Textile supply chain senior technical expert

Result of ServiceSupport to UNEP’s country projects, which apply life cycle approaches, eco-innovation (circular business models) and approaches to eliminate hazardous chemicals, often with a focus on SMEs, and supporting UNEP’s engagement with textile supply chain actors (raw material manufacturers, producers, industry associations from production countries) at global level. Work LocationRemote Expected duration12 months Duties and Responsibilities1. General Background The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. With over 8,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it. By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments. Background information – Job Specific The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The overall objective of UNEP's Industry and Economy Division is to encourage decision makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. The Division promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision making and the building of corresponding activities. The UNEP Textile Initiative provides strategic leadership and encourages sector-wide collaboration to accelerate a just transition towards a sustainable and circular textile value chain. UNEP’s work includes supporting and informing governments, such as through its Global Textile Policy Dialogue, assisting industry, particularly SMEs in developing countries, in shifting towards circular business models, scaling the use of industry standards for circularity, eliminating hazardous chemicals, while adopting a life cycle approach and addressing overproduction and overconsumption to redefine the fashion industry’s economic model. Underpinning all of this is support for evidence-based decision making through its thought leadership reports. The incumbent will work in UNEP’s textile team, located in the Resources and Markets Branch, Industry and Economy Division. This post is home based and full time. 2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment The focus of the consultancy is to provide technical inputs from a textile supply chain and industry perspective to the UNEP Textile Initiative. This will entail supporting UNEP’s country projects, which apply life cycle approaches, eco-innovation (circular business models) and approaches to eliminate hazardous chemicals, often with a focus on SMEs, and supporting UNEP’s engagement with textile supply chain actors (raw material manufacturers, producers, industry associations from production countries) at global level. This could entail for instance designing and running company and partner trainings on life cycle assessment (LCA), guiding partners and companies in developing circular business models using UNEP’s eco-innovation methodology, providing trainings and guiding solutions on circular and sustainable product design, supporting companies and partners in applying LCA for hotspots identification, identifying technical and innovative solutions to address value chain hotspots and guiding companies or organizations to implement those. Under the supervision of the programme officers listed above, and the guidance from and inputs of private sector engagement and LCA leads as relevant, the incumbent will have the following responsibilities: • Delivers technical inputs and advisory to the development and implementation of projects under the UNEP Textile Initiative • Leads on the content development, delivery and roll out of training workshops/courses, seminars, etc. on methodologies such as eco-innovation and LCA/PEF/EPD; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities • Supports implementing partners and companies in conducting hotspots analysis, life cycle modeling, and eco-innovation assessments, as specified in the relevant country projects, with a view to identify hotspots and viable circular business strategies. • Reviews and edits project deliverables and provides guidance to project implementing partners and companies, from large scale global and regional business to SMEs in developing countries, with a view to identify realistic and ambitious solutions to address the identified life cycle hotspots. • Assesses information, using life cycle approaches, related to the latest innovation, technologies and solutions on upstream, midstream and downstream interventions of reducing textiles pollution, including scalable and fundable solutions from incubators and start-ups; presents comparative analysis on their strengths and limitations from environmental, economic and social aspects to inform the project’s and UNEP’s positions on such solutions. • Generates surveys and consultation questions; designs data and information collection tools; collects and analyzes data to identify trends, patterns and/or issues of concern and provides insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. • Supports engagement with the textile private sector in developing countries (including producers, manufacturers and industry associations), and facilitates the development of partnerships and cooperation to support the implementation of relevant projects under the UNEP Textile Initiative, on knowledge sharing, scale-up of innovative solutions, financing, and capacity development. • Supports resource mobilisation through the development of project concepts and proposals and the establishment of cooperation and partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders. • Provides substantive backstopping to consultations and other meetings, conferences, etc. related to textile industry engagement, such as proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc. • Performs other duties as required. 3. Monitoring and Progress Controls - Above listed tasks successfully delivered, including satisfactory acceptance by UNEP; - Deadlines successfully met. Qualifications/special skillsAdvanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in textiles or fabric engineering, chemical engineering, fashion design or technology, chemistry, material sciences, environmental science or engineering or a related field is required. A minimum of 10 years of experience working in or with private sector to implement sustainability solutions, including up- and midstream solutions (e.g., sustainable product design, green chemistry, etc.), in the textile sector is required. Experience in conducting life cycle assessments and applying life cycle approaches to drive business decisions is required. Experience in providing technical advisory services to textile producers, including SMEs, in developing countries to reduce textile pollution is required. Experience in rolling out sustainability training in the textile industry on technical topics is required. Ability to provide concise, actionable and impact-oriented comments when reviewing technical reports and when writing deliverables is required. Excellent organizational skills are required. Languages● Fluency in English is required ● Knowledge of another UN Official Language is an asset Additional InformationNot available. 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.