Innovation Officer

UNHCR was created in 1950, during the aftermath of the Second World War, to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes.

We had three years to complete our work and then disband. Today, over 65 years later, our organization is still hard at work, protecting and assisting refugees around the world.

The position

The post holder will support the implementation of a multi-country pilot project funded through the Environment and Climate Action Innovation Programme's flagship initiative- its Innovation Fund.

Pilots will be implemented in Uganda (2 pilots), Pakistan, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi.

She/he will work closely with the Programme Lead (Innovation Officer - Environment and Climate Action), the rest of the Innovation Service, the technical teams in the Division of Resilience and Solutions, Division of Emergency Supply and Security and Division of International Protection, and the focal points from the 3 relevant regional Bureaux in supporting the implementation of the project with the 7 pilot teams.

The incumbent will coordinate and support implementation by:

providing technical guidance on sustainable energy, particularly solar energy projects, undertaking travel to provide in-country support in pilot locations, programmatic guidance, technical review, coordinating support from a diverse range of sources, supporting building and managing partnerships as necessary, engaging with stakeholders, documenting lessons learned, and supporting monitoring and evaluation.

They may also support the delivery of further innovative initiatives related to energy and environment supported by the programme.

The post holder will regularly and frequently engage with country operations and other UNHCR stakeholders to enhance the delivery of the in-country pilots by applying state-of-the-art and best practices in the solar energy engineering sector, as well as out-of-the-box-thinking, and connecting operations with non-traditional actors, including the private sector, academia, and other relevant thematic actors as relevant.

The design and implementation of innovative projects in collaboration with communities is a core principle of the programme. Supporting operations to ensure user centred design and enabling meaningful participation of forcibly displaced people will be a priority.

The post holder will further leverage their experience in working with various internal and external stakeholders including humanitarian, development and environmental organisations/entities and support the implementation of the wider Environment and Climate Action Innovation Programme.

The ideal candidate would showcase experience in sustainable energy programming, particularly supporting solarization, and management of funding; experience in working with multi-stakeholder partnerships, ideally including working with community-based organisations or the private sector.

Strong interest in community-based approaches, participation of forcibly displaced people, innovation, and climate and environment is a plus.

While this is a position that is dedicated to the Environment and Climate Action Innovation Programme, other tasks and opportunities under the remit of the Innovation Service may arise and be agreed upon.

Duties and responsibilities

Coordinate the delivery of the Community-based approaches to solarization pilot projects across 6 countries
Provide overall project management duties as well as detailed technical guidance for feasibility, design and implementation to the 7 pilot project teams, technical specifications for tendering documents
Co-design with communities and adjustments or pivots necessary throughout implementation, including in-country support through visits
Support the completion of necessary reviews and assessments, for example, feasibility studies, design of renewable energy systems, and development of cost recovery schemes across all operations
Ensure that the 7 pilot projects are implemented effectively with high-quality technical standards, also in line with local regulations
Support operations on staff recruitment, management and training as relevant
Ensure the streamlining and optimization of activities across the multiple countries where relevant, as per project management duties
Work with the Innovation Service's M&E officer to support MEAL activities related to the programme, particularly on capturing and sharing lessons, promising practices and developing recommendations for future solarization projects and strategies
Support with programme and administrative requirements for implementation of the project, financial evaluations, preparation of operation plans and budgets, progress reports
In collaboration with the innovation officer, engage with relevant stakeholders at HQ and regional bureaux and COs to facilitate information sharing, leverage existing resources and ensure linkages to relevant teams
Contribute to fundraising activities and explore sustainability options of the projects after the incubation period.
Support the Innovation Officer (Environment and Climate Action) to deliver on UNHCR Innovation Service's Environment and Climate Action Innovation programme across all regions with a strong emphasis on participatory and human centred design approaches
Maintain effective communication across operations on energy and environment related innovation and opportunities to promote cross sharing and collaboration
Support the Innovation Officer to undertake other innovation activities / interventions as required
Work with the Innovation Service colleagues to deliver on the service's wider responsibilities and objectives

Requriements
Academic Qualifications

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required
B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or similar.

Experience (Required / Desired)

Minimum of 5 years experience (with a graduate degree or 6 with a bachelors) in designing and implementing electrical engineering projects.

Experience must include design and project management of renewable energy (solar mainly) systems and governance systems;
Sound technical understanding of requirements and approaches to establish solar infrastructure, undertake solarization initiatives and/or delivery of programmes to establish energy systems sustainably

Experience in developing tools and recommendations for the sustainability and maintenance of energy systems, including addressing feasibility studies, participatory assessments, design, repair and maintenance, training of local actors on use and maintenance of the system, managing the financial viability etc.

Experience in providing technical guidance on project management and required processes to establish and maintain sustainable energy infrastructure, particularly in complex settings
Strong experience in coordination and project implementation required, preferably with experience in the UN system and/or innovation programming a distinct advantage
Experience in delivering innovation projects in collaboration with forcibly displaced people an advantage
Prior experience working on issues of community participation, community-based approaches and inclusion desired
Prior experience working in forced displacement contexts desired
Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Skills and Competencies

Excellent knowledge of English (both written and spoken) and working knowledge of a second UN language an advantage
Advanced knowledge and competence in providing day to day support to project/programme administration and management, including on communication, finance, monitoring and capturing and sharing of lessons
Capacity to draft a variety of documents tailored to different audiences
Specific knowledge on innovation programming and managing pilot projects a distinct advantage
Experience with human centred design and participatory methodologies a distinct advantage
Highly organised and autonomous, able to multitask, work under tight pressure and prioritise workload when necessary
Work with little supervision while taking leadership roles
Excellent writing and documentation skills, demonstrating high levels of attention to detail

Core competencies

Innovation and Creativity – Generates innovative and creative solutions to problems that contribute to Organisational and inter-agency effectiveness. Tries different and novel ways of approaching work to create added value in the services provided.
Knowledge sharing – Actively develops and shares knowledge, leverages expertise to improve organisational learning
Good interpersonal and networking skills, ability to establish and maintain effective working relations remotely, supports and encourages open communication in the team, and facilitates teamwork
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude

Duties

Lead and contribute to innovation projects and programmes (both within the service and at organizational level), including research, design, planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring functions as and when requested/appropriate.

Support UNHCR colleagues in identifying pressing challenges in their context and co-develop novel and creative solutions by drawing on a broad range of innovation approaches, frameworks and methods.

Cultivate and manage diverse strategic relationships with both UNHCR and external partners, including consultants, donors and subject matter experts, academia, civil society and private sector organisations.

Proactively solicit and exchange views and methods, ensuring that relevant and promising lessons learned are incorporated from broader ecosystems into UNHCR's work.

Support fundraising opportunities for project partners or UNHCR field operations, either through the application and management of a fund or supporting projects managed by innovation fund opportunities.

Work with strategic communications, designers and writers to develop and produce compelling written and visual material to advance the goals of the Innovation Service.

Promote and support a culture of innovation, learning, risk-taking, diversity and inclusion within operations, teams and across portfolios.

Remain up-to-date on new innovations, approaches and technologies, particularly those that could be potentially applied to the humanitarian sector and/or forced displacement settings.

Document and share insights on innovation in UNHCR as a way of strengthening the Innovation Service's work and building internal credibility for innovation as a respected source of good ideas and tested approaches.

Facilitate dialogues and workshops to make innovation accessible to UNHCR peers by guiding them through problem exploration, solution design and experimentation.

Ensure that Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) sensitive analyses, rights and community-based approaches inform human-centred design processes.

Apply relevant research, evidence and data-driven decision making to support UNHCR and Partners in the improvement of services and programmes, as well as innovative approaches through assisting in documenting, codifying and disseminating key programme processes and lessons learned.

Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility.

Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P3/NOC - 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Social Sciences, Science, Technology, Engineering,
Humanities, Administration, Management, or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Not specified.

Relevant Job Experience
Essential

Experience of forging and/or maintaining partnerships and collaborative working methods, simultaneously with a range of stakeholders, including private sector entities, donor governments, civil society, communities of concern, INGO, NNGO, and other UN entities.

Experience applying innovation and/or innovative methodologies in forced displacement contexts.

Significant experience of providing support to a range of operations through capacity building around scale, evidence building and provision of guidance and creation of tools.

Experience managing budgets for innovation activities, including experimentation. Experience delivering training, and knowledge transfer to partners and UNHCR staff. Experience working in organisations with multi-year planning processes, such as development agencies, whether governmental, UN, or other.

Desirable

A strong understanding of theory, principles, established approaches and evidence concerning effective innovation and programme design. Experience working for research and development organisations, producing data and evidence for key decisions to be made. Experience supervising people in international organisations.

Functional Skills

HR-Inclusion, Diversity and Gender strategy design and implementation
MG-Team building (development/facilitation)
PR-Coordination in Forced Displacement situations
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.

For National Professional jobs:
Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

For General Service jobs:
Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties.

This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position.

Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Skills
Additional Qualifications

Communication, Design Process Innovation, HR-Inclusion, Diversity and Gender strategy design and implementation, Innovation, Leadership, MG-Team building (development/facilitation), PR-Coordination in Forced Displacement situations, Project Coordination, Solar Energy, Solar Power Projects, User Innovation

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Engineering, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Humanities, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Management, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Social Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Technology

---