Mission and objectives

Since its inception in 1972, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been the global authority that sets the environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, UNEP works through its divisions as well as regional, liaison and out-posted offices and a growing network of collaborating centres of excellence.

Context

The Secretariat of Governing Bodies and Stakeholders is responsible for supporting the UN Environment Assembly and its subsidiary inter-sessional bodies, including the Committee of Permanent Representatives. The Secretariat, which is also referred to as the Governance Affairs Office, consists of two units: the Governing Bodies Unit and the Civil Society Unit. The Governing Bodies Unit coordinates and services the meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives and the UN Environment Assembly in close cooperation with the Division of Conference Services of the UN Offices in Nairobi. It provides a channel of communication and disseminates timely information to Governments and coordinates UNEP´s relations with the Permanent Missions to the UN Environment Programme, Ministers of Environment, and other relevant authorities. The Civil Society Unit is responsible for facilitating the participation of Major Groups and Stakeholders in the intergovernmental decision-making process at UNEP. The Unit engages with the accredited civil society organizations, networks, and associations to support the implementation of UNEP’s mandate.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Political Affairs Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Contribute to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) preparations and organization. • Contribute to the preparation and organization of intergovernmental meetings, including but not limited to Annual Subcommittee meetings, formal CPR meetings, Subcommittee meetings, Secretariat Briefings, meetings with regional/political groups, and internal preparatory and coordination meetings with relevant colleagues. • Support the drafting of CPR meeting agendas, concept notes, briefing notes, cover notes, chairing scripts, and transmittal notes. • Update a comprehensive roadmap of meetings for the Governing Bodies, functioning as a living document to ensure timely meeting information to Member States and stakeholders. • Liaise with meeting presenters and their teams to ensure that the correct documentation is uploaded to the meeting portals. • Take detailed meeting notes and produce draft summaries for relevant meetings. • Support logistical preparations of meetings and coordination with UNON and IT colleagues. • Support the improvement of documentation management and meeting organization through different electronic platforms. 2. Contribute to United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) preparations and organization. • Support planning, scheduling, organizing, servicing, and following up on meetings of the sixth session of UN Environment Governing Bodies and Open-ended CPR. • Support in the logistical preparation of UNEA-6 and relevant meetings. • Support the improvement of documentation management and meeting organization through different electronic platforms. 3. Support communications and correspondence. • Communicate with Member States and UN Environment Programme Divisions/ Regional Offices to facilitate the timely preparation of relevant meetings under Governing Bodies. • Support the management of the Secretariat of Governing Bodies’ (SGB) email account. • Assist in ensuring the timely dissemination of information about programmes and activities organized by the UN Environment Programme to Member States and other stakeholders. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities (for instance, in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Competencies and values

Communication Planning and Organizing Professionalism Technological Awareness Working in Teams

Living conditions and remarks

The position will be based in the capital, Nairobi, a family duty station. For more details on the living conditions and work environment, please visit www.unon.org. The Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; National Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita, estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP), is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Kenya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services, and educational facilities are readily available. The city is widely connected through its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and the smaller Wilson Airport. Air transport is also available to many up-country destinations. The city is home to some 3,000 UN personnel, mainly attributed to the fact that it serves as the headquarters for both the UN-HABITAT and UNEP. The socio-economic and cultural background of the immediate society the UNV would be living and working in is diverse, and prevailing security conditions at the place of assignment are modest. The topographic and climatic features of the assignment location is highland cool and warm tropical climate. The contract lasts for the period indicated above, with the possibility of extensions subject to the availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. A UN Volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) per month and is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications, and other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$1,602. The VLA base rate is a global rate, while the PAM is country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty stations, irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website http://icsc.un.org. For example, kindly enter the link Calculator In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and also in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty station. UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurance as well as assignment travel, annual leave, and full integration in the UN security framework (including residential security reimbursements). UN Volunteers are paid a Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels, flight tickets for the final repatriation travel (if applicable). Disclaimer The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture.