Duty station: UNIDO Headquarters, Vienna, Austria
Approximate duration: 12 months (with the possibility of extension)
Post Level: ISA-Junior Specialist
Type of Appointment: Individual Service Agreement
PROJECT CONTEXT
Under the overall supervision of the Division Chief (DC), the Project Administrator (PA) assists the UNIDO Project Manager (PM) and his team in the implementation of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) program and a portfolio of related projects, activities and events. Specifically, the PA engages in the following three work streams:
Work stream 1: Execution support for the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC)
Since 2010, UNIDO supports economic communities (e.g. ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, CARICOM, SPC, SICA, ECO, ECCAS) in the creation and operation of regional sustainable energy centres. UNIDO builds consensus between countries and provides support for institution-building and technical program development. UNIDO is a applying a modular twinning approach (peer to peer learning), which delegates - depending on progress - more and more responsibilities to the management of the centres. The expanding network has approval by more than one hundred Ministers of Energy and comprises eight operating centres in Africa, the Arab region, the Caribbean and Central America, the Pacific and Himalaya-Hindukush. The centres are part of the regional economic integration efforts and work towards the creation of common markets for renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE&EE) products and services. Through regional approaches, tools and methodologies the centres contribute to the reduction of demand-side (consumer) and supply-side (product and service providers) barriers and promote economies of scale and equal progress among countries. Usually, the centres intervene in several of the following areas: a.) policy, regulation and standards, b.) qualification and certification, c.) awareness and knowledge management, d.) investment and business promotion, e.) innovation and applied research.
Recently, UNIDO has created the GN-SEC platform, which provides a “maker-space” for joint learning and south-south cooperation between the centres. The PA contributes to the implementation of the GN-SEC platform activities and provides technical support to the centres of ECOWAS (ECREEE), SADC (SACREEE), ECCAS (ESEC), SPC (PCREEE), ECO (CECECO) and ICIMOD (REEECH) on a daily basis. The work stream requires continuous coordination and mentoring, co-organisation of meetings and workshops, joint development of technical documents, work plans and progress reports, as well as partnership building and fund mobilisation.
Work stream 2: Development and implementation of innovative GN-SEC programs and projects
Based on the demands of key industries in Member States and ISID priorities, ESI is spearheading several programmatic energy approaches and manages a portfolio of projects and initiatives. Within the GN-SEC “maker-space”, the PA supports the PM in the development and implementation of regional and/or regionally integrated national projects in the Asia-Pacific region and Sub Sahara Africa. The projects will focus on innovative low-carbon energy solutions and business models (incl. industrial EE, digital and frontier technologies) with high relevance for urban and rural industries. The projects will be developed and implemented in partnership with the GN-SEC centres and in close coordination with other UNIDO programs and initiatives (e.g. EE accelerator, PFAN, GCIP). This requires extensive work on project documents, results frameworks, budgets and progress reports in line with the requirements of bilateral donors, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It entails also joint preparation of technical documents (e.g. reports, tenders) and execution agreements/contracts, as well as continued monitoring of project progress. Initially, the PA will support the implementation of the ongoing projects in Fiji, Bhutan and West Africa.
Work stream 3: Flexible support for ESI Division tasks
The PA will support the Division Chief from time to time in assignments related to ESI as agreed with the PM (e.g. Vienna Energy Forum, coordination of meetings).
The PA will become part of a multicultural team in UNIDO HQs and will coordinate closely with affiliated consultants, experts and counterparts in developing countries.
The diverse geographic and thematic project portfolio requires openness, flexibility and a sound combination of technical, project cycle management and communication skills in English and French.
The extension of the PA assignment will depend to a significant extend on the successful development and submission of new GN-SEC projects.
Main Functions
Under the supervision of the Project Manager, and working with the project team, the Project Administrator administers elements of the technical cooperation programme or specific project/s of limited complexity and contributes to the implementation of technical activities. The main duties are:
- Selecting, organizing and summarizing background information to describe the overall context and background relevant to a project or a sector of technical cooperation activities in a country, assessing the local context for the planning and administration of individual technical cooperation projects;
- Analysing and interpreting project background history and documentation, identifying, reconstructing and documenting significant project events, decisions and deviations;
- Drafting sections of project documents such as project background and justification;
- Informing experts, consultants and other project participants about logistical arrangements and internal procedures for monitoring and reporting in terms of the immediate objectives of specific projects;
- Monitoring specific aspects of project implementation and identifying problems and proposing that actions be taken to expedite delivery of inputs;
- Drafting comments on designated aspects of project progress as an input to programme monitoring;
- Drafting project revisions, including adjusting individual project budgets, on the basis of changed work plans.
Minimum Requirements
Education
Advanced university degree in engineering, sciences, economics, business administration international relations or other relevant discipline with specialization in energy or environmental technologies.
Languages
Fluency in written and spoken English.
Working knowledge in written and spoken French is required.
Field of Expertise
At least three years of professional experience in the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Exposure to the needs, conditions and problems in developing countries, including LDCs in Sub Sahara Africa.
Ability to research and analyze information.
Ability to write in a clear and concise manner. Ability to work effectively in multi-cultural teams.
Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply at: https://www.gn-sec.net/job/unido-vacancy-announcement-gn-sec-project-adm...
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