View Vacancy - MNL - Climate and Energy Attaché

Promoting a low carbon, high growth global economy is one of the key policy goals of the British Government and its missions overseas. The  Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has a regional network of climate and energy attaches in South East Asia whose role is to promote the climate change agenda  (in particular the Paris climate agreement) and  encourage low carbon transition in the region. This is done through advocacy and policy work, commercial engagement, and increasingly through strategic use of the UK government’s Prosperity Fund to promote economic reform in developing countries. This exciting and challenging role in the British Embassy in Manila will focus on how to encourage and facilitate the Philippines’ contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and its transition to a low carbon economy. The job holder will work closely with other colleagues in the Political and Economic Section of the Embassy, including the economic and communications officers, and with colleagues in the International Trade Section.  The successful candidate will also work with colleagues based in other British Missions in the region, and officials in the FCO and other relevant Departments in London, and report to the Head of the Climate and Energy Network based at the British High Commission in Singapore (with the Embassy’s Head of the Political and Economic Section as the Countersigning Officer).

This exciting and challenging role has two key elements:

1. Delivering the British government’s climate change & energy objectives in Manila, and informing UK policy through analysis and reporting of local policy and developments in these areas.

2. Pursing programme -backed diplomacy by providing policy input from the Philippine perspective into two new proposed Prosperity Fund 4-year programmes covering South East Asia: one on Low Carbon Energy, and the other on Future Cities.

The successful candidate will work with the Head of FCO’s Southeast Asia Climate Change & Energy Network, the Head of Prosperity Programmes, and key personnel at the Embassy in Manila to:

• Provide accurate, timely and concise reporting on climate change and energy policy and developments in the Philippines; in particular the Philippine government ‘s ability to meet its Paris commitments and national determined contribution (NDC); and any progress on a transition away from coal;
• Represent and communicate the UK’s climate and energy policies to the Philippines, engaging with a wide network of Philippine interlocutors in the public, business and NGO sectors;
• Provide inputs into the business case and procurement for two new Prosperity Fund programmes on Low Carbon Energy and Future Cities, and provide policy level input once the programmes roll out;
• Mainstream climate change and energy within the UK’s prosperity agenda, working closely with the Embassy colleagues to seek low carbon commercial opportunities for Britain;
• Create and manage public diplomacy interventions and events on climate change, energy and low carbon development; working closely with the Embassy’s communications personnel, as well as external partners and stakeholders;
• Support climate change and energy related visits, both to the Philippines and the UK;
• Undertake specific activities and lobbying regarding international sustainability-related initiatives such as ICAO emissions reduction work and on the International Wildlife Trade; and
• Contribute to the Embassy’s wider political and economic agenda, such as policy and crisis-related work.

The candidate will need to be flexible and resilient to changes in his/her role to respond to changing needs within the Mission, whether to cover particularly acute work periods (such as a humanitarian disaster) or as the Climate Change and Energy agenda and the Prosperity Fund evolves.

• Proven experience in policy analysis, with the ability to carry out research, and summarise findings in a concise and professional format
• Experience of working on climate change and/or energy issues
• Basic project management experience
• Experience of working with and through networks of representatives from government, the private sector, media and international institutions
• Strong interpersonal, representational and communication skills, with the ability to present convincing arguments in a public setting
• Excellent command of written and spoken English and Filipino
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, under pressure and to meet tight deadlines
• Good IT skills, proficient in MS Office applications