Technical Senior Analyst – Environmental - Retainer

UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.

The New York Portfolio Office (NYPO) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York- based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management. The Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York. SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to implement the project activities for the Global Programme on Nature for Development.

UNDP’s Global Programme on Nature for Development brings together three different initiatives -- the Equator Initiative, the National Biodiversity Initiative, and the Global Forest Initiative (New York Declaration on Forests Global Platform) under one program in order to identify, foster, showcase and celebrate nature- based solutions that help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at local, national, and international levels. The work of the Global Programme on Nature for Development contributes to UNDP's Strategic Plan 2018-2021 by charting sustainable development pathways through the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystems; and by promoting inclusive and effective democratic governance in the area of natural resources.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizations to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. The Equator Initiative seeks to:

• Recognize the success of local and indigenous initiatives;
• Create opportunities and platforms to share knowledge and good practice;
• Inform policy to foster an enabling environment for local and indigenous community action; and
• Develop the capacity of indigenous peoples and local communities to scale-up their impact.

The National Biodiversity Initiative supports countries to manage their ecosystems and biodiversity in order to improve national planning and governance of biodiversity, ecosystems, and development, and to promote resilience for sustainable development. The National Biodiversity Initiative works in three project areas: National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) Support, National Reporting, and Capacity Building. The use of spatial data for spatial planning is a cross-cutting theme across these project areas, including work through our flagship platform UN Biodiversity Lab, created in partnership with UN Environment and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Knowledge Sharing is a main goal of the Equator Initiative, Learning for Nature and the National Biodiversity Initiative. The Equator Initiative has a large series of research papers, books, and other publications focusing on local approaches to poverty reduction and conservation, informed by community-based initiatives.180 case studies in over 30 languages have documented the Equator Prize winners’ innovative practices that deliver the win-win-win solutions that ensure social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The National Biodiversity Initiative share knowledge on the role of spatial data in biodiversity planning, policymaking, and reporting through blogs, case studies, and story maps.

Learning for Nature is a capacity-building offer provided by the Global Programme on Nature for Development, cutting across the three areas of work. This program connects biodiversity policymakers, change-makers, and on-the-ground subject matter experts to facilitate the delivery of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Access to the global multi-stakeholder networks mobilized by the Equator Initiative, Learning for Nature, and the National Biodiversity Initiative allows Learning for Nature to circulate knowledge while promoting best practices. Building on our learnings on the ground, Learning for Nature seeks synergies, build linkages, and engage thousands of course participants through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), webinars, self- paced e-learning modules, and private training courses.

For further information please go to: www.equatorinitiative.org, www.nbsapforum.net, www.learningfornature.org, www.unbiodiversitylab.org

This is a position to support a project which UNOPS is implementing for the United Nations Development Programme. The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

UNOPS is seeking the support of a Technical Senior Analyst – Environmental to advance the Global Programme on Nature for Development’s work to support governments to use spatial data in their conservation plans and monitoring. Working with 13 countries and counting, this work package develops approaches to use spatial data to identify where nature-based actions to protect, manage, or restore ‘essential life support areas’ (ELSAs) can deliver efficiently across national priorities for biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development. In addition to a general support role for web tools developed for all countries, this position will support the development of a customized version for Colombia.

The consultant will provide GIS expertise and support the development, hosting, and updates for web-based systematic conservation planning tools for each country developed using the RShiny and the R programming language that identify areas that provide stakeholders with a means to iterate and recreate the ELSA analysis. Webtools will be developed based on specific country needs, They will be capable of planning for multiple land use zones that are specific to each country and for multiple nature-based solutions that are related to biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development. The tool will allow for real time manipulation of scenario settings (protected areas, weights, targets) and allow policymakers to run it using optimization. The tool will also allow multiple inputs datasets to be weighted and overlaid to produce thematic ‘heatmaps.’

All data for each country, including spatial constraints and impacts of zones, will be delivered to the consultant in a format ready for incorporation into the tool. 

Under the guidance and supervision of the Manager of the Global Programme on Nature for Development, the consultant will carry out the following key tasks:

Colombia spatial prioritization webtool development

• Coordinate the adaptation of the WhereToWork webtool based on Natural Parks of Colombia style guidelines such as colors, fonts, icons.
• Coordinate with technical team the adjustment of the WhereToWork implementation, adding and removing features and UI elements based on the Colombia webtool needs.
• Assist the technical team in organization and preparation of the full dataset and the dataset for the webtool.
• Assist the team in generating the scenarios with the full dataset to load the solutions in the webtool.
• Conduct webtool training for the Colombia team.

General ELSA webtool development

• Coordinating the set up of repositories and data for each new country on the server.
• Assist the set up the docker services and the triggers.
• Assist in setting up the URL for the new countries.
• Run checks and tests to ensure smooth functioning for end user.

ELSA webtool hosting and maintenance

• Assist in setting up server to run systematic conservation planning tool.
• Push data and parameter updates to the tool.
• Assist in managing and updating code cloud versioning (via github), in collaboration with focal points at UNDP and UNICC.
• Assist with migration to national servers, where needed, including training and handover sessions with national stakeholders.

ELSA webtool support 

• Troubleshoot issues with webtool and support the Spatial Planner and Lead Scientist to resolve.

Project coordination and stakeholder engagement

• Coordinate meetings with national stakeholders, as needed, to understand national needs for webtool development and hosting.
• Gather the input of the core project team, as needed, to coordinate work.
• Attend live workshop and working group sessions and ensure smooth functioning of the webtool during these sessions.

• The assignment is supervised by the Manager of the Global Programme on Nature for Development.

*CANDIDATES WITH NO UNITED NATIONS OR UNOPS EXPERIENCE ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY*

Education

• Master’s degree preferably in environmental management/sciences, conservation biology/ecology geography, natural resource management, computer science/software engineering or in another related field.
• Bachelor’s degree preferably in the above-mentioned fields can be accepted with four years of relevant working experience (as outlined below).

• Fluent in English with excellent oral and written communication skills is required.
• Fluency in additional languages is an advantage.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.