View Vacancy – International Climate Fund Officer

Main purpose of job:

The British Embassy in Mexico City is looking for a new Officer to support management of the United Kingdom’s International Climate Finance (ICF) portfolio of programmes in Mexico. In total, there are 21 ICF programmes operational in Mexico representing substantial funding from three different UK government ministries: the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). In practice, the Officer will mostly concentrate on implementation of the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition (UK PACT) Programme, worth £2.5 million a year in Mexico, and the Climate Finance Accelerator Programme worth £650,000 annually. On UK PACT, the jobholder will also support the establishment of a new pipeline of skills shares and secondments (i.e. the provision of technical experts to work on specific climate priorities).

The Officer will liaise with ICF delivery partners on a regular basis and support a range of day-to-day programme activities. In addition, the Officer will contribute occasionally to ICF strategy development, planning and policy implementation in Mexico. They will also coordinate regular programme communications between ICF delivery partners, Embassy colleagues and programme leads in London.  

The jobholder will be part of a small team of three members. This includes the UK PACT Manager, who heads the Team, and the ICF Support Officer who the EO will line manage. The ICF Team sits within the larger Climate Team managed by the Head of Climate. Climate is one of five different teams within the Embassy’s Development Section. All UK development work in Mexico has a strong focus on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI). In addition, the Climate Team has its own development communications strategy on sharing impacts and lessons learned from our climate work. The Officer will lead on the production of climate communications materials including impact stories and sound bites for our social media channels. 

The new ICF Officer will proactively contribute to the Climate Team’s GESI and communications priorities. They will also support wider Embassy corporate objectives through membership of one or more committees or taskforces. 

This is a great opportunity for the right candidate to work across a broad range of international development and programme management activities in one of the greatest challenges facing humanity – climate change. The Officer will contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainable economic development, and environmental protection in Mexico.   

Roles and Responsibilities:

1.    Support the UK PACT Manager for Mexico (20%)

• Contribute as required to the refresh and implementation of UK PACT Mexico Country Strategy alongside Delivery Partner;
• Support the establishment of a new pipeline of Skill Shares and Secondments in Mexico with the Delivery Partner;
• Assist in the management of existing portfolio of UK PACT projects in Mexico;
• Deputise for manager including on UK PACT stakeholder engagement.

2.    Lead on climate team Programme Management working with International Climate Finance (ICF) Delivery Partners (30%)

• Work with policy leads on day to day programme management activities:
  • Coordinate comments and inputs from Embassy colleagues on ICF programme documents, including: business cases, proposals, concept notes, reports and publications;
  • Coordinate regular programme communications (meetings, reports, progress updates) between ICF delivery partners, Embassy colleagues and programme leads in London;
• Be the focal point for all ICF funded programmes operating in Mexico, by undertaking the following five principle tasks:
  • Finalise mapping of ICF funded programmes, including those funded by DEFRA, DESNZ and FCDO;
  • Update databases of important ICF programme information, covering: programme lead, delivery partners, geographical coverage, main objectives, budget and timelines;
  • Provide inputs into Development Section’s monthly programme update to the Ambassador;
  • Lead on the Embassy’s response to ICF programme enquiries received from external stakeholders;
  • Keep track of and disseminate to relevant stakeholders new ICF calls for proposals which Mexico has access to;
  • Coordinate regular meetings between the Embassy and London colleagues from across multiple UK government departments.

3.    Be the in-country focal point for the management of the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) programme, working with the Delivery Partner (20%)

• Contribute as required to the design of a new phase of the CFA in Mexico, including by coordinating inputs from other teams in the Embassy;
• Once the new CFA business case is approved, support the inception and implementation phases of the programme;
• Support the potential launch of future calls for proposals in Mexico under the CFA;
• Assist in the management of existing portfolio of CFA investments in Mexico;
• Encourage learning across successful CFA investments in Mexico (over 20 so far)
• Ensure CFA in country implementation is aligned with wider UK green finance priorities for Mexico, by working closely with policy lead.

4.    Lead the Climate Team Communications Strategy and its implementation (20%)

• Become familiar with the current climate team communications strategy and lead on its regular updating in close collaboration with the Embassy’s Press and Communications Team (PCT) and the comms lead in Development Section;
• Vigorous implementation of climate comms strategy commitments, including fortnightly messages for social media, bimonthly impact stories and monthly climate articles for internal audiences;
• Coordinate with Delivery and Implementing partners to receive programme updates, which form the basis of the aforementioned comms products;
• With the UK PACT delivery partner, develop brief, high-quality descriptions for each project to strengthen the programme’s public communications; in due course, develop full case studies of project’s impacts.
• Strengthen comms knowledge and expertise to build capacity for the successful implementation of this objective;
• As per the comms strategy, create and update a calendar of activities and events, where comms messages will be captured.
• Actively look for opportunities to communicate the impacts of our portfolios in Gender Equality, Disabilities and Social Inclusion.

5.    Corporate Contribution: Help make the Embassy a great place to work (10%)

• All Embassy staff are expected to fulfil a defined role in the event of a crisis;
• Contribute to the Embassy’s wider corporate agenda and values by being an active member in one of our committees, working groups or taskforces.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure): 

• Line management of one ICF Support Officer
• Resources: Support effective management of £2.5 million UK PACT Programme for Mexico

We are looking for a proactive self-starter, able to work well and have a flexible approach to work whilst under pressure. We are looking for someone with excellent interpersonal and communications skills to build strong relations within the British High Commission and UK teams and with a wide range of stakeholders in Mexico.

Candidates should demonstrate:

• An undergraduate degree, in Environmental Science, Climate, Energy, Sustainable Development, International Development, or related course;
• A comprehensive understanding of climate and environment issues and policies in Mexico;
• An aptitude for Project/Programme management, preferably with international stakeholders.
• Flexible and creative problem-solving skills, and the ability to come up with innovative solutions to problems;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish;
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and ability to adjust to different audiences;
• Excellent presentation skills;
• Team working skills;
• Commitment to align to Embassy’s core values: respect, inclusion, professionalism, and honesty.

Language requirements: 

Language: English and Spanish
Level of language required:  minimum level required C1 under CEFRL or equivalent.