: LICA 6/ICS6
3. Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.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.