Project Associate (Climate Policy) (Open to all applicants)

Background

UNDP has been working in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development. Together with the Government of India and development partners, we have worked towards eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, strengthening local governance, enhancing community resilience, protecting the environment, supporting policy initiatives and institutional reforms, and accelerating sustainable development for all.

With projects and programmes in every state and union territory in India, UNDP works with national and subnational government, and diverse development actors to deliver people-centric results, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities. As the integrator for collective action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the UN system, we are committed to supporting the Government of India’s national development vision and priorities and accelerating the achievement of the SDGs for the people and the planet.

UNDP India’s new Country Programme (2023-2027) builds on our prior work and aims to provide an integrated approach to development solutions in three strategic portfolios:

• Strong, accountable and evidence-led institutions for accelerated achievement of the SDGs.
• Enhanced economic opportunities and social protection to reduce inequality, with a focus on the marginalized.\
• Climate-smart solutions, sustainable ecosystems and resilient development for reduced vulnerability.

South-South cooperation, gender equality and social inclusion are promoted across the pillars. The programme is supported by a framework of renewed partnerships and blended finance solutions, strategic innovation and accelerator labs, and data and digital architecture.

You are invited to join a team of future-smart development professionals to support India in achieving the national and globally agreed goals. As part of the UNDP team, your focus will be to work with diverse stakeholders to find country-specific solutions that lead to sustainable development and reach those furthest behind first.

Office/Unit/Project Description

The Action for Climate and Environment (ACE) Unit at UNDP is organized around the thematic areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, disaster management and resilience, and access to clean and efficient energy.

The ACE unit is currently supporting the Government of India in meeting national and global priorities on adaptation under several key multi-lateral agreements. In this context, UNDP is implementing a project in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to demonstrate an exemplar for India.

This project is primarily geared towards creating a model of climate change adaptation action that takes into consideration local knowledge that is further informed by the scientific information on climate change impacts. The premise being that local knowledge need to be better understood and evidenced throughout the adaptation process for better representation of the needs of small-scale producers. Hence, this project is designed to leverage capacities of local climate research community and involve them in the decision-making process for Climate Adaptation outcomes. The advanced and localized climate science to be integrated with local knowledge base –would be made available by the national technical institution like the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D). The project on Localizing Data Science for Climate Change Adaptation aims to demonstrate an exemplar for India and in turn, the region, that will enable interaction of various knowledge systems to develop robust and locally relevant climate adaptation actions which can be incorporated into policies and programmes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting To: National Project Manager, UNDP India

To support the project team in the integration of climate change adaptation into policy planning and implementation processes by generating technical insights, documenting field-based pilots, and enabling inclusive risk-informed approaches. The Project Associate (Climate Policy) will continue to support the project team in stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing, ensuring that climate action is gender-responsive and aligned with national and global climate commitments.

Policy Research and Technical Support

• Support in conducting technical and policy research on climate adaptation, risk management, and ecosystem-based approaches across key thematic areas (e.g., biodiversity conservation, resilient livelihoods etc.)
• Support the development and review of adaptation strategies, action plans, and gender-responsive policy tools that reflect both scientific data and local knowledge.
• Contribute to synthesizing national and global best practices on data-driven and community-informed adaptation solutions.
• Provide analytical inputs for alignment with National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and relevant policies.
• Support collaboration with technical institutions (e.g., IIT-Delhi) to facilitate the integration of localized climate science into community-led planning processes.
• Provide technical input for concept notes and donor proposals.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Safeguards

• Support facilitation of documentation and learning from on-ground demonstration pilot projects, including lessons learned and best practices.
• Apply and monitor adherence to Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES) tools in adaptation interventions.
• Support compliance with donor reporting requirements and contribute to the documentation of evidence and outcomes.
• Contribute to participatory impact assessments and the design of community feedback mechanisms.

Knowledge Management

• Assist in developing knowledge products, policy briefs, and technical presentations to share field insights and best practices
• Coordinate and support capacity-building sessions, consultations, and workshops with key stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement and Inclusion

• Support engagement with local research institutions, government departments, civil society, and community-based organizations.
• Facilitate inclusive, participatory dialogues and consultations for policy inputs and project implementation.
• Facilitate participatory policy dialogues and community consultations.
• Ensure consistent integration of gender perspectives across project deliverables, work plans, budgets, and research outputs.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization

Competencies

Core competencies:

• Achieve Results: Level 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively: Level 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
• Learn Continuously: Level 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility: Level 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
• Act with Determination: Level 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner: Level 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy

• System Thinking. Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

Business Management

• Project Management. Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Monitoring. Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results

Business Development

• Knowledge generation. Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content or responsive to a stated need
• Human- centered design. Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process

Partnership Management

• Relationship Management. Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust, and mutual understanding

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education is required, OR
• A university bachelor’s degree) in Environmental Science / Policy / International Relations or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years (with secondary education) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in projects pertaining to environmental science/climate change

Required skills:

• Strong writing and communication skills, including experience in drafting reports, concept notes, and presentations for diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated experience in climate policy analysis and relevant research on climate adaptation and environment policy.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section:

• At least 2 years of demonstrable experience of working with the government, bi/multilateral agencies, and/or UN agencies on climate adaptation, environmental policy, or related themes and good understanding of climate change concepts
• Experience conducting technical and policy research on climate adaptation, environmental safeguards, or nature-based solutions
• Proven ability to engage in stakeholder consultations and document learnings
• Ability to support capacity-building initiatives, technical workshops, and knowledge exchange platforms.
• Familiarity with donor-funded project environments, preferably with foundations or multilateral agencies including compliance and reporting.

Required Language(s)

• Fluency in English and Hindi is required.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.