We are seeking a dynamic, passionate, proactive and experienced individual to serve as Country Relations Manager for the Youth Negotiators Academy (YNA). You will play a pivotal role in supporting countries to join and participate in our three programmes (Climate Youth Negotiator Programme (CYNP), Land Youth Negotiator Programme (LYNP) and Biodiversity Youth Negotiator Programme (BYNP)) and build and manage diplomatic relations with them throughout the years.
This position offers a unique opportunity to work with national focal points and/or country representatives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) fostering a network of countries that work together towards the vision of the YNA.
Responsibilities
Country Engagement:
● Build and implement a comprehensive country engagement strategy.
● Support countries in joining CYNP, LYNP and BYNP, including facilitating the onboarding and signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).
● Maintain regular communication with participating countries, updating them on the progress of their young negotiators in the programmes. Relationship Building:
● Build, manage and maintain strong relationships with representatives from participating countries, fostering trust and cooperation.
● Spearhead engagement opportunities and activities to build relationships.
Event Coordination:
● Attend relevant UN and other events to meet with countries, discuss programme updates, and strengthen diplomatic relations.
● Coordinate logistics and schedules for meetings with country representatives during events.
● Support young negotiators on the ground at UNFCCC, UNCCD and CBD with engagement with their Country Delegations and problem solve issues that arise, working to ensure the young negotiators are properly engaged with.
● Support on the development and delivery of the COP Stakeholder dinner(s).
Assessment and Support:
● Assess countries’ support of young negotiators within their delegations, providing guidance and support as needed to ensure effective participation.
● Assess young negotiators’ participation in the programme, by working with the Community Enabler to gather attendance and participation data from training and community building events, and evaluate whether they reach certain quality thresholds.
● Liaise with countries regarding issues around their young negotiators’ performance within the programme.
● Design a performance framework to assist with decisions about which young negotiators are funded to attend negotiation events, considering factors such as merit and diversity, and liaise with countries regarding this framework and resulting decisions
● Evaluate countries’ and negotiators participation at the end of the programme, and assist with decisions about which countries to approach for future iterations of the programme.
Team participation and leadership:
● Contribute to the effective delivery of the whole YNA Portfolio of activity, participating in programme and organisation meetings where relevant.