HSSE Advisor – Environmental Management (Environmental Specialist) - Retainer

Organization Context: 

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. 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 United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has been supporting Nepal by implementing projects since 2007. It was established as a country office for Nepal in 2015 and operates under South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), Colombo.

The UNOPS Nepal Office has implemented Projects in all seven provinces of Nepal with key government partners; the Nepal Police (Ministry of Home Affairs), the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Provincial Governments. Supporting Nepal’s development plan and the 2030 Agenda, the Nepal Office is implementing projects in post-earthquake reconstruction, security and justice, field monitoring and coordination and in recent times– immediate health support to respond to Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) crisis. Within the reconstruction portfolio, the Nepal Office provided socio-technical assistance to individual households, developed innovative approaches for retrofitting earthquake-damaged homes and delivered services to the most vulnerable households, ensuring nobody is left behind.

The functional objective of UNOPS Nepal is to deliver its projects in an efficient and effective manner in alignment with government priorities following UNOPS rules and regulations, so as to achieve the outcomes sought by the clients and funding partners and contributing to the achievement of SDGs.

While ensuring gender, diversity and inclusion is mainstreamed in all its projects, UNOPS Nepal is currently working on several new engagements to support the government of Nepal under Rule of Law, Climate Change, DRR, Urban development, procurement support among others and create new opportunities and jobs for the people of Nepal. 

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

In Nepal, environment and climate change issues have become increasingly alarming as reflected in flooding, landslides, forest fires, deforestation, unregulated carbon emissions, unmanaged solid waste and waste water disposal, encroachment of river basins, uncontrolled mining of rivers and quarries, haphazard urbanization, environmentally unfriendly infrastructure construction such as roads and the likes. There is hence a need for reviewing the existing environment and climate change policy framework including creation of new ones, capacity building and addressing environmental and climate resilience concerns in the development of infrastructures in all tiers of government-central, provincial and local.  

UNOPS wants to strengthen its environment and climate change portfolio through its business development process with a qualified expert to be able to support the federal, provincial and local governments in Nepal in achieving the SDG and the country’s national and international obligations in the areas of environment and climate change adaptation and mitigation as spelled out in its Nationally Determined Contributions II (NDC). 

The Environmental Management and Climate Change Specialist will be responsible to:

●                    Build partnership with UN agencies, government/s, research institutes, private sector and other related organizations involved in the areas of environment and climate change to promote a substantive and strategic policy engagement of UNOPS on environment and climate change.

●                    Provide technical backstopping on environment and climate change related issues to prepare concept notes and project proposals for UNOPS Nepal .

●                    Develop project concept notes, and proposals related to environment and climate change in consultation with the government and potential donors with due consideration given to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Such projects could include but are not limited to flood mitigation, promotion of renewable energy, carbon emission reduction, solid waste and waste water management, hospital waste management, environment and climate change in infrastructure, capacity development initiatives, institution building and reform, policy formulation and revision etc.  

●                    Work with UNOPS Nepal country office and team to identify potential project donors and partners in the areas of environment and climate change

●                    Prepare concept notes and proposals for the related project and share with the team, present to the potential donors, and Government agencies as appropriate

●                    Participate in the meetings with government agencies, research institutions, UN agencies and the donor community to present UNOPS perspective in the areas of environment and climate change

●                    Build partnerships with potential partners or donors, including discussions to introduce the project and identify/secure funding

Education:

●                    Master’s Degree preferably in climate sciences, environmental sciences, earth sciences, natural resource is required;

●                    A bachelor’s degree with 2 years of additional relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of masters degree (relevant experience and apprenticeship or certification may be accepted in lieu of bachelors and/or master’s degree with additional years of experience).

Experience:

●                    At least 7 years of relevant work experience on issues related to environmental management, climate risk, vulnerability reduction and capacity development.

●                    Proven experience and knowledge of Nepal’s institutional framework and policies of environmental management and climate change.

●                    Broad experience working with a variety of institutions; including UN, government/public institutions, private sector, and or research/academia are highly desired;

●                    Experience in policy analysis, development work in the area of environment, climate change and related issues.

●                    Familiarity with and contributions to high-level policy dialogues and advisory functions involving high-level government counterparts and other stake-holders

●                    Thorough knowledge and understanding of the global debate on environment, climate change and experience in multilateral environmental debates and dialogues and processes.

●                    Experience and demonstrated knowledge of institutional donor procedures and requirements;

●                    Experience of successfully working and achieving tangible results in challenging and complex environments and/or demonstrate clearly the challenges associated with working in developing countries.

Language

●                    Proficiency in English and Nepali required. Knowledge of local languages is an asset.

Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement Specialist
Contract level: LICA Specialist - 11
Contract duration: Retainer

• 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. 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.