Project Officer

Many countries lack the tools and well-designed institutional arrangements to comprehensively assess the impacts of national climate policies and actions. There is no common methodological framework to measure, report and verify progress.

In response to the call to support improved transparency and capacity building under the Paris Agreement, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) in 2015 founded the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT). In early 2016 ICAT was joined by the Italian Ministry of the Environment (IMELS) and ClimateWorks Foundation.

ICAT provides policymakers around the world with tools and support to measure and assess the impacts of their climate actions. Working initially with 20 developing countries, ICAT aims to help governments build capacity to measure the effects of their policies and report progress publicly. This will foster greater transparency, effectiveness, trust and ambition in climate policies worldwide. The initiative will improve the availability and quality of data and enable countries to promote efficient, cost-effective policies. ICAT will also provide a platform for countries to share lessons learned and build mutual confidence in their climate actions.

Under the overall guidance of the ECR WEC, and in coordination with the ICAT Director, the incumbent  is responsible for supporting the funds/grants/project management and facilitating delivery of the Initiative, hosted by UNOPS. This includes functions such as supporting effective portfolio coordination, oversight, financial reporting and operations management, serving as the operational focal point for the Initiative.

Portfolio Planning, Coordination & Oversight Support:

• Create and review the donor contribution agreements, draft and enter new engagement inputs to the UNOPS engagement system, recommending required revisions or specific conditions to be met, prior to acceptance of project execution.
• Review new engagement and relevant background documents with the UNOPS WEC team, assess the operational and financial components and provide comments to supervisor.
• Review and comment on operational aspects of projects, and facilite their delivery in discussion with the relevant operational support teams in ECR and UNOPS HQ.
• Identify operational and financial problems and resolve them by taking appropriate action following consultation with direct supervisor, draft correspondence to parties concerned and prepare reports.
• Assist, support and follow up on all portfolio core services related to procurement/contract administration, finance/payment process, grant management and HR/recruitment process.
• Develop specifications/TOR, establishment of evaluation criteria, evaluation of bids/proposals for procurement and recruitment activities required by the Initiative.    

Financial Planning & Reporting:

• Set up project proposals and budgets in the ERP system and monitor project budgets, support the preparation of due budget revisions in consultation with direct supervisor and Finance and the relevant project counterpart.
• Prepare financial reports and ad-hoc updates on cash-flow status, contractual commitment and expenditure status; draft appropriate comments on audit reports, if necessary.

Support Systems, Tools & Knowledge Management

• Continuously maintain and review/seek improvements of existing ERP tools, as well as relevant internal mechanisms, for high quality service provision to various partners.
• Drive the regular data updates and related exercises especially related to financial reporting. 
• Participate in and conduct trainings for the operations and project staff on the relevant tools, approaches and procedures, to ensure effective project implementation.
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

HR, Procurement & Grants Management Guidance:

• Act as designated first contact with the Initiative for all HR/recruitment, procurement, admin and grants management issues and support needs, facilitating delivery of effective services.
• Coordinate with the respective ECR and HQ teams on specific cases and best possible support for timely provision of guidance on operational processes and procedures.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of an HR, procurement, admin and grants management system for the Initiative with regard to planning, awarding, administering and monitoring of all matters related to HR, procurement and grants activities of the portfolio.
• Assist the Initiative with the management of procurement and grants management processes, including systematic management of data needs, issue resolution, and results reporting and coordinating responses to requests for information from other internal units and from external parties.

• 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.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• 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.

NOTE:

1)    Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

2)    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.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale. 

Water and Energy Cluster

Based in Copenhagen, the UNOPS Water and Energy Cluster provides specialized project management services to partners such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. Together with partners, the cluster executes projects that support sustainable development by:

• promoting international cooperation to prevent and reverse environmental degradation of international water systems
• enhancing the resilience of communities and eco-systems to climate change
• lowering emissions by bridging renewable energy solutions
• developing Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions to strengthen climate-resilient development