Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities

• The CTA will provide overall technical and operational support to the Project Management Unit, and will be responsible for the following duties: Technical guidance
• Provide advice on best suitable approaches and methodologies for achieving project targets and objectives;
• Provide specific support at project start-up to set-up strong bases for an effective project implementation including capacity building on ecosystems-based adaptation and project management
• Support the follow-up on project co-financing (collaboration with co-financing partners and regular reporting on sources and amounts in annual co-financing report)
• Provide quality assurance and technical review of project outputs such as inception / mission reports, baseline / technical studies, assessments, training materials, and knowledge products;
• Draft or review, as requested, ToRs for technical consultancies and sub-contracts, and assist in the selection and recruitment processes
• Provide a technical guidance and supervisory function to the work carried out by national and international consultants hired by the project;
• Conduct technical supervision missions in project sites
• Provide advice and assist in knowledge management, communications and awareness-raising, and document lessons and good practices from project implementation Project management support
• Provide overall technical backstopping, operational guidance and support to the Project Management Unit team to ensure that project objectives are being met and that activities are carried out within agreed deadline and under high technical standards
• Assist the Project Coordinator in planning the implementation of project activities, and in adjusting the project Results Framework, Work Plan and Budget as required and in line with corporate requirement and UNEP / GEF rules
• Provide technical inputs to key procurement processes such as technical specifications of goods and equipment;
• Support project risk management and provide sound advice on adaptive management of the project;
• Support the Gender and Safeguards officer in the development of the project Grievance Redress Mechanism and review GRM reports.
• Support the Gender and Safeguards officer in the implementation and monitoring of the project Environmental and Social Management Plan and the Gender Action Plan.
• Assist the M&E Officer in ensuring the quality of project M&E and reporting systems (including project indicators and targets), review monitoring tools and prepare terms of reference for independent results verification exercises ;
• Review the progress reports prepared by the Project Coordinator to ensure quality, accuracy and completeness, including the Project Implementation Reviews (PIRs) and Half Year Reports (HYR), final report and other as required by UNEP and the GEF
• Support the project team in administrative and financial reporting including quarterly financial reports and cash advance requests for submission to UNEP.
• Participate in Project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings and make recommendations when needed for more effective implementation and coordination of project activities
• Advise the Project Coordinator in liaison work with project partners, donor organizations, NGOs and other groups to ensure the effective coordination, synergies and collaboration
• Perform any other tasks as may be requested by the Project Team, MEDD – BNCCREDD+, the Project Steering Committee, and the UNEP Task Manager The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) will be contracted and paid by the United Nations. He/she will report to the National Project Director within the BNCC-REDD+ of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development MEDD and UNEP Climate Change Adaptation Unit (CCAU) Task Manager. In the performance of his/her duties, the CTA will work in close collaboration with the project team.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced University education (MS or PhD) in the area of natural resource management, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, environmental management, social sciences, or any related fields of study is required.
• At least 7 years of professional experience in technical lead positions in planning and management of environmental and/or climate change adaptation programmes including institutional strengthening and capacity building is required
• Experience of working and collaborating with developing country governments is required Previous experience with GEF projects is desirable Previous experience in coastal ecosystems and coastal adaptation is desirable