Carbon Market Programme Officer , Multiple positions

The UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC) was established in early 2022. UNEP-CCC is programmatically guided by UN Environment (UNEP) and operationally supported by UNOPS. UNEP-CCC was established to ensure preservation and continuation of the experience and capacity established through a 30-year working relationship between UNEP, the Danish Technical University (DTU), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), known as the UNEP DTU Partnership (UDP). 

UNEP-CCC is a leading international advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development. Its work focuses on assisting developing countries and emerging economies transition towards more low-carbon development paths and supports integration of climate-resilience in national development. UNEP-CCC is actively engaged in implementing UN Environment’s Climate Change Strategy and Energy Programme by delivering technical assistance and analytical work to emerging markets and developing countries in context of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

The Institutional Development Section (ID) is one of five sections at UNEP-CCC. The ID section provides the institutional development expertise required to engage on policy, planning, transparency, and market development and for climate policy integration into regular development processes.

The ID section is involved in several projects that support the center strategy in the areas of policy, transparency, and implementation. The ID seeks to recruit carbon market programme officers in climate governance and carbon markets to work on project management, technical analysis, and administrative support.  The successful candidate will be part of the team supporting capacity building projects to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement including Supporting Preparedness for Article 6 Cooperation (SPAR6C), Integrated Assessment for Article Six (IAAS), Transformational Change Tools for transparency and carbon markets, Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI) for Article 6, the Article 6 and Voluntary Carbon Market Database and Pipeline Analysis, and Implementation of NDC Action. The candidate will strengthen the visibility of UNEP-CCC’s work on implementation of Article 6 carbon market approaches in international fora and contribute to analytical work and publications.

The ID section also supports countries to translate their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into concrete sector strategies and actions ready for financing and implementation, and to increase the ambition of their NDCs. The section engages key decision-makers and stakeholders: national and sub-national government entities, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society, etc.

Under the supervision of the Head of section and the project manager, enhance and support the implementation of carbon market- related projects and the candidate is expected to work  under minimal supervision on a varied portfolio of activities, including project management support, collaboration with partners, quantitative and qualitative analysis, presentation of analytical results using digital tools and web-based platforms as well as collaboration with relevant colleagues across the UNEP-CCC sections.

Specific areas of work for the Carbon Market Programme Officer include:

• Work on the analysis and capacity building support for the implementation of Article 6 cooperative approaches in emerging markets and developing countries.

• Support the work of the ID section, including the development and management of institutional frameworks and databases for carbon market implementation, integrated assessment of mitigation policies and actions with long-term mitigation strategies for net zero emissions to achieve the global goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

• Enhance and support to implement the GHG and SDG impact assessment of mitigation activities for trading in ITMOs using digital tools and approaches for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV).

As part of the above work also be responsible for project management and coordination support, allocation of budget resources within the assigned projects and for regularly monitoring and assessing performance against KPIs and project milestones. In addition, it is expected that the Carbon Market Programme Officers contributes to the visibility and communication of UNEP-CCC’s activities and outcomes publicly. They will contribute to analytical work, resulting in both peer-reviewed publications and reports, perspectives, and policy briefings.

The process will be based on performance evaluation including the following:

• Successful completion of project management tasks that will be assigned to the staff, including timely submission of corresponding deliverables

• Successful and timely maintenance of the project website and online knowledge-sharing platform

• Level of contribution to the strategic discussions and common tasks as part of the ID section

a. Education 

The candidates should possess at least a master’s degree or equivalent work experience in Natural or Computer Science / Engineering / Business / Policy / Economics / Social Science with a thesis and/or work experience related to carbon markets. A first level university degree (bachelor or equivalent) with two (2) additional years of professional experience will be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree.

b. Experience

Required

• At least two years experience working in the field of carbon market or related areas

• Knowledge of working in areas such as climate change mitigation

• Programming skills (e.g., excel, python, R, etc.)

• Data analysis skills (e.g. Excel, Tableau, digital tools)

• Project management and coordination skills

• Sustainable development and/or transformational impact assessment methodologies 

• Institutional analysis 

Desired

• Experience working in an international agency or organization.

• Knowledge of international climate governance, related to the Paris Agreement Articles 6 and 13 is an advantage.           

• Knowledge of working with emerging markets and developing countries 

c. Languages

The working language at UNEP-CCC is English. Therefore, fluency in English is required, with an emphasis on both speaking and writing skills. Fluency in one or more other languages, in particular French and Spanish are an asset.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement  Contract level: IICA 1 / ICS 9
Contract duration: One year (12 months) initially, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• 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. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority 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.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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. For more information on a retainer contract 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.

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

 ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.
• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

ECR operates global portfolios from offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York, and country-specific programmes from its operations and project centres located in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries.