United

Nations

CORE VALUES: INTEGRITY, PROFESSIONALISM, RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY

TERMS OF REFERENCE Implementation Assistant of the UNEP Project on Life Cycle based Activities 2-years consultancy engagement Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships: The duty station of the position is UNEP DTIE in Paris, France. The implementation assistant reports ultimately to the Head of the Integrated Resource Management Unit within the Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch and in the first instance to the Coordinator of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. The focus of the job is to help implementing the UNEP project on Life Cycle based activities with an overall objective to facilitate the generation and uptake of science-based life cycle approaches and information for products by business, government and civil society practice worldwide as a basis for sustainable consumption and production. The main tasks include the support to the implementation and monitoring of the activities related to the project. Responsibilities: The assistant will be responsible for the following duties: Assist in the overall implementation of the project, its monitoring; prepare regular technical and financial reports for internal and donors purposes; Ensure the successful functioning and growth of a network of regional experts on life cycle approaches. Ensure the project communication means (i.e. newsletters and website) be updated and regularly disseminated; Provide substantial input on environmental foot-printing, life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle management, LCA databases and related topics, when required, and review relevant documents and reports; Support the collection and dissemination of best practices of companies adapting LCA knowledge in their operations through life cycle management and of users collecting and managing LCA data;Assist the coordination of intergovernmental LCA cooperation with special attention to international networking towards LCA database interoperability, and assist the engagement and stimulation of their participation and contribution; Organize and assist with awareness raising and capacity building activities for officials of public institutions, academics and representatives from business and industry in emerging economies and export-oriented developing countries on LCA databases, LCA methods, environmental footprint and life cycle management. Act as trainer at least on one of the subjects concerned; Participate in field missions, including provision of substantive and administrative support, data collection, etc. Perform other duties as required. Work implies frequent interaction with the following: Counterparts and national governments officials in the target countries, donors organizations, other consultants supporting the project, UNEP regional offices and technical staff in relevant Secretariat branches and units. The focus will be on, but not limited to, the following target countries: Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Russia, Turkey; Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.

Results Expected: Delivers according to the project working plan and regularly provides a tasks priority list for approval by the responsible programme officers; Provides accurate and updated monitoring results about the implementation of the activities; Anticipates deviations from the plan, proposes actions and implements them in consultation with the responsible programme officers; Provides in timely manner financial and technical reporting to donors and administrative officers; Provides thorough and well reasoned written contributions; Provides well organized capacity building activities; and Effectively, and in a timely manner, liaises and interacts with colleagues and concerned parties internally and externally.

Competencies: Planning& Organizing: Is able to implement a quality management system within this project which seeks for continually improving clients perceived and delivered value and actively stimulating innovation; develops detailed workplans that are consistent with agreed project planning; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning. Teamwork: Takes the initiative to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; is flexible to support unexpected or urgent teams needs that might not be expressed in the workplan; motivates others to provide ideas and feedback and genuinely values this input; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. Client orientation and respect for diversity: Has strong inter-personal skills; considers all those to whom services are provided to be clients and seeks to see things from clients point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client; builds trust and develop and maintain effective work relationships with sensitivity and respect for diversity and inclusive participation; Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; demonstrates openness and pro-activity in keeping the regional network on LC approaches and other stakeholders and clients well informed and in receiving feedback concerning areas for improvement; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits genuine interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; respect the communication channels within the organizations including the UN. Qualifications: Education: Advanced university degree (Masters degree or equivalent) in business administration, economics, sustainability, environmental management, or a related field.

Experience: 5-years working experience in management of environmental related projects including 3 years activities on life cycle approaches or value chain management. The candidate should have a good understanding of environmental footprint, life cycle assessment and life cycle management topics and their applications. Familiarity with information systems and experience in the dissemination of information is desirable. Excellent written and oral communication, organisation and computer skills (word processing, data manipulation, and graphics generation) are required. Knowledge of the UN system is an asset. Language: Fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Mastering of another UN official language, specially French or Spanish, is an advantage. Expected starting date: 19 June Note: A 1-year contract will be issued and extended to cover the 2nd year of activities subject to satisfactory performance.

ANNEX UNEP project on Increasing resource efficiency in international supply chains Building on the achievements of previous biennia and the adoption in Rio+20 of the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on SCP, including Consumer information among the list of 5 initial programmes to be shaped and implemented, the projects aim is to enable Sustainable Consumption and Production by providing relevant information and knowledge on sustainability impacts across products life cycles to support decision-making by Governments, businesses and individual consumers. In order to do so, the project will aim at - Strengthening Life Cycle Data as the foundation for approaches to Sustainable Consumption and Production - Contributing to the definition of and international consensus on life cycle based quantification and assessment methodologies in global value chains - Developing and promoting Product Sustainability Tools and guidance for Hotspot Analyses - Building capability on Product Sustainability Information and Sharing of Best Practices - Providing technical support, tools and guidance for business and governments to actively support the uptake of consumer information tools and for enhanced communication towards individual consumers The project starts in 2014 and will run through 2017. The focus will be on developing countries and emerging economies from Latin America, Africa and Asia1 through the following activities and outputs: 1. Product Sustainability Data: Criteria for Life-cycle data are established, applied and supported by an international network of interoperable LCI Databases. Output: Criteria for Life-cycle data are established, applied and supported by an international network of interoperable LCI Databases 2. Product Sustainability Indicator Methods: Environmental and socio-economic life-cycle based impact assessment indicators and methodologies developed and increasingly agreed upon, at the international level. 3. Product Sustainability Tools and guidance for Hotspot Analyses: Guidance for Hotspots Analysis developed and related communication principles on life-cycle based consumer information agreed on and promoted. 4. Capacity Building on Product Sustainability Information and Sharing of Best Practices: Capacity building provided to stakeholders including examples of benefits of using lifecycle based information tools, methods and approaches. The target groups include: i) standard-setters to participate in international negotiations and standard setting processes for a given region to adjust the system to local differences, ii) governments at different levels to create the relevant enabling policy framework, iii) business and industry to implement such tools in their company practices; and academics and other training institutions to continue building capacity (beyond the projects implementation period).

Target countries but not limited to: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Chile, Egypt, Morocco, Peru, and the Philippines, South Africa.