Programme Analyst

UNOPS Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC)

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.

New York Service Cluster (NYSC) 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

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.  The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizations to recognize and advance indigenous and 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 Equator Initiative is built upon three equally important pillars:

-          The Equator Prize is awarded biennially to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities. As local and indigenous groups across the world chart a path towards sustainable development, the Equator Prize shines a spotlight on their efforts by honoring them on an international stage.

-          Equator Dialogues are an ongoing series of community-driven meetings and exchanges, held in conjunction with related international forums. Equator Dialogues provide opportunities for people to share experiences, develop capacities and influence policy.

-          Equator Knowledge is a research, documentation and learning program focused on local best practice in sustainable development. The Equator Initiative works with partners to identify, document, and analyze the success factors of local best practice, and to catalyze ongoing peer-to-peer learning, knowledge exchange and replication of best practice.

The Global Platform for the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), is a partnership of governments, multinational companies, civil society and indigenous peoples who strive to halve deforestation by 2020 and to end it by 2030. The NYDF outlines ten ambitious global targets related to protecting and restoring forests. The Global Platform for the New York Declaration on Forests seeks to fill an important gap in multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration necessary to achieve the goals of the NYDF. The NYDF Global Platform works to increase ambition, forge new partnerships and accelerate progress on the NYDF goals by responding to NYDF endorsers’ requests for a dedicated, multi-stakeholder platform to re-invigorate political endorsement of the NYDF, to facilitate coordination and communication, to share best practices, resources and lessons, and to support ongoing monitoring of progress. 

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.

Knowledge Sharing is a main goal of the Equator Initiative, the National Biodiversity Initiative, and NYDF. 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 works in partnership with UN Environment’s MapX to share knowledge on the role of spatial data in biodiversity planning, policymaking, and reporting through story maps. The NYDF Global Platform aims to use case studies about NYDF endorsers from a variety of stakeholder groups, including companies, governments, indigenous peoples and NGOs in order to share best practices and challenges in implementing the NYDF goals.

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 NYDF, the Equator Initiative, and the National Biodiversity Initiative allows Learning for Nature to circulate knowledge while promoting best practices. Building on our learnings on the ground, we seek synergies, build linkages, and engage thousands of course participants on their journey towards sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities. Learning for Nature invites its audiences to explore opportunities for building capacity to scale up efforts for nature-based sustainable development 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.mapx.org, or www.nydfglobalplatform.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 a personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

UNOPS is seeking the support of a Programme Analyst to facilitate the delivery of the project activities with a focus on support with the implementation of the Equator Prize and follow-up work in the context of the Equator Initiative. The Programme Analyst would coordinate the overall delivery and implementation of the Equator Prize work to allow the project to effectively shine a spotlight on the success of local and indigenous groups that contribute to sustainable development at the grassroots level; to develop the capacities of local and indigenous peoples in the Equator Prize network; to inform policy and foster knowledge exchanges amongst local and national policy makers; and to document Equator Prize winners’ best practices. 

This role comprises management of the outreach and communications efforts, liaison with and support to organizations nominating for the Equator Prize, management of the selection process identifying the winners, and preparation of community representatives for their travels to New York to participate in the Equator Prize Award Ceremony and associated activities. The Programme Analyst would also advance the Global Programme on Nature for Development by contributing to the development of knowledge products and by working on facilitating connections between Equator Prize winners and the private and legal sectors, to further promote nature-based solutions for sustainable development by improving the value chain and increasing livelihoods of local communities.

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

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Support the organization of the global Equator Prize ceremonies and events for up to 1,500 participants.
• Coordinate Equator Prize ceremonies at national level with UNDP Country Offices and partners.
• Outreach coordination: Implement detailed outreach strategy for the Equator Prize (e-mail outreach, social media, research on additional contacts, liaison with previous winners etc.); manages inquiries and interfaces with nominators addressing their technical issues; drives communications efforts through the creation and dissemination of social media materials.
• Oversee of the selection process: Handle nominations for the Equator Prize, provide support to the members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC); ensure nominations are evaluated correctly and in a timely manner; organize the Technical Advisory Committee meeting; manage translations; coordinate the due diligence process of the shortlisted organizations.
• Coordination of travel preparations: Support Equator Prize winner representatives in their travel preparations for New York for the Award Ceremony; gather information from winner organization for case studies.
• Provide support to procurement efforts as necessary
• Organize Equator Prize community dialogues: coordinate dialogue workshops, including logistical support, volunteer management, interpretation etc.
• Support presence of representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) at international conferences such as CBD COPs, World Conservation Congress etc., to enable knowledge exchange between practitioners and policy makers.
• Organize and prepare written outputs: e.g. draft inputs to publications, newsletters, sections of reports, etc.
• Support efforts to develop and expand social media communications, and coordinate the creation of knowledge products (interviews, photo stories, podcasts, or articles) to be release through the Equator Initiative platforms or at flagship events.
• Support the Manager, through liaison with internal and external partners, on strategic operational issues related to the Global Programme on Nature for Development;
• Support partnerships with Equator Initiative partners, relevant civil society organizations, governments and diplomatic representations, and collaborators; facilitating links for engagement opportunities.

Education 

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international relations, sustainable development, environmental management/sciences, law, social/political science, business and management, and/or other relevant field is required.
• A Bachelors degree with additional two years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• Two years of working experience in project or programme management, business administration, legal affairs or any area related to the activities of the post required.
• At least one year of working experience on at least one of the following topics at a conceptual and/or practical level is required: biodiversity/climate change/environmental protection; social entrepreneurship/impact investing; local sustainable development or agriculture.
• Prior experience in international affairs, supporting international events, communications and/or local development is considered a strong asset.
• Previous work experience demonstrating ability to organize events and handle multiple assignments simultaneously.
• Experience performing research and writing dissertations or reports is an asset.
• Prior experience working on sustainable development, indigenous and/or human rights issues in developing countries would be an asset.

Languages

• Fluency and excellent writing ability in English is required.
• Fluency and excellent writing ability in French or Spanish is required.
• Knowledge of additional languages is an asset, in particular if UN languages or Portuguese.

Contract type: ICA
Contract level: IICA-1/ICSC-9
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

• 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
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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.