UNOPS

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

Our thematic focus spans climate action and energy, health, peace and security, sustainable development, and humanitarian action, supporting high-impact initiatives across critical global priorities.

UNOPS Development and Special Initiatives team works with UN partners and Member States. This portfolio offers support for various initiatives and priorities of the UN Secretary-General in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, it helps the UN Secretariat in implementing global programs in areas such as political affairs, climate, counterterrorism and peacebuilding, among others.

UNOPS DSIP has been requested to support The Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP). This is a hosted entity.

The Forests & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) was launched by world leaders at COP27 and aims to accelerate global progress to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation, through a voluntary and focussed partnership of countries that are making a strong contribution to this agenda through national action and international collaboration. The importance of the target in the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use of halting and reversing forest loss by 2030 has now been emphasized by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement in the outcome of the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement.

To achieve its mission the FCLP members intend to:

• Maintain high-level political attention on forests and climate;
• Provide their combined political support to accelerate and scale implementation of a prioritised number of Policy Action Areas;
• Support implementation of the participating countries' self-determined national goals and encourage all countries to be even more ambitious over time; and
• Demonstrate impact and be answerable for commitments made.

The FCLP’s strategic direction is determined by the Steering Committee, comprising ministers from FCLP member countries, on behalf of their leaders. The Steering Committee comprises Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, DRC, France, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, Norway, Peru and the UK, and is Chaired by the United Kingdom and Guyana. 39 countries are now members of the FCLP, which together make up 35% of the world’s forests and over 60% of global GDP.

The FCLP is supported by the Secretariat, which is managed and operates under the oversight of the Secretariat Board. The Secretariat is hosted by UNOPS. Staff work remotely

The incumbent of this position will be a personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

Even though the level of the position is indicated as IICA-2, depending on the incumbent's personal situation (candidate with national ID or resident permit), a local fee scale (LICA-10) might be applied in determining the contractor's fee.

The Policy Lead, Integrated Fire Management (IFM) will coordinate and strengthen FCLP’s collective action on Integrated Fire Management (IFM). This work is led by Kenya and Peru within the Partnership, with a working group of members interested in exchanging and collaborating on the issue. The role will support members in delivering the 2026 workplan of the IFM workstream and coordinate alignment across policy, partnerships and events.

Required

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) preferably in environment, policy, law, international relations, economics or related fields with seven (7) years of relevant experience. OR

• Advanced degree (or equivalent) preferably in environment, policy, law, international relations, economics or related field OR first degree with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience.

Required

• Relevant experience is defined as professional experience, including experience working on forests and land-use, climate change, integrated fire management.
• Demonstrated policy expertise on integrated fire management, forest and climate issues at international level
• Excellent written communication skills and experience drafting high-level documents such as declarations, commitments and negotiated outcomes.
• Experience working with a range of government systems across developed and developing countries.
• Experience of managing complex projects/processes, demonstrating an ability to be agile and work with a number of different stakeholders. 
• Experience engaging with high-level actors, including Ministers and preferably Heads of Government, is required.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.