IDRA Junior Consultant (two positions)

Result of ServiceProvision of support activities to implement IDRA related activities, these include among others briefing notes, talking points, speeches, questionnaire surveys, evaluations and reports of consultations, conferences, workshops, meetings, events, and trainings are produced with high standards of service provision. Work LocationOne position in Bonn and one as Home based Expected durationSeptember to December 2025 for home based position. September 2025 to September 2026 for Bonn office position. Duties and ResponsibilitiesBackground: Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The mandate of the Convention and its 197 Parties is to support a future that avoids, reverses desertification/land degradation and minimizes effects of drought (DLDD) in affected areas at all levels – and to achieve a Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Droughts are the most far-reaching of natural disasters, causing short and long-term economic and ecological losses as well as significant secondary and tertiary impacts. To reduce societal vulnerability to droughts, there is a need to overcome the prevailing structures of reactive, post hazard management approaches and to move towards proactive and risk management approaches. Against this backdrop, spearheaded by the governments of Senegal and Spain, a group of like-minded countries in partnership with various stakeholders took the initiative to form an International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) to catalyse a political momentum to achieve a transformational change of actions and mindsets towards drought resilience - a transformation in the way the impacts of drought are managed which is essential to reduce this existential threat to many parts of the world. The initiative was launched on 7th of November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt at the margins of the UNFCCC COP 27 in a high-level event, jointly convened by Senegal and Spain. The International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) is a collaborative platform that supports countries, cities, and communities to combat drought proactively. The alliance will promote effective and efficient preparedness and adaptation measures that go beyond disaster response to reduce vulnerability to drought, in support of the drought-related international cooperation that already exists under the umbrella of the UNCCD. The alliance seeks to act as a global facilitator for drought management focused on systemic risk. To reduce systemic risks and avoid new ones, there must be a shift from dealing with drought impacts reactively to getting ahead of the curve and addressing underlying risk drivers. Socioeconomic and environmental vulnerability of exposed systems must be reduced and impacts of land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change are mitigated as part of a transition from reactive to prospective and proactive drought risk management. UNCCD Secretariat is supporting the Alliance in the operationalization of its work and ensuring coherence and consistency with the fulfilment of all relevant COP decisions related to drought. After IDRA’s successful participation in UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, the Alliance has been working on the roadmap to be followed for the 2025-2026 period. IDRA will ensure that drought remains at the top of the political agenda. The Alliance will be supporting the UNCCD COP16 Presidency in advancing a drought decision to be presented during COP17 in Mongolia and will contribute to the global framework of actions to enhance drought resilience at country levels. The purpose of the Junior Consultancy is to provide support to UNCCD secretariat on IDRA and drought related activities to follow the implementation of IDRA’s 2025-2026 roadmap. This junior consultancy offers a unique opportunity for a young professional with the right skill set to be involved in all key day to day operational aspects of the UNCCD work and the work of IDRA Secretariat. This is a tremendous opportunity for a young professional interested and willing to be involved in various activities. UNCCD seeks candidates who are interested in expanding their knowledge and skill set in events management as well as land-drought sector initiatives within the context of the UN agency. Duties and Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of the responsible officer, the Junior Consultant will provide effective support to the GPARC and/ Executive Office in the development of IDRA’s activities for the period 2025-2026. The consultant will undertake the following tasks: • Support IDRA’s 2025-2026 workplan implementation • Support the different teams working on IDRA related tools and outputs, including IDRA’s senior policy advisor • Provide and contribute to various written documentation writing on substantive topics related to IDRA and other UNCCD drought related planned activities o Briefing notes, o Speeches, o Presentations o Methodological notes, o Narrative and financial reports, o Minutes of meetings, o Concept notes, o All requested additional documentation • Contribute to the preparation IDRA related events (Plenary meeting, Steering Committee meetings, UNGA, ICID 3 Conference, UNFCCC COP30 and CRIC 23, UNCCD COP17, etc.), including appropriate documentations (i.e. invitation letters, concept note, presentations, etc.) • Support in the preparation and organization of specific IDRA outputs such as the Drought Atlas promotion, International Drought Resilience Observatory phase 2 development, Communities of Learning and Practices • Support new members application process to join the Alliance by assessing their application, informing the Steering Committee, and sending letters of acceptance in accordance with the formal official process • Contribute to maintain a smooth and efficient communication with IDRA co-chairs and IDRA members • Support drought decision consultations and capacity building activities • Any other responsibilities as delegated by the designated requesting officer. Qualifications/special skillsA first-level university degree in: Law, Public Administration, Economics, International Relations, Public Affairs, Social Sciences, Sciences, or a related field is required. Master's degree in any of the mentioned areas is desirable. Some experience (1-2 years) in areas of international cooperation, including volunteering or internships in NGOs, academia, think tanks, governments and other international organizations is required. Previous experience with UN is an advantage; Strong writing, analytical and research skills (qualitative and quantitative) is required; Strong interest in working in the UN system, particularly on drought and land issues is required; Project management skills and ability to work under pressure, to tight deadlines is desirable; Good interpersonal skills, teamwork spirit and ability to work in multicultural settings and to work remotely is desired; Knowledge and understanding of United Nations and its role in humanitarian and development cooperation is desired. LanguagesFluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Fluency in Spanish and working knowledge of any of the UN Official languages in addition would be an asset. Additional InformationOnly individuals who can act as independent, individual economical operators are qualified to apply. Individuals who can provide their services only on account of an institution or enterprise are not eligible under this procedure. Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations Secretariat and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultant and individual contractor is responsible for determining tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. For remote consultancies, the selected candidate will be required to have a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 10 or newer) or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNCCD to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive and other office applications, such as Word and Excel. Further computer requirements: An antivirus application which receives regular updates; Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled; Regular Windows 10 updates should be enabled with Windows laptop or PC. In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through SMS or the Authenticator App. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.