Technical Officer - 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 Portfolios 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 GEF Enabling Activities Project supports developing, middle income, and small island nations in their commitments to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): early action on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), National Reporting. 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 (UNBL) and to map Essential Life Support Areas (ELSAs). The UNBL, created in partnership with UN Environment and the CBD Secretariat provides policymakers with access to 100 of the world’s best spatial datasets on nature, climate, and sustainable development for planning, monitoring, and reporting. Building on this base, our work to map ELSAs brings together the world’s best scientists and governments in 11 pilot countries to use spatial data to identify where nature-based actions to protect, manage, or restore ELSAs can deliver efficiently across national priorities for biodiversity, climate, and sustainable development. A nascent area of work is building the spatial literacy of Indigenous peoples and local communities and ensuring their participation in spatial planning.

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 project 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.

• Support the dissemination of technical guidance and documents produced jointly with partners
• Support the reporting process on both project’s pathways, including for the preparation of the PIR, Terminal Evaluations, project board meetings, and other requested documents.
• Track the project’s implementation and update daily tracking tools
• Collect data from the different project’s surveys, highlighting gaps and difficulties encountered by the countries, and suggest solution accordingly. 
• Support communication with key project partners, such as the CBD Secretariat, UNEP, UNEP-WCMC, and non-state actors.
• Assist in tracking of national progress to achieve project components
• Take notes during key meetings, and disseminate them afterward to key partners
• Liaise, on a daily basis, with participating countries to provide technical support, with a priority given to French and English speaking countries

• Assist the development of technical guidance documents, tools, and training biodiversity and policy.
• Assist the development of reports and policy recommendations related to the targets in the emerging post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
• Support literature reviews, knowledge management, compilation of information, and gathering of data on topics pertinent to the project.

• Support the development of South-South cooperation and peer-exchange, with a focus on the facilitation of regional working groups
• Assist the development of additional capacity building material, such as online courses and Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), supporting the identification of relevant topics, dates and speakers for webinars and online courses.
• Assist, with the support of the project manager, on the EAS Capacity Building Webinar Series, including identifying the topics, liaising with technical partners, managing the Zoom platform and associated logistics, and developing communication pieces. 
• Assist the administration of virtual technical programs, including a calendar of activity, which will include webinars, release of technical guidance, peer-exchange, massive open online courses, and self-paced online courses, among other opportunities.

• Monitor NBSAP Forum discussions, acting as the main facilitator, including engaging with users and  responding to comments and questions
• Assist with review resources and e-learning opportunities from NBSAP Forum users and partners
• Assist the update of features with the Learning for Nature team
• Assist in incorporation of EAS tools for Parties to CBD to meet the project outcomes around NBSAP target alignment, monitoring, policy mainstreaming, and biodiversity finance.
• Ensure the most recent and updated resources under the GEF EAS Project are readily available to users on the NBSAP Forum.
• Serves as the convening liaison for the NBSAP Forum Steering Committee: convene meetings, participate in strategic discussions
• Support the development of communication and outreach strategies to promote the NBSAP Forum as a tool
• Support, upon request, with the development of communications materials synthesizing lesson learned, best practices and project results under the Nature for Development team

• Support the identification of relevant international events where the EAS project should be represented.
• Support, upon request, with in-person help desk during international conferences.
• Support the identification of key events to promote countries’ best practices and lessons learned, emphasizing the “country-led” aspect of the project.
• Support the development of a calendar summarizing all events at SBSTTA 26 (May 2024) and COP 16 (October 2024)
• Draft communication pieces for relevant events and liaise with partners to obtain approval.

• Assist in preparation of content for NBSAP Forum, including events, publications, job offers and learning opportunities and share all recording of webinars and training sessions organized by UNDP and CBD on the NBSAP Forum
• Assist the drafting of press releases, talking points, PowerPoint presentation, social media communications, blogs and video messages related to the capacity building materials, text and photos, photo essays for NBSAP Forum website.
• Support the translation of communication materials.

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) Retainer - A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work

Contract level: International Individual Contractor Agreement (I-ICA 1) or Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA-8)

Even if the level of the position is indicated as IICA-1, depending on the incumbent's personal situation (candidate with national ID or resident permit), a local fee scale (LICA-8) might be applied in determining the contractor's fee.

Contract duration: 6 months with possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and necessity of services.

• 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 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. 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.