Technical Advisor to the CENR (Climate, Environment and Natural Resources) Sector Working Group at GIZ Rwanda: Deadline 28 December 2023

Technical Advisor to the CENR (Climate, Environment and Natural Resources) Sector Working Group at GIZ Rwanda: Deadline 28 December 2023

Vacancy Announcement Technical Advisor to the CENR Sector Working Group for “Capacity Development for the Implementation of Rwanda’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” project

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development, Good Governance, Climate and Energy, Digitalization, Extractive Governance and Peace and Security in the Great Lakes Region.

In March 2022, the Rwandan-German Climate and Development Partnership was signed by the two governments, which includes bilateral projects for technical assistance commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment (MoE) of Rwanda. Under this Partnership, the project “Capacity Development for the Implementation of Rwanda’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” implemented by GIZ aims to enhance the institutional and financial framework conditions of relevant state and non-state actors in Rwanda for the coordination, implementation, financing and monitoring of the country’s NDCs. Under the project’s intervention, GIZ supports the MoE to coordinate and implement the core activities and operations of the Climate, Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Sector Working Group (SWG) to ensure good coordination, active engagement as well as meaningful contributions of sector stakeholders to policy implementation, monitoring and review while ensuring good governance, accountability, sector performance and fostering strong synergies.

To support the implementation of the NDC project and especially GIZ support to the CENR sector and its operational secretariat hosted by the MoE, GIZ Rwanda is recruiting a candidate for the position of Technical Advisor to the CENR (Climate, Environment and Natural Resources) Sector Working Group, based in Kigali.

Location: Kigali, Rwanda

Fixed Term: 12 months (with the possibility of renewal)

Position: One (1)

Start date: 15.02.2024

Under the supervision of the Director of the NDC project, the Technical Advisor to the CENR Sector Working Group is responsible to: 

A. Key responsibilities

• Contribute to the overall achievement of the objectives and outputs of the NDC project, particularly the technical support provided to the CENR SWG and its secretariat,
• Contribute to the overall achievement of the objectives and performance of the CENR SWG, particularly the operations and activities led or coordinated by its secretariat,
• Advise the Project Director and the MoE on strategies to support and empower the CENR SWG and its secretariat in a sustainable manner in cooperation with the MoE,
• Contribute to the planning, implementation and monitoring of relevant activities defined by the CENR SWG in cooperation with the MoE and relevant sector stakeholders,
• Establish and maintain sound relationship with the sector stakeholders, the project’s main partner (MoE) and other relevant stakeholders involved in the CENR sector,
• Follow the development and performance of the CENR sector to keep an updated overview of its activities, initiatives and impact across Rwanda and internationally,
• Support the planning, coordination and implementation of the core sector’s events.

B. Specific tasks 

The Technical Advisor performs the following tasks:

1. Technical and policy advice

• Provide overall technical support and policy advice to the operations and activities of the CENR SWG secretariat which is hosted by the Ministry of Environment (MoE),
• Provide technical, strategic, policy and process-related advice and support to the MoE on the work, inputs, activities, performance, monitoring, review and processes of the CENR SWG and its affiliated Thematic Working Groups (TWGs),
• Support the development, implementation and monitoring of annual workplans for the CENR SWG in close collaboration with relevant sector stakeholders and the MoE,
• Support the promotion, gathering and coordination of research and evidence-based inputs from SWG and TWGs stakeholders to inform policy implementation and sector performance with a view to contribute to awakening and empowering the TWGs,
• Provide technical and process-related advice to the CENR SWG secretariat on the integration of climate science, evidence-based and research-related knowledge as well as a gender dimension into sector strategies, processes, activities and policies,
• Develop terms of reference (ToR), service contracts, concept notes and other related documentation for the recruitment of national and/or international consultants mandated by GIZ to support the activities of the CENR SWG and its secretariat,
• Contribute to the review and quality control of the work and deliverables of national and/or international consultants mandated by GIZ to support the CENR SWG.

2. Stakeholder coordination and secretariat support

• Support the identification of the CENR sector’s needs and aspirations and formulate approaches to address them in line with sector’s objectives and MoE’s guidance,
• Support the coordination of the secretariat functions towards a fit-for-purpose support guided by sector strategic planning and interventions aligned with defined aspirations,
• Contribute to gathering and coordinating the SWG and TWGs stakeholders’ substantial inputs and key contributions to ongoing processes, joint working and policy dialogue and reflections, including in the preparation of the core sector meetings,
• Support the promotion of the inclusiveness and active participation of SWG and TWGs stakeholders and partners – including from academia, civil society, the private sector and research institutions – in sector’s processes, activities and policy dialogue,
• Help establish sound working relations among sector stakeholders, relevant platforms, tools and innovative approaches for the coordination of the CENR sector stakeholders,
• Identify avenues and opportunities to empower the CENR SWG secretariat through a long-term support approach that ensures co-ownership and in-house sustainability.

