Junior Technical Analyst - Watershed Management

Result of Service

The consultant will be part of the Climate Change Unit of the UNEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. The main objective of the position is to provide technical collaboration and ensure operational effectiveness during the planning and implementation of the project “Fostering climate change adaptation in Panama through ecosystem approach for water security at the water basin level”, which is part of the adaptation portfolio of the Climate Change Unit of UNEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Junior Technical Analyst - Watershed Management’s main duties and responsibilities will include:


1. Collaborate with the adaptation team in the coordination and monitoring of the project, including:

• Prepare the reporting obligations of the project to the donor, including consistency with project's delivery, budget monitoring and identification of challenges and lessons learnt.

• Contribute to the consolidation of the Project Management Unit (PMU) where relevant, including the preparation of terms of reference and participation in the recruitment processes.

• Monitor progress of project activities and results and identify corrective measures to overcome challenges for project implementation.

• Organize the intermediate and final evaluations of the project.

• Guide and handle the preparation of requests to the donor, such as requests for disbursements, budget reallocations, extensions of time, etc.

• Coordinate the organization of Project Steering Committee meetings and other relevant meetings, workshops, trainings, consultations, and communications efforts (as necessary).

• When necessary, support the Project Financial and Administrative Officer in preparing purchase orders, travel plans and other administrative tasks.

• Develop legal agreements aimed to facilitate the project implementation (Project Cooperation Agreements-PCAs, Small-Scale Funding Agreements-SSFA, etc.), maintain an effective communication with partners and monitor the implementation of existing legal agreements.


2. Collaborate with the adaptation team in the technical implementation of the project:

• Provide technical inputs and feedback to the deliverables from project team members, consultancy firms, local partners, etc.

• Provide technical guidance to the national Project Coordinator in the timely preparation and submission of project work plans, budgets, procurement plans, progress reports, etc.

• Develop technical meeting materials such as presentations, briefing notes, and summary reports for project meetings, workshops, etc.

• Act as a liaison and promote dialogue between regional, national, and local stakeholders, ensuring key actors in the water resource management are involved.

• Promote participation in global networks and initiatives.

• Promote knowledge management activities and learning exchanges.

• Collaborate with the website designer to develop the online materials.

Work Location

UNEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean at Panama City, Panama.

Expected duration

12 MONTHS

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.
The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, works closely with the 33 countries of the region - including 16 small island developing States - with a population of about 588 million people. The office works to serve the needs of the region and its activities are integrated into the work programs approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly of UNEP (UNEA).
UNEP seeks to support countries in Latin America to implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new Paris Agreement and the priority actions defined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Latin American countries.

To support the adaptation planning in the water sector in Panama, it is pivotal to have access to quality climate and hydrological data, technical capacities to analyze and use such data to inform planning processes and demonstrate cost-effective adaptation solutions as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Measures. As a result, UNEP is working with the government of Panama to execute a two-years project “Fostering climate change adaptation in Panama through ecosystem approach for water security at the water basin level” funded by the European Union via the Program EUROCLIMA+.

EUROCLIMA is the EU flagship cooperation programme on environmental sustainability and climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean (LACO). It aims at contributing to the LAC region’s Green Transition, through climate mitigation and adaptation efforts and through the protection and conservation of biological diversity. This objective will be achieved through two main outputs, which are: 1) strengthened enabling environment for a green transition (integrated policies, legal frameworks, sectoral plans and financial instruments) and; 2) transformative approaches in key areas for the green transition are developed, demonstrated and scaled up through the mobilization and leveraging of public and private finance. EUROCLIMA is funded by the European Commission (EC), along with the German, French and Spanish governments, and is implemented by agencies of the European Union (EU) Member States (AECID, AFD, Expertise France, FIIAPP, GIZ) and the UN (UN Environment, ECLAC, and UNDP).

The aim of the project is to transform the planning processes for adaptation to climate change in the water sector in Panama through enhancing climate information for 10 watersheds, strengthening institutional capacities and demonstrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) solutions in three watershed. The project is organized in four main areas of work: (1) Improve and tailor climate data and information for effective adaptation planning and action in the water sector; (2) Enhance institutional capacity for climate-informed adaptation planning in the water sector; (3) Pilot Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) interventions to build resilience of communities and ecosystems in selected watershed; (4) Enhance knowledge management and learning to inform policy making and upscaling of best practices.

The Junior Technical Analyst - Watershed Management will provide technical support for the project “Fostering climate change adaptation in Panama through ecosystem approach for water security at the water basin level”. The consultant will be supervised by the Adaptation to Climate Change Programme Officer and will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment in Panama. This consultancy position is located in the UNEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Panama City duty station. The consultant will work from Monday to Friday – a minimum of 40 hours per week, full time.

Qualifications/special skills

ACADEMIC:

- Bachelor’s degree in geography, environment, natural resources management, or a closely related field is required.

- Master’s Degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Management, Water Resources Management, Development Studies, or a related field is desirable.

- Specialization in water resource management is desirable.


PROFESSIONAL:

- Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in supporting project management and implementation in topics relevant to water resource management, integrated watershed management, natural resource management or closely related field is required.

- Minimum of 1 year of relevant experience in climate change adaptation and/or disaster risk reduction projects is desirable.

- Demonstrated professional experience in preparing project implementation plans, budgets, procurement plans and progress reports; developing terms of reference, conducting procurement processes and coordinating/supervising teams and consulting firms is desirable.

- Requested previous work experience in Latin America and the Caribbean region is desirable.

- Experience in project management tools, including M&E, theory of changes frameworks, socioeconomic indicators is desirable.

- Proven ability to collect, verify and analyse information, and to finish and present work with a high degree of accuracy and technical quality, in relatively short time is desirable.

- Proven experience in generating and using GIS is desirable.

- Experience in working and collaborating within governments and international organizations is desirable.

- Experience in meetings organization, higher education, capacity building and/or planning trainings is desirable.


LANGUAGE:

- Fluency in Spanish is required.

- Fluency in English is required.


SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

- Sound knowledge of climate change adaptation strategies and ecosystem-based adaptation is required.

- Knowledge on integrated water resource management practices is desired.

- Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, in order to communicate complex, technical information to both technical and general audiences, including strong policy advice skills is desired.

- Proven track record of drafting relevant materials in the biodiversity/sustainable land management/ecosystem-based adaptation areas (publications, project proposals, reports and related documentation), with verifiable experience in project development and proposals is desired.

- Ability to work independently and as a team.

- Motivated and dynamic to jump-start activities.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.