Senior Sustainable Development Officer

The Senior Sustainable Development Officer will provide strategic coordination support, planning expertise, and operational oversight to enable effective inter-agency collaboration and integrated programming in the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions. The role supports Resident Coordinator Offices and UN Country Teams to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and manage flagship initiatives related to food systems, education, energy transition, humanitarian-development-peace collaboration, and stabilization.

Responsibilities

• Support Resident Coordinators, UN Country Teams and partner institutions in advancing integrated flagship programmes and investment platforms through strategic planning, coordination, financing activation, implementation support and partnership development.
• Undertake strategic analysis, policy research and advisory support to strengthen integrated programming, financing partnerships, cross-border cooperation and collective action.
• Steer the overall strategic planning, coordination and partnership-building processes for integrated national, cross-border and cross-regional UN interventions.
• Ensure coordination and information sharing among RCOs and UNCTs.
• Support RCs/HCs with strategic advice on sustainable development and development in emergencies, including integrated programming, financing strategies, partner engagement and resource mobilization.
• Provide expert advice and leadership on food systems, transforming education, energy transitions, stabilization, humanitarian-development-peace collaboration and other integrated development priorities.
• Support engagement with UN entities, governments, development partners, financial institutions, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure timely analysis and synthesis of developments to inform UN leadership and relevant regional and country-level processes.
• Work closely with UNCTs, RCOs, relevant UN entities, regional organizations and development partners to identify opportunities for integrated programming, financing and strategic partnerships.
• Support evidence-based decision-making by identifying opportunities, risks, financing entry points and strategic partnerships to advance flagship programmes.
• Enable joined-up integrated analysis across humanitarian, development and peace dimensions and propose approaches to strengthen coherence and collective impact.
• Present recommendations on how the UN can strengthen integrated approaches and scale up joint planning and programming efforts.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in business or public administration, sustainable development, social sciences, economics, law, or related area.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in strategic planning, sustainable development policy and programme development and management in the context of development cooperation, crisis management or related area is required.
• Experience with multi-stakeholder coordination in the context of development cooperation in crisis settings is required.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams in the context of sustainable development is required.
• Experience providing surge/emergency support in a development cooperation context is required.
• Previous experience working with or advising senior UN officials is desirable.
• Experience in peacebuilding programming and financing is desirable.
• English and French are required at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Skills

• Strategic Planning
• Sustainable Development Policies
• Program Development
• Programme Management
• Development Cooperation
• Crisis Management
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Team Management
• Surge Support
• Emergency Support
• Interagency Collaboration
• Integrated Programming
• Peacebuilding Programmes
• Peacebuilding Financing
• Operational Oversight

Languages

English, French