The overall objective of the UNEP’s Ecosystems Division is to support countries in conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing their terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, the biodiversity they contain, and the products and services they provide for human well-being and prosperity. The Ecosystems Division’s Marine and Freshwater Branch delivers science, governance, and strategic communications expertise to catalyze action across the marine, coastal, and freshwater continuum and respond to the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity, and pollution.

In cooperation with other units of UNEP and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Marine and Freshwater Branch catalyzes and promotes action-oriented activities aimed at developing and strengthening global, regional, and national programmes and action plans for assessing, valuing, conserving, and maintaining ecosystems, and sustainably managing and using resources.

Within this framework, the incumbent will undertake the development and implementation of policy and technical approaches to facilitate and support UNEP’s work on water management, focusing on an integrated ecosystem approach to water resources and related ecosystems. The incumbent will be responsible for leading and coordinating the work of the Freshwater Wetlands Unit, including resource mobilization, performance management of the staff, and reporting requirements.

Under the general guidance of the Director or Deputy Director of UNEP’s Ecosystem Division and the direct supervision of the Principal Coordinator of the Marine and Freshwater Branch, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

Responsibilities

A. Operationalize the UNEP Water Policy & Strategy and all other UNEP mandates on water:

1. In the context of UNEP’s Water Policy and Strategy, Freshwater Ecosystems Management Programme, and other relevant UNEP sub-programmes and initiatives, lead development and implementation of the UNEP water programme in cooperation with other divisions across UNEP.
2. Facilitate partnerships for dialogue and implementation with, inter alia, water experts from national and international organizations.

B. Coordination and development of the Freshwater Ecosystems activities within the ecosystems programme:

1. Coordinate the implementation of the UNEP Water Policy and Strategy within the UNEP ecosystem management programme and in cooperation with partners, formulate methodologies, guidelines, and capacity-building initiatives.
2. Coordinate activities to facilitate development and implementation of the freshwater ecosystems programme, including resource mobilization, initiating and/or assessing the viability of environmental projects, and making recommendations to the Branch Coordinator and Division management.
3. Liaise with relevant UN agencies, intergovernmental, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to ensure UNEP collaboration in water programme development and implementation nationally, regionally, and globally.
4. Coordinate the preparation of reports for senior management, governing councils, and intergovernmental bodies, ensuring quality of technical papers and follow-up to Senior Management decisions related to freshwater ecosystems.
5. Facilitate and advocate innovative concepts and tools designed to improve or re-orient implementation of the freshwater ecosystems with UNEP’s water policy objectives and strategy, including:
   • Improved awareness of water issues.
   • Improved management of basins (including transboundary basins) and linkage to coastal and marine waters.
   • Improved cooperation in the water sector.
6. Lead, organize, and/or participate in substantive discussions, meetings, and conferences and represent the unit at international, regional, or national meetings, providing programmatic and substantive expertise to promote ecosystem-based approaches for water management.
7. Provide policy and programme guidance to Branch Coordinator and Division management to align unit activities with UNEP’s mandates and strategic objectives in integrated water resource management (IWRM), water security, and ecosystem services.
8. Provide technical guidance at the national and regional level on freshwater/coastal linkage within the UNEP Water Policy Strategy and assist countries in developing regional or sub-regional plans for the integrated management of transboundary water resources.
9. Report on the status of the work programme regularly as scheduled by the UN reporting requirements or as required by Division Management.

C. Enhance UNEP’s engagement on freshwater ecosystems:

1. Review and analyze UNEP’s current work on water, global and regional trends, and develop potential areas of future Ecosystems Division collaboration into a comprehensive project portfolio with complementary linkages to the work of integrated water resources management (IWRM) within the ecosystem management and governance sub-programmes in UNEP.

D. Management of the Freshwater Ecosystem Unit:

1. Recommend to the Branch Coordinator the allocation of financial resources, justifying administrative and/or results-based budget proposals and work plans; monitor and report the budgetary performance of the Unit.
2. Manage staff performance, ensure ongoing professional development, continued learning, and maintain the right mix of skills and competencies; under delegated authority, initiate and recommend approval of personnel actions.
3. Guide and support professional and general service staff in meeting their objectives and outputs; foster teamwork and communication in the Unit and across organizational boundaries.
4. Lead team efforts to collect and analyze data and provide insights to identify trends for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting.
5. Perform other duties as required.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in freshwater ecosystems, ecology, environmental studies, or management is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics, or data science is desirable.

Work Experience

At least ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in large-scale project or programme management in ecosystems management is required. At least five (5) years of international-level experience is required. Experience addressing environmental issues through multi-disciplinary approaches and partnerships related to freshwater ecosystems and water resources management is required. Experience in policy-oriented work on Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Water and Sanitation) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water) is required. Experience with intergovernmental processes is desirable. Experience in data analytics or related areas is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another United Nations Official language is also desirable.

Note: Fluency equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand), and knowledge of equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.