Environmental Governance and Policy Expert

Finalized chapters related to governance, institutional, legal, and MEA within the national environmental strategies, action plans, and other technical outputs developed under the four interconnected projects.

Home based- part time

3 months

Organizational Setting, Purpose, and Objective: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Regional Office for West Asia delivers advisory services and capacity building support to countries to achieve environmental and sustainable development objectives. This consultancy is part of four projects in Kuwait, each with its respective objective. These projects will be implemented by UNEP’s Regional Office for West Asia in close coordination and collaboration with the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KEPA), 1- National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan. 2- National Strategic Plan to Combat Desertification. 3- Waste Management Monitoring System and KPIs. 4- National Environment Data Management Strategy and Plan. 1-National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) project aims to develop a comprehensive strategy for Kuwait, addressing key environmental challenges and aligning with Kuwait’s Vision 2040 and global sustainability targets. It involves creating a strategy based on the environmental opportunities and challenges outlined in the State of the Environment Report (SOER), engaging stakeholders to contribute to the framework, and establishing clear, measurable goals and priorities. 2-National Strategic Plan to Combat Desertification project aims to develop a comprehensive plan to address desertification, land degradation, and drought in Kuwait, in alignment with the UNCCD 2018–2030 strategic framework. The project involves assessing the status of land degradation in Kuwait, setting clear and measurable strategic objectives tailored to national circumstances, and creating a detailed national plan to combat desertification. Stakeholder consultations will be conducted to ensure a collaborative approach and to finalize the strategic plan. 3-Waste Management Monitoring System and KPIs Project aims to contribute to the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KEPA) of Kuwait in developing a monitoring framework and digital dashboard to track and assess the progress of the Kuwait National Waste Management Strategy 2040 (KNWMS2040) towards achieving sustainable waste management goals. Key achievements include creating a comprehensive monitoring framework, developing a user-friendly digital dashboard for real-time insights, engaging stakeholders in the framework and dashboard development, integrating data with existing platforms like EMISK for continuous reporting, and providing training to ensure operational efficiency. 4-National Environment Data Management Strategy and Plan Project aims to develop and implement a comprehensive national plan for environmental data management in Kuwait. This project focuses on ensuring systematic and periodic sharing of data across government entities, enhancing transparency, and supporting informed decision-making based on accurate and reliable environmental data. Key achievements include creating a robust infrastructure for environmental data management, ensuring transparency and sustainability in data exchange, and developing technical capabilities to monitor environmental performance. The UNEP Regional Office for West Asia would like to recruit a well-qualified consultant to coordinate the implementation of the projects outlined above. The consultant will provide technical drafting, review and quality assurance of national strategies and project outputs related to environmental governance, legal and institutional frameworks, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), ensuring their technical quality, legal feasibility, institutional coherence, and alignment with Kuwait’s national commitments and frameworks. This consultant will report to the Regional Coordinator in charge of managing the projects. 2.Duties and Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of the designated Programme Management Officer, at UNEP ROWA, the selected consultant will carry-out, inter alia, the following duties and responsibilities for each of the four projects detailed above: 1.Development and Review of Governance, and Legal and Institutional Frameworks and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) •In coordination with the Project Management Unit, prepare, review and finalize governance, institutional and legal chapters and related technical content for the national strategies, action plans and other project outputs developed under the four projects, as required. •Develop and refine governance architectures, institutional arrangements, implementation mechanisms, coordination structures and implementation responsibilities to Collaborate effective implementation of project outputs. •Cooperate to the development and finalization of English and Arabic versions of project outputs, ensuring consistency of technical content, terminology, and messaging across both languages. •Assess and strengthen legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks, identifying reforms and measures required to facilitate implementation. •Ensure governance provisions relating to compliance, enforcement, inspection and environmental governance are technically sound and aligned with Kuwait's institutional framework, UNEP guidance and international good practice. •Integrate technical comments and stakeholder feedback into successive drafts and participate in technical discussions with UNEP, KEPA and relevant experts to validate the review, validation and finalization of governance-related outputs. •Prepare, review and finalize chapters relating to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and associated technical content for the national strategies, action plans and other project outputs developed under the four projects, as required. •Ensure technical accuracy and consistency with Kuwait's obligations under relevant multilateral environmental agreements and alignment with UNEP guidance and international environmental governance principles. •Review and strengthen proposed institutional arrangements for national coordination, implementation, reporting and inter-agency cooperation related to MEA implementation. •Ensure consistency between MEA commitments, governance arrangements, implementation frameworks, monitoring systems and reporting requirements across project outputs. •Integrate technical comments and stakeholder feedback into successive drafts and participate in technical discussions with UNEP, KEPA and relevant experts to validate the review, validation and finalization of MEA-related outputs. Deliverables: •D1: Draft Governance, Institutional, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Package, including draft governance, institutional, and legal chapters, draft MEA chapters, and associated technical inputs prepared for the national strategies, action plans, and other project outputs developed under the four projects. •D2: Final Governance, Institutional, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) Package, including finalized governance, institutional and legal chapters, finalized MEA chapters, and associated technical inputs incorporated into the national strategies, action plans and other project outputs developed under the four projects, reflecting technical reviews and comments received from UNEP, KEPA and relevant stakeholders.

Advanced degree (master’s or higher) in environmental law, environmental governance, public policy, international environmental law, sustainable development, or another closely related field. A first-level university degree, combined with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. PHD degree is also desirable A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in environmental governance, environmental law, institutional development, public policy, or implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) is required Demonstrated experience in the preparation, drafting and/or technical review of national environmental strategies, action plans, legal or policy frameworks is required Proven experience working with environmental governance frameworks, institutional arrangements, and legal and regulatory systems related to environmental management is required Experience supporting implementation of, or reporting under, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, including familiarity with relevant international environmental governance processes is required Knowledge of the environmental work in the West Asia region is desirable. Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills is required. Ability to work independently is required.

Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Not available.

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.