Officer, Green Growth Specialist - Mexico Program

POSITION SUMMARY

Based in Mexico City, the Green Growth Specialist Officer will integrate into a small but dynamic team and will report to and work directly with the Mexico Country Representative in the delivery of the Mexico Program. The Officer will mainly provide support to the project management, analytical, communications and counterpart and donor engagement functions of the subnational workstream. The successful candidate will have solid project management, engagement and communication skills. She/he will support the Country Representative in developing and managing new partnerships to support the implementation of green growth initiatives. Although the Officer will work mainly on the subnational workstream, support to other workstreams as well as some administrative work will also be expected. The role entails a fair amount of research, analysis and writing; thus, the successful candidate will be comfortable working with numbers, databases, be capable of developing reasonable assumptions when data is lacking, and must have excellent writing and communication skills.

PURPOSE

The chosen candidate will:

• Play a major role in the implementation of the Green Growth Planning workstream and provide support for the delivery of country program workstreams under the guidance of the Country Representative;
• Oversee coordination with Mexican government counterparts for the formulation of green growth policy initiatives consistent with country goals and priorities;
• Keep abreast on technical knowledge and expertise in a diverse range of themes to ensure continued relevance of GGGI, this includes: green growth, climate change, energy, cities, transportation, climate finance, among others;
• Support resource mobilization efforts with potential donors and private sector entities for country program portfolio expansion;
• Oversee and integrate transactions across procurement, legal, HR and finance for the Green Growth Planning workstream in an effective service platform; ensuring adherence to GGGI policies;
• Support the Country Representative in monitoring the ongoing workstream projects both substantively and financially.

ENGAGEMENT

The successful delivery of the program requires building and leveraging partnerships both internal and external to GGGI. The chosen candidate will be a proactive and independent individual that will seek to understand and leverage resources available within the organization and be able to identify sources of external expertise to complement them. The consultant will help to build rapport relevant for the delivery and growth of the program.

To support engagement functions, the chosen candidate will:

• Support stakeholder engagement and strategic relation building with government counterparts, donors and private sector actors;
• Engage in stakeholder mapping and support facilitation of discussion between investors, government and various stakeholders;
• Deploy strategies to secure collaboration/garner buy-in and support from a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure local ownership of the various analytical outputs;
• Apply sufficient technical skills to acquire relevant information/knowledge from a variety of sources which are often difficult to access, in support of delivery of a good quality output;
• Acquire information/knowledge by participating in the assessment of program needs and resources to assist in programme design, development and implementation;
• Understand project methodologies and provide a wide range of contributions in support of delivery of components/workstreams in the country program.

DELIVERY

The chosen candidate will be focal point for the Green Growth Planning workstream providing day to day technical/strategic advice internally as well as externally. He/She will be responsible for the day to day activities of the workstream, ensuring compliance with the workplan and adapting it as necessary. The chosen candidate will manage several processes requiring prompt response to emerging requirements. The candidate must be flexible, independent and collaborative to fit in a horizontal office culture where everyone is responsible and committed to the delivery of the country program.

The chosen candidate will:

• Understand the project cycle and organize analytical work to ensure that deliverables are provided in a timely manner to support subsequent work and consistent with the workplan and project cycle;
• Assess delivery issues and work with national counterparts to build common understanding and coordination on project activities;
• Develop clear and concise working documents to socialize green growth planning;
• Participate in capacity building of external parties;
• Develop concept notes and proposal drafts for resource mobilization opportunities;
• Consolidate financial documentation for projects and ensure accuracy of project financial reporting;
• Support the project/program audits.

REQUIREMENTS

All applicants must hold exemplary and relevant academic and professional credentials and experience. The candidate will have at least 10 years relevant experience in one or more professional disciplines with a Masters degree, or equivalent combination of relevant education. Key experience and capabilities will include:

QUALIFICATIONS

• A master's degree or comparable advanced degree in engineering, economics, urban development, transportation or a related discipline;
• At least 8 years professional experience in economic development, competitiveness and/or environmental policy development, or other relevant sustainability topics;
• Demonstrated experience in working with public sector actors in capacity building, training and policy development;
• Demonstrated experience in engagement with private sector;
• Project delivery experience, including managing the delivery of results on time and on budget;
• Candidate must be fully bilingual in Spanish and English (written and verbal abilities).

