Programme Specialist – Climate and Environment

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, UNDP offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

Climate change and ecological change pose significant threats to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including those in the Caribbean region, where the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-induced disasters, decline of corals and coastal ecosystems, and water and energy insecurity converge to jeopardize the sustainability of development pathways. This is exacerbated by inadequate resources and technical capacities locally to advance innovative climate change strategies and solutions.

UNDP is today the UN's largest implementer of grant assistance for climate change and the environment globally, with over USD 4 billion of grant projects to support local capacity development and scale up impact towards combating climate change and ecosystem fragility. In Jamaica, Bahamas and neighbouring countries covered by the UNDP Multi‑Country Office (MCO), UNDP has a portfolio of over USD120 million today to advance the green transition. Projects focus on strengthening government capacity, leveraging private and public financial resources, mainstreaming climate change, biodiversity, and resource sustainability measures into development investments, and empowering local communities for impact. Strengthening resilience is central to UNDP's local mission, enhancing the capacity of institutions and communities to proactively prevent and mitigate impacts, and effectively advance a green transition.

The UN Volunteer (UNV) - Programme Specialist for Climate Change and Environment plays a vital role as one of 30 development professionals at the UNDP Multi‑Country Office (MCO). Alongside fellow team mates in the Programme and Policy Support Team at the UNDP Multi‑Country Office (MCO), the incumbent will be instrumental in developing new projects on climate change, biodiversity and other environmental topics, and in supporting the implementation of ongoing initiatives on these issues directed at (1) strengthening national capacities to take action on climate change, biodiversity and environmental sustainability, (2) supporting community led action through UNDP cooperation with CSOs and local government and (3) piloting new green technology and sustainable finance instruments to strengthen resilience and embrace the development opportunities from the green transition. Through these local projects, the incumbent will support UNDP's goal of fostering the SIDS resilience agenda in the Caribbean.

Under the direct supervision of UNDP's lead Programme Specialist, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

-Programme Development and Implementation

· Support design of new 3 new projects currently under formulation on climate change adaptation, ecosystems and biodiversity, and other environmental themes valued at USD$100 million across the five target countries and territories.

· Support the execution of 2 ongoing climate change, biodiversity, and other environmental projects across the five target countries and territories, ensuring timely implementation of project activities in line with UNDP Multi‑Country Office (MCO) and project work plans.

· In concert with and in support of fellow team members, help liaise with relevant government ministries, NGOs, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure effective collaboration and alignment of priorities.


-Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building

· Support the organization and facilitation of stakeholder consultations, community meetings, and awareness-raising events.

· Coordinate and provide technical support for the delivery of capacity strengthening sessions on climate and/or environment-related activities.

· Foster partnerships with institutions and experts to enhance knowledge transfer and sustainability.


-Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

· Support monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities to track progress, outputs, and outcomes under above above-noted projects.

· Collect, analyze, and report data under the above-noted projects to feed into overarching UNDP Multi‑Country Office (MCO) programme indicators, ensuring timely submission of project progress reports and updates.

· Identify challenges, risks, and lessons learned, and propose adaptive strategies to improve project effectiveness.


-Technical and Administrative Support

· Provide technical input to above above-noted projects on climate and/or environment-related matters.

· Support inputs needed for project procurement and administrative tasks such as development of Terms of Reference, etc.

· Contribute to the preparation of communication materials, case studies, and knowledge products related to projects being supported