JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER PROGRAMME (JPO) Chiffre Nr. 2026-2-36 - PO in Sustainable Energy, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

1
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION
FOR EUROPE
JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER PROGRAMME (JPO)
Chiffre Nr. 2026-2-36
I. General Information
Post Title: JPO in Sustainable Energy, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
Sector of Assignment: Economic and Environmental Affairs
Organization/Office: United Nations / Economic Commission for Europe (ECE),
Sustainable Energy
Location : Geneva, Switzerland
Duration: Two years with possibility of extension for another
year. The extension of appointment is subject to yearly review
concerning priorities, availability of funds, and satisfactory
performance
Please note that for participants of the JPO-Programme two years work experience are
mandatory! Relevant work experience can be counted. In order to assess the eligibility of the
candidates, we review the relevant experience acquired after obtaining the first university degree
(usually bachelor’s degree).
II. Supervision
Title of Supervisor:
Economic Affairs Officer
Content and methodology of supervision:
Establishment of a Work Plan: During the first month of the assignment, the Junior Professional
Officer (JPO) will work jointly with his/her direct supervisor to finalize an agreed upon work plan.
The final work plan will be discussed and mutually agreed to by the JPO and his/her supervisor.
The specific activities under the Work Plan might be adapted based on the change of the
priorities of the Division.
Evaluation: The United Nations Performance Evaluation System (e-performance) will serve as
a primary platform to evaluate of the JPO’s performance. The supervisor will hold weekly
meetings with the JPO to mentor and provide guidance for the activities included in the Work
2
Plan.
III. Duties and Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Junior Professional Officer will be responsible for the following
duties:
1. Full System Cost of a Resilient and Carbon Neutral Electricity System.
This is an activity mandated by the UNECE Group of Experts on Cleaner Electricity
Systems. Achieving net zero in the UNECE region will require a rapid shift toward low- and
zero-carbon electricity, deep electrification, and a flexible, resilient grid; however, electricity
remains carbon-intensive, heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and the grid is not ready for large-
scale renewables. Overreliance on Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for planning misses
broader system costs—such as balancing variability, ensuring grid resilience, and managing
risks—making a more comprehensive framework essential to deliver reliable, clean, and
sustainable power.
Specific duties, responsibilities and outcomes will include:
• Support the coordination of the UNECE Group of Experts on Cleaner Electricity
Systems on enhancing the understanding of the full system cost of a resilient and
carbon neutral energy systems. This will include drafting briefing notes and
contributing to the technical papers prepared by the UNECE expert community,
including those related to energy transition and climate mitigation and adaptation.
• Build multi-stakeholder partnerships and organize joint activities to raise the
awareness about the need for a full energy system cost approach This approach
integrates multiple different cost to provide a more complete understanding of the
trade-offs in electricity system planning and emphasize the importance of a balanced
energy mix combining variable renewable energy, dispatchable resources, and firm
capacity to ensure resilience, affordability, and carbon neutrality.
2. Support UNECE’s sustainable energy related work in Central Asia. The Division is
leading two flagship activities in Central Asia: (i) Water–energy nexus in Central Asia.
UNECE Water Convention, the Group of Experts on Renewable Energy are working closely
on raising awareness about water and energy nexus across Central Asia. In Central Asia the
water, energy, food and ecosystem sectors are tightly interlinked, with upstream demand for
hydropower and downstream demand for irrigation generating competing claims on the
shared waters of the Aral Sea basin, notably the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. The
nexus approach helps basin-sharing countries jointly identify intersectoral resource-
management issues and propose more sustainable and collaborative ways of developing
and stewarding water, energy, land and environmental resources, thereby enhancing water,
energy and food security, increasing resource-use efficiency, reducing trade-offs and
protecting ecosystems while fostering transboundary cooperation; and (ii) Energy
connectivity in Central Asia. UNECE and ESCAP are helping countries in Central Asia to
build their policy design capacity to enhance energy security and energy system resilience
through energy connectivity. Enhanced regional energy connectivity and a resilient and
integrated grid enables countries to: (a) improve energy security by connecting countries or
sub-regions which have energy deficit with markets that are in surplus, (b) enhance
economies of scale of large green infrastructure projects translating into lower overall
system investment and operating costs; (c) allow effective and larger integration of
3
renewable energy into an interconnected system that is more inclusive, flexible, effective,
reliable, diversified, and decarbonized over time.
Specific duties, responsibilities and outcomes will include:
• Support UNECE's work on the water–energy nexus in Central Asia and the
facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogues among riparian countries. This will include
organizing workshops in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan, and undertaking missions to UNECE member States, either alone or as
part of a team.
• Support UNECE’s and ESCAP’s work on energy connectivity in Central Asia. This
will include supporting the development of country specific briefs and regional multi-
stakeholder dialogues with the aim to share best practices and lessons learned.
• Support UNECE’s work on renewable energy. This will include support to: renewable
energy data gathering and analysis exercises; policy advice given through UNECE
Renewable Energy Hard Talks with a specific focus on access to and management
of critical raw materials; and organization of workshops and other activities to
achieve the renewable energy target of SDG7 in Central Asia and other UNECE
countries.
3. Support UNECE’s work on Just Transition, Gender Equality and Youth Engagement.
UNECE is helping countries to attain just energy transition. A “just transition” is an integrated
approach to sustainable development, which brings together social security and progress,
environmental protection, and economic success into a framework of democratic
governance. Effective “just transition” strategies require a holistic approach as well as local,
bottom-up participation of all affected stakeholders and commitment by the governments to
guarantee their buy-in. This is a cross-cutting activity that will be integrated across the work
of the UNECE expert community. The aim is to create a socially equitable and inclusive
energy transition and to have a positive impact on the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, such
as women and girls. Activities under this workstream are designed to help countries
adequately prepare for just energy transition and develop initiatives that, amongst others,
improve energy security; design and implement regionally interconnected, resilient, and
sustainable energy systems; and develop and mainstream gender-sensitive policies on
energy access.
Specific duties, responsibilities and outcomes will include:
• Support UNECE’s work on a just energy transition. This will include supporting
activities, such as workshops or webinars on just energy transition, as well as gender
equality, organized by or in cooperation with the Division’s expert groups. Perform
other related duties as required, including a variety of administrative tasks necessary
for the final delivery of the Division's work on sustainable energy and just transition.
• Lead and coordinate the activities on youth engagement under the UNECE energy
community. This will also include support of the UNECE initiative for technical
universities in Central Asia to foster the next generation of energy experts and deliver
on a just energy transition.
• Coordination of the UNECE Young Working Group on Energy Systems, a dynamic
platform for young professionals to engage in innovative and forward-looking
discussions and contribute to shaping sustainable energy policies and accelerate
energy transition across the UNECE region.
4
IV. Qualifications and Experience
Education:
Master’s degree in Economics, Environmental Sciences, International Relations, Sustainability,
or Social Sciences.
Work experience:
A minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience in the energy sector, environmental
sustainability or energy-related policymaking.
Languages:
English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this position, fluency
in English is required. Knowledge of French and/or Russian is an advantage.
Other skills:
Experience with development of websites and visual communication tools, such as Photoshop
or Adobe Reader, is an advantage.
UN competencies:
PROFESSIONALISM: 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 the audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people
informed.
PLANNING & ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies;
Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; Allocates appropriate
amount of time and resources for completing work; Foresees risks and allows for contingencies
when planning; Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; Uses time efficiently.
Workforce Diversity
The United Nations believes that an inclusive culture attracts the best talent and encourages all
qualified applicants, regardless of gender, disability, sexual orientation, cultural or religious
backgrounds, to apply.
5
V. Learning Elements
On completion of the assignment, the JPO will have/be able to…
• Develop content and background material for workshops and policy dialogues.
• Draft briefs on topics related to energy transition.
• Write UN-style policy analysis and assessment reports.
• Shape the agenda on energy transition in the UNECE region.
• Coordinate multi-stakeholder consultations.
• Develop strategic partnerships across international organizations.
• Identify opportunities for new project and draft project proposals.
• Build network and learn from leading energy transition experts from the region.
VI. Background Information
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of five regional
commissions of the United Nations. It counts 56 member States on three continents: Europe,
North America and Asia. UNECE was established in 1947 to promote pan-European economic
integration. After the Second World War, this was deemed “essential to the maintenance of
peace”. This mandate is as relevant today as ever.
For the past 76 years, UNECE has helped countries to convene and cooperate to develop
norms, standards and conventions. These include 59 inland transport conventions and legal
instruments, five environmental conventions and 12 protocols, 480 standards and regulations
for trade facilitation, more than 100 agricultural quality standards, location codes for
international trade, a classification system for energy, standards for energy efficiency in vehicles
and buildings, smart city indicators, statistical standards and the classification of forest products.
These norms are global public goods that are freely available to all countries, citizens and
companies. They are used by more than 100 countries around the globe. These norms,
standards and conventions help countries implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
This JPO will be in the Subprogramme 5 on Sustainable Energy at UNECE, which is to ensure
secure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all and to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint of the energy sector.
UNECE’s Committee on Sustainable Energy is one of three intergovernmental bodies in the
entire UN Development System dedicated energy and has been assisting member States on
this subject for twenty-nine years. It is the longest standing body on energy in the UN
Development System and has been recognized as a platform that encourages open, inclusive
and honest dialogue on often controversial energy issues through regular engagement with
member States and stakeholders from private and public sectors. Member States have
dedicated five expert groups to natural gas, methane, cleaner electricity systems, renewable
energy and natural resource management. The JPO will have access to vast network of experts
that are leading the work on energy transition across the UNECE region.
6
Bitte senden Sie Ihre JPO-Bewerbung direkt an das
Büro Führungskräfte zu Internationalen Organisationen (BFIO)
unter Angabe der Chiffre Nr. 2026-2-36 auf dem Bewerbungsbogen