Country Engagement Specialist (Pacific)

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

From Geneva, UNOPS facilitates the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners by providing quality servces, integrated solutions and management support through strategic, cost-effective and results-oriented approches. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade. UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

WEC Background

The Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) portfolio, based in Vienna, and with offices based globally is part of the UNOPS Global Portfolio Office. The Portfolio has built strong partnerships and is effectively managing a portfolio of over 500 million USD over the last 15 years to support key initiatives with fund management, project implementation and administrative support.  

 WEC effectively operationalizes partners' agendas with global approaches, as well as regional and country specific activities focused on climate action, protection and conservation of the environment. Partners profit from WEC’s ability to operationalize and/or scale up their important substantive agendas, including in support of key multilateral environmental and climate agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the Cartagena Convention as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. 

NDC Partnership

The NDC Partnership is a global coalition advancing the Paris Agreement by strengthening capacity and collaboration for country-owned climate and development action. 

With over 270 members, including over 140 countries and more than 120 institutions, the NDC Partnership aligns partner support behind country priorities, builds shared knowledge and generates evidence to inform effective NDC implementation, sustained investment and higher ambition that drives sustainable development. Working through a country-driven model, countries set the agenda by identifying their NDC priorities, and partners deliver coordinated, high-impact support that increases efficiency and reduces duplication. 

The NDC Partnership has unmatched insight into on-the-ground climate realities, drawn from diverse expertise and collaborative learning across its membership. Grounded in country action, these insights shape the global climate agenda.

The NDC Partnership Support Unit is jointly hosted by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC). 

The Pacific is the Partnership's most support-intensive regional portfolio relative to its size. Pacific Small Island Developing States carry among the highest climate exposure of any member grouping while operating with the smallest climate institutions, the thinnest technical staffing and the most constrained access to international climate finance. Member countries in the region are now moving from NDC 3.0 preparation into implementation and investment planning, a transition that requires sustained and proximate engagement rather than episodic mission-based support delivered from outside the region.

Regional support is dense and fragmented, and Pacific governments have consistently identified the coordination burden as a significant constraint on their capacity to absorb and direct the support available to them. The fit and volume of that support also remain uneven across countries and sectors, and a central element of the Partnership's proposition in the region is that membership of a global coalition broadens the base of support countries can draw on beyond what is available regionally. The Regional Pacific NDC Hub, where the Support Unit maintains an established working relationship and with which the Partnership collaborates in support of shared objectives in the region, is a key coordination mechanism in this landscape, and the Partnership's engagement is designed to connect to and reinforce it.

This position is established in Suva to hold direct country engagement responsibility for the Partnership's Pacific member countries and to serve as the Support Unit's point of alignment with regional institutions and mechanisms, ensuring that Partnership processes reinforce rather than duplicate existing regional arrangements. Effectiveness in the role rests substantially on regional fluency, established trust with national counterparts and familiarity with how Pacific institutions work in practice. While Pacific member countries are prioritised within the portfolio, the position may also encompass country engagement responsibilities for Partnership member countries outside the Pacific as required, in line with regional priorities and the distribution of portfolio workload determined by the Regional Manager.

• Applications from nationals of Pacific Island countries and territories are particularly encouraged.

• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Under the overall guidance of the NDC Partnership Support Unit’s Regional Manager for the Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific,  the Country Engagement Specialist will be the strategic single face to the assigned countries in their portfolio  to maximize the NDC Partnership Support Unit’s (SU) impact and effectiveness by: 1) identifying country needs to catalyze matchmaking to SU offerings, available support/funds and ideal partners, 2) continuously monitoring and optimizing the country engagement by collaborating with the Regional Manager to realize regional synergies and highlight opportunities and risks, 3) strengthening and building relationships with key stakeholders (country focal points, embassies, partners in country offices) for SU visibility and resource mobilization in coordination with Regional Manager, 4) sharing impact stories to showcase examples of positive outcomes of engaging in initiatives enabled by the SU, and 5) building and sharing in-depth knowledge of countries with the SU to jointly collaborate in shaping communications and knowledge products.

