Project Management Support - Specialist (Regional Science Team Coordinator)

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. 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. 

Background Information - UNOPS 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 such as UNEP and UNDP, bilateral donors (Nordic countries, Germany and Italy), the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs (such as CIFF and CWF). 

The South China Sea is a strategic body of water surrounded by nations that are currently at the helm of industrialization and rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Recent reports identified coastal communities bordering the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand as being among the most at risk globally from coastal and marine environmental degradation. This issue has been acknowledged by the countries of the South China Sea, who have committed to a 20-year process of cooperation to reverse environmental degradation trends. This is evidenced by the intergovernmental endorsement of the Strategic Action Programme for the South China by Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This commitment was further reinforced in 2016 when the above-mentioned countries signed a special Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing to cooperate with one another to implement the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). 

This commitment provided a clear signal to the international community to support the financing of the SAP through various projects, including the project entitled “Implementing the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand (SCS SAP Project)”. The project objective is to assist countries in meeting the targets of the approved Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the marine and coastal environment of the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand through implementation of the National Action Plans in support of the SAP, and strengthening regional coordination for South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand SAP implementation. The project aims to address habitat degradation, land-based pollution and regional cooperation. This will be achieved through the following Components:

• Component 1. Reducing habitat degradation and loss via national and local reforms to achieve Strategic Action Programme targets for coastal habitat management in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand

• Component 2. Strengthening knowledge-based action planning for the management of coastal habitats and land-based pollution to reduce environmental degradation of the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand

• Component 3. Facilitating regional and national level integration and cooperation for implementation of the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand Strategic Action Programme

Coordinate all technical and scientific aspects of project execution in close coordination with the Senior Project Manager including:

• Coordinate national habitat management and restoration activities under Component 1: Prepare guidance for national teams to ensure sustainability and application of best-practices; review regular progress and other reports and ensure overall regional coordination and common approaches undertaken;

• Coordinate the monitoring of management, ecological and socio-economic indicators for mangroves, coral reefs and collection of information and data at key sites.  Prepare methodology and templates for the monitoring of habitat sites (Outputs 1.1.6, 1.2.4, 1.3.4, 1.4.3) and overall mechanism for data management (Outputs 2.1.2, 2.1.6). 

• Coordinate the SAP implement status report: prepare guidelines and methodology, review and edit of documents and final report for publication

• Coordinate the revision of national reports and NAP, to liaise with national teams to ensure a standardized approach is taken for all reports; as well as reviewing and editing draft reports;

• Coordinate the update of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and SAP, methodology, inputs from national teams and regional partners and review and edit of final reports for publication 

• Coordinates the scientific planned reports and assessments, building upon best practices and existing information from within the region

• Responsible for establishing a network of national, regional and global experts to support the SCS SAP project execution. 

• Assesses best-practices, latest publications and innovative approaches that can be integrated into project execution. 

• Coordination of the Regional Scientific Technical Committee and regional working groups, including preparation of documents, and regular exchanges between meetings to support and guide national experts

• Ensure close cooperation with regional partners, PEMSEA, COBESA, GEF Small Grants Program (and others) to align and create synergies in technical implementation

• Supports with development of national and regional formulation and adoption of integrated results frameworks   

• Coordinates the monitoring of national project activities, expenditures and progress towards achieving the project output and assesses adaptive responses as circumstances demand to achieve project results 

• Provides feedback to the Regional Project Coordinator, regional coordination bodies, and national teams on project strategies and activities that could improve efficiency and effectiveness of project implementation and impacts 

• Develops monitoring and impact indicators for the project success at regional and national levels 

• Ensures Project Reporting requirements meet UNEP, UNOPS and GEF requirements 

• In collaboration with other team members develop communication plans and means of monitoring their implementation and impact. 

• Supports the implementation of strategies and practices to identify, create, extend, and enable the adoption of lessons learned and communities of best practice generated through the Project’s activities with particular focus on increasing innovation, building capacity and continuously improving the use and accessibility to technically sound information. 

• Manage the development of an online searchable repository of information resources relating to policy, economic, scientific and technical issues relating to the conduct of Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis and formulation of a revised Strategic Action Programme 

• Provide supervision for the development of training modules for both online and workshop based delivery in the access and use of the information repository 

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

Education:  

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) is required, preferably in marine biology, oceanography, coastal ecology, environmental sciences/engineering, or other science areas is required;

• A Bachelor’s degree in relevant fields with additional 2 years of experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:  

• A minimum of 5 years of working experience in environmental management, including experience with projects related to the management of marine and coastal habitats and pollution in one or more of the South China Sea countries;

• Thorough understanding of the problems related to marine and coastal habitats (mangroves, seagrass, corals and wetlands) and pollution in the South China Sea (in particular Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam) and current best practices in restoration and effective management of habitats and pollution

• Demonstrated experience in the management and/or development of national and/or regional environment, coastal and marine related projects is desirable.

• Demonstrated experience in large multi-country and multi-disciplinary projects, such as GEF-funded projects, is desirable. 

• Experience and familiarity with the South China Sea region and country’s geopolitical, cultural, social and economic setting, including international treaties and environmental agreements, is desirable.

• Knowledge of global and other regions initiatives and best practices in the management of marine and coastal habitats and pollution is an asset

• Knowledge of the United Nations system and/or Global Environment Facility, including their administrative processes, is an asset.

Language Requirement:  

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. 

• Working knowledge of other United Nations languages and/or regional languages is an asset. 

Contract type: Ongoing ICA
Contract level: IICA-2/LICA-10/ICSC-10
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.
Duty Station: Bangkok, Thailand (The personnel may work homebased due to the current COVID situation)

• 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.