Energy Officer

Only candidates who are not nationals of the country of assignment are eligible to apply to this position

D 

Family 

PR3 

Professional

* Staff members will not normally serve in International Professional positions in the country of their nationality. In addition, in case of a first appointment upon recruitment, the assignment must be outside the staff member’s country of nationality.

In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment 

No 

2024-01-01 

November 28, 2023

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.

The candidate must have a proven record of supporting large and complex operations, including coordinating with a range of external actors. The candidate needs to be a hands-on manager able to set up strategic directions as well as identifying opportunities, managing implementation, and representing UNHCR in coordination forum.
The candidate should have demonstrated ability and experience in successfully and effectively leading a team to deliver measurable results in a multi-cultural environment characterized by pressure and emergency conditions. S/he should have diverse, multifaceted operations experience on fuel efficiency, environmental rehabilitation, access to energy and other Climate Action activities in complex humanitarian settings within an interagency context. Experience in the region and knowledge of the coordination in Bangladesh and the geo-political situation in the region is desirable. Given the high profile of the Operation, the ability to interact with donors and external stakeholders is essential as is demonstrable experience in addressing sustainable solutions in a complex Operational setting. 

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

The Energy Officer supports the Senior Inter-Agency Officer in managing the implementation of Energy and Environment (E&E) projects and Climate Action initiatives.

Bangladesh is one of UNHCR’s global pilot on Climate Action. The operation seeks to integrate climate action in all of its interventions, and promote innovative solutions to improve human lives, safeguard environment and increase cost efficiency. The Office is seeking a specialized energy and environmental expert to lead the technical team for E&E with specific focus on Climate Action. The incumbent will enhance institutional knowledge in this technical area, provide guidance to partners, mainstreaming Climate Action across the Bangladesh operation and within guiding frameworks such as the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF).

The incumbent will report to the Senior Inter-Agency Officer. The incumbent will work with the technical units (Public Health, Wash, Shelter, Field) to ensure cohesion and coherence. S/he will also collaborate with other units such as Protection, Supply, Gender Based Violence in developing integrated, holistic approaches.

Living and Working Conditions:

Cox’s Bazar is a category D family duty station with a 2-year Standard Assignment Length (SAL). Educational facilities are limited, and international schools from primary to secondary school are currently available in Dhaka only. Health services are limited in Cox ‘s Bazar but improved with bringing on board international medical services, IQARUS who runs and manages UN Primary Health Care(PHC). More reliable facilities in Dhaka, while excellent medical care is accessible in Bangkok, which is the R&R Duty Station. Malaria and dengue risks exist throughout the year. Vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis and diphtheria are required.

Cox’s Bazar is a principle tourist destination for Bangladeshis, with a long beach stretching over 120km to the tip of the peninsula, with several hotels and restaurants. Leisure and recreational facilities generally focus on beach activities and hotel-based activities (swimming pools, gyms, restaurants). Infrastructure and shopping options in Cox’s Bazar – a small city of just 250,000 persons – are limited, however.

The Rest and Recuperation (R&R) cycle in Cox ‘s Bazar is 8 weeks. There are several domestic flights from/to Dhaka daily during daylight hours. Banks/ATM machines are available in Cox’s Bazar and credit/debit cards are accepted. Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks and exchange houses.

Staff with small children are advised to contact the office for more information, as while Cox’s Bazaar is a family duty station, educational and medical facilities are not adequate for small children and there are no international schooling facilities at all (only in Dhaka).

The security level system in Bangladesh is level 3 moderate. Although security is generally acceptable, given the current situation in the area, no movement on highways at night is allowed. Walking and jogging in the streets as earmarked is permitted. Crowded local markets should be avoided.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Energy, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Energy Engineering, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Environment, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Environmental Engineering, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Environmental Science 

Certifications

Environment Interventions Emergency – Other, Environment – Other 

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Innovation & creativity, Judgement & decision making, Organizational awareness, Teamwork & collaboration, Technological awareness

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Add. 1 to Bi-annual Compendium 2023 – Part BAdditional Information

This position requires Functional Clearance