Climate Scientist

Conservation International (CI) has been protecting nature for the benefit of all for over 30 years. Through science, policy, and partnerships, CI is helping build a healthier, more prosperous, and more productive planet.

POSITION SUMMARY

Recently, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved a US$5.7 million program to boost the capacity of four member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to effectively track and report their progress in tackling climate change in line with their commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. The project includes a $4.2million grant from the GEF and a $1.546 million co-financing from partners.

Led by Conservation International, a GEF Implementing Agency, in partnership with COMESA, the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), The Gaborone Declaration for Sustainability in Africa (GDSA), and Governments of Comoros, Eritrea, Seychelles, and Zambia, the five-year Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) program will strengthen the capacity of COMESA Member States to comply with transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement. This is by establishing an Eastern and Southern Africa Regional CBIT transparency framework for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of climate actions, report on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and knowledge dissemination.

This regional CBIT program is anchored on the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT), whose role is to promote climate transparency and accountability as one of the ways through which the GEF is supporting countries to successfully implement the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement. The ETF enables countries to track, compare and build an understanding of national commitments worldwide to fight climate change. Article 13 of the ETF requires countries to regularly provide: a national inventory of Green House Gas emissions; generate the information necessary to track progress towards achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); communicate support provided and received in the following areas: capacity building, climate finance, technology development, and transfer, climate change adaptation, and mitigation.

The four COMESA countries —like other developing countries—face serious challenges in meeting the transparency reporting requirements. The key barriers that this project seeks to address are:

Barrier 1: Inadequate Green House Gas data - gap analysis for completeness, comparability, consistency, and accuracy.

Barrier 2: Inadequate Institutional and technical capacity at national levels to operationalize MRV especially in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors.

Barrier 3: Lack of a regional integrated platform for learning and knowledge management of transparency-related activities.

This regional CBIT program will yield the results below which will improve climate transparency reporting overtime:

• Improve technical capacities and institutional frameworks of participating countries to transparently plan, monitor, and report on their NDC targets and climate actions.


• Strengthen regional institutional framework for COMESA member Countries to transparently plan, monitor, and report on their NDC targets and climate actions.


• Strengthen the capacity of selected national academic institutions to train relevant Government officials to transparently measure, report and verify emissions on agriculture, forestry, and land-use sector NDC targets.


• Enhance transparency through the establishment of regional platforms for learning, sharing, and knowledge management.

We are looking for a Climate Scientist with knowledge of Program Management. They will work under the supervision of the Senior Regional Director, Conservation Science, to manage day-to-day program implementation, training and capacity building activities, and other program tasks.

This position is based at our Nairobi office, with frequent travels to implementing countries. Even though the candidate will often work remotely due to the current pandemic, they must be flexible and able to travel 40% of the time to project countries, engaging with high-level government officials as well as several partner institutions and stakeholders.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• With supervision from the Senior Regional Director, Conservation Science; the Climate Scientist will inspire, motivate and manage the day-to-day implementation of the CI-COMESA Regional CBIT program.


• Lead and guide technical capacity building in program countries.


• Work with project partners and stakeholders to ensure project buy-in, ownership, and active participation by national and regional partners and stakeholders.


• Represent Conservation International and the CI-COMESA Regional CBIT program at relevant meetings.


• They will put in place a program plan, monitoring and evaluation plan, and generate detailed progress reports program.


• Develop information materials for CI decision-makers and external stakeholders and for program visibility.


• Frequently communicate project progress and updates to partners, stakeholders, and colleagues to maintain rapport and project visibility.


• Ensure project sustainability by supporting resource mobilization and strengthening of partnerships.


• Identify, adapt, and share technical and detailed best practices and work collaboratively to instill effective information sharing across programs and units.


• Oversee project operational and financial management, ensuring compliance to CI Policies, funding agreements, and local legislation requirements.


• Contribute to internal CI networks and teams.


• Keep abreast of emerging trends and best practices in conservation science.


• Perform related duties as assigned.

PEOPLE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Does not directly supervise staff.


• Manages the program’s budget and finances.


• Manage public or private funds; ensure compliance with donor requirements and CI policies.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya.


• Travel of 40% or more as needed.


• Ability to work under minimal supervision.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• A Bachelor's degree in Climate Sciences or related field with at least 4 to 6 years of work experience with different sectors in sub-Saharan Africa.


• Must have the knowledge and at least 4 to 6 years of experience in conducting training, other capacity development tasks, GHG monitoring, reporting and verification, and related fields.


• The candidate must possess a great personality, and a team player able to work in a diverse and multicultural environment with different stakeholders and partners.


• Self-driven, and able to deliver outcomes within a tight timeline under minimal supervision.


• Have excellent communication and social skills and a demonstrable capacity for high-level engagement with partners in government, local partners, and other institutions.


• They should possess strong knowledge and experience in project management including both technical and financial management.


• Must possess wide knowledge and understanding of climate issues.


• Working knowledge of English is a must.

Preferred

• An advanced degree in Climate Sciences or related field.


• Experience designing and /or implementing stakeholder engagement plans with diverse actors.


• Right to live and work in Kenya without employer sponsorship.


• Additional knowledge of French is an added advantage.

How to apply

To apply for this position please submit a resume and cover letter on link below.

Career Center (taleo.net)