FUNCTIONAL

• Strong analytical skills, alongside strong reporting writing skills;
• Team work and creative problem-solving abilities;
• Excellent multi-cultural literacy and interest in being a part of an international team working in an evolving and entrepreneurial environment;
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills;
• Proven experience leading or supporting project delivery, i.e. managing/supporting the delivery of results on time and on budget;
• Experience working with developing countries within the sustainability and/or climate change sector;
• Experience working in Mexico and/or Latin America a must.

CORPORATE

• Understand and actively supports GGGI's mission, vision and values;
• Promote an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership;
• Process and share information easily and excellent at problem solving;
• Manage emotions and stress positively, builds rapport and resolves conflict easily;
• Promote creativity and innovation among staff.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON MEXICO PROGRAM

The Mexico office has been working with the Government of Mexico (GoM) since late 2012 in the development, assessment, finance and implementation of public policies that promote green growth by providing technical assistance, expert advice, capacity building and facilitating knowledge sharing. The launch of GGGI’s program in Mexico concurred with the current administration’s taking of office, and the work of GGGI has in many ways mirrored the administration’s own planning and execution, with GGGI supporting the creation of national policy documents and national institutional strengthening during the first few years, followed by a gradual shift towards support to subnational governments where many of the levers to implement green growth reside. Since its inception GGGI has directly supported the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC) and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) at the national level, as well as with the Megalopolis Environmental Commission (CAMe) and the States of Morelos and Sonora at the subnational level. To deliver its program GGGI rottenly partners with government agencies, NGOs, development agencies, local embassies and other IGOs.

Mexico has taken several important steps to respond to climate change. In 2012, the country adopted mitigation targets for 2020 and 2050 in its General Law on Climate Change. The National Strategy on Climate Change, derived from this law, establishes the goal of reducing national GHG emissions by 30% below the baseline by 2020, equivalent to reducing 288 MtCO2e. It also establishes the goal for a 50% reduction below the emissions level in 2000, equivalent to reaching a maximum emissions level of 320 MtCO2e by 2050. In 2015, Mexico submitted its INDC ahead of the negotiations of COP-21 in Paris, setting a non-conditional target of reducing national GHG emissions by 22% and black carbon emissions by 51% below the national baseline defined in 2013; and to increase the targets to up to 36% and 70% respectively by 2030 if financial and technical support become available as part of an international agreement on climate change. The contribution also considers a rate of 0% deforestation by 2030 and the peaking of national GHG emissions by 2026. In September 2016, Mexico ratified the Paris Agreement.

Many of the levers to implement the initiatives required to comply with the NDCs and other national commitments (such as the SDGs) are within the purview of subnational governments. It is therefore that working at the subnational level becomes imperative for attaining the real positive impacts of a greener development model, that uses less natural resources and is high in environmental and social dividends. Effective decentralization of green growth and climate friendly policies to the subnational level, including the integration of these into local level sector planning and investments, and the generation of success stories will be crucial to achieving longer term green growth objectives.

Recognizing this, during the past two years GGGI has been working closely with the state of Sonora and SEMARNAT in the development of the first subnational green growth strategy in the country. By adopting the strategy and the establishment of governing bodies to oversee its implementation, the state is adopting green growth practices to its planning process and building a pipeline of projects in pursuit of a model of growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. This strategy will provide a framework for the development of initiatives to support the attainment of national NDC and SDG goals all while searching for economic opportunities to capitalize on the opportunity.

Going forward, GGGI will continue supporting the implementation of the Sonora Green Growth Strategy through the development of a pipeline of green growth projects, social and environmental safeguards and by securing its funding via innovative climate financial mechanisms and by mobilizing the private sector. Additionally, GGGI will seek to scale up its subnational program by leveraging the methodologies, toolkits, financial mechanisms and partnerships developed in Sonora in other states. This scaling‑up may be done through various mechanisms, which may include not only the development of additional green growth strategies, but also knowledge sharing and the replication of specific interventions. This will require brokering and maintain new partnerships with subnational governments as well as with national and local organizations to operationalize interventions. To continue and scale‑up this work, the Mexico office of GGGI is recruiting a Green Growth Specialist Officer to support the implementation of the workstream.