Programme Specialist – Climate and Security Risk

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The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

The Pacific Islands Forum is a regional political and economic organization that unites 18 member countries and territories from the Pacific region. Established in 1971, it aims to enhance cooperation and integration among its members, the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP Agencies) and international partners including the United Nations to address regional challenges and promote collective interests. Its Secretariat (PIFS), headquartered in Suva, Fiji, supports the Forum by implementing decisions, coordinating initiatives, and facilitating dialogue. The Secretariat's functions include policy advice, project management, and strategic planning in areas such as economic development, trade, security, and environmental sustainability. By fostering regional cooperation, the PIFS advances the collective goals of Pacific Island nations, promoting effective governance and sustainable development. Within the Secretariat, the Policy Unit focuses on policy development, strategic planning, advisory services, stakeholder engagement, and monitoring to support these objectives.

UNDP in the Pacific

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji is responsible for the merged functions for UNDP country programming in ten countries, which was covered by the Fiji-based Multi-Country Office (MCO), and regional programming and provision of technical advisory services by the Pacific Centre to 15 countries, including those covered by the Samoa based multi-Country office and the Papua New Guinea Country Office.

UNDP’s Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions

As part of the Global Policy Network (GPN), the Crisis Bureau guides UNDP’s corporate crisis and fragility-related strategies and vision for crisis prevention, response, and recovery. The Bureau is responsible for support prevention, crisis response, resilience, recovery, and peacebuilding work under the auspices of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. Crisis Bureau staff provide global strategic advice to UNDP management and technical advice to Regional Hubs and Country Offices; advocate for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. The Crisis Bureau works in an integrated manner with UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), also home to the Climate Hub, ensuring that issues are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes including the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) joint programme. Peace outcomes are delivered in a coherent manner, working across the GPN that includes the Governance team in the Bureau of Policy and Programme Support. 

The Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions (CPPRI) Team covers the following thematic/programming areas as part of the GPN: 

• Conflict prevention and peacebuilding. 
• Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). 
• Core government functions, including local governance in transition, conflict, and fragile settings. 
• Climate security.

Position Purpose

Climate change in the Pacific region has the potential to trigger a myriad of cascading risks related to fragility and insecurity. These risks will affect men, women, and youth differently and vary across the region according to both the timeframes under consideration and the specific country contexts. Among the most critical issues are:

• Displacement and forced migration due to irreversible degradation of livelihoods, food sources, and coastal erosion.
• Increased social tensions and conflict linked to access to land and fisheries resources.
• A decrease in national revenues, which could affect these states' ability to mitigate the social impacts of climate change.
• Challenges to the Blue Economy, particularly losses in fisheries and tourism revenue, at the same time as the costs of disasters and climate change to national budgets are increasing.
• The decline in the health and productivity of Pacific peoples as local food source degradation exacerbates dependency on unhealthy, cheap imports coupled with an existing and growing non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis.
• Reduced coping capacity and increased vulnerability of at-risk populations to more frequent and severe natural disasters.
• Impacts of sea-level rise on the jurisdictions of Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), with uncertainties around maritime zones and boundaries.

Acknowledging these challenges, the region has taken assertive and proactive steps, recognizing the threats that climate change poses to Pacific countries and their communities. On September 5, 2018, in Nauru, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) adopted the Boe Declaration on Regional Security, recognising an expanded concept of security, including human, cyber, and environmental security, and framing regional responses to emerging security issues. The Declaration, followed by an Action Plan, identifies climate change as 'the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific,' placing climate security as the foremost strategic focus area. This recognition was reaffirmed in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, launched in July 2022, which establishes a framework for the region’s collaborative approach to achieving the Forum Leaders’ long-term vision and regional aspirations through seven key thematic areas, including Peace and Security, and Climate Change and Disasters. The same year, PIF Leaders declared a climate emergency in the region that ‘threatens the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of its people and ecosystems.

