Careers

The Regional Collaboration Centre for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia based in Dubai (RCC MENA and SA) was established in February 2019 with the signing of an MoU between UN Climate Change and the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), with the support of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.

RCC MENA and SA is dedicated to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. It helps channel local, regional and global resources into climate action, to facilitate implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), roadmaps for implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and other relevant policies and strategies of countries in the region.

Under the guidance of the RCC MENA and SA Regional Lead and substantive focal points from the relevant divisions of the UNFCCC Secretariat, the Senior Climate Action Specialist and Coordinator will support RCC MENA and SA team’s operations and procedures to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency, support in the building of partnerships, while providing technical support and conduct information gathering activities across the entire portfolio of the RCC MENA and SA’s annual workplan.

The overall objective of the position is to support the RCC MENA and SA Regional Lead in the implementation of the 2022-2023 RCC MENA and SA Annual Workplan while working with substantive teams and partners.

Location and Duration

The assignment is for a period of one year with possibility of extension thereafter, starting as soon as possible. The Specialist is expected to be in Dubai, UAE, at the start of the contract. Travel in the region and beyond will be required as deemed necessary to deliver the outputs.

Supervision

The Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the RCC MENA and South Asia Regional Lead including for performance and administrative issues. The Specialist will be contracted by the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), the RCC MENA and South Asia host organization. The Specialist will therefore be under WGEO’s employment terms and hence is not an employee of the UN Climate Change secretariat. The Specialist will receive the required ICT, office, and administrative support from the respective RCC.

Outputs

The responsibilities include operational, management and technical support tasks. In particular, the Senior Climate Action Specialist and Coordinator will be asked to provide operational support to the RCC MENA and SA projects as approved by the Steering Committee by:

• Advising, consulting with regional stakeholders, conceptualizing and implementing in the capacity of a project manager for assigned projects to be delivered in time, and with high quality while ensuring the alignment of work plan of RCC MENA and SA with WGEO annual work plan, capitalizing on its platforms;
• Overseeing the administrative services including financial and logistical arrangements, office supplies, IT equipment and communication devices including following-up on administrative and financial procedures related to the operations of the RCC, with WGEO;
• Reporting to the Team Lead on a regular basis to overall progress achieved on projects and escalation of any issues including continuously maintaining data in RCC Information Management System;
• Providing technical backstopping to each project to ensure that activities are undertaken in timely and effective manner including support to regional experts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement;
• Leading on generating monitoring and evaluation reports and communication to relevant bodies;
• Responsible to identify and reaching out to regional key stakeholders to establish partnerships and terms of collaboration and information sharing best practices;
• Representing the RCC at local, regional, and global fora;
• Supporting the work of WGEO related to climate action including producing technical papers, concept notes, project documents and organization of events;
• Organizing assigned events and workshops at the local and regional levels in alignment with workplan of RCC MENA and SA;
• Leading on research at the regional level to support the work of RCC MENA and SA, including technical data collection and analysis.

The incumbent is also expected to lead on providing technical support on the implementation of the RCC MENA and SA workplan by:

• Lead on conducting research, analysis and presentation to support the implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions on the ground, the maintenance of a knowledge hub on the status of NDCs, LTLEDS and sectoral policies in the region, the development of CDM, Article 6 and carbon pricing related tools, the status of NAPs, Adaptation Communications (ACs), and transparency reports, the potentialities and needs of climate finance in the region, and on other substantive aspects of the RCC MENA and SA work programme;
• Lead on the development of agendas, concept notes and sessions to be delivered by the RCC teams to cover various thematic areas such as climate finance, adaptation, methodologies for climate action and youth engagement on climate action, and to be delivered in different events including the MENA Climate Weeks;
• Supervise on relevant teams under each project in the development, refinement and delivery of capacity development approaches and tools; Support the provision of substantive information and support to the RCC MENA and SA team.

Educational background

First level university degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in economics, environmental economics, environmental science, engineering, business administration, international affairs, social science, or a related discipline. Formal training in programme and project management is an asset.

Experience

• At least five (5) years of relevant experience in portfolio / project management, resource mobilization, strategic partnership, delivery of technical support, and/or capacity-building. General experience in Climate Change and Environmental issues is a strong asset.
• Supervisor experience is required.
• Understanding of the UNFCCC intergovernmental process is a strong asset.
• Experience working at an international organization is an asset.
• Experience in research, info management system and database management is desirable.

Job-related requirements and skills

• Monitoring and evaluation of progress on the basis of pre-determined objectives, baselines and milestones and report to team lead accordingly.
• Analytical skills, excellent written and oral communication, strategic planning skills, innovative, thinking on professional, organizational and workflow issues including to interpret, adapt and propose options for changes to existing guidelines; and the ability to coordinate and engage several types of stakeholders.
• Capacity to undertake at local and regional travel.

Language and Functional Skills

Fluency in English, both oral and written. Arabic is an asset.

The UN Climate Change Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs)

The UN Climate Change Regional Collaboration Centers (RCCs) support national climate action through capacity-building, technical assistance, and strategic networking – sourcing know-how and resources to help developing countries cope with climate change. The Regional Collaboration Centres provide facilitative support to Parties and Non-Party stakeholders in the regions towards the fulfillment of the mandates under the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Paris Agreement.  Since the adoption of the Paris Climate Change Agreement in December 2015, this also includes facilitative support towards the preparation and implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term low GHG emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).

The UN Climate Change Secretariat partners with organizations to operate six RCCs globally:

• Asia and the Pacific: RCC Bangkok (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies [IGES])
• Middle East, North Africa and South Asia: RCC MENA and South Asia (World Green Economy Organization [WGEO])
• Eastern and Southern Africa: RCC Kampala (East African Development Bank [EADB])
• Western and Francophone Africa: RCC Lomé (Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement [BOAD])
• Caribbean: RCC St. George’s (Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation [WINDREF])
• Latin America: RCC Panama (UN Environment Programme [UNEP])