ABOUT UN UNIVERSITY (UNU)

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in policy-oriented research, capacity development and dissemination of knowledge in furthering the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.
For the past four decades, UNU has been a go-to think tank for impartial research on human survival, conflict prevention, sustainable development, and welfare. With more than 400 researchers in 12 countries, UNU’s work spans the 17 Sustainable Development Goals’ full breadth, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU maintains more than 200 collaborations with UN agencies and leading universities and research institutions across the globe. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu

1) LEAD RESEARCH, KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND DISSEMINATION ON ECONOMETRICS MODELLING FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION

• Lead and conduct research on the quantitative assessment of the impact of climate change (and adaptation) on people’s basic needs satisfaction with a focus on the Global South;
• Address the gap of knowledge that exists in quantifying basic needs by the development and application of innovation modelling tools based on open source, open data principles;
• Conduct research on the interlinkages between basic needs, food security, L&D and climate finance, to inform policymakers by quantifying future impacts basic needs satisfaction;
• Link quantitative basic needs research with other topics at the institute’s other divisions, such as transformation, adaptation and risk reduction;
• Coordinate the validation and application of these methods in relevant projects.

1) EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION

Master’s degree or PhD in economics, finance, environmental engineering or a related field with a background in climate adaptation and/or hazard management.

2) REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Required Qualifications:

• At least two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in research and academia in the area of climate change adaptation in the context of risk analytics, climate finance or similar. More than five (5) years of experience would be an advantage;
• Proven research experience in fields related to climate risk analytics is required;
• Familiarity with the UN and/or other international institutions and mechanisms is required;
• Track record in research and scientific publications;
• Strong project management skills with a broad range of actors;
• Documented ability to lead a small team of experts;
• Ability to explain complex processes (modelling, data requirement, scenarios etc.) to non-expert audiences;
• Initiative seeker with an interest to professionally expand into new ways of applying and disseminating quantitative climate risk analysis and climate finance;
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.

Desired Qualifications:

• A PhD in a relevant topic is an asset;
• Previous experience working with CLIMADA/ECA is an asset;
• A good understanding and/or experience in technical and organizational disaster risk reduction and -management and climate change adaptation;
• Experience in proposal writing and design of methodological frameworks in the context of development cooperation and in coordinating with a broad range of actors is an asset;

Work experience in developing countries is an asset.

3) LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of German is an asset
• Knowledge of another UN official working language is an asset.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the authority of the Director of UNU-EHS, the guidance of the Head of MCII Division, and the supervision of the Climate Risk Analytics Team lead, the successful candidate will be entrusted with the following tasks: