Technical Assistant

Since its inception in 1972, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been the global authority that sets the 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. UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, UNEP works through its divisions as well as regional, liaison and out-posted offices and a growing network of collaborating centres of excellence.

This assignment is in the UN Environment’s Chief Digital Office, at the Nairobi duty station. UNEP's vision for the Digital Transformation of the organization is rooted in responding to a changing digital development landscape and the evolving needs of our partners, including government, businesses, finance, and civil society. As such, UNEP continues to seek out and embrace existing and emerging digital technology in all aspects of its work to better serve its partners in their efforts to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature loss and pollution. Through a process of scanning, testing and scaling relevant digital technologies, UNEP aims to become an increasingly data-driven, agile, transparent and effective partner. UNEP`s approach to Digital Transformation is not only about digitalizing our products and services but also using them to drive transformation changes in five areas: environmental decision-making, economic incentives and business models, human behaviors, and environmental governance. This UNV assignment is part of UNEP’s broader effort to strengthen the operational capacity of the Chief Digital Office in delivering priority digital and artificial intelligence initiatives under the Digital Transformations subprogramme. The UN Volunteer Special Assistant will provide direct support to the Chief Digital Officer in managing day-to-day priorities, stakeholder engagements, and strategic research activities related to artificial intelligence, digital innovation, and environmental sustainability. By enhancing the efficiency of internal coordination, improving preparedness for high-level engagements, and supporting timely analysis of emerging digital trends and policy developments, the assignment will contribute to the effective implementation of UNEP’s digital initiatives and its mandate to address the three planetary environmental crises.

Under the direct supervision of the UNEP Chief Digital Officer (CDO), the UN Volunteer Special Assistant will undertake the following tasks: 1. Organizational Support: - Provide logistical and analytical support to the CDO in organizing meetings. - Support strategic engagement of meetings, workshop and stakeholder consultations and attend events, coordinate logistics, prepare documents, hold pre-meetings, draft conclusions, summaries, and reports, and deliver presentations as required. - Assist the CDO and its immediate team in generating talking points, speech inputs, presentations, and other documentation. - Support the CDO in setting up meetings, teleconferences, and high-level visits. - Prepare agendas, briefing notes and presentation and accompany the CDO in meetings or presentations to take notes and provide required assistance. - Organize, manage, and follow up on the daily agenda, activities, and pending topics of the CDO. - Track calls, emails, or special requests from the CDO and handle them appropriately. - Perform any other tasks required or assigned by the supervisor. 2. Research and analysis support: - Support to office wide efforts in strategic research and analysis on key trends in AI, digital technologies and sustainability. - Monitor and identify national, regional and global policy discourses, and their implications for UNEP’s digital agenda. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: - Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); - Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; - Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; - Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; - Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; - Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.