Action Area Coordinator

Nepal

Organization: ICIMOD - International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Location: Nepal
Grade: Mid level - Mid level
Occupational Groups:
- Human Settlements (Shelter, Housing, Land, Property)
- Managerial positions
Closing Date: Closed

Position Overview:

We are looking for someone with strong managerial and organisational skills to head one of ICIMOD’s six Action Areas (AAs) focused on ‘Strengthening Global Leadership in Sustainable Mountain Development’ across the HKH. In this position, you will manage the AA and are responsible for the delivery of AA-specific results, which ICIMOD has committed to in its . The position sits within Strategic Group (SG) 3: Enabling Regional and Global Mechanisms for Sustainable Action and reports to the Strategic Group Lead (SGL).

The ideal candidate should have experience in strengthening global leadership in sustainable mountain development. They must have the ability to plan and coordinate multiple concurrent workstreams, including budgets and people, while focusing on delivering outcomes and impacts. The Action Area Coordinator must be comfortable managing multidisciplinary and cross-cultural teams; be open and flexible to innovation and change; and uphold the highest levels of ethics, quality, and standards. The position requires excellent interpersonal, communication, and engagement skills.

Action Area F: Strengthening Global Leadership in Sustainable Mountain Development

Global economies and industries must decarbonise at unprecedented speed and scale to limit the impacts of global temperature rise on the HKH. With vulnerable frontline communities already facing major impacts, urgent adaptation needs, as pertaining to the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, must be understood and addressed in the international fora and negotiations, and adaptation and loss and damage finance mobilised, especially given that the HKH has received less global climate finance than other regions. ICIMOD’s global advocacy pushes for greater recognition of the urgency and enormity of climate and environmental impacts in the HKH in order to increase policy responses and funding flows to meet its complex challenges.

This AA is configured around two inter-related interventions and the AA Coordinator’s role is to ensure that these interventions

Global outreach:
• Influence key negotiations and processes and support negotiators from regional governments and relevant negotiating groups in global processes to accelerate action
• Build the profile of and advocate for the needs of the Hindu Kush Himalaya within global climate, environment and disaster-related policy forums, agreements and scientific assessment processes

Investments:
• Influence the quantity and direction of finance available to meet the region’s rising climate, environmental and development needs
• Build networks, partnerships and knowledge to increase the supply of and demand for scalable investments

Background

About ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is the leading institute for the study of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). An intergovernmental knowledge and development organisation with a focus on climate and environmental risks, green economies, and sustainable collective action, we have worked in our eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – since our foundation.

Entering our 40th year, ICIMOD is perfectly positioned to support the transformative action required for the HKH to face the challenges of the escalating effects of climate change, pollution, water insecurity, increased disaster risk, biodiversity loss, and widespread socioeconomic changes. We seek to raise our ambition to support the required transformative action to step up our engagement through to 2030.

Responsibilities and task

The Action Area Coordinator will be responsible for delivering results in line with the commitments we have made in our and our .

You will ensure that the work of the AA results in meeting AA-specific outcomes and targets, working closely with the SGL to make this happen. You will hold oversight for all the AA work and manage a multidisciplinary team. You will operate under the direct supervision of the SGL.

More specifically, you will have the following responsibilities:

1. Coordination and prioritisation

• Provide insight, advice and support on how to best deliver the interventions to ensure that ICIMOD is effectively supporting global policy processes, its Regional Member Countries, as well as leveraging new funding.
• Work closely with other technical staff in other Action Areas and Strategic Groups ICIMOD to bring science and insights into global processes, this will entail close coordination with other Action Area Coordinators to harvest their wealth of insights and channel these in an appropriate manner to international processes.
• Make positive contributions to ICIMOD’s High-Level Outcomes and Long-Term Impact Areas, Strategy 2030, and MTAP V commitments, with a leadership style that aims to motivate and inspire the AA teams and staff to deliver high-quality results
• Ensure that (1) AA resources (staff and funding) are planned and deployed to deliver these commitments; (2) opportunities for innovation and scaling, policy engagement, regional cooperation, and capability strengthening are maximised; and (3) cross-cutting issues (climate, biodiversity, and GESI) are fully integrated
• Liaise closely with the SGL in planning and integrating support services (i.e. monitoring and reporting, communications, finance, administration and partnerships, gender and social inclusion)
• Provide strategic, advisory, and technical contributions, including methods, frameworks, and new insights, and be up to date on the latest trends, operating context, and new partners.
• Ensure teams are delivering results with and through national, regional, and international partners, and maximise opportunities for gender and social inclusion (GESI), youth, and digital technology

2. Planning, delivery, and reporting

• Oversee annual AA planning in close consultation with the team and other AAs, providing a clear steer on priorities in line with MTAP V results commitments and available human resources and budget
• Support teams to design activities in the field of global advocacy and finance that collectively deliver results, in line with Strategic Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning principles and guidance, and ensure that clear work plans are in place
• Maintain regular oversight of progress, including facilitating learning and prioritisation exercises, in line with the new Amplify/Continue/Hold/Restructure or Stop – ACHoRS approach
• Ensure best practice project management and financial administration principles are
• applied, approve budgets and expenditures in line with ICIMOD policies and guidelines, and track financial performance and monitor risks
• Oversee the delivery of timely quality reports: institutional level and project specific
• Act as a Project Lead or Senior Responsible Officer for an intervention, as necessary
• Consolidate and review AA results together with the SG and other works of ICIMOD to demonstrate how they are making contributions to ICIMODs High-Level Outcomes and Long-Term Impact Areas
• Coordinate and work closely with the SGL and other SGLs/AACs to ensure there is integration and complementarity where required, and to avoid duplication of effort
• Keep track of relevant critical changes in the operating environment and Regional Member Country priorities or activities of other actors

