Position: Regional Director of UNEP Regional Office North America (RONA), Washington (Deadline: Oct. 26, 2013)

This is a senior position and is located in Washington, DC.   (I am a little puzzled about this position announcement since I thought I know the incumbent of this position.)

Job Title:  REGIONAL DIRECTOR, D1

Department/ Office:  United Nations Environment Programme

Duty Station:  WASHINGTON

Posting Period:  27 August 2013-26 October 2013

Job Opening number:  13-PGM-UNEP-30538-R-WASHINGTON (X)

Org. Setting and Reporting
	The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP's Division of Regional Cooperation (DRC) helps to implement UNEP's global programs in the regions by initiating, coordinating and catalyzing regional and sub-regional cooperation and action in response to environmental problems and emergencies (www.unep.org/DRC/). This position is located in the United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for North America at the Washington duty station.
		Responsibilities
	Under the supervision of the Division Director the incumbent will perform the following duties; 1. Political and Policy Analysis, Relations and Support: a) Identify, assess, analyze and monitor environmental and relevant political, economic and social development trends in the regional to generate knowledge, information and early warning for policy and decision making by governments, international organizations and major groups and stakeholders and incorporate them into UNEP’s policy and programme development. b) Formulate short-term, mid-term and long-term strategic and practical recommendations for UNEP’s global regional and sub-regional environmental policy development for the implementation of projects in the region. c) Represent UNEP and the Executive Director in the region at the international and regional fora and inter-agency meetings and coordinate UNEP’s relations with other stakeholders in the region. Initiate, coordinate, organize and advise on UNEP meetings, high-level visits, missions and events in the region, sub-region and countries and follow-up on activities. d) Provide substantive policy support to regional, sub-regional and trans-boundary political processes in the region. 2. Programme Coordination, Management and Implementation: a) Identify environmental challenges, opportunities, priorities and needs for the development and implementation of UNEP’s Medium Term Strategy (MTS), Programme of Work (PoW) and projects at regional, sub-regional and national level. b) Lead the integrated delivery of UNEP’s PoW and associate programme, framework and projects through matching UNEP’s services with regional, sub-regional and national needs and priorities. Draw on technical support from UNEP Divisions facilitate capacity building and technology support and leading the delivery of programme and projects. c) Coordinate UNEP’s cooperation with government and inter-government institutions and other stakeholders, regional and sub-regional centers and networks for the implementation of UNEP’s PoW commitment under Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEAs) and regionalization of international agreement goals and process in the region. d) Coordinate UNEP’s engagement in UN regional coordination structure, Regional UN Development Group (UNDG) Teams and the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCMs) for greater alignment of UNEP and UN. Coordinate UNEP’s engagement in individual UN Country Team (UNCT) structures and programming processes. 3. Operations:  a) Oversee the management and administrative services of UNEP’s presence in the region. Liaise with UNDP Regional Bureau and Country Offices to ensure enhanced cost effectiveness of UNEP’s implementation at regional and country level. 4.  Partnership: a) Build, coordinate and advise on strategic and programmatic partnership in the region with government authorities, UN organizations and other stakeholder. Support UNEP's activities and strengthen capacity at the regional, sub-regional and national levels. b) Facilities and support inter-regional cooperation and partnership in the context of promoting of South-South cooperation, North-South cooperation and multidimensional cooperation. c) Oversee the coordination and support the involvement of major groups and stakeholders in the region, sub-regions and countries in environment and sustainable development decision making, their access to and sharing of environmental information. 5. Communication and Outreach: a)  Oversee the implementation of UNEP’S external and internal communication strategies in the region and contribution of regional inputs to global level efforts. Develop and implement UNEP’s regional communication strategy, outreach campaigns and activities to raise UNEP’s profile. 6.  Resource Mobilization: a)  Lead and Coordinate UNEP’S fundraising from bilateral and multilateral donors at regional and country level for up-scaling UNEP intervention in the region. b)  Provide intelligence and advice for UNEP’s corporate resource mobilization and resource allocation efforts and develop and maintain regional resource mobilization strategies. 6.  Perform other related duties as requested by senior management of the organization.
		Competencies
	• Professionalism:  Knowledge in inter-governmental and inter-agency negotiations and networking functions; Ability to analyze environmental, political and economic and social developments and provide technical and substantive support in the field of environmental policy development.  . Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; Remains calm in stressful situations. • Communication:  Speaks and writes clearly and effectively;  Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. • Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: Empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvements; Does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. • Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly. • Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; Gathers relevant information before making a decision; Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; Checks assumptions against facts; Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; Makes tough decisions when necessary.
		Education
	Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in international relations, economic, political science, law or relevant scientific discipline.  A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
		Work Experience
	A minimum of fifteen years of extensive working experience in environmental management, policy development, analysis and implement of which 10 should be at the international level. Qualifying years of experience are calculated following the receipt of the first level university degree recognized by the United Nations.
		Languages
	English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required.  Working knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.
		Assessment Method
	Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.
		Special Notice
	This position is open for recruitment for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Need Help?" link.
		United Nations Considerations
	The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
		No Fee
	THE 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.