Terms of Reference

Post Title: Energy Expert Duty station: HQ based with frequent travel to the field Duration of assignment: 6 months

General Background The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State. While UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, our ultimate goal is to help find durable solutions that will allow them to rebuild their lives in dignity. There are three durable solutions pursued by UNHCR for 6.4 million refugees in protracted situations: voluntary repatriation; local integration; or resettlement to a third country. While pursuing durable solutions UNHCR additionally tries to increase the self-reliance and livelihood opportunities of refugees.

Context for the Post

Globally, sustainable energy is linked to facilitating economic development; enhancing livelihood opportunities and improving access to basic services such as clean drinking water, health care, and education. Likewise, in humanitarian contexts, sustainable energy is a crosscutting issue with broad implications for, inter alia, protection, health, education, livelihoods and environment, and necessitates collaboration amongst a wide variety of actors in governmental, nongovernmental, and private sectors.

For refugees, sustainable access to energy reduces fuel costs, freeing resources for essential services and reducing tensions with host communities and governments caused by environmental degradation. Providing reliable access to light can lengthen days; to study, to work, to socialise. Furthermore, sustainable lighting and fuel alternatives can greatly contribute to reducing refugees’ vulnerability by eliminating the need to walk long distances to collect firewood, reducing exposure to crime at night, and by reducing the possibility of illnesses or harm caused by smoke or fire at home.

Providing access to sustainable energy for refugees is a priority for UNHCR, and in order to

approach energy issues in a comprehensive manner, folding in cutting-edge technologies

and ideas, UNHCR is developing a Strategy for Access to Energy. This is being done in parallel

with other projects to strengthen how UNHCR addresses energy access for refugees,

including providing refugees with fuel-efficient stoves, solar street lights, solar lanterns, and

establishing woodlots. Limited resources, combined with increasing demands for such

interventions have, however, presented challenges to progress.

In order to address the growing needs related to energy, UNHCR is seeking an Energy Expert.

The Energy Expert will strengthen UNHCR’s ability to provide technical capacity to field

operations, addressing energy issues and bringing in the most current conversations, ideas,

and technologies, including stoves, and solar and hybrid solutions.

The energy expert will be based within the Energy and Environment Unit in Geneva,

Switzerland, and will report to the Senior Environmental Coordinator. The energy expert will

support the implementation of the forthcoming UNHCR Strategy for Access to Energy, which

seeks to improve the wellbeing of Persons of Concern (PoCs) through a holistic approach to

energy-related challenges. In line with this, the energy expert will provide guidance to field

operations, particularly on designing context-specific energy interventions and choosing

energy technologies that are culturally appropriate and sustainable. They will also support

UNHCR in developing minimum standards for energy technologies and identify good

practices, from various sources including the private sector and academic institutions, to

improve energy access for PoCs.

Responsibilities

- Coordinate the roll-out of the Energy Strategy in selected operations, particularly

given funding sources and upcoming programmes;

- Provide technical support to operations with energy-related activities, including

identifying appropriate sources of renewable energy for cooking, lighting, and

general powering of camps and settlements, and undertaking cost-benefit

comparisons;

- Coordinate holistic energy programmes to be implemented, ensuring that new

approaches to energy are explored and applied;

- Develop standards for energy-related technologies to be distributed in UNHCR

operations.

Qualifications

- Advanced university degree in energy/renewable energy, energy economics,

energy/business technology, natural resource management and/or environmental

sciences or related fields;

- At least 10 years of experience with energy in humanitarian/developmental settings;

- Applied knowledge: ability to apply knowledge from contemporary research in the

field of energy, and translate this into humanitarian settings;

- Strong interest and exposure to development and humanitarian issues, especially in

the area of energy and innovation;

- Demonstrated ability to coordinate and implement projects;

- Fluency in English necessary; French and Arabic an asset;

- Excellent networking and communications; have a broad network of peers in the

domain of energy;

- Ability to think creatively, and to explore, harness and translate innovative concepts

into practice.

Duration Initially for 6 months (starting 1 January 2014) with the possibility of extension. Enquiries/How to apply Please send an email with your CV and cover letter before 1 December 2013 to energy@unhcr.org.