National Project Coordinator – Consultant

Job title:

National Project Coordinator – Consultant

Company

United Nations

Job description

The Consultant is expected to oversee and facilitate the execution of the tasks outlined in Functional Description 4 (work plan). Effective and timely project implementation and achievement of the planned results (i.e. overall project coordination from the engagement of project partners, management, guidance and technical inputs to generated project deliverables, project reporting, as well as liaison with the Ministry and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate smooth project implementation and promotion). In the National Project Coordinator role, the consultant will work closely with various project partners to maintain a thorough understanding of project dynamics and knowledge of products, events, documents, and deliverables, as well as identifying the most important and key deliverables, as well as a knowledge of the project vision and goals. The consultant is also expected to monitor trends in the country, other similar projects, government and donor initiatives and stay well-informed of related developments to ensure the timeliness of the content produced for a successful project communications management. Success in this role will be determined by implementing effective strategies to keep relevant stakeholders informed and drive national and international interest on the values of the Albanian Alps contributing to the sustainable development as well as protection of the National Park.Work LocationHome-basedExpected duration1 Apr 2025 – 31Mar 2026Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe United Nations Environment Programme 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. Under its Western Balkan portfolio, it facilitates the implementation and execution of numerous projects pertaining to climate change, biodiversity protection, land degradation and other environmental related aspects. The consultant will be engaged for the purposes of the GEF7 project implemented in Albania “Achieving biodiversity conservation through effective management and enhanced resilience to climate change in the existing protected area of the North Albanian Mountainous Region” and reports to the Head and the Associate Programme Management Officer under UNEP Vienna Programme Office. UNEP Vienna Programme Office supports the execution of a GEF funded project titled “Achieving biodiversity conservation through effective management and enhanced resilience to climate change in the existing protected area of the North Albanian Mountainous Region”. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the management effectiveness and sustainability of the Albanian Alps protected areas system and increase resilience to climate change. Recognizing the important role protected areas have in contributing to biodiversity conservation, Albania has made efforts in establishing and expanding its protected areas network. The Albanian government has demonstrated its commitment and efforts towards protected areas network expansion. Thus, in January 2022, the country further approved several decrees revising the boundaries of existing protected areas, and designated several new ones, resulting in more than 21% of Albania’s surface covered in a range of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected area categories. Acknowledging the immense biological importance of the Albanian Alps territory, a decision was made to seek the inclusion of the entire landscape under the National Park (NP) status, to apply more systematically integrated biodiversity and rural development planning and management at landscape scale. As such the “Albanian Alps” National Park (AANP) with a total area of 82,844.65 ha, was one of the new protected areas established in 2022. The ‘new’ AANP, in the northern Alps mountainous region of Albania, was established under the DCM no. 59 of January 26, 2022, and encompasses three former protected areas, namely, National Park Thethi, National Park Valbona Valley and Strict Nature Reserve Gashi River. The project results will be achieved through the implementation of the following components:  Component 1: Establishing an enabling environment for effective management of the Albanian Alps National Park (to include activities such as, valorisation, supported sustainable financing and management, capacity needs assessment and enhancing),  Component 2. Strengthening the practical experience and “know-how” of the Albanian Alps NP stakeholders to address threats (practical experience and putting into practice some of the identified NP management actions),  Component 3. Contribute to national-level adoption and up-scaling of sustainable PAs best management practices(application into a wider national PAs system). Within this context, UNEP is looking to bring on board a consultant in the role of the National Project Coordinator, who under the supervision and overall guidance of the Head of UNEP – SCC Vienna Office, will be responsible to effectively support the implementation of services in the frame of the GEF funded project in Albania. The selected consultant will be required to support UNEP Project Management Unit and other team members in the effective and timely implementation of the project and contribute to the planned results i.e. the overall project coordination, from engagement of project partners, management, supervision, guidance and technical inputs to generated project deliverables, project reporting, as well as liaison with Ministry and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate smooth project implementation and promotion. The Consultant will be responsible for carrying out the following duties and responsibilities under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the UNEP project team, the Associate Programme Management Officer and UNEP WB Projects Coordinator of the UNEP – Vienna Programme Office – SCC, who coordinate the implementation of the mentioned project on behalf of UNEP as part of the overall programme. ● Overall technical lead and coordination of the implementation of project activities and ensure technical soundness of the component implementation, ● Coordinate and ensure the effective implementation of the activities undertaken under the signed agreements with local partners, ● Handling due diligence procedures for project partners, if required, ● Drafting Terms of Reference (TORs) for specific project activities and, when required, drafting agreements, ● Overseeing and providing direction for the work of project partners in accordance with signed agreements, guidance and supervision of the work of project partners as per the signed agreements, ● Assessing the quality of deliverables produced by national consultants and evaluating project outputs, ● Monitoring project implementation and ensuring timely completion of activities and deliverables at the national level, ● Follow the project risks initially identified, inform on new risks to the project management for consideration and decision on possible action if required, ● Technical contribution for development of knowledge management products, in consultation with the Ministry, the municipalities and other relevant stakeholders, ● Collaborate with the project management team to ensure smooth execution of daily tasks and facilitate effective project implementation, ● Liaise with government institutions, targeted municipalities, non-governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholder on the project’s behalf, ● Inform the Project Steering Committee, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and UNEP of any delays and difficulties as they arise during the implementation to ensure timely corrective measure and support. ● Overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with UNEP Social Safeguards Integrated Policies and Procedures. ● Facilitate the active involvement of stakeholders by organizing and participating in meetings, workshops, and training sessions in Tirana and the Albanian Alps territory, including preparing relevant materials and documenting discussions, ● Prepare project progress/implementation reports, as well as periodic financial reports, in close coordination with UNEP and the Ministry and provide support during the implementation of the mid-term evaluation. ● Coordinate and arrange PSC meetings in collaboration with the UNEP team and the Ministry, ensuring all necessary materials are prepared, discussions are documented, and subsequent actions are communicated, ● Contribute to development of new LD, CC and BD-related project proposals, ● Other managerial and technical activities pertaining to the project implementation.Qualifications/special skills

• Advance university degree (Master or equivalent) in environmental studies, natural resource management, forestry, agriculture, resource management or a related field is required. A PhD degree in the relevant fields will be considered an asset. • Minimum of five years’ experience in natural resource management protected areas and related project implementation and/or project management, with a proven track record of achieving results, required. • Prior UN projects management experience, and particularly UN/GEF project experience and knowledge of UN and GEF procedures and guidelines is desirable, • Familiarity and understanding of sustainable development, including financial and institutional sustainability, is desirable, • Minimum of five years’ working experience in academic or governmental institutions is desirable, • Proof of successful accomplishment of contract/s with similar nature is desirable.

LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English and Albanian is required.Additional InformationNot available.No FeeTHE 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.

Expected salary

Location

Wien

Job date

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 02:00:41 GMT

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (jobsjobs.org) you saw this job posting.