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VACANCY NOTICE NO: SSA-2025-GEO 1
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION:
20 February 2025
28 day(s) until closing deadline
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Consultants
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POST
CONSULTANCY: Country Engagement Specialist
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GRADE
N/A
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DUTY STATION
Geneva, Switzerland
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COMMENCEMENT OF DUTY
To be determined
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NATURE OF APPOINTMENT
Variable (depending on needs of Department/Division)
11 months
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ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
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WMO is committed to achieving diversity and a balanced workforce. Applications are welcome from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities. The statutory retirement age after 1 January 2014 is 65. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.
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DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a global partnership that promotes equitable access and use of Earth observations as evidence for environmental decisions, policies, and financing. GEO’s Post-2025 Strategy charts a bold vision for transformative programs that provide the Earth intelligence needed to reshape how societies interact with the planet.
The Global Ecosystems Atlas (Atlas) is a new initiative of GEO that aims to deliver harmonized spatial data on ecosystem distribution, condition, and risk of all the world’s ecosystems to everyone everywhere. With its user-centric interface, the Atlas will support ecosystem accounting, monitoring, and reporting of nature-positive outcomes from national to global levels. To ensure countries actively engage in the Atlas development and uptake, GEO seeks a Country Engagement Specialist to forge partnerships, integrate relevant datasets, and advance the implementation of the Atlas in national and regional contexts.
Under the supervision of the Climate and Biodiversity Coordinator, the Country Engagement Specialist will have the responsibility for fostering relationships with governments and other national institutions, building relationships with relevant regional organizations that interact directly with countries, facilitating the integration of country-level ecosystem datasets, and promoting the adoption of the Atlas for global reporting frameworks, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Country Engagement and Partnership Development:
o Build and maintain existing relationships with national governments, agencies, and institutions to secure their collaboration and contributions to the Atlas.
o Identify opportunities for partnerships with relevant regional organizations to support engagement with countries and facilitate national contributions to the Atlas.
o Act as a liaison to align Atlas efforts with national priorities and identify opportunities for countries to champion the initiative within their regions.
o Facilitate partnerships to expand Atlas coverage, ensuring participation from diverse stakeholders.
o Contribute to the Atlas initiative's presence and engagement in key events and forums on environmental-economic accounting, and biodiversity monitoring.
Data Collection, Quality Assurance, and Integration:
o Plan and oversee the integration of country-contributed ecosystem datasets and maps into the Atlas.
o Work closely with the Science Lead to ensure datasets meet Atlas quality standards, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and comparability across sources.
Support for Global Reporting and Indicators:
o Promote the adoption of Atlas outputs in at least two countries by 2026 for their ecosystem monitoring, reporting, and policy development.
o Provide technical advice to countries on integrating Atlas outputs into environmental-economic accounting and biodiversity initiatives.
o Organize workshops, expert meetings, and regional seminars to enhance national capacity for ecosystem data management.
o Assist countries in using the Atlas for reporting to international frameworks, including the GBF, by providing technical and strategic guidance.
Project Management and Reporting:
o Work closely with the Climate and Biodiversity Coordinator to develop and execute an outreach strategy to engage key stakeholders and secure participation in the Atlas project.
o Prepare progress reports, technical documentation, and updates for the Atlas governance and donor audiences.
o Work closely with the Atlas platform developers in contributing input that reflects countries' feedback on the design and enhancement of tools on the platform.
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QUALIFICATIONS
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Education
Project management, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Geography, Ecology, Geospatial Science, International Development, or a related field.
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Experience
A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in environmental governance, conservation, geospatial data, ecosystem mapping, or related fields.
Experience in engaging with national governments or international organizations, managing multi-stakeholder projects, and conducting capacity-building initiatives is highly desirable.
Proven experience in engaging with governments, agencies, or international organizations, particularly in multilateral environmental, geospatial, or biodiversity initiatives.
Expertise in ecosystem mapping, environmental-economic accounting, or biodiversity monitoring frameworks (e.g., GBF, SEEA).
Strong project management skills, with the ability to coordinate complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
Excellent communication and relationship-building skills to foster collaboration across diverse cultural and institutional contexts.
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Other requirements
Familiarity with remote sensing and geospatial information systems is a plus.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
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Languages
Excellent knowledge of English (both oral and written). Knowledge of other official languages of WMO would be an advantage.
(Note: The official languages of the Organization are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.)
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Additional Information:
Only applicants in whom GEO has a further interest will be contacted.
Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit a written assessment and/or an interview.
Focal point email for additional information: jobs@geosec.org
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| Date of issue of vacancy notice:
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E-RECRUITMENT
