View Vacancy - Climate Change and Forests Officer

Main purpose of job   

The UK International Climate Finance (ICF) fund is a £5.8bn portfolio of Official Development Assistance activity (covering the period 2016-21) which includes innovative private sector pilot projects and financial approaches to shift conditions and perceptions of risk in investments in low carbon activities (especially renewable energy and energy efficiency) in developing countries. This includes helping developing countries turn their National Determined Contributions (NDCs, as agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015) into meaningful policy frameworks and investable plans that provide a credible pipeline of projects for investors.

The UK Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has £2bn of international climate finance to support mitigation activities and has developed new flagship programmes to support NDC implementation, including:

a)     A Sustainable Infrastructure Programme to support some emerging economies to bring their National Infrastructure Plans in line with their NDCs.

b)     A Climate Leadership in Cities Programme to support some cities develop Climate Action Plans

c)     A Forest Carbon Partnership Programme to support countries to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

These programmes are being delivered in Peru, in addition to further exploratory work on climate and forests. Working with delivery partners and wider stakeholders is a key success factor for the management of these programmes.

BEIS Ministers have said they want to build deep relationships with strategic climate partners, taking a country view of our UK climate finance and related climate programming, tailoring our programmes to country needs, and building an ambitious plan for joint climate action in that country. The UK is looking to deepen its relationship with Peru on climate, bringing to bear our skills and expertise from decades of low carbon leadership to support Peru to deliver its NDC.

This new position is an exciting opportunity to be at the heart of a growing area of UK – Peru collaboration. The post holder will be required to provide technical or expert advice to more senior grades and support the development of a vision for how to grow the climate relationship, and will provide oversight of relevant climate finance programming, working closely with the BEIS International Climate Finance team in London under senior management supervision. In Peru, this role will report directly to the Head of Economic Diplomacy at the Embassy and be countersigned, including activity management, by BEIS International Climate Finance team. The role will also have strong links to programme colleagues (Prosperity Fund, Newton Fund, CSSF), the political and trade teams.

Roles and responsibilities

With support from the Head of Economic Diplomacy (based in Lima) and the BEIS Climate Finance team (based in London):

1. Scoping (30%)

-          Work with senior management on the scope and development of deeper climate and forests collaboration with Peru, fostering relationships across the Peruvian Government at a central, regional and municipal level.

-          Support the team in identifying, analysing and in a timely manner flagging policy, technological and commercial developments and risks that could influence the delivery of UK-Peru climate and forests collaboration.

-          Lead on the preparation and coordination of key visits (BEIS missions to Peru; ministerial visits; Peruvian official visits to UK) setting up productive dialogues for senior officials that support the development and delivery of the partnership.

-          Provide support on drafting briefings and reports for London-based teams on the progress of developing new initiatives, identifying, analysing and flagging risks and opportunities and how to address them. Provide evidence-based recommendations on collaboration opportunities to senior management at the Embassy and in London.

2. Stakeholder management (25%)

-          Proactively support in developing, managing and strengthening the Embassy’s network of climate, and forest contacts at all levels of seniority and in all sectors, and the green finance business community and investors to identify capacity building and policy influencing opportunities for the ICF programmes.

-          Prompt strategic, regular communications with key stakeholders in the UK, Peru and other target countries in Latin America to facilitate best practice sharing where appropriate.

-          Support the team in publicly representing the Embassy and UK government as a credible interlocutor in climate related engagements as necessary.

-          Follow up on agreements and initiatives derived from the development of ICF programmes.

3. Programmes (25%)

-          Provide oversight support of ICF programmes (specifically SIP, Cities, FCPF and P4F programmes) and support the development of forest programmes, ensuring UK visibility, coherence and complementarity with other UK government programmes (including, but not limited to Prosperity Fund, Newton Fund and CSSF).  

-          Ensure coordination between UK climate programmes and initiatives supported by other donor agencies, identifying opportunities for multilateral cooperation where possible.

-          Be responsive to challenges and opportunities that could impact programmes. Hold delivery partners to account where their performance falls below expectations. Help programmes exceed expectations e.g. by building greater political momentum, better links to Peruvian-led initiatives and better outcomes for businesses and private investors.

-          Build and apply expertise in how BEIS manages operational programmes, as well as the procedures of our key delivery partners (including the IDB, Peruvian ministries and municipalities). Work confidently with programme and project management processes.

-          Proactively seek collaboration opportunities amongst Embassy teams to continue supporting alignment of all UK ODA spend in Peru with climate change objectives.

-          Support the team by identifying opportunities for climate finance programmes to be leveraged in support of HMG’s broader low carbon agenda.

-          Support senior management in working with other donors, government entities and regional stakeholders to effectively raise the profile of climate and forest programmes in Peru and the UK’s position as a major investor and strategic partner.  

4. Administration (10%)

-          The job holder will be expected to manage his or her own administrative tasks and support the wider team on administrative tasks as and when required.

5. Corporate (10%)

-          Play an active part in the corporate life of the Embassy to maximise the overall well-being of staff, and to contribute to the Embassy’s response in case of a crisis.

-          Graduated from Climate Science, Public Policy, International Development, International Business/Relations or related courses with at least 5 years of experience on a related field/activity to this job description and able to demonstrate strong interpersonal, communication and relationship skills;

-          Solid knowledge of Peruvian climate change policy and institutional framework;

-          Be a flexible and creative problem-solver, able to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems, and coordinate coherent and compelling programmes and projects;

-          Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish;

-          Project/Programme management experience, preferably with international stakeholders;

-          Experience providing administrative and logistical support;

-          Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and ability to adjust to different audiences;

-          Excellent presentation skills;

-          Ability to work well and have a flexible approach to work whilst under pressure;

-          Team player, driven by values.