Pacific Islander Junior Professional - PCREEE

• Tonga position based
• Attractive package
• Join the principal development organisation in the region

Description

The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 26 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 20 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Geoscience Energy and Maritime Division provides advice, technical assistance, research and training support to Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs). There are three (3) areas of scientific programming and two areas of focus within this division:

1. Oceans and Maritime – Driving growth in blue economies through well-informed and inclusive action from integrated solutions for ocean and coastal management and maritime and transport.
2. Geo-resources and Energy – Strengthening the management of the Earth’s non-living resources through responsible harnessing of mineral resources, including metalliferous and development minerals, and clean and renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, and geothermal for sustainable development.
3. Disaster and Climate Resilience – Improving resilience and sustainