Technical Specialist - Climate Change

The Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA) is a joint initiative of the Royal Government of Cambodia and development partners to address climate change in Cambodia. It provides a unified engagement point to pool resources for the mainstreaming of climate change in national and sub-national policies and programmes. 

The CCCA was established in 2010, it has laid the foundation of the national climate agenda. These include the Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan 2014-23 (CCCSP), the updated Nationally Determined Contribution, the Long Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality, and corresponding strategic plans and actions plans in fourteen priority ministries and agencies, the successful operation of a grant facility (42 Government and NGO projects supported in key areas of the climate change response), and increased visibility and understanding of climate change, both within Government and in society at large.

The current phase of the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance programme (2019-2024) builds on these initial achievements and aims to support the scaling-up of the climate change response at the national level and in priority sectors by focusing on three main drivers of change: 

• Ensuring that locally relevant, reliable information on climate change is generated and available to key stakeholders.
• Developing and implementing tools for the effective mainstreaming of climate change in the policies, programmes and budgets of priority sectors (rural development, public works and transport, education, energy and environment).
• Strengthening capacities for the mobilization, coordination and tracking of public and private climate change finance.

The CCCA is closely aligned with the national institutions in charge of climate change. It is implemented by the National Council for Sustainable Development, an inter-ministerial body bringing together the representatives of thirty-six ministries and agencies, and twenty-five provincial governors. The project is anchored in the Department of Climate Change, which also acts as the secretariat of NCSD.

The CCCA includes a mix of technical and policy advisory and financial support. It engages a broad range of stakeholders in line with their respective roles in the climate change response and promotes innovative partnerships between government, civil society, academia and the private sector.

As the current phase of the programme enters its final year, there is a need for a technical specialist, to support timely implementation and completion of remaining activities and identification of opportunities for future support or successor project.

Under the general guidance of the Resident Representative, the Technical Specialist will work under the supervision of the Environment Policy Specialist with regular liaison with the Programme Team and the Nature/ Climate/ and Energy Team. He/she will be based in the CCCA project office at the Ministry of Environment.

The Technical Specialist is expected to provide high-quality and timely technical guidance, advice and tangible inputs to the project. The scope of work includes the following:

Advisory support to the implementing partner for the management and closure of CCCA programme:

• Provide guidance to national staff to ensure timely delivery of the programme’s activities, including reporting, and effectively monitor and address risks as needed.
• Document lessons learnt from the various grants in policy briefs, and where relevant highlight a pathway to scale up promising solutions, with proposed next steps for UNDP and CCCA partners. 
• Analyse opportunities for better engaging the private sector in climate action in Cambodia.
• Provide technical inputs to other analyses such as CC/environment-related portfolio/project documents, policy and knowledge products; and
• Identify opportunities and needs for future support or successor initiative and contribute to resource mobilisation, as needed. 

Advisory support to the implementing partner to oversee the implementation of letters of agreement (LoA) with MEF and line ministries related to climate change planning, reporting and budgeting:

• Ensure regular monitoring and consultations on the implementation of the LoAs, with support from the National Coordination Officer.
• Coordinate the mobilization of CCCA inputs (staff, consultants) in support of the LoAs.
• Liaise as needed with UNDP Team and development partners involved in Public Financial Management Reforms, to ensure CCCA experience and insights on climate-responsive budgeting are integrated into PFM reforms, particularly Public Investment Management.

Management advisory support to the Department of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment (DCC):

• Contribute to quarterly and annual planning and reporting and review the full draft reports prior to submission to the project manager.
• Provide on-the-job coaching and mentoring to national project staff and DCC staff, in line with the agreed capacity development plan and in coordination with the Policy Specialist. 
• Provide management advice to ensure the effective closing of this phase of the project, including final data collection and reporting. 
• Contribute to the final evaluation commissioned by UNDP; and
• Provide support to DCC in their role to coordinate the climate change response in Cambodia, including through the management of the Climate Change Technical Working Group.

Advisory support to the process of climate change programme/projects development: 

• Identify areas of UNDP comparative advantages in the field of climate change.
• Advise the formulation of project concept notes and full project documents including information materials in consultation with relevant stakeholders among others.
• Facilitate organization of stakeholder meetings/events/workshops with key stakeholders to identify priorities for climate change.
• Contribute to the resource mobilization with donors, private sector, government and other global and regional resources.
• Facilitate consultations required for Internal Project Appraisal Committee meetings, Local Project Appraisal Committee Meetings.

Knowledge management:

• Develop communication products such as op-eds, blogs, as well as policy briefs, upon request from MOE/DCC or UNDP management; and
• Identify and document lessons learnt and good practices and share them with appropriate audiences, including potentially for the design of the next phase of CCCA.

Other tasks required by the office: 

• The incumbent may also be required to take on other relevant initiatives/projects within the scope of TOR depending on the workload at the time. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the office and the organization. 

Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have a lasting impact.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems. 
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands. 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate tasks/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies: 

Business Development           

• Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Business Management           

• Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
• Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
• Monitoring: Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results
• Customer Satisfaction/Client Management: Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

2030 Agenda: Planet 

• Nature, Climate and Energy: Climate change adaptation and mitigation, climate finance, and climate change policies including National Determined Contributions (NDC).

Business Direction and Strategy       

• System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.