3. Knowledge management, communication and reporting

• Support the coordination of the SWG through effective communication, information sharing and updates among SWG and TWGs stakeholders and other sector actors,
• Support regular reporting needs and report writing for the CENR SWG on progress made at the sector level using reporting templates and communication frameworks,
• Support the CENR SWG secretariat in regularly monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the SWG and TWGs performance, including sharing of results, lessons learned, gaps and challenges of these activities and processes,
• Support data collection, data analysis as well as briefing paper writing, report writing and preparation of presentations (e.g. PPT) for the sector’s core annual meetings,
• Contribute to the outreach, awareness-raising and promote the visibility of the sector,
• Advise the CENR SWG secretariat on approaches and ways to maintain a good flow of communication and information sharing between the sector stakeholders,
• Support the planning and production of communication-related materials and documentation for the CENR sector, such as blog articles, press releases, newsletters, factsheets, policy briefs, technical papers, concept notes, stakeholder mapping, etc.,
• Support knowledge management, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), reporting-related activities as well as knowledge transfer to CENR sector stakeholders,
• Report regularly to the Project Director on the implementation of the GIZ’ support to the CENR SWG and its secretariat.

4. Events planning, organization and coordination

• Support the planning and organization of key CENR SWG meetings and events, including invitation management, logistical arrangements and follow-up agreements,
• Identify relevant events and activities (e.g. public forums, field visits, open days, study tours, etc.) to promote the sector achievements and good practices at the national, regional and international levels, including for regular sharing of experiences,
• Contribute to the planning, coordination and organization of the CENR Joint Sector Review (JSR) and Forward-Looking Joint Sector Review (FLJSR) meetings as well as the Topical Meetings in coordination with the MoE and the SWG’s Chair and Co-Chair,
• Maintain a good overview and monitoring of the financial support of the project’ support to the CENR SWG and its secretariat including for meetings or event-related expenses.

5. Other duties/tasks

• Support the coordination and implementation of the project’ support to the CENR SWG and its secretariat in accordance with the project objectives, GIZ procedures, rules, quality standards, and existing agreements,
• Support the operationalization of the project’ support to the CENR SWG while monitoring the budgeting and financial flows of project expenses,
• Participate in the project, GIZ Cluster and GIZ Rwanda-related activities and strategic planning events, such as meetings, team building events, team retreats, etc.,
• Carry out any other relevant tasks for the project as requested by the Project Director.

C. Required Qualifications, Competences and Experience 

Qualification

• University degree (Master’s Degree) in a relevant field such as: natural resources management, environmental sciences, environmental policy, environmental planning, environmental economics, environmental management, geography, agronomy, climate sciences, climatology, sustainable development, or any other related fields.

Professional experience

• In total 5 to 7 years of relevant professional experience in project management or providing technical expert advice or consulting services for strategic planning and policy development in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation, climate change policy, climate change planning, environmental management, natural resources management or environmental assessment or sustainable development.
• Experience working with (national and/or international) stakeholders and institutions in these climate change-related fields, including for planning and cooperation processes,
• Good knowledge and understanding of Rwanda’s climate change, environment and natural resources policies, strategies, legislation, institutional landscape, relevant implementation structures and actors, planning processes, coordination forums, etc.,
• Experience working with public institutions, non-state actors, development partners and international donors in Rwanda in the fields of climate change, environment, natural resources, sustainable development, and/or science and research cooperation,
• Specific experience and/or expertise in coordinating and implementing cooperation projects and working on stakeholder coordination and project management in Africa,
• Work experience in advising and/or providing technical, administrative, and project-related support to governmental and/or civil society organisations on climate change,
• Very good knowledge of the international climate change processes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in the context of Rwanda,
• Proven experience in managing external (national and/or international) consultants.

Personal competencies

• Very good communication and excellent self-management and coordination skills,
• Self-creativity, proactivity and proper initiative towards the results of the project,
• Excellent ability to share knowledge and experience and to work and deliver high quality work sometimes under time pressure as well as within tight deadlines,
• Be a good team player with teamwork skills including in multicultural environments,
• Strong motivation to work in a multicultural team and environment, including remotely.

Other required knowledge and skills

• Excellent command (oral and written) of English (required). French would be an asset,
• Good knowledge of the use of ICT applications, e.g. MS Office, Outlook, MS Teams,
• Basic or advanced IT knowledge in the areas of data management, databases, digitalization and/or design thinking would be an asset,
• Willingness to develop new skills and competencies as required by the job and tasks,
• Flexibility to support other team members of the project in his/her areas of expertise,
• Ability and availability to travel outside of the place of employment as required.

Interested candidates should submit their application (motivation letter, updated CV, certificates and references) via our electronic job portal by using the button “apply”; until 28^th December 2023 at 4:00 PM. All attachments should be put together in one PDF file not larger than 2 MB. 

GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued – regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation. We support equal opportunities and welcome applications from people with disabilities.

This includes the provision of reasonable accommodation, if needed, in order to participate in the job application and interview process and to perform essential job functions. Please let us know, if you have any particular requirements should you be invited for assessment/interview or that you wish us to consider, when considering your application.

Women and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test and interview. 

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