Programme Officer (Environmental Sustainability) (P)

Tags: Human Rights Russian English Spanish UNESCO language Environment
  • Added Date: Friday, 15 August 2025
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Job Identification (Reference Number): 15849
Position Title: Programme Officer (Environmental Sustainability) (P)
Duty Station City: Athens
Duty Station Country: Greece
Grade: P-2
Contract Type: Fixed-term (1 year with possibility of extension)
Recruiting Type: Professional
Vacancy Type: Vacancy Notice
Initial duration: 1 year with possibility of extension
Closing date: 28 August 2025

Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

IOM is committed to ensuring a workplace where all employees can thrive professionally, while working towards harnessing the full potential of migration. Read more about IOM's workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

Applications are welcome from first- and second-tier candidates, particularly qualified female candidates as well as applications from the non-represented member countries of IOM. For all IOM vacancies, applications from qualified and eligible first-tier candidates are considered before those of qualified and eligible second-tier candidates in the selection process. For the purpose of this vacancy, the following are considered first-tier candidates:ย 

Internal candidates Candidates from the following non-represented member states:

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Comoros, Congo (the), Cook Islands, Dominica, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Iceland, Israel, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Second tier candidates include:
All external candidates, except candidates from nonrepresented member states of IOM.

Context

In line with the IOM Strategic Plan 2024-2028, IOM leads environmental sustainability innovation for impact and scale in the humanitarian and migration management sector. Caring for people and the planet is one of our core values, and we are committed to mainstreaming environmental sustainability into our projects and programmes, and facilities management and operations. IOM has an ambitious environmental governance and environmental management system, drawing from United Nations system-wide commitments.

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director General for Management and Reform and the direct supervision of the Director of Global Shared Services, the Environmental Sustainability Unit plays the lead role in mainstreaming environmental sustainability principles into the Organizationโ€™s policies, strategies, programmes and projects, and facility and operations management. The Unit serves as a driving force for accelerating the sustainability transition in IOM and improving the organizationโ€™s environmental performance.ย 

The Unit provides thought leadership and guidance to implement and share best practices and policies related to environmental management and environmental sustainability. In line with the United Nations system-wide commitments made in the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System 2020-2030, the Unit promotes the continuous improvement of environmental performance as the institutional focal point for IOMโ€™s environmental management systems and sustainability innovation. The Unit also acts as the institutional focal point for global coordination mechanisms and partnerships related to environmental sustainability and clean energy transition, including the UN Greening the Blue. ย ย 

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Environmental Sustainability Unit (ENV) and in collaboration with relevant Divisions/Departments/Units at Headquarters (HQ), the Programme Officer (Environmental Sustainability) will be responsible for coordinating, monitoring and assisting with the implementation of activities related to the sustainability transition in facilities and operations. ย  ย  ย  ย ย 
ย 

Act as a technical focal point on environmental management for facilities and operations and related and emerging environmental sustainability areas.Maintain the global environmental inventory process in line with UN environmental performance reporting requirements.Provide technical and process related recommendations for the improvement of IOMโ€˜s internal environmental performance reporting platform in close coordination with relevant IOM teams.Coordinate the implementation of improvements to IOMโ€™s environmental performance reporting with relevant teams, including systemic improvements in data collection and management through IOMโ€™s ERP in line with evolving reporting scopes (Scope 3) and requirements. ย Support the implementation of IOMโ€™s Environmental Policy by providing technical guidance on the environmental management of facilities and operations as well as relevant projects.Provide technical inputs and support for the development and implementation of organizational strategies on specific environmental sustainability topics, such as sound management of chemicals and waste, pollution prevention and circular economy, in close coordination with relevant internal and external stakeholders.Draft internal and external communication and capacity building materials linked to environmental sustainability in facilities and operations.Conduct research and draft technical inputs for internal documents, guidance notes and resources to help support the continuous improvement of environmental performance across IOMโ€™s facilities and operations and relevant projects, including through decarbonization and circular economy efforts.Support environmental risk assessment and the implementation of IOMโ€™s Environmental Management System as needed.Assist in the development and advancement of environmental sustainability projects, including on decarbonization and circular economy, by liaising with and exchanging information with potential partners, preparing technical inputs based on research, and drafting segments of concept notes and proposals.Liaise with counterparts in international organizations, private sector, community-based organizations, research institutions, and NGOs to help encourage collaboration, knowledge-sharing and best practices as required and requested.Supervise relevant staff and monitor the work of consultants, implementing partners and service providers as requested.Participate in relevant events, conferences and meetings as requested.Undertake duty travel as required.Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Education

Masterโ€™s degree in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Management or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; orย University degree or equivalent in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience.

Accredited Universities are those listed in theย UNESCO World Higher Education Database.

Experience

A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience in environmental sustainability related to facilities and operations and environmental performance reporting is required;Experience working with digital platforms or databases to support environmental performance tracking and knowledge-sharing;Experience in communications, stakeholder collaboration, and ability to support policy and programmatic processes related to environmental sustainability;Ability to think creatively, to explore, harness and translate innovative concepts into practice is desirable;Experience in organizing and facilitating trainings, information webinars, or internal learning sessions focused on environmental sustainability;Experience in coordinating with diverse stakeholders, including UN entities, international organizations, NGOs, and technical teams;Greenhouse gas accounting, carbon management or similar certification is desirable;Strong interest and exposure to development and humanitarian issues, especially in the area of environmental sustainability, circularity, ย pollution prevention and management; and,Experience with the United Nations system, International Organizations, international or local NGOs.

Skills

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Knowledge of UN/IOMโ€™s or International Organizations, regulations, policies and procedures;Knowledge of strategic planning approaches, information/data analysis, and report writing;Excellent written communication, especially in English;ย Proficiency in data management tools and platforms, with demonstrated capacity to support digital workflows and collaborative platforms (e.g., MS Teams, SharePoint);Ability to work effectively and harmoniously in a team of colleagues of varied cultural and professional backgrounds;Proven ability to produce high quality work within tight deadlines;Strong organizational skills, flexibility, and adaptability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, adjusting to changing priorities as needed;Demonstrated initiative to take on responsibilities, propose ideas, and contribute positively to projects; and,Understanding and commitment to the IOM's principles and values, including human rights, sustainability, and social justice.

Languages

IOMโ€™s official languages are English, French and Spanish.ย All staff members are required to be fluent in one of the the three languages.

For this position, fluency inย English is required (oral and written). Working knowledge of Arabic is highly desirable. Working knowledge of another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is an advantage.

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

Required Competencies

IOMโ€™s competency framework can be found at thisย linkย Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Valuesย - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these values:

Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated.

Core Competenciesย โ€“ behavioural indicators Level 2

ย Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.ย Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.ย Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.ย Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organizationโ€™s priorities and assumes responsibility for own actions and delegated work.ย Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational wayย 

Notes

Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile.

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

This selection process may be used to staff similar positions in various duty stations. Recommended candidates will remain eligible to be appointed in a similar position for a period of 24 months.

The list of NMS countries above includes all IOM Member States which are non-represented in the Professional Category of staff members. For this staff category, candidates who are nationals of the duty station's country cannot be considered eligible.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances.
Vacancies close at 23:59 local time Geneva, Switzerland on the respective closing date. No late applications will be accepted.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities.

IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment systemย (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website: IOM Careers and Job Vacancies.

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