Senior Cooling and Cold-Chain Policy and Programme Support Specialist

Result of Service

The incumbent will be responsible for the following tasks under the guidance of the U4E Programme Management Officer and in support of the CoE programme’s Senior Management Team: A. Programme and partner management / Capturing and reporting impact • Help ensure a well-integrated and aligned global programme team. • Help ensure development of an inclusive and unified, collaborative, knowledge sharing and resource efficient programme across the CoE, online platform and related activities. • Protect partner IP whilst also ensuring knowledge sharing and collaboration. • Work with our funders and partners to build and evidence impact high quality case studies demonstrating reach and significance. • Support the development of content and resources to maintain oversight of priority objectives across the Programme, including finance and resource management plans for day-to-day operational oversight to ensure the timely delivery of the different activities and facilitate effective coordination and planning with fellow team members and external partners. • Work with in-country experts and the wider international team to support the design, build-out, procurement and operations through a reference approach, ensuring development and maintenance of finance and resource management plans and otherwise as assigned for effective day-to-day operational oversight. • Organize and participate in regular calls and chats and use shared files (MS Teams and SharePoint) for efficient communications and transparency, providing timely notes and follow-up on action items from meetings. • Prepare detailed and accurate reporting including weekly, quarterly, six monthly and annually in coordination with programme partners to fulfil UNEP and donor requirements (Logframe and otherwise per assigned templates and guidance). • Prepare and review programme deliverables to ensure high-quality and timeliness consistent with key priorities, ensuring that partners receive work products following a thorough check of the technical content, spelling and grammar, and proper formatting (using current templates, where applicable). • Support the preparation of content, make logistics arrangements, and participate in capacity-building sessions. • Contribute to the development (via research, assessment, outreach to experts, compiling information, etc.) of tools, guides, case studies, and other content, as assigned. B. Partnership and Fundraising • Support work with the main donor (UK Defra) to manage and track committed funding disbursements and proactively support the development of an active pipeline of activities for expanded funding in-year and as part of the UK Government Spending Review exercise. • Identify and support new grant funding opportunities from other possible donor sources (i.e. UK Research and Innovation, Innovate, European Union and other non-UK government funding teams, development agencies, international and philanthropic organisations (especially the UN Montreal Protocols Multilateral Fund) etc, and agree and co-ordinate funding proposals through: o Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with partner organizations and key local, national, regional and international stakeholders and helping with overall information exchanges and coordination. o Coordinating across a diverse range of stakeholders to identify potential new funding and partnership opportunities from bilateral aid agencies, philanthropic funds, multilateral funds and Governments and leveraging in-kind expertise, data and other resources to amplify the portfolio. o Pursuing funding opportunities, including information gathering on the requirements, liaising with co-applicants, drafting content, submitting information, and informing negotiations with donors. • Help forecast budget needs and potential sources and support the planning for grant funding allocations. • Substantively engage on at least 2 new proposals. • Conduct outreach to current and potential programme partners and stakeholders, fostering relationships to share data and information to underpin analytical work through: o Capturing progress and key findings for reporting, outreach, and promotion of programme activities. o Assisting with awareness raising as significant milestones are reached by providing inputs to communication materials (e.g., press release, social media content, flyer, banners) and undertaking outreach activities, including serving as a speaker, to increase visibility and transfer knowledge of lessons learned. o Planning and hosting meetings, events, and calls – including preparing agendas and materials, taking notes on critical findings, and pursuing assigned follow-up tasks. C. Monitoring and Progress Controls Support the following: • Strategic coordination between different partners (i.e. ACES Institute, lead government officials, industry executives, etc.). • Technical policy assistance to governments on the implementation of CoE. • Timely and quality development and submission of deliverables and programme reporting on progress and financials per assigned templates and ensuring proper reporting by funded partners (i.e. University of Birmingham, ACTS, etc.). Performance indicators will be the following: • The effectiveness and management of the work, ensuring that activities remain on time and budget to the extent practicable. • Quality, reliability and pertinence of gathered information. • Timeliness and pertinence of deliverables and reporting. • Usefulness and quality of the information and technical policy recommendations provided to team members and stakeholders. • Timeliness, clarity and relevance of communications.

