Environmental field adviser (national consultant)

National consultancy under a local contract, to be negotiated based on the skills and experience of the selected candidate.

Result of service:

Environmental impacts of the situation in Brazil and of the humanitarian response to it are identified, known and mitigated, reducing risks to public health and risks of local tension. Opportunities to use environment/natural resource management as a means by which to promote social integration and durable solutions and developed.

Work Location: Boa Vista, Brazil, with travel to Manaus and Brasilia.

Expected duration: Six months (beginning January/February 2019) with possible extension.

Duties and responsibilities

Purpose

Under the overall guidance of the head of office in the UNHCR Boa Vista field office, in close coordination with the Office of the Representative in Brasilia, and with the support of the UN Environment regional humanitarian affairs officer in Panama City, the UN Environment Brazil country office in Brasilia, and the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit (JEU) UNHCR energy and environment office in Geneva, the Environmental Field Adviser (EFA) will support in planning, developing and supporting implementation of activities aimed at minimising the adverse impacts to the environment from the protracted crisis or escalating situation, in line with the above objectives.

The EFA is expected to interact with national and local authorities, international agencies, local partners and sectoral working groups present in the country to ensure that key environmental considerations are identified and addressed across clusters/sectors projects and programming.

Within delegated authority, the Environmental Field Adviser should fulfil the following objectives:

• To complete an assessment of the current situation regarding population movements, humanitarian response and environmental impacts, as well as conflict risks related to environmental issues.
• To identify needs, capacity gaps and opportunities to address environmental issues and strengthen the response of all humanitarian actors on the ground, including the federal government and armed forces, other UN agencies and NGOs.
• To develop low-cost mitigation and training actions to address the issues identified.
• To advise on the implementation of the environmental dimension of integration and peacebuilding activities being designed by other partners.
• To implement environmental activities based on the assessment needs being prioritised and agreed.
• To support resource mobilisation to facilitate the scale-up of the work in northern Brazil, potentially to other areas of Brazil and/or to other countries affected by the crisis.
• To promote and advocate for the use of existing guidelines and guidance materials as for example found on the Environmental Emergencies Centre website, ReliefWeb, the UNHCR's Emergency Handbook website, and the UNEP Post-Conflict Resource Centre.
• To report on all activities and funds spent to both UN Environment and UNHCR.

These objectives fit within the framework of the agreement between UNHCR and UN Environment, and the UN Environment project “Strengthening national capacity to address the environmental impacts of humanitarian responses to population displacement in selected countries” which partially finances this deployment.

The consultant salary is financed by UN Environment. Activity funds will be provided by UNHCR directly, without transfer of funds between the two agencies. The consultant will be based in the UNHCR office in Boa Vista, Brazil, and have one reporting line to the head of office. Additionally, this consultancy includes a 40 hour work week from Monday to Friday and with monthly payments upon presentation and approval of monthly reports.

Qualifications/special skills

Academic qualifications:

• First level university degree in environmental science, natural sciences, social anthropology, disaster management (with an emphasis on environment), or another demonstrably relevant field is essential.
• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in environmental science, natural sciences, social anthropology, disaster management (with an emphasis on environment), or another demonstrably relevant field is desirable.

Experience:

Essential:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience derived from work in the environment and in the civil protection/emergency response fields.
• Ability to integrate environmental considerations across other disciplines/sectors, and specifically into emergency response, while prioritising environmental impacts within the framework of humanitarian objectives.
• Ability to distinguish and prioritise immediate response actions based on humanitarian needs from medium to long-term mitigation, rehabilitation and policy activities.
• Familiarity with environmental assessment tools and frameworks and ability to conduct environmental assessments using international tools and guidelines (environmental impact assessments, risk assessments, etc.).
• Knowledge of MS Office and ability to operate standard IT and communications equipment.
• Experience in social research (e.g. focus group discussions, key informant interviews) to assess needs and capacities, as well as the development of relevant indicators.
• High motivation coupled with an ability to improvise effectively in rapidly changing situations with minimal guidance and support.
• Influencing skills to negotiate and convince a diverse range of actors (military, government, other UN agencies, donors, local and international NGOs, media) of the life-saving importance of incorporating environment into humanitarian action.
• Team skills required for working in a multi-disciplinary, multi-national team in field conditions of hardship with an ability to assume authority as and when needed.

Desirable:

• Experience of environmental work in a humanitarian/relief context and or post-crisis setting is a strong advantage.
• Knowledge of humanitarian standards, tools and guidelines, and their linkages to environment. These include SPHERE standards, Core Humanitarian Standard, Environmental Markers, cluster/sector-specific guidelines, disaster waste management guidelines, CAP guidelines, etc.
• Professional work experience in the environment field in Brazil.
• Experience in the use of GIS software and map production an advantage (e.g. ArcGIS, QGIS).

​Language:

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English and Portuguese is required. Conversational fluency in Spanish is highly advantageous.