Environmental Affairs Officer, L-3 (UNECE)

Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent will in particular: (a) Plan and overview the whole preparation of the second assessment, including coordination and supervision of the implementation of decisions taken, contacts with the lead country, the members of the steering group and other partners; (b) Organize, in cooperation with national and international partners, sub-regional workshops for gathering and validation of information on transboundary waters including both substantial and logistic arrangements; (c) Prepare background documentation and draw up draft assessments of transboundary river basins, aquifers and sub-regional summaries, for consideration by the Convention’s Meeting of the Parties, Working Groups and sub-regional workshops, by liaising with national experts and representatives of joint bodies; (d) Plan and supervise the publication of the second assessment, including its editing, formatting and layout, the production of maps and other graphics, and its printing and translation; (e) Identify and coordinate interaction between activities related to the assessment preparations with programmes of the ECE secretariat, UN organizations, UN Water, other relevant international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and private sector organizations; exchange information with these organizations; (f) Update the Convention’s website, draft publications, press releases, public relations bulletins and other media work to increase awareness and publicize the second assessment; (g) In collaboration with the supervisors, prepare budget proposals and resources requirement, arrange for appropriate use of funds, actively participate in fund raising activities, report on the use of the funds; (h) Assist the rest of the Convention’s secretariat in tasks related to the implementation of the programme of work of the Convention; (h) Represent the ECE secretariat at international meetings and be willing to travel as required in the UNECE region.

Qualification

• INTEGRITY: Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
• RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY: Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• PROFESSIONALISM: Substantive knowledge of regional priorities, challenges and opportunities in the field of environment, water and cooperation; Country and/or regional experience in working with relevant stakeholders in the field of environment and water; Experience in international organizations or with multi-lateral environmental agreements would be an advantage; Experience in countries with economies in transition would be an asset.
• TEAMWORK: Ability to work with other members of a team to achieve common goals; Ability to develop consensus among people with varying points of view; Ability to provide advice and guidance to others; Ability to build strong relationships with partners, focus on impact and result for the clients and respond positively to feedback.
• PLANNING AND ORGANIZING: Ability to plan and organize work, implement, monitor and evaluate programmes and projects; Ability to formulate and manage budgets, mobilize resources, and manage contributions and expenditures.
• COMMUNICATION: Effective written, oral and presentational skills; Ability to present information in a concise and accurate manner; Ability to keep people informed and share information with a network of people; Ability to promote and generate support for the goals of the organization.
  

EDUCATION
Advanced University degree in natural sciences, economics, law, social sciences, engineering or related field, with experience related to water management, or environmental management.

WORK EXPERIENCE
At least 5 years of professional experience in the water or environment fields, in Government service, research institutions or in international organizations.

LANGUAGES
Fluent in English with proven drafting ability. Working knowledge of Russian is required.

Application Deadline

29 May 2009

Address applications to:
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Environment, Housing and Land Management Division
Secretariat of the UNECE Water Convention
Tel: +41-22-917 2463
Fax: +41-22-917 0621
Email: water.convention@unece.org