Position Announcement
Head of Polar Program
GRID-Arendal
Arendal, Norway
Application Deadline: Friday, 13 February 2009
For further information, please contact:
John Crump
Email: john.crump [at] grida.no
Or:
Peter Prokosch
Email: peter.prokosch [at] grida.no
GRID-Arendal is seeking to fill the position of Head of the Polar
Program. The successful candidate will take the lead in further
developing GRID-Arendal as the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP)'s key Polar Centre identifying, developing, and implementing
projects related to climate change, environmental governance, ecosystems
management, and environmental information and networking, with a
specific focus on the polar region. S/He will manage a small, highly
motivated, international team.
The successful candidate will be responsible for implementing projects
in these fields, as well as preparing input to UNEP's environmental
reports, representing UNEP in the polar regions and globally, and
developing and maintaining a program portfolio of projects together with
colleagues and partners. Financial management is an important part of
this job.
Key stakeholders are the Arctic Council, arctic parliamentarians, arctic
indigenous peoples, researchers, industry, and various governments. The
position involves fund-raising for projects and work activities and
liaising with donors and partners. The Head of the Polar Program will be
a member of GRID-Arendal's Management Team and will work closely with
UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, as well as with UNEP Regional Offices. The
position will be based in Arendal, Norway and will report directly to
the Managing Director. The position will involve some international
travel.
Required qualifications:
- PhD or Masters degree in natural science or social science related
discipline;
- Minimum ten years experience working on arctic related issues;
- Minimum ten years experience in team- and program management,
including budgetary responsibility;
- Knowledge of arctic and Antarctic environmental issues, science, and
political processes;
- Extensive experience in taking complex topics and developing
communications materials for non-technical audiences;
- Proven managerial skills and demonstrated ability to pull together
interdisciplinary projects and teams;
- Successful track record in fund-raising for projects and work
activities;
- Experience with international environmental processes; and
- Excellent written and oral English abilities. Proficiency in
Scandinavian or other arctic languages is desirable.
Personal qualifications:
- Highly motivated and energetic;
- Interest in communications through diverse media;
- Goal and business oriented;
- Interest in both organizational and technical solutions to improve
access to environmental information;
- Excellent networking capabilities and diplomatic skills;
- Ability to pursue multiple tasks, at times under pressing deadlines; and
- Ability to work with and understand international cultures.
GRID-Arendal is an international Centre of Excellence located in
southern Norway whose activities specifically support the UNEP's program
of work. Established in 1989 as a Norwegian foundation, GRID-Arendal's
mission is to provide environmental information, communications, and
capacity building services for information management and assessment.
Together with its partners, GRID-Arendal's core focus is to support
decision making processes aimed at securing a sustainable future.
GRID-Arendal is a project-based organization. UNEP, as the world's
leading intergovernmental environmental organization, is the
authoritative source of knowledge on the current state of and trends
shaping the global environment. For further information, please go to:
http://www.unep.org.
Prospective candidates should note that this is not a UN post.
Applications should be sent, with reference to position number PP29X1,
no later than Friday, 13 February 2009, to the Personnel Manager Luana
Karvel (Luana.Karvel [at] grida.no). Please include the following in your
application:
- A cover letter,
- Curriculum vitae,
- References, and
- Examples of previous work.
For further information about the position, please contact John Crump,
Acting Polar Manager (john.crump [at] grida.no) or Peter Prokosch, Managing
Director (peter.prokosch [at] grida.no).