1. Lead country engagement and deliver matchmaking for country portfolio

• Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of the context of NDC implementation and international efforts to support it for all countries within their portfolio.
• Support the overall request for support processes by providing guidance to focal points in identifying support priorities, filling up and preparing request for support forms, and supporting the development, preparation and packaging of concept notes, terms of references and budget plans that will be included in the Request for Support Letter (RSL) and/or Partnership Action Fund (PAF) calls for proposals (CFP) circulation.
• Conduct Quality Assurance and Quality Control of requests for support forms prior to circulation to the membership. This activity may entail reviewing requests for support for countries outside the specialist’s own portfolio.
• Understand the offerings the Partnership has available to support NDC implementation planning and investment planning, and help countries connect with those opportunities. This includes facilitating capacity–building for the usage of the NDC implementation plan online tool, supporting countries in procuring partner support, and introducing countries to the Partnership’s Climate Finance Investment Framework.
• Match country needs to potential Partner members of the NDC Partnership services, making connections to the right form of support or fund (e.g. Partner’s own funds, TA Fund, and PAF, etc.), with close guidance from the Regional Manager.
• Support/lead exchanges and sharing information on available funding opportunities based on partner responses, between NDC Partnership Support Unit, Government focal points, other government officials, as well as institutional and associate members of the Partnership
• Provide technical support to and, as required, act as end-to-end owner of country technical and high-level workshops to enhance country ownership and awareness on NDCs, liaising effectively with other SU teams and following applicable internal guidance and from government focal points and the Regional Manager.
• Evaluate proposals submitted under PAF Calls for Proposals, other procurement aimed at supporting countries in their portfolio, and job applications for embedded advisors and facilitators.
• Supervise embedded advisors including in-country facilitators and other experts deliver.
• Review and advise on embedded advisors’ /consultants’ deliverables and coordinating approval with the government, in line with the Support Unit’s processes.

2. Build relationships with key stakeholders

• Build and strengthen relationships with country focal points, ensuring their understanding of NDC Partnership mechanisms and processes, arrangements for embedded advisory support and what is expected from member countries as members of the Partnership.
• Build and strengthen in-country partner relationships with impactful engagements to understand their climate related agenda and funding priorities.
• Lead in delivering timely comprehensive responses and preparing information resource materials on country-specific engagement progress and results, as requested by implementing partners of the NDC Partnership and across Support Unit teams
• Strategically plan and report on country missions to ensure an impactful experience, ensuring the creation of mission announcements to relevant stakeholders, communications materials and post-mission scoping analysis reports in a seamless process to build and maintain momentum
• Supporting/Representing the country engagement team in external meetings and events.
• Establish and sustain a strategically aligned relationship with the Regional Manager to anchor the regional strategy with country context and gain exposure to regional themes, synergies and opportunities

3. Knowledge, collaboration and ownership

• Proactively collaborate with all Support Unit teams in agile ways to shape One SU solutions & maximize knowledge exchange either as day-to-day owners or contributors as agreed by the collaboration model and Service Catalogues
• Liaise with Knowledge and Learning counterparts, partners and other organizations, as appropriate, to provide guidance and inputs for the development of in-depth analyses to support scoping, engagement planning, results reporting and other knowledge products.
• Steer and guide NDC In-Country Facilitators to ensure proactive knowledge sharing of the dynamics of the government focal points and partners, effective coordination, communication and quality outputs, including advisory and guidance to new in-country facilitators.
• Regularly provide feedback – during check-ins, mandatory office hours, and team meetings - to the Regional Manager and Country Engagement Management on country engagement successful practices and processes, and on challenges.
• Upon request, participating in, or contributing to, internal and external meetings, workshops, conferences, and other dissemination activities (COPs, Peer-to-Peer exchanges, regional meetings).

4. Information management

• Build, update and systematically capture country insights in dedicated systems to serve as input for impact stories and knowledge products
• Ensure information on contact details of focal points (FP) and day-to-day persons of countries and partner members are upto-date, and that new contact points receive proper on-boarding to the NDC Partnership, its core service offerings and processes.
• Ensuring SU tools are up to date in relation with the context of countries under their portfolio, including inputs and updates to Monday.com boards, and archiving and updating of SharePoint folders, NDC Partnership and affiliated websites.
• Developing and co-authoring blog posts, presentations deck, talking points, infographics, brochures, and other online and offline communications materials.

Required

• Master's degree preferably in international relations, climate change and environment, international development, economics, finance, or a related field with 5 years of experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline with 7 years of relevant work experience.

Desired

• Project Management Certification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2)

Required

• At least 5 years of experience in climate change, environmental and natural resource management, development cooperation, climate finance and related fields of which at least three years of continuous residence and professional practice working on climate change, development cooperation or related fields in Pacific Small Island Developing States, with established working relationships with national governments in the region and a working understanding of Pacific regional institutions and processes (e.g. PIF, SPREP, SPC) and of the region's climate finance access constraints.
• Good knowledge of international climate policy and of national climate policy development.
• Demonstrated skills in building effective relationships with government officials from both developed and developing countries and navigating the complexities of working across the whole of government, including in countries with limited institutional capacity.
• Experience in communication and management of complex projects involving multiple stakeholders.
• Experience with other bilateral and multilateral donors, consulting, research institutions, private sector, think tanks and other civil society actors.

Desired

• Complementary experience in Southeast Asia, including familiarity with ASEAN climate and development processes, is a strong asset.
• Experience in the origination, design, management and/or implementation of climate/development programs and projects as a strong asset.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• 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. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• 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.