UN Greenhosue Gas Inventory

Date of Issue:  23 August 2012

VACANCY NO:	NA-12-19
LOCATION	Home Based
ORGANIZATION:	UNEP/DTIE (SUN)
DUTY STATION:	Paris
FUNCTIONAL TITLE:	Consultant (Level A)
DURATION:	Around 20 weeks of work during September 2012 to September 2013
CLOSING DATE:	03 September 2012

BACKGROUND:

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.  The Sustainable United Nations (SUN) facility hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva, is looking for a Consultant to operate its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Helpdesk service and assist UN agencies in developing their UN GHG Inventory.

The UN GHG Inventory exercise is being conducted since 2008 as a part of the implementation of the UN Climate Neutral Strategy. The UN Chief Executive Board adopted in 2007 the UN Climate Neutral Strategy, committing all UN agencies, funds, and programmes to compile annual greenhouse gas inventories, reduce emissions of GHGs and consider procurement of offsets to compensate for remaining emissions.

In support of the implementation of this strategy, each UN organization has designated a Sustainability Focal Point, who is responsible for the implementation of the strategy within the organization, including the compilation of GHG Inventories. A reporting system is in place, which has helped to compile the Agency level and UN-wide GHG Inventories for 2008, 2009 and 2010 as reported in the annual “Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN” publication (http://www.greeningtheblue.org/resources/climate-neutrality)

To assist the Focal Points in compiling the GHG Inventory, SUN has been providing a Helpdesk service. The purpose of this Consultancy is mainly to operate the SUN Helpdesk service, with specific responsibilities and tasks described below.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

1) Provide a Question & Answer (Q & A) function regarding preparation of GHG emission inventories:

1.1 Be available by e-mail and telephone (during normal working hours) to answer technical and administrative questions about data collection, use of the UN GHG inventory tools (data collection tools ,  GHG inventory web-portal) data management, boundaries, how to manage data gaps, use of targets, methodologies and databases used etc. The ambition is that all questions should be responded to within two working days;

1.2 Every 3 months, update the FAQ section on the UN GHG Inventories at the password protected part of the www.greeningtheblue.org website;

1.3  Update the UN GHG Inventory Manual and other guidance material;

1.4  Update the GHG Inventory related content of the greeningtheblue.org website.

2) Compile the UN GHG Inventory for reporting year 2011 and initiate it for 2012:

2.1 Ensure access for the Focal Points, to the GHG Inventory tools. This includes sharing of data collection files, GHG Calculator and guidance material, and usernames and passwords for the GHG web-portal;

2.2 Follow up with each Agency Focal Point, to ensure that the inventories are submitted to the Help Desk as per agreed deadlines;

2.3 Review the greenhouse gas inventories submitted and check for consistency and discrepancies, including comparing it with previous year’s inventories. Errors and major changes need to be checked and discussed with the SUN team. The Consultant will be responsible for ensuring the quality of the inventory results and for seeking clarifications from each UN Agency;

2.4  Compile the greenhouse gas inventory results of the UN Agencies and aggregate it to the global UN level, in several formats, as per requirements;

2.5  Prepare the UN-wide Inventory Management Plan (IMP) for 2011 and support agencies in preparing their own IMPs for various years;

2.6   Initiate the GHG Inventory process for 2012, in early 2013, by updating the data files and guidance materials and sending it out to the Focal Points;

2.7  Recalculate the emission estimates for the 2009 GHG Inventory to account for change in methodologies and data. This would involve the uploading of around 300 data files in the GHG Inventory web portal and compiling and validating the results;

3) Support the preparation of the 4^th edition of the “Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN” publication:

3.1 Support drafting chapters reporting the results of the GHG Inventory;

3.2 Based on the inventory results, prepare essential graphs and tables needed for the publication;

3.3 Participate in the meetings of the editorial committee of the report.

4)    Other Tasks:

4.1  Participate and provide technical expertise (including technical presentations) in meetings and trainings related to the UN GHG Inventory, being conducted by SUN, mostly online;

4.2   Compile a report on how UN agencies are currently funding environmental management, in their organisations. This work will involve data collection, analysis and report preparation;

4.3  Support the SUN team in other substantive tasks, as per needs.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION AND COMPETENCIES:

·         Graduate in Environment or Natural Resources. Specialized education or training on Corporate GHG Inventories or related topics would be an advantage;

·         Minimum 2 years of working experience in the environmental project/programme implementation. Experience in using internationally accepted guidance such as the GHG Protocol of WRI/WBCSD is required.  Working experience with UN Agencies would be an advantage.

·         Well versed in using MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint;

·         Ability to organize, analyze and synthesize different types of information in a systematic manner;

·         Excellent drafting skills (evidence of previous papers and reports might be requested);

·         Good coordination ability and team working spirit;

·         English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Working knowledge of French is desirable. 

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates may kindly submit a covering letter and detailed CV by 3 September 2012 to Mrs. Jacklin Georges (Jacklin.Georges@unep.org)

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, TRAINING OR ANY OTHER FEES). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON BANK ACCOUNTS.