| Description |
Responsibilities
The post is located in the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The Centre serves as the policy arm of the joint Climate for Development in Africa (Climdev-Africa) Programme of the African Union Commission, (AUC), ECA and African Development Bank (AfDB). Under the guidance of the Director, Food Security and Sustainable Development Division, the incumbent provides overall strategic policy, technical and managerial direction to ACPC, and oversees the management and implementation of the Centre’s activities in a timely and effective manner. Specifically, the incumbent performs the following duties: Provides direction and guidance in the planning, development and implementation of work programmes; Leads the identification of key issues and priority areas for analytical studies, taking into account emerging issues, challenges, opportunities and risks in the area of climate change and sustainable development; Leads and supervises analytical studies, including economic, sectoral and multidimensional analysis on climate change and sustainable development matters in Africa; Recommends possible policies, strategies and actions for consideration and adoption by member States and African regional and sub-regional organizations; Plans and coordinates the Centre’s work on promoting synergies in the implementation of climate change, biodiversity and desertification-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) at the national, sub-regional and regional levels; Plans and coordinates the Centre’s work on supporting African negotiators and policy makers in related multilateral negotiating processes. Provides direction and guidance in the implementation of training, capacity-building, knowledge generation, management, networking and dissemination activities of the Centre; Manages the programmatic/administrative matters of ACPC; Serves as the Secretary, and ensures that the Centre provides adequate secretariat support to the Climdev-Africa Programme Steering Committee; Guides and coordinates implementation reviews, monitoring and evaluation of the Climdev-Africa Programme; Guides and supports the planning, organization and servicing of conferences, meetings, workshops related to the work of the Centre; Provides guidance and direction to the Centre’s work on support to member States, African regional and sub-regional organizations in building consensus and articulating commons positions and strategies on climate change and sustainable development issues; Provides guidance and direction to technical advisory services to member States, African regional and sub-regional organizations and institutions on matters related to the work of the Centre; Ensures that the work of the Centre is in line with, and supports major regional and sub-regional initiatives relevant to climate change and sustainable development; Liaises and collaborates with ECA Divisions, Sub-Regional Offices and builds effective partnerships with relevant institutions in and outside Africa and with development partners in the Centre’s work on climate change and sustainable development; and Performs other duties as assigned. |
Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM: Broad and in-depth knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts, approaches and practices relevant to policy analysis and advocacy on climate change and sustainable development issues. Demonstrated ability to effectively design and implement a complex programme of policy research, advocacy, advisory and capacity-building activities on climate change and sustainable development. Proven ability in fund-raising and in forging partnerships with UN and non-UN organizations. Knowledge and ability to apply relevant administrative and financial rules in programme/project development and implementation. Ability to effectively engage with different partners and strong diplomatic/negotiation skills. COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. PLANNING AND ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client. LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. JUDGMENT/DECISION-MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary. |
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