Furthermore, Forum has formulated innovative regional policy responses to the threat of climate change, including, among others, the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility, Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea-level Rise, and Declaration on the Continuity of Statehood and the Protection of Persons in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea-level Rise.

Additional efforts to promote advocacy for the Pacific region were also pursued through the collaboration of the PIFS with UNDP and IOM under the PBF funded 'Climate Security in the Pacific' project. This project aimed to respond to climate-related security challenges in low-lying atoll nations. It involved assessing, understanding, and addressing critical challenges through tailored climate security assessment approaches, inclusive of youth and gender-sensitive dialogues, and partnerships with a range of stakeholders operating across aspects of climate security. Concluding in July 2023, the project also supported the uptake of key findings in relevant national, regional, and international policy and resourcing strategies. As a result of this collaboration, the Pacific Climate Security Assessment Guide was launched in July 2023.

Building on the investments already undertaken in the region, UNDP is seeking to recruit a Programme Specialist – Climate and Security Risk – Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. This position will support the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the UN system in advancing climate security advocacy, policy and programming solutions in the region. 

The Programme Specialist will operate within the Policy Unit of the PIFS and will coordinate with other relevant teams, including the Legal Team and the Resilience Teams, among others. The Programme Specialist will report to the Team, Leader, Resilience and Climate Change Unit in UNDP Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO), with a secondary reporting line to the UNDP Team Leader, Climate Security Risk, in the Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding, and Responsive Institutions team. The PIFS Director of Policy will provide technical guidance, management support and inputs pertaining to the performance of the incumbent, as required. The Programme Specialist will collaborate closely with the UNDP Climate Security Advisor from the Bangkok Regional Hub, the RCOs, including the Fiji based Peace and Development Adviser, , the CSM, including relevant divisions within DPPA, DPO, UNEP and coordinate with UNDP teams in the Crisis Bureau, as well as across UNDP’s Global Policy Network (GPN), particularly with Climate Hub, other Regional Hubs and other relevant Country Offices, and Global Policy Centers, as needed.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Building on the investment already undertaken, support the PIFS, its Member States and relevant partners in the region, with advisory services in climate security advocacy and policy

• Based on developed Climate Security Assessment Guide and relevant undertaken work, lead the development of a five-year workplan on climate security, in consultation with relevant teams and partners for endorsement of the FSRS (the workplan would be incorporated into our PIFS strategic plan and associated workplans for our Peace and Security Thematic Area)
• Support the implementation of the developed workplan, working in synergies with relevant PIF and UN/DP teams, Member States, CROP agencies and other regional and country level organizations and partners.
• At the request of the PIFS, provide technical advice and assistance to the Member States who are interested in addressing the climate security nexus at the country level.
• Support development of dedicated knowledge and policy pieces to deepen understanding of the climate-related security risks and priorities in the region.
• At the request of the PIFS, provide strategic policy advice and analysis and mainstreaming of climate security approaches into regional, national, and local policy, strategy, and planning processes. 
• Coordinate the organization of specific policy dialogues and other Member-State driven initiatives in alignment with PIF platforms to ensure they are informed by ongoing regional research and other initiatives that address the climate security nexus in the region.
• Support the identification of potential programmatic entry points that can be considered by different actors to support the PIF and its Member States to strengthen climate security initiatives at the country level. 
• Support the coordination of sub-regional studies and knowledge pieces on climate-related security risks/ country-level climate security assessments considering country-specific climate-related security risks and solutions/ recommendations.

Advise and support the PIFS, its Member States and relevant partners in the region, in partnerships, coordination and resource mobilization

• Act as a technical focal point between the PIFS and other partners on issues related to climate security to promote synergies and enhance interlinkages with the work of different organizations. 
• Identify and map key processes, stakeholders (including governments, CROP agencies, UN agencies, Private Sector, NGOs/Community-led organizations inclusive of women and youth groups, among others) and foster collaborations, on climate security priorities, helping articulate these as a basis for calling on the international community to raise ambition and provide longer-term support.
• Support the regional Pacific Climate Security Experts Network, including through coordination with relevant entities, organization of regular meetings and supporting institutionalization of the network within existing mechanisms and structures.
• Mobilize, foster, and strengthen partnerships with Member States, including the Group of Friends on Climate Security, the informal experts’ group to members of the Security Council on climate security, the Climate Security Experts Group and Network, the research community and civil society in the region.
• In close coordination with the Fiji MCO and the RCO, analyze trends and identify opportunities for resource mobilization in the region, conduct donor mapping and contribute to resource mobilization strategies to ensure alignment with corporate and regional goals.

Advise and support UNDP and CSM’s efforts in climate security related programming, capacity building and knowledge management

• Act as liaison between the region and relevant global platforms and mechanisms, including advocacy ones, in synergy with the HQ Climate Security Mechanism.
• Support the preparation and submission of concept notes and project proposals on climate security and advise on regional and country pipelines.
• Support the integration of climate security considerations into ongoing project formulations and initiatives.
• Engage in cross-regional exchange of knowledge by collaborating with the Climate Security Mechanism, the Climate and Security Risk Programme Specialists in other regions and policy teams in the Regional Hubs.
• Lead information collection, documentation of best practices and provide analytical inputs and context-specific updates to the UNDP representative in the CSM and support CSM-led knowledge management activities.
• Contribute to knowledge-based tools and guidance to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area and present such material at various fora.
• Update Fiji MCO, COs and CSM HQ with regular climate security information on changing development priorities for input into UNDP's communication, advocacy, policy making and strategy setting including informing CSM’s/HQ on communication/ outreach approaches. 
• Support knowledge generation, lessons, innovations, policy developments, programmatic offers, and practice experiences on climate related-security issues in the region in complementarity with PIF initiatives.
• Contribute to drafts notes, background papers, talking points, speeches, and other correspondence, as needed.
• Provide up-to-date information to senior officials regarding substantive political matters and country or regional issues with a focus on climate-related security risks. Engage in building and strengthening knowledge, understanding, and importance of UNDP’s climate security and peace-building work and value to a wide range of partners.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: None

Competencies

Core:
Achieve Results:

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact. 

Think Innovatively:

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems. 

Learn Continuously:

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility:

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands. 

Act with Determination:               

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner:

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional & Technical:
2030 Agenda: Peace - Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions    

• Conflict Analysis and conflict sensitivity.

Business Direction and Strategy: System Thinking     

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

2030 Agenda: Peace - Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions    

• Community engagement for prevention, response, and social cohesion.

2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness - Strategic Policy Engagement             

• Engagement Horizon-scanning and future of development.

Business Management: Portfolio Management     

•  Ability to select, prioritise and control the organi􀁝ation􀂶s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment.

External relations and Advocacy: Partnership management - Strategic engagement

• Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives. 

External relations and Advocacy: Partnership management - Resource mobilization

• Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree) in political science, conflict studies, political economy, climate, environment, or other related social sciences. OR 
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

 Experience:

• Minimum 7 years (with master's degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible experience in the areas of climate security, climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding. 
• Proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience in areas related to climate security, climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding is required.
• Track record of engagement with senior officials in the governments, UN and external partners is an asset.
• Experience in conflict and political analysis, and strategy development is required.
• Proven knowledge and experience in the Pacific region and/or on issues related to the Pacific, with a solid understanding of regional priorities and institutions is required.
• Experience working with the UN/UNDP and/or other international institutions on climate security, climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding is strongly preferable.
• Previous experience working with the Pacific Island Forum/CROP agencies is preferable. 
• Experience in partnerships, resources mobilization and programme design and management in relevant areas of work is required.

Language:

• Fluent written and spoken English is required. 
• Knowledge of other UN languages is a plus.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
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