Consultant: Science, Technology and Innovation

The consultant will provide integrated and coordinated technical, procedural, administrative and drafting support to the Science, Technology and Innovation unit in preparing for, servicing and following up on COP17, while advancing selected institutional workstreams that strengthen UNCCD science-policy and operational functions. The role involves supporting conference preparation and delivery, developing institutional tools and guidance, and assisting in the establishment of follow-up arrangements for the post-2030 strategic framework.

Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive inception report detailing approach, consultation strategy, work plan, and risk mitigation for delivering all outputs.
• Provide integrated administrative and logistical support to the STI Unit for COP17, including drafting content, pre-event planning, during-event operations, and post-event activities.
• Kick-start a corporate co-design process for a secure online nomination portal for UNCCD official representatives and experts, including defining data fields, user roles, and security requirements.
• Develop a corporate quality assurance standard operating procedure (SOP) for UNCCD science-based outputs and communications, including internal operational manual and public-facing governance document.
• Provide technical and procedural support for the establishment and functioning of follow-up arrangements for the development of a post-2030 strategic framework, including preparation of terms of reference, consultation design, and drafting support.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental science, natural resource management, sustainable development, information management, or another closely related field is required.
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in supporting the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements or closely related intergovernmental environmental processes is required, including demonstrated experience in both technical and operational support functions.
• Proven ability to support MEA negotiations and conference processes is required, including preparation and finalization of official documentation, preparation of briefing materials, coordination of meeting inputs, note-taking, and follow-up on agreed action points in fast-moving and politically sensitive settings.
• Proven experience in drafting, editing and quality-controlling United Nations or comparable science-policy official documents and correspondence is required, with demonstrated ability to produce clear, accurate and well-structured written outputs in accordance with institutional standards and tight deadlines is required.
• Demonstrated experience in the administrative and logistical support of large intergovernmental meetings (e.g. COP or comparable high level events) is highly desirable, including planning support, coordination across units, scheduling, preparation and dissemination of documentation and information materials, support to side events and stakeholder activities, and post-session reporting and archiving.
• Proven experience in developing workplans, inception reports, procedural guidance, terms of reference, standard operating procedures, or other institutional process documents is highly desirable, including the ability to consult broadly, synthesize inputs and convert mandates into practical workflows and implementation arrangements.
• Experience in developing or supporting expert selection, nomination, roster-management, or related application processes is desirable, including work involving data management, review workflows, and communication with official representatives or focal points.
• Experience in defining business requirements, workflows, user roles, validation rules, or governance parameters for online systems, databases, portals or other institutional digital tools is desirable, especially in relation to secure submission, review and update processes for official records.
• Direct, hands-on experience supporting the science agenda of the UNCCD, including servicing the CST, CRIC, SPI, or related science-policy and intergovernmental processes, is desirable and will be considered a strong asset.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.
• Only individuals who can act as independent, individual economical operators are qualified to apply. Individuals who can provide their services only on account of an institution or enterprise are not eligible under this procedure.

Skills

• Environmental Sciences
• Natural Resource Management
• Sustainable Development
• Multilateral Environmental Agreements
• Intergovernmental Environmental Processes
• MEA Negotiations Support
• Conference Process Support
• Official Documentation Preparation
• Briefing Material Preparation
• Meeting Coordination
• Note Taking
• Follow-up Actions
• Drafting United Nations Documents
• Editing UN Documents
• Quality Control
• Administrative Support
• Logistical Support
• Large Intergovernmental Meetings
• Workplan Development
• Inception Report Development
• Procedural Guidance Development
• Terms of Reference
• Standard Operating Procedures Implementation
• Expert Selection Support
• Roster Management
• Data Management
• Workflow Definition
• User Role Definition
• Governance Parameters
• Digital Tools Requirements
• Science-Policy Support
• UNCCD Science Agenda
• Conference Preparation
• Institutional Tools Development
• Post-Session Reporting

Languages

English