3. People management

• Build and nurture a team working environment, guiding teams to best enable collective working that is efficient (delivers at pace) and effective (delivers outcomes and impacts)
• Ensure expertise and capabilities are in place to meet current and future needs for delivering the results
• Supervise and manage all staff housed within the AA, determining best structural working arrangements, and managing staff performance, with a strong focus on delivering against
• SMART objectives and identifying learning and career development opportunities
• Support staff to deliver effectively against their specific work responsibilities, with special attention to junior staff, and foster an encouraging, positive, flexible, and professional working environment

4. Communication, engagement, and outreach

• Work closely with the Senior Communications Officers and Communications Officers within SG3 in designing effective communication strategies and activities to support the work of the Action Area. This will also involve interaction with the ICIMOD Head of Communications.
• Ensure that communications, engagement, and outreach activities are fully integrated into the delivery of results (outcomes), including the targeted promotion of findings, engagement with policy and decision makers, partners, and different forms of media, in close liaison with the SG Communications Officer and other communications staff
• Ensure that AA teams have maximum opportunity to promote their work in the HKH and beyond
• Play a representational role for the AA (e.g. media, technical meetings, policy engagement)
• Oversee quality control processes for interventions, processes, and products, working with the new internal Quality Assurance (and POUT+) function

5. Business development and resource mobilisation

• Support concept note and proposal development and identify, in consultation with the SGL, the right team members for project idea development
• Identify co-funding opportunities involving regional partners and/or member countries and communicate emerging opportunities to the SGL and Business Development and Research Mobilisation (BDRM) Unit
• Share information on funder intelligence with the BDRM Unit and the SGL
• Develop and maintain a constructive dialogue with funder organisations in their respective AA as required by the Directorate, SGL, and Head of BDRM

Skill and Competencies

Person Specification/Competencies

• A postgraduate academic degree (MSc or PhD) in a relevant field, such as international policy, law and/or relations, climate, environment and sustainable development, or other relevant subjects
• Ten years of relevant work experience, of which at least five years should be in a leadership or policy influencing position, preferably in the HKH region.
• Strong understanding of the global policy context – especially with regard to the Multilateral Environment Agreements and other important regional and international processes
• Strong management and coordination skills, with a proven track record of managing relevant large-scale programmes, including management of budgets.
• Good people manager with experience working in multicultural environments.
• Good networker and a good problem solver and solution seeker
• Committed to advancing Gender and Social Inclusion issues

PREFERRED

• Strong understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the HKH and other mountainous regions
• Experience in integrating GESI into programming and/or applying inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinary approaches
• Experience with communicating to a diverse audience (e.g. media, conferences, funders)

Reporting and supervising

The Action Area Coordinator (AAC) will report to the SGL for ‘Enabling Regional and Global Mechanisms for Sustainable Action’. The AAC is responsible for supervising all assigned staff in the Action Area.

Location

You will be working in a cross-cultural, impact-oriented environment at ICIMOD’s head office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Frequent travel in the HKH region will be required. Kathmandu is a lively and exciting place to live. People are friendly, living costs are comparatively inexpensive, food is delicious (with a range of local and international cuisines), and there are good local and international schools and a low crime rate. Nepal offers amazing trekking trails, white water rafting, and safaris, combined with a rich culture and charming yet lively nightlife.

Remuneration

This is an international position at ICIMOD. The starting annual gross salary for this position is USD 65,851 only, plus benefits [negotiable based on experience and qualifications]. Salaries and benefits at ICIMOD are competitive compared with other international organisations. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, which includes a provident fund, health insurance, severance pay, children’s education grant, child allowance and paid leave (30 holidays and 10 public holidays per year).

For expatriates, there is a tax exemption in Nepal; they are responsible for their home country’s tax payments. Expatriate staff are entitled to housing allowance, annual home leave ticket, shipment of personal effects, and an installation and removal allowance.

Gender and Equity Policy

ICIMOD’s core values

Our core values are integrity, neutrality, relevance, inclusiveness, openness, and ambition. These values are an expression of our culture and are central to the guiding beliefs and principles of our work and behaviour. Our core values will lie at the heart of ICIMOD operations and delivery. They will underpin everything we do and frame how we work with our partners. They reflect our founding intentions and the balances we seek to hold, while equipping ourselves for the future.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and safeguarding

ICIMOD’s human resource selection process is based on the qualifications and competence of the applicants. As an employer, ICIMOD is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and offers equal opportunities to applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life, including but not limited to gender, age, national origin, religion, race, caste, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or social status. ICIMOD strongly encourages applications from all eligible applicants, especially women, from all parts of the HKH region.

ICIMOD is dedicated to establishing and upholding a safe and nurturing work environment, where all its employees can participate fully and meaningfully without fear of violence, harassment, exploitation, or intimidation. Any type