View Vacancy - CPK - Head of Programme Delivery, Climate Change and Energy D6(L)

In November 2015, the UK Government announced a £1.3bn Prosperity Fund over the next five (5) years to promote the economic reform and development needed for growth in partner countries. Priorities will include improving the business climate, competitiveness and operation of markets, energy, and financial sector reform. As well as contributing to a reduction in poverty in recipient countries, we expect these reforms to create opportunities for international business including UK companies.

A key strand of the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund strategy in China is centred on low carbon economic development in China and reducing global emissions by accelerating the green transition.

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, responsible for 30% of global CO₂ emissions and is the world’s largest energy consumer (23%) and producer. The recent 13th Five Year Plan commits China to reform its energy sector, improve environmental governance, roll out a massive renewables programme, and reach a carbon peak. This programme will build on years of targeted projects which have cemented the UK’s reputation as a high tech leader, policy innovator, and reliable commercial partner on these issues.

The new programme will support China in accelerating greenhouse gas emissions reductions and implementing a shift to clean energy. It will also target trade and investment wins in China’s vast clean energy market with a focus on: renewables; nuclear energy; electricity storage and grids; low carbon vehicles; green finance; and green services (e.g., building climate risks into infrastructure). The programme will be a key tool for delivering HMG objectives and will play an important role in the wider UK-China bilateral relationship and the Minister-level bilateral Dialogues that structure our co-operation.

The Head of Programme Delivery, Climate Change and Energy will play a lead role in shaping and delivering outputs from this programme, which, subject to UK Ministerial approval, could be up to £18 million over four years. Together with your team, you will be responsible for overseeing procurement and strategic contract management of this multi-year, multi-million pound programme. You will work closely with the Project Sponsor who is responsible for directing overall UK engagement on climate and energy issues. Working closely with the Project Sponsor and the Climate and Energy policy teams, you will work to persuade external stakeholders (UK and Chinese private sector, Chinese government, think tanks, and academics) to engage with and support this programme of activity to ensure delivery of high quality events, reports and policy recommendations.

You will have experience of working in the climate change and/ or energy sector(s) with in-depth knowledge across different market sectors. You will have experience of developing and leading on project and programme work with multiple stakeholders. You will have strong management and leadership skills coupled with proven strategic and analytical capabilities. As such, you will need to be able to demonstrate strong communicating, collaborating, and influencing skills, particularly with external stakeholders, and ideally in an international context. As priorities change, you’ll need to respond flexibly to deliver with and through others.

This position is advertised on a fixed-term basis until 31 December 2017. Subject to confirmation of future funding and performance, it is expected that the position will be extended.

As Head of Programme Delivery, Climate Change and Energy, you be responsible for:

• Strategy - Working closely with the existing Climate Change and Energy teams, oversee the strategic development and direction of the new Prosperity Fund programme. This will require close co-ordination with a range of policy and commercial leads across the Embassy and wider China network as well as a strong working relationship with Whitehall Departments.
• Delivery, procurement, and oversight - With 2 x C4(L) team members, ensure delivery of transition year funding (approximately £700k), quality procurement of subsequent three year programme, and oversight of external implementers to deliver high impact outcomes in support of the broad policy agenda. Provide support and leadership to your team, working with the Programme Secretariat to identify training opportunities and development needs.
• Stakeholder engagement - Working through HMG’s established network of climate change and energy policy makers, manage and develop new external relationships with the Chinese system as well as relevant international stakeholders to ensure effective design and delivery of the programme. This will include government departments, research institutes, consultants, other Embassies, and international organisations and will involve forging new connections both in the UK and China.

• Programme management experience, including, designing new projects; setting specific outputs, outcomes and indicators; monitoring and evaluating of project expenditure; identifying risks and project outcomes
• A minimum of 2 years experience working in climate change or energy sector(s)
• Experience working with external stakeholders in both commercial sectors and government institutions
• Management and leadership experience, or aptitude and willingness to develop
• Experience developing and delivering strategy
• Strong interpersonal skills to engage with different teams
• University degree or equivalent
• Fluent in spoken and written English