Partnerships Development Specialist

WEC Background: 

UNOPS Water and Energy Cluster (WEC) supports the design and management of multi-stakeholder initiatives by providing services in financial and grant management, procurement, human resources, and project management. The cluster has supported projects in the areas of water resource management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and transparency, energy access and distribution, and environmental conservation under the Paris Agreement. The WEC has also supported operations and financial management services, in Vienna, the rest of the ECR region, and beyond. The main partners include UN agencies, bilateral agreements (with the Nordics, Germany, and Italy), the Green Climate Fund, and several NGOs (such as CIFF and CWF). 

The NDC Partnership: 

The NDC Partnership is a global coalition of countries and institutions collaborating to drive transformational climate action through sustainable development. In 2015, the world endorsed the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Nations signal their commitments to the Paris Agreement through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - each country’s strategy to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience against the negative effects of a changing climate. The Partnership advances the goals of the Paris Agreement by bringing together nearly 200 countries and institutions in new ways to accelerate NDC implementation and enhance ambition over time. The Partnership’s work through 120 partners supporting almost 80 countries produces many examples of impact, lessons learned and ideas for the future. The Partnership is governed by a Steering Committee, co-chaired by two country representatives. The Partnership’s work is facilitated by a Support Unit based at World Resources Institute in Washington DC and the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. UNOPS supports the NDC Partnership and its Support Unit through the Water and Energy Cluster (WEC).  

Under the direction of the Country Engagement Coordinator, the Partnerships Development Specialist will be tasked with: 

• Developing country engagement plans (e.g., Partnership Plans/NDC Implementation Plans), including target setting, action planning, and performance tracking, and preparation of guidance documents and training materials. 

• Facilitating exchanges with NDC Partnership focal points, other government officials, and implementing partners. 

• Organizing technical and high-level workshops. 

• Coordinating formal communication between country counterparts as well as institutional and associate members of the Partnership.   

• Conducting in-depth analyses to support scoping, engagement planning, results reporting, including development of Partnership Plan narratives.  

• Supporting/leading efforts to strategically link NDC Partnership knowledge products with in-country engagement efforts. 

• Supporting/leading exchanges and resource mobilization between the Support Unit, countries, and institutional and development partner members. 

• Representing the country engagement team in external meetings and events. 

• Providing innovative ideas, strategies, and inputs to the management of the SU. 

• Contributing to or leading other relevant NDC Partnership initiative or programme, beyond her/his country portfolio, if required.

• Master's degree in international relations, international development, economics, finance, engineering or a related field, 

• Bachelor degree in related discipline in combination with additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

• At least 5 years of experience in international cooperation and/or project management related matters focused on the target region is required.

• Experience with bilateral and/or multilateral donors, and/or consulting firms and/or research institutions and/or think tanks and/or other civil society actors. 

• Good knowledge of international climate policy and of national climate policy making. 

• 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. 

• Demonstrated skills in managing and aligning diverse groups of stakeholders, including development agencies, non-state actors/civil society, financial institutions, the private sector, and others. 

• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills. 

• Strong project planning and management skills. 

• High level of organization, flexibility, ability to work in a team, to work well under pressure and successfully manage multiple deadlines. 

• Good knowledge of international climate policy, international cooperation in the field of climate, environment or energy policy.

Contract type: International ICA Contract level: IICA-2/LICA-10/ICSC-10
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• 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 (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.