Work Location

home based (available for Central Africa timezone)

Expected duration

12 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Developed by the Governments of Rwanda and the United Kingdom; the United Nations Environment Programme; the UK’s Centre for Sustainable Cooling bringing together a consortium of leading UK and international universities including the University of Rwanda and African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the Programme supports activities to deliver regional Centres of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chains (CoE) and SPOKEs. The Africa-centric programme was designed as “Born in Rwanda, pan-Africa and global in vision” with ACES acting as the African reference and knowledge development “Hub”. A network of connected “SPOKEs” (Specialised Outreach and Knowledge Establishments) interact to share and implement the research, innovation and knowledge in different countries and build capacity. The first SPOKE is in Kenya, led by the Africa Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), which in turn acts as the reference SPOKE and support team for roll-out into other African markets; initially Senegal, Lesotho and Rwanda itself. A further Centre of Excellence is in development in India, in the state of Haryana. The state of Telangana is also considering a Centre and a Detailed Project Proposal has been submitted. Work to date has focussed on creating the tools, design, knowledge base, training, operating structures and partnerships to develop a first of its kind integrated, system-level approach across the whole cold-chain from farm to fork for food and from manufacturer to arm for vaccines and includes demonstration, testing and roll-out into markets globally through a replicable approach. Funding and support to date exceeds $40M and, under the management of U4E, phase 1 of the programme is being operationalised through: • the Centre for Sustainable Cooling and its academic partners to gather the evidence base and design and develop the framework and toolkits; • development and launch of ACES – a physical reference and research centre in Rwanda – and the first reference SPOKE in Kenya as well as the first Centre in India – UK Haryana Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Postharvest Management and Cold-Chain; • collaborations for training, equipment deployment and co-funding by IFC, Carrier, Danfoss, Surechill, FAO, etc.; and • The Clean Cooling Network – a new on-line knowledge platform. With a collaborative team of more than 70 academic and operational experts across multiple regions, a Senior Cooling and Cold-Chain Policy and Project Support Specialist is needed to help manage, coordinate communicate and administer the flagship CoE Programme across ACES, the SPOKEs, India CoE and the wider portfolio and partners as it expands to deliver the global vision. This includes supporting the development of strategic activities and optimization across the different workstreams, tracking co-ordination with core partners and ensuring quality control and reporting (including financial tracking) to donors. These are major and complex international activities involving careful interaction across geographies, domains of expertise, and cultures. The Senior Specialist will use their range of skills to support the strategic direction of an expanding programme and identify grant funding, partner funding and in-kind opportunities that align with, and maximise impact of, the policy objectives. This will include a range of programme management, interpersonal and administrative skills alongside experience of tracking financial spend and priorities across an agile and expanding Programme. The Senior Specialist will work closely with the Strategic Coordination and Partnerships Lead for the CoE in particular, applying knowledge of the policy, research and funding landscape to identify and pursue grant funding opportunities such as through the UN Montreal Protocol and overseas development assistance funding opportunities availed by national governments.

Qualifications/special skills

University degree (Masters or higher with adequate practical work experience) in public policy, economics, engineering, natural / physical science fields, or otherwise as suitable for the role • At least 7 years of full-time professional experience on international policies and programmes, including energy and climate policies. A focus on sustainable cooling or cold chain technologies is an asset. • At least 7 years of experience working with the public sector to support analyses, negotiations and setting policy targets with implementation thereafter. ● Excellent written and oral communications skills on cooling and refrigeration topics, including pertinent international environmental agreements and fora. ● Thorough familiarity with programme management best practices, including supporting negotiations and analyses to reach agreement. ● Familiarity developing successful funding plans /proposals and securing buy-in of priority partners to take action. ● Experience organising and executing high-level international events, webinars, training, and meetings. ● Experience building effective coalitions to support activities and proposals for new activities. ● Excellent record collaborating with a team, and ability to adapt to evolving needs. ● Experience collaborating with a range African and Indian stakeholders

Languages

Fluency in written and spoken English

Additional Information

Not available.

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.