The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
UNEP’s Regional Office for Africa plays a vital role in the implementation of UNEP global programmes in the African region by initiating, coordinating, and catalysing regional and sub-regional cooperation and action in response to environmental challenges and emerging issues.
This position is located in the UNEP’s Regional Office for Africa (ROA) at the Nairobi duty station, The Office empowers governments, partners, and other stakeholders to foster the delivery of the environmental agenda in the Africa region in the context of the global community’s 2030 Agenda, Paris Climate Action, and Africa’s Agenda 2063. This is presently accomplished through UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy (2022-2025) and biennial programme of work, as well as New Delivery Model Policy.
Under direct supervision of the Regional Coordinator for ROA, the incumbent will be mainly responsible to contribute to the strengthening of UNEP’s regional scientific capacity, capability and science-policy interfaces – including through the generation, synthesis, and application of robust, interdisciplinary science and evidence to drive effective action for environmental protection.
The incumbent will carry out the following functions:
• Support UNEP’s coherent integration of science-based environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Africa’s regional and national policy planning and prioritisation process, including through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks and Country Analyses;
• Provide technical support and other offers to the UN Country Teams (UNCT), including in production and/or updating of country environmental performance reports, known as National Environment Summary reports, to enhance the efficacy of UNEP UNCT Focal Points’ engagements in substantive environmental matters in the UN Resident Coordinator system; Participate in uplifting science and strengthening UNEP’s science offer to Member States, including through substantive contributions to regional environmental assessments and other targeted science-policy engagements, and harnessing the Shared Environmental Information System and its applicable principles
• Contribute to a strengthened delivery of UNEP regional science-policy sub-programme mandate in the Africa region as per the corporate Medium-Term Strategy, Delivery Model Policy, and science-policy related initiatives, programmes, projects and other interventions;
• Enhance the capacity of Member States, partners and stakeholders to develop and apply environmental information for science-based planning and decision-making, including empowering them to take actions for addressing climate, pollution, and nature crises, and integration into key environmental policy and decision-making processes, including regional ministerial forums;
• Support science-policy reporting and communication, including preparing progress reports, monthly political briefs, and other communication materials to inform strategic positioning and decision-making at relevant levels of UNEP’s Regional Office for Africa;
• Strengthen stakeholder engagements on science policy perspectives for environmental protection, including close collaboration with regional bodies and centres of excellence on thematic and other environmental issues;
• Provide science-policy perspectives in regular country briefs to inform and elevate the organisation’s strategic positioning and effective delivery of its mandate in the region;
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Senior Management from time to time.