Nature4Cities Local Specialist

United Nations

QUITO

hace 1 día

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 (ROLAC), 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.

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is the second most urbanized region in the world, with 80% of its population living in cities.

Rapid urbanization, coupled with limited urban planning and the associated expansion of cities, is degrading urban and peri-urban ecosystems that provide vital ecosystem services for urban communities.

Ecosystem degradation poses a threat to urban communities and increases their vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change related impacts.

To address the vulnerability of urban communities, governments in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region need to develop and implement cost-effective, low-risk solutions, such as Nature-based Solutions (NbS) by protecting, maintaining and rehabilitating priority ecosystems in urban areas.

As a result, UNEP is working with the governments of, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras Cuba, Panama, Guatemala and Uruguay to execute a two-years, Readiness project Nature4Cities - Increasing resilience through Nature- based Solutions in Latin-American cities funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The aim of the project is to increase the capacity of participating countries to design and implement Nature- based urban development strategies that ensure urban resilience to climate change through five main areas of work : (1) Strengthening the knowledge base of national and local governments to assess the potential for Nature- based Adaptation and Mitigation Solutions in urban areas in the context of broader climate change strategies;

2) Reinforcing enabling policies and institutional frameworks to increase adoption of NbS in urban planning; (3) Strengthening partnerships between key actors to accelerate the adoption of NbS solutions;

4) Defining climate finance strategies through innovative public, private and blended financial mechanisms and facilitating access to climate finance for the sustained implementation of NbS;

5) Accelerating upscaling and replication through a regional Urban NBS platform.

The will be responsible to support the activities in Ecuador. The specialist will be supervised by the Adaptation to Climate Change Programme Officer and will work in close collaboration with Nature4Cities National Coordinator and the Ecuador’s National Designated Authority (NDA).

He / She will be based in the selected city of Santo Domingo, Ecuador, and will be present in the institutional offices of the Municipality 20 hours per week, from Monday to Friday on a partial-time basis from 9am to 1pm, according to the Project schedule.

The Local Specialist will also be required to move for workshops or technical visits as required by the project’s implementation.

Qualifications / special skills

Academic Qualifications :

Bachelor’s Degree in environment, architecture, urban development, environmental economy, or closely related field is required.

Master’s degree is desirable, in law, political sciences, economics, urbanism, sustainable development, environmental development, environmental economy or a closely related field.

Experience :

A minimum of 3 years relevant work experience, including at least 1 year experience in development projects or international cooperation projects in Ecuador is required.

Experience in areas of work related to climate change adaptation and mitigation policy development is desirable.

Experience participating in the processes of development and implementation of public policies is desirable.

Experience in the public participative development process associated with environment and sustainable development is an asset.

Participation in initiatives related to climate finance with focus on the public and private sector is desirable

Proven experience in working and collaborating within governments is required.

Experience in research or work on urban law, urban financing, climate change, urban and environmental conflicts or closely related field is an asset.

Language :

Fluent in Spanish is required

Confident level of English is desirable.

Skills :

Demonstrated solid knowledge of ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change, ecological restoration and sustainable exploitation of natural resources.

Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily and to turn information from various sources into a coherent project document.

Ability to design and develop technical documents.

Excellent organization and planning skills.

Excellent communication skills (written and oral presentations).

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.

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