The Asia Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNOPS operations across 17 countries, ensuring high performance, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational goals. Operations currently span Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands. Across these countries, we work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and maximize impact through five main operating units: Afghanistan (AFCO), Myanmar (MMCO), South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), and the Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC). Through these entities, we provide agile, client-focused service delivery across diverse sectors - including infrastructure, health, procurement, and project management - supporting the implementation of sustainable development solutions across the region.

The East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), headquartered in Bangkok, supports UNOPS operations across 24 countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Pacific. Established in January 2023, EAPMCO provides strategic direction, operational support, and quality assurance to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of projects across its portfolio. EAPMCO implements initiatives in priority areas such as energy transition, climate change, and sustainable development, drawing on UNOPS' core expertise in human resources, procurement, infrastructure, fund management, and programme management.

The Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP), a programme of UNOPS, brings together governments and philanthropies to work with partner countries in the region. We support the transition towards modern energy systems that can simultaneously ensure economic growth, energy security, and environmental sustainability. Enabling the transition toward greener energy systems will greatly contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement objectives. 

ETP focuses on Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, which are the countries in the region with the highest energy demand, a substantial pipeline for fossil fuel-based projects, and a significant and cost-effective potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency. ETP provides high-level technical advisory support, holistic support to Governments on financing and technical needs, capacity and skill development, and facilitation of dialogues in all related areas. 

ETP implements country-specific but inter-related initiatives on coal phasedown and transition finance across its focus countries. In the Philippines, ETP leads the Transition to End Coal (TRANSEND) program, which identifies and addresses systemic barriers to coal transition by building on insights from a pilot early retirement transaction. In Indonesia, ETP facilitates coal phasedown by exploring the role and feasibility of coal flexibility as a pathway  to enable greater variable renewable energy integration into the grid. Across the focus countries, ETP plays an integrating role by distilling lessons learned and translating them to actionable insights to inform broader coal transition national action.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Senior Programme Manager of ETP, the Programme Management Advisor will be responsible for supporting in developing strategies on coal phasedown, advising on specific actions, and supporting the wider dialogue around coal phasedown and transition finance. 

This role will require international travel to engage with stakeholders and contribute to or deliver relevant events. Associated travel arrangements will be managed by ETP, and all travel must be pre-approved.

1. Strategy Development and Advisory: 

   1. Support the development and refinement of ETP’s coal phasedown strategies across focus countries, including approaches for integrating activities at the regional scale.

   2. Advise on ongoing and planned coal phasedown activities, including early retirement transactions, coal flexibility mechanisms, transition finance instruments and approaches, taxonomies, and support for enhancing relevant policy and regulations.

   3. Inform ETP’s strategic positioning and action by monitoring and identifying emerging developments and opportunities in coal transition, including shifts in policy and financing regulations, updates to national and regional taxonomies and national transition plans, evolving interest from independent power producers (IPPs), and changes in financial sector’s policies and transition finance.

2. Stakeholder Engagement and Dialogue: 

   1. Support and participate in coal phasedown and transition finance dialogues and events on behalf of ETP.

   2. Support in designing and delivering ETP-organized workshops, dialogues and events on coal phasedown and transition finance.

   3. Support in expanding ETP’s network by initiating connections and building relationships with key actors in the coal transition ecosystem, including governments, financial institutions, multi-development banks, other development partners, IPPs, utilities, and other relevant industry stakeholders.

3. Knowledge Management: 

   1. Support in capturing emerging insights, lessons learned from coal phasedown and transition finance initiatives.

   2. Support the development of knowledge products and case studies on coal phasedown and transition finance for internal and external audiences.

   3. Contribute to cross country learning by identifying transferable ideas and supporting their dissemination.

   4. Review and comment on reports or publications prepared by ETP and its Implementing Partners or relevant topics.

4. General Support: 

   1. Provide ad-hoc advisory support on other energy transition matters in the focus countries, particularly around policy and finance

Required

• An advanced University Degree (Master’s or equivalent) or higher degree in Energy, Law, Public Policy, Climate Change, Economics, Finance Sustainable Development, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with 7 years of relevant experience OR.

• First-level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in the above-mentioned fields with an additional nine (9) years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.

Required

• Relevant work experience in energy transition, climate finance, or energy policy.

• Proven experience advising on energy transition strategies in Southeast Asia is required.

• Must be based in Southeast Asia.

• Experience working on coal transition, including early retirement transactions, coal flexibility.

• Experience working on transition finance instruments, taxonomies, sustainable finance.

• Experience engaging with different types of stakeholders including governments, financial institutions, development partners, industry actors.

Desired

• Previous work with international organizations, multilateral development banks, UN agencies, or donor-funded programs is considered an advantage.

• Computer literacy in Google Workspace is an advantage.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. 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. 
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse 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.

• 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. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click 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.