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National Program Officer (NPO)

Duty station: Tbilisi, Georgia

Work time: 80%

Supervisor: Senior National Program Officer (SNPO)

Beginning of employment: May 2023

Institutional context

The Swiss Cooperation Office for the South Caucasus (SCO) consists of three international cooperation teams integrated in the Embassies of Switzerland in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The SCO is responsible for coordinating the Swiss development cooperation in the South Caucasus, in particular of projects funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The Swiss Cooperation Program for the South Caucasus 2022-2025 focuses on a limited but important number of development themes: governance & peace, economic development, and environment & climate change. In these areas, the Swiss Program encourages initiatives, which both engage the region as a whole or create or strengthen linkages among the three countries of the South Caucasus. In addition, the Program intends to treat gender, good governance, migration and environment as mainstream topics throughout the portfolio.

The SCO is now looking for a National Program Officer (NPO) starting in May 2023 to complement its team based in Tbilisi and oversee the projects supporting sustainable management of environmental resources and adaptation to climate change (hereafter environment and climate change projects).

Employment, corresponding to 80% work time, is in the form of an annual renewable contract and is subject to good performance during a three months’ probation period.

Tasks of the National Program Officer

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Senior National Program Officer (SNPO) in charge of the Governance, Environment and Climate Change (GECC) portfolio, the incumbent will have the following main tasks and responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development of the environment and climate change projects of the SCO, including assistance in the identification, design and planning of new projects;
• Contribute to the strategic discussions around the Swiss Cooperation Program for the South Caucasus 2022-25, particularly on environment and climate change relevant topics;
• Source relevant data for the context monitoring and reporting on environment and climate change in Georgia and in the South Caucasus;
• Supervise, monitor and report on the implementation of the assigned regional projects, in coordination with the colleagues from the SCOs in Armenia and Azerbaijan, as relevant;
• Enforce quality standards in the drafting of the project documents, LogFrames and budgets by the implementing partners; ensure the quality of the internal documents produced under one’s direct responsibility;
• Foster exchanges of information and experiences, as well as consultations among the projects’ stakeholders, with the Government and donors;
• Assist the Senior National Program Officer/Head of Governance, Environment and Climate Change Portfolio in sourcing and aggregating data from the Swiss-funded projects under one’s direct responsibility;
• Undertake other related tasks supporting achievement of strategic and operational objectives of the SCO, increasing competency action in sectors of the SCO engagement.

The assignment implies close teamwork within the Swiss Cooperation Office for the South Caucasus, regular field trips in Georgia, occasional duty travels to Armenia and Azerbaijan, and coordination with the SDC headquarters.

Requested Profile and Competencies

Training

The incumbent holds an advanced university degree in disaster risk reduction (DRR), environment and climate change studies, development studies or related fields.

Work experience

The candidate has a minimum of 7 years of working experience with development projects, primarily related to sustainable management of environmental resources and climate change. Work experience with multilateral organizations and government agencies is an asset.

Professional competencies

The incumbent has a proven expertise in the field of sustainable management of environmental resources and climate change, as well as in project cycle management (operational and financial), reporting, and a solid understanding of the development context in Georgia and in the South Caucasus.

 S/he has a user level literacy in MS office programs and basic software.

Corporate competencies

The successful candidate is a strong team player and shows an enhanced degree of reliability, initiative and sound judgment, ability to complete multiple tasks timely and efficiently, ability to prioritize different assignments.

The incumbent shows a keen interest in international development issues and in development context of the South Caucasus in particular.

S/he demonstrates integrity with regard to SDC’s values and ethical standards, such as anti-corruption; gender equality; respect of minorities; cultural and religious diversity; and promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the SDC and of Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs.

Languages

The incumbent is fluent in Georgian and English, oral and written. Knowledge of Russian is an asset. S/he has strong analytical skills and can express himself/herself in a clear, concise and convincing manner.

If interested, please send your letter of motivation and up-to-date CV in English via e-mail to tbilisi.vacancy@eda.admin.ch. Please write "NPO climate change" in the e-mail’s subject line. Kindly indicate at least two references that we may contact, as well as your availability in terms of the start date. Please note that only candidates short-listed for interviews will be notified. The closing deadline is 24 March. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

Please do not contact the Swiss Cooperation Office by telephone or in writing.

This job description is preliminary. It may be adapted in the course of the first three months of the assignment.