Associate Academic Officer – Risk Recovery Governance (PSA-6)
United Nations University (UNU)
The United Nations University (UNU) is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organization within the United Nations System. UNU engages in policy-relevant research, capacity development, and knowledge dissemination in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The work of UNU contributes to solving pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.
For the past five decades, UNU has been a source of impartial research on sustainability, human security, and economic development. With hundreds of researchers working at institutes in 12 countries, UNU's expertise spans the full breadth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU collaborates closely with other UN entities and leading research institutions across the globe. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu
United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security is one of 13 research and training Institutes that comprise the think tanks in the UNU system.
The United Nations University's Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) was established in 2003 in Bonn, Germany. The institute conducts research work focusing on advancing human security and well-being by addressing present and future risks arising from environmental hazards and climate change. Its main areas of work are risk & adaptation and transformation. In addition to its research work, UNU-EHS offers education opportunities at the master's level and hosts a number of international PhD projects and capacity-development courses on global issues of environmental risks and sustainable development. More information about UNU-EHS can be found here: https://unu.edu/ehs.
The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) is hosted at UNU-EHS and is a research-to-policy and practice innovation lab. MCII aims to support and ultimately influence policy making processes that enhance resilience and protect livelihoods of vulnerable communities, through pioneering risk management and risk transfer solutions (e.g. insurance mechanisms) in combination with other approaches to manage climate related risks. For detailed information, please visit: https://ehs.unu.edu/about/departments/the-munich-climate-insurance-initiative-mcii#overview.
The CASTOR project: Castor is Latin for beaver. Beavers, like humans, transform land and water systems in river landscapes. CASTOR investigates realistic future landscape configurations under climate change, and pathways towards these futures. Pathways towards future landscapes are relevant because current well-intended management actions result in patchworks of interventions. Yet, fragmentation – spatial, temporal and in governance – constrains adaptive capacity, restricting responses to climate change and shifting societal demands. CASTOR's main objective is to enable the transformation to, or safeguarding of, the outstanding quality of sandy soil landscapes. By offering actionable knowledge on future landscapes and pathways towards these, CASTOR supports regional adaptation strategies.
The project "Financial Institutions and Climate-Resilient Recovery Pathways" funded by AXA Research and Swiss Re examines how financial systems, insurance mechanisms, and multilevel governance arrangements shape post-disaster recovery. Using a recovery pathways perspective, the project analyses how different combinations of public finance, insurance, and informal coping mechanisms influence who pays for recovery, when and through which instruments, and with what distributional consequences across actors and governance levels. Particular attention is given to the role and design of insurance within broader recovery financing systems, and to how financial mechanisms can support "recover better" pathways that enhance long-term resilience rather than simply restoring pre-disaster conditions.
The candidate will lead activities in the context of the above two projects outlined above.
The position contributes to UNU-EHS's broader engagement in international science–policy processes, coordinated through existing institutional arrangements.
Responsibilities
Under the authority of the Director of UNU-EHS and the direct supervision of the Chief Climate Risk Strategist and Head of the MCII Division, the successful candidate with be entrusted with the following tasks:
1. Research Leadership and Scientific Inquiry
· Lead the assessment of systemic risks associated with extreme weather events and analyze disaster recovery processes, with a focus on "Build Back Better" (BBB) principles;
· Apply relevant theoretical frameworks in risk and recovery governance;
· Analyse key enablers and barriers in disaster recovery, paying close attention to the distribution of losses, financial mechanisms, and the role of insurance;
· Analyze how multi-level governance arrangements on financial and insurance mechanisms and their impact on disaster recovery outcomes;
· Co-create disaster recovery pathways in collaboration with stakeholders, including integrating innovative insurance models and adaptive financing approaches to enhance regional resilience;
· Identify and synthesize lessons learned from case studies for comparative analysis and broader application;
· Contribute technical and analytical inputs, as appropriate, to international science-policy processes and related global and regional assessments in line with UNU-EHS priorities and coordination arrangements;
· Lead in preparing and writing scientific outputs, including policy briefs and peer-reviewed publications, and provide input into the IPCC AR7 process;
· Present research findings at scientific and policy-oriented events and conferences;
· Ensure that research activities are implemented in line with relevant ethical, institutional and regulatory requirements.
2. Project Management and Reporting
· Coordinate with donors, project partners and other stakeholders to support timely and effective implementation of project activities;
· Lead annual project reports, and other project-related outputs in coordination with supervisors and partners;
· Support the review and verification of project outputs and reports with relevant stakeholders and donors;
· Maintain accurate project documentation and support internal monitoring and reporting processes.
3. Capacity Building and Education
· Support the identification of capacity-strengthening needs among relevant stakeholders assist in the design and delivery of related activities, including webinars and training sessions;
· Contribute to teaching and education activities including at UNU-EHS and Wageningen University, including the supervision of students' Master theses.
· Lead and contribute to the writing and (co-)authoring of scientific publications, research papers and other knowledge products relevant to UNU-EHS' thematic priorities
4. Strategic Contribution and Partnerships/Fundraising and networking activities
· Support engagement with UN agencies, research institutions and other partners on matters related to risk and recovery governance.
· Contribute to and provide substantive input for the preparation and drafting of funding proposals and background materials for third-party funding opportunities, particularly related to risk and recovery governance, in alignment with the mission and vision of UNU-EHS.
· Establish and maintain strategic partnerships and professional networks with key stakeholders, including academia, research institutions, public and private sector actors, NGOs, community-based organisations, think tanks, and UN organizations;
· Assist in strengthening collaboration and knowledge exchange with internal and external partners to advance programme and research objectives.
5. Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.
Key Performance Indicators
· Quality development of innovative research contributions aligned with project objectives.
· Timely and quality development and delivery of assigned project outputs and reporting requirements.
· Effective and professional engagement with project partners and implementation stakeholders.
· Preparation and dissemination of scientifically sound policy-relevant outputs to disaster risk governance.
· Successful identification of funding opportunities and contribution to high-quality grant proposals for resource mobilization.
· Effective mentoring of junior researchers and high-quality supervision of MSc students toward successful thesis completion.
· UNU-EHS is seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner by research partners, governments, donors, and civil society.
Competencies
Values:
* Inclusion - Take action to create an environment of dignity and respect for all, regardless of age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, geography, grade, language, nationality, racial identity, religion, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, social origin or any other aspect of identity;
* Integrity - Act ethically, demonstrating the standards of conduct of the United Nations and taking prompt action in case of witnessing unprofessional or unethical behaviour, or any other breach of UN standards;
* Humility - Demonstrate self-awareness and willingness to learn from others;
* Humanity - Act according to the purposes of the United Nations: peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet.
Behaviours:
* Connect and Collaborate - Build positive relationships with others to advance the work of the United Nations and work coherently as One UN;
* Analyse and Plan - Seek out and use data from a wide range of sources to understand problems, inform decision-making, propose evidence-based solutions and plan action;
* Deliver Results with Positive Impact - Hold oneself and others accountable for delivering results and making a positive difference to the people and causes that the United Nations serves;
* Learn and Develop - Pursue own learning and development and contribute to the learning and development of others;
* Adapt and Innovate - Demonstrate flexibility, agility and the ability to think and act in novel ways.
Qualifications
1) Education and certification
Ph.D. in Risk Governance, Disaster Risk Management, Climate Adaptation or another closely relevant field
Required Qualifications:
· Minimum one (1) year of directly relevant experience
· Knowledge of governance and pathways approaches in the context of climate change, preferable in an international setting;
· Demonstrated research experience in disaster risk governance, including contributions to publications;
· Experience drafting analytical reports, policy briefs
For complete job description and to apply, visit:
https://careers.unu.edu/o/associate-academic-officer-risk-recovery-governance-psa-6