Western Balkans Projects Coordinator - Category B

Result of Service ¿ Preparation and coordination of project work plans; ¿ Planning, development and arrangement of coherent approach for monitoring of all project progress in the WBs and maintenance of communication with relevant country’s counterparts, UNEP Offices, collaboration centres, external partners; ¿ Development of new project concepts and proposals (GEF and other donors)in cooperation with the local national officers and consultant, in full compliance with UNEP Divisions and submission ensuring compliance with donor requirements and UNEP Programme of Work, as well as necessities identified by the country’s government institutions; ¿ Coordination of the bi-annual expenditure and narrative reporting to the GEF Task Managers, with the liaison of the administrative and financial assistants and national officers and project consultants; ¿ GEF and other donors’ projects coordination as per the details specified under point 2. Functional Description; ¿ Successful completion of delegated activities under the “South East European Sub-Regional Platform to Beat Pollution” pertaining to point 2. Functional Description. ¿ High quality and timely briefing notes and other management communications are provided;

Work Location Vienna

Expected duration 6 months

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. Under its Western Balkan portfolio, it facilitates the implementation and execution of numerous projects pertaining to climate change, biodiversity protection, land degradation and other environmental related aspects. Large part of this portfolio consists of GEF funded projects that mainly relate to execution of the biodiversity and land degradation components of the national STAR allocations. In addition, there are a few climate change and air pollution initiatives that WB countries are a part of, that are also being executed by the Office in Vienna.

The projects that are executing the land degradation components of STAR national allocations, are developing, and strengthening national policy and institutional capacity for sustainable land management practices and are contributing to national land degradation neutrality targets. In addition, the land degradation projects have large components dealing with implementation of sustainable land and forest management practices on the ground through; reforestation of more than 12,000 ha of eroded land, installation of protective belts and windbreaks on selected sites, introduction of ecological approaches for torrent control and number of other activities. Climate change-related assignments are mainly focused on establishing a comprehensive knowledge management information base tailored to the WB needs and empowerment of the key stakeholders and experts in incorporating the climate considerations into respective planning and decision-making processes. Various activities within projects provide guidance to national governments at various levels, and actively engage in and facilitate the ongoing dialogue between the civil society, the private sector, and governmental authorities, on environmental issues and gender equality aspects. UNEP assistance to the Western Balkan sub region is growing and as such there is an increasing necessity for an overall coordinator. The coordinator will work with national officers and consultants that are assisting in project execution in countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Serbia, and on strengthening UNEP’s presence in Albania and Montenegro. Further on, the coordinator will work with a wide range of partners, international organizations, national and sub-national governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society to coordinate execution of the current GEF portfolio as well as develop new initiatives in coordinate to the local governments. Besides the above-mentioned GEF portfolio, the coordinator will work on the new initiative in the WB sub region concerning the topic of air pollution, climate change and other environmental aspects, through assisting the activities of the “Southeast European Sub-Regional Platform to Beat Pollution”, and in communication with WB local authorities and organizations, will coordinate the development of new project ideas pertaining to the WB portfolio key thematic aspects.

Under the supervision of the Head of the UNEP Vienna Programme Office and overall guidance by the Assistant Programme Management Officer, the coordinator is expected to perform several activities and carry out the following tasks:

1. Coordinate the execution of the above-mentioned projects currently executed by the UNEP Vienna Programme Office, entailing the following: ¿ Contribution to the financial management of the GEF portfolio in line with GEF and UN rules and regulations; ¿ Coordination of the major outputs of the GEF projects at national and regional level, ensuring synergies wherever applicable, and facilitation of day-to-day communication between the Associate Programme Management Officer, administration and national officers and consultants in the WB; ¿ Advising the Associate Programme Management Officer on necessary actions within project presences in the WB, project partners, consultants, Task Managers etc.; ¿ Coordination and/or preparation of programme and project briefings and reports to the Associate Programme Management Officer and/or project partners; ¿ Contribute to the preparation and dissemination of UNEP publications and materials; ¿ Contribute to the mid-term and terminal evaluations for WB projects; ¿ Coordinate the organization of inception meetings for the new GEF7 projects in North Macedonia and Albania, as well as identification of local partners to facilitate projects’ implementation and local personnel; ¿ Coordinate consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying and proposing participants, preparation of background documents and presentations, handling logistics, etc.; ¿ Participation in field missions, including provision of substantive support, data collection, etc.; ¿ Contribute to the cooperative relationships between UNEP and national and international partners, including national ministries and international organizations (OSCE, UNDP, WHO); ¿ Representing UNEP Vienna Programme Office in relevant meetings, advocating for the agency's position, and preparing and presenting outreach materials; ¿ Contribute to the organization of workshops and meetings and maintaining quality communications with international organizations, national stakeholders, academia and Civil Society Organizations; ¿ Develop networks and relationships with international and national organizations working with climate and environmental policy with specific focus on pollution prevention and control mechanisms;

2. Contribute to the implementation of planned activities to support the “South East European Sub-Regional Platform to Beat Pollution”, entailing the following: ¿ Contribute to innovative multi-stakeholder partnerships dealing with pollution; ¿ Perform different activities in the sub-regional cooperation and project/programme development in the fields of environmental protection and sustainable development, with a specific focus on pollution prevention, reduction and monitoring; ¿ Contribute to the exchange of information on initiatives and best practices and catalyze action.

Qualifications/special skills A postgraduate's degree (Master or equivalent) in environmental/natural resource management, legal sciences supported by experience in the environmental sector, management or a related field is required. Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in the WB sub-region is required. Experience in working with institutional donors, as well as in coordination and drive communications with international partners and manage operational activities with relevant stakeholders is required. Minimum of five years of experience in development of new project concepts and implementation of GEF projects is desirable; Experience in environmental research, communication and public relations related work is desirable. Work experience within International Organizations is desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of WB sub-region languages will be considered 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.