Background

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority. It 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. This consultancy is in UNEP's Climate Change Division, Mitigation Branch, GEF Climate Change Mitigation Unit, Europe and Central Asia team, and will be home-based. UNEP's Climate Change Division works with a portfolio of Global Environment Facility (GEF) enabling activity and medium- and full-size climate change mitigation projects in the Europe and Central Asia. The projects, which are in different stages of development (concept, design, implementation, closure), are executed by different partners under the leadership of national governments. The Division, in its role as an implementing agency, provides technical and financial oversight and ensures adherence to GEF guidelines.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Task Manager Europe and Central Asia, the consultant will manage part of UNEP's portfolio of GEF mitigation projects, focusing on capacity-building initiative for transparency (CBIT), electric mobility and energy efficiency in buildings in the Europe and Central Asia region.

Specific tasks and responsibilities

The consultant will undertake the following duties:

Project management of projects under execution

• Prepare reports for the Task Managers on the progress and risk situation of projects in the Europe and Central Asia portfolio, and submit to the Task Manager strategy documents to effectively mitigate identified project risks;
• Prepare and send half-yearly report templates to Executing Agencies for projects in the Europe and Central Asia Region portfolio, hold meetings with these agencies and send guidance emails to ensure correct and timely completion of the reports, and review such reports to ensure their timely completion;
• Prepare and send project implementation review report templates to Executing Agencies for projects in the Europe and Central Asia portfolio, hold meetings with these agencies and send guidance emails to ensure correct and timely completion of the reports, and review such reports to ensure their timely completion;
• Provide inputs for facilitating the technical and financial closure of projects;

Project documentation

• Develop draft legal agreements for new projects and project extensions;
• Prepare documents for UNEP project internalization and revision processes, and provide inputs to ensure completed UNEP clearance and approval processes;
• Prepare project supervision plans and risk logs for projects and periodically update them. Request the Executing Agencies to update their procurement plans and review such plans, providing inputs to finalize them;
• Prepare project revision documents for technical and financial revisions for projects, ensuring that project revision documentation is complete for UNEP approval;
• Review expenditure reports together with the finance team to ensure (a) correct amounts have been charged; (b) expenditures are aligned with project deliverables and thus acceptable; (c) expenditure is not exceeding the budget line allocations and overall budget. Send feedback emails to Executing Agencies for the agency to complete the document correctly.
• Review cash advance requests in collaboration with the finance team. Provide guidance to Executing Agencies for them to complete the document correctly.

Portfolio management

• Prepare databases for the uploading of information to the Integrated Planning, Management and Reporting (IPMR) solution system and upload information to the system;

Performance indicators:

• All deliverables are completed in a timely manner and approved by the Task Manager for Europe and Central Asia.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: management, engineering, law, business administration, environmental management, policy, economics, development, climate or development finance, or a related discipline;
• A first level degree with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Minimum five years of experience in managing projects related to climate change, environment or development is required;
• Experience working with GEF, GCF or UNEP projects is desirable.
• Two years experience in working with national governments of the Europe and Central Asia is required;
• Knowledge on climate transparency is desirable;
• Good communication skills to manage/interact with people inside and outside of the project team is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency (both oral and written) in English and Russian is required.

• Prepare reports for the Task Managers on the progress and risk situation of projects in the Europe and Central Asia portfolio, and submit to the Task Manager strategy documents to effectively mitigate identified project risks
• Prepare and send half-yearly report templates to Executing Agencies for projects in the Europe and Central Asia Region portfolio, hold meetings with these agencies and send guidance emails to ensure correct and timely completion of the reports, and review such reports to ensure their timely completion
• Prepare and send project implementation review report templates to Executing Agencies for projects in the Europe and Central Asia portfolio, hold meetings with these agencies and send guidance emails to ensure correct and timely completion of the reports, and review such reports to ensure their timely completion
• Provide inputs for facilitating the technical and financial closure of projects
• Develop draft legal agreements for new projects and project extensions
• Prepare documents for UNEP project internalization and revision processes, and provide inputs to ensure completed UNEP clearance and approval processes
• Prepare project supervision plans and risk logs for projects and periodically update them. Request the Executing Agencies to update their procurement plans and review such plans, providing inputs to finalize them
• Prepare project revision documents for technical and financial revisions for projects, ensuring that project revision documentation is complete for UNEP approval
• Review expenditure reports together with the finance team to ensure (a) correct amounts have been charged; (b) expenditures are aligned with project deliverables and thus acceptable; (c) expenditure is not exceeding the budget line allocations and overall budget. Send feedback emails to Executing Agencies for the agency to complete the document correctly
• Review cash advance requests in collaboration with the finance team. Provide guidance to Executing Agencies for them to complete the document correctly
• Prepare databases for the uploading of information to the Integrated Planning, Management and Reporting (IPMR) solution system and upload information to the system

• Project management skills
• Financial oversight skills
• Report preparation and review
• Legal agreement development
• Database management
• Communication skills to manage/interact with people inside and outside of the project team
• Knowledge on climate transparency

• Advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: management, engineering, law, business administration, environmental management, policy, economics, development, climate or development finance, or a related discipline
• A first level degree with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree
• Fluency (both oral and written) in English and Russian is required