Energy Specialist – UNHCR jobs in Switzerland

• Location: Geneva, Switzerland
• Vacancy No: N/A 
• Salary: N/A
• Organization: UNHCR
• Gender: Both
• Deadline: 2024-02-20

Standard Job Description

Energy Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
Access to clean, affordable and reliable energy services is integral part of the humanitarian response and an essential factor in creating sustainable economic development. Sustainable energy services are essential for basic human protection and aim to enable refugees, IDPs, host communities and other persons of concern to meet their energy needs in a safe, sustainable and affordable way, recognizing the critical importance of access to sustainable energy to ensure basic needs, improve human protection and well-being, and foster communities’ inclusiveness.
Energy services provide cooking, lighting, heating and clean water, and underpin all but the most rudimentary income-earning activities. Energy poverty leads to insecurity, increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), reduced development opportunities, health problems and environmental degradation.
In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), access to clean energy could vastly improve the health and well-being of millions of persons.

The Energy Officer will provide technical support to the Organisation to meet the increasing demands of operations for access of persons of concern (PoCs) to sustainable energy as well as reducing costs and carbon footprint. This dedicated expertise and experience would provide continuity and enhance institutional knowledge in this technical area, mainstreaming energy as a cross-cutting issue across UNHCR operations and within internal guiding frameworks such as the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). The incumbent will typically report to the Senior Programme Officer / Senior Operations or Deputy /Assistant Representative.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
– Support implementation of the sustainable energy strategies in coordination with partners, government and private sector.
– Be a catalyst for all sustainable energy initiatives.
– Assess, identify and analyse cost effective and appropriate sources of alternative energy for cooking, lighting and electricity in collaboration with all actors, including private sector, development agencies and governmental institutions.
– Support with the design of specific projects and pilot energy for cooking, lighting and powering, including renewable energy, with a view towards enhancing self-reliance, education and protection.
– Work in close collaboration and emphasize the multi-sectoral links of Energy with Environment, Protection, Shelter and Settlement and Public Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
– Assist with the coordination with government, line ministries and NGO partners to implement a robust and appropriate renewable energy strategy and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources and ensure safety
– Support the monitoring and coordination of all sustainable energy activities.
– Provide support to identify, establish and maintain links with relevant organizations to ensure access to sustainable energy for both PoCs and the surrounding areas.
– Work in multi-functional team approach and work in close collaboration with Programme and other technical experts, to ensure energy based interventions are approached from a cross-sectoral perspective.
– Ensure that minimum best practices are met to assure health and safety standards across all sustainable energy and energy efficient technologies.
– Document each stage of project development including monitoring, testing, trouble shooting, lessons learned and solutions applied to assure institutional knowledge development.
– Contribute to development of effective communication channels between all key stakeholders and promote the sharing of information on energy related activities.
– Stay informed of all governmental/national electrical/renewable developments to assure legal and advantageous energy incentives are explored.
– Support the representation of UNHCR in relevant international meetings and technical fora.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P3/NOC – 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Energy; Energy Engineering; Environment; Environmental Engineering;
Environmental Sciences or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Environment Environment Interventions Emergency
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Experience in working in humanitarian situations and proven knowledge of sustainable energy and technical skills in set-up, design and monitoring of energy programmes from a multi-sectoral and protection perspective.

Desirable
Knowledge and understanding of international policies and regulations on energy. Knowledge of renewable energy, including financial, regulatory and/or policy frameworks, renewable energy financial management (including community involvement and capacity issues), renewable energy business development (including business planning, entrepreneurship development). Experience of cost recovery systems, metering, energy audits and comparative analyses of fuel and energy systems

Functional Skills
*FO-Complex field emergency operations
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

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