Project Coordinator

United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)

Havana, Cuba 🇨🇺

Result of Service

Objective.

The National Coordinator will report directly to the Adaptation to Climate Change Programme Officer and will be primarily responsible for supporting the UNEP’s component of the project in Cuba and coordination of activities, including planning, implementation, and monitoring, as well as assistance in the supervision of project consultants, partner’s services and activities and financial and administrative aspects to ensure project´s objectives and results fulfilment, according to the requirements of UNEP, the SDG Fund and CITMA.

The Coordinator will perform the following tasks:

  1. Provide Technical support with the day-to-day execution of the UNEP component of the project and activities in coordination with UNDP, CITMA and other projects of UNEP, ensuring coherence and the alignment to the national strategies and regulations, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and adaptation regulations, and integrated to national and subnational programmes, where relevant.
  2. Collaborate and provide Technical support with the procurement processes and contracts of consultants and services, in accordance with the guidelines and requirements of UNEP and the SDG Fund, supervise their performance and products, and assist in their evaluation processes.
  3. Assist with the preparation of work, travel, and procurements plans, perform planning, budgeting, monitoring, and accountability.
  4. Support with the preparation of technical and administrative reports of the project for UNEP, UNDP, SDG Fund and CITMA.
  5. Ensure coordination of project activities with other Ministries, relevant Institutions, other UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes, and NGOs.
  6. Provide technical insights in order to prepare Agreements with UNDP Cuba and other partners for the execution of the project.
  7. Identify new relevant partners for the implementation and sustainability of the project, maintain the relationship and ensure synergies with the current and new partners and relevant initiatives.
  8. Guarantee the accomplishment of environmental and social safeguards, and that gender and vulnerable communities’ policies are duly implemented in all project activities.
  9. Identify implementation´s bottlenecks and advice, in close consultation with UNEP and UNDP Cuba, on how to overcome them and improve the overall management of the project.
  10. Identify and extract the lessons learnt from the project and report them to UNDP, CITMA and UNEP.
  11. Perform and supervise the relevant communication activities and products of the project.
  12. Other activities relevant for the fulfillment of the position’s objectives.

Work Location

UNDP Office, Havana, Cuba

Expected duration

12 MONTHS

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose.

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 Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, works closely with the 33 countries of the region -with a population of about 588 million people- and its activities are integrated into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

The office works towards the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new Paris Agreement and the priority actions defined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Adaptation Plans (NAP) of the region.

In terms of supporting countries in the region attain the global commitments signed within the framework of the Paris Agreement, the Latin America and the Caribbean UNEP Sub-programme on Climate Change aims at strengthening the ability of countries to move towards climate-resilient and low emission strategies for sustainable development and human well-being. In this framework, the UNEP Sub-programme on Climate Change, through its Climate Change Unit, leads and supports several initiatives oriented at designing, promoting and implementing innovative mitigation and adaptation solutions at the national and subnational level, and strengthening the transparency framework of the countries.

The expected accomplishment regarding climate change adaptation is that adaptation approaches, including the Nature based Solutions with an ecosystem-based approach, are implemented and integrated into key sectoral and national development strategies to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience to climate change impacts. Furthermore, the UNEP’s Sub-programme on Climate Change is also committed to ensure that cross-cutting issues such as gender equity and women empowerment are effectively integrated in the development of its tasks to guarantee an equitable development in line with its adaptation objectives.

The adaptation team of the Climate Change Unit is implementing a portfolio of projects and continuously developing a pipeline of new projects, both for adaptation planning and for implementation of concrete measures, in the three subregions of the region: Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The adaptation team works in close coordination with the rest of the Climate Change Unit and regional office, UNEP regional, sub-regional and national offices in the region and worldwide, including Headquarters; other UN System Agencies, Programmes and Funds; Regional and Subregional Organizations, countries’ institutions, and national and local organizations; and donors and financing institutions such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) or the Adaptation Fund (AF).

As part of this support to countries in the region, UNEP signed a Joint Programme with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Cuba (UNDP Cuba) and the Ministry of Environment of Cuba (CITMA) to implement a project on environmental finances in Cuba, funded by the SDG Fund. The project is coordinated by UNDP Cuba, and co-implemented between UNDP Cuba and UNEP.

The Project started its activities in November 2022, and aims to contribute to establishing a framework for environmental finances in Cuba, and to introduce the Microfinances for Ecosystem based Adaptation (MEbA) in Cuba, following the experiences of UNEP’s MEbA project in Latin America (https://unepmeba.org/).

UNEP is in charge of the third component of the project, and its Outcome 3. Mobilization of at least 10% of additional resources has been projected through at least two financial solutions, including microfinances, to carry out gender-responsive actions for biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation in two target areas, together with UNDP Cuba and its previous experiences and projects.

The implementation of the project is directed by UNDP and UNEP. The implementation of UNEP’s component and UNEP’s activities relies on a Project Coordinator and additional specialists and consulting services that will be based or working in Cuba. UNEP’s coordinator is accountable for the technical, operative, and administrative management of the component and for developing activities in the field. To fulfill project´s objectives and results a Project Coordinator is required to ensure the appropriate planning, implementation and monitoring of the project in coordination with UNDP Cuba, with a focus on resilience and sustainability, considering safeguarding and gender equity, and according to UNEP, SDG Fund and CITMA’s requirements.

The Project Coordinator will operate under the overall supervision of the Adaptation Programme Officer of UNEP’s Office for Latin America and the Caribbean . She/he will work within Cuba, in close collaboration with UNEP, UNDP Cuba and the CITMA coordinator of the project, from Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week, full time in UNDP Office, Havana, Cuba and exclusive dedication.

Qualifications/special skills

Qualifications Required

ACADEMIC:

  • Master’s degree in finance, environment, climate change, development studies, project management or a closely related field is required.
  • Additional studies or specific training in project management is desirable.

PROFESSIONAL:

  • At least 3 years of relevant work experience in environmental finance, finance, sustainability, project management, international cooperation, or related field, including demonstrated participation in projects is required.
  • Demonstrated knowledge and experience in environmental finance is required.
  • Demonstrated knowledge and experience in microfinances, agricultural cooperatives, climate change adaptation, resilience and/or nature-based solutions is desirable.
  • Proven experience in working and collaborating with public and private institutions is desirable.
  • Proven experience in the entire project cycle, from design to implementation and monitoring is desirable.
  • Relevant experience leading, organizing, and supervising work teams is desirable.
  • Relevant experience with vulnerable communities is an asset.
  • Relevant experience with projects in Cuba is an asset.
  • Proven experience in microfinance systems is an asset
  • Relevant experience in projects involving producers’ cooperatives is an asset
  • Demonstrated knowledge of development and adaptation policies and planning processes at the national and subnational levels in Cuba, as well as familiarity with national agencies and other relevant institutions involved in adaptation processes is desirable.
  • Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder negotiations and engagement is an asset.
  • Relevant expertise in integrating gender considerations into policy processes or project formulation, planning and implementation is an asset.
  • Relevant experience in the compliance of social and environmental safeguards is an asset.
  • Knowledge on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of projects is an asset.

LANGUAGE:

  • Fluent in Spanish is required.
  • Confident in English is desirable.

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

  • Strong analytical skills to understand complex situations and solve problems.
  • Excellent organizational abilities to set priorities.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills and active listening.
  • Capacity to gather, analyze and synthesize data and generate relevant information.
  • Innovation, creativity, and critical thinking.
  • Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily.
  • Strong leadership skills.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

LANGUAGE REQUIRED

You ad could be here!