Country: Germany
Closing date: 23 Feb 2017
Organizational Unit: UNU Vice-Rectorate in Europe (UNU-ViE)
United Nations University objectives
The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in research, postgraduate teaching and capacity development, and dissemination of knowledge in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.
UNU Vice-Rectorate in Europe (UNU-ViE)
UNU-ViE concentrates on relationships between advancing science and technology for human security. In addition to its scientific core mandate, it administers the central units providing service to UNU entities in Bonn. The central administration units include Finance, Human Resources, Information Communication Technology, Communication Services, Procurement and General Administration. These units also assist with the administration of new UNU initiatives in Europe and Africa. For more information on the organization, please visit http://ehs.unu.edu/vice-rectorate.
SCYCLE Programme
UNU-ViE SCYCLE was launched on 1 January 2016, succeeding the former UNU-IAS Operating Unit SCYCLE. It is an independent programme hosted by UNU-ViE in Bonn (Germany). SCYCLE envisions to enable societies to reduce the environmental load from production, use, and the disposal of ubiquitous goods, and especially electrical and electronic equipment, to sustainable levels by means of independent and both comprehensive and practical research providing more thorough fact bases for policy development and decision-making. Therefore, SCYCLE activities are focused on the development of sustainable production, consumption, and disposal patterns for electrical and electronic equipment, as well as other ubiquitous goods. SCYCLE leads the global e-waste discussion and advances sustainable e-waste management strategies based on life-cycle thinking.
For more, see http://scycle.vie.unu.edu and http://www.ewastemonitor.info.
E-waste quantification
UNU-ViE SCYCLE quantifies e-waste flows worldwide and provides fact-based recommendations on how to improve respective policies and e-waste systems. In 2015, an over-arching global e-waste monitor (see http://www.ewastemonitor.info) was published and has received great media exposure in over 90 countries To support evidence-based policymaking, work has been done for the European Commission (EC) and several national detailed studies have been conducted in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, Portugal, and Romania, to name a few. Further, the expertise and knowledge of SCYCLE will be used to support better and faster understanding of the data worldwide.
The project contributes to the UN Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, an international, multistakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators, particularly in developing countries. In the partnership, SCYCLE currently heads the task group on measuring e-waste. The overall objective of the task group is to support the compilation of reliable data on e-waste as a basis for political decision-making and further action on the environmentally sound management of used and end-of-life ICT equipment. The immediate objective of the task group has been met by developing e-waste statistics based on internationally defined indicators that have been consulted with experts in the field. The framework and guidelines were published in January 2015. Its initial work is prolonged with setting up a data collection framework by liaising with ITU, OECD, UNECE, and UNSD to collect data through UN statistical agencies. (See http://www.ewasteacademy.org.)
Responsibilities
Under overall authority of the Vice-Rector in Europe, the direct supervision of the Head of UNU-ViE SCYCLE, and the Associate Programme Officer, the Programme Associate will provide support to the UNU-ViE SCYCLE's team of technical specialists in preparing a new edition of the Global E-waste Monitor. His/her tasks will include, among others, e-waste quantification and e-waste monitoring, specifically:
- manage collection of data on e-waste statistics, and modelling of e-waste data for the next global e-waste monitor
- liaise with relevant stakeholders and participate in workshops through official UN statistical agencies
- assist in fund-raising, including project proposal development, contracting, and maintaining a dialogue with potential donors and other work related to fund-raising
- draft substantial parts of the upcoming e-waste monitor
- proofread project documents and other publications as required
- assist in the organisation of conferences and meetings as required
- perform other duties as may be assigned by supervisor
- assist in updating World Map data on the Step website
- assist in the development of publications (e.g., annual reports, white papers) by formatting publications in corresponding templates, registering publications as online and in-print publications, posting publications to pertinent stakeholders, etc.
Required qualifications and experience
Required qualifications and experience include:
- MSc diploma or equivalent in Environmental Engineering or Statistics
- at least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in the waste management area and at least one (1) years in the international domain
- experience in modelling and data management
- previous experience in preparation of publications, presentations, and communications with external stakeholders
- fluency in in both oral and written English is required
- experience in capacity building
- experience in working with national statistics
- knowledge of life-cycle analysis
- Experience with the of development of novel indicators on resource efficiency
- general computer proficiency (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
- experience in planning of work and proactively communicating to stakeholders
- result-oriented, self-motivated and “hands-on” with the ability to prioritise work and multitask
- ability to work rather independently, but in a nice team environment
- interpersonal and communication skills to interact effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds
Remuneration & duration of contract
Remuneration will be commensurate with qualification and experience of the successful candidate. The working location will be Bonn, Germany.
The successful candidate shall work full-time (40 hours per week) under a Personal Service Agreement (PSA) for a fixed period of 12 months, with the possibility of renewal. The combined duration of appointments under a PSA shall not exceed six (6) years.
This is a locally recruited post; no relocation allowances apply. The successful candidate will be employed under a local contract and will not hold international civil servant status nor is he/she a “staff member” as defined in the United Nations Staff Rules and Regulations.
Starting date
As soon as possible (preferably April 2017)
How to apply:
Interested applicants should submit their applications by e-mail to hrbonn@vie.unu.edu, and must include the following:
- a cover letter setting out how the qualifications and experience match the requirements of the position
- a curriculum vitae and a completed and signed UNU Personal History (P.11) form; please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organisations
- an indication of the reference number of the vacancy announcement (2017/UNU/ViE/SCYCLE/ PSA/PA/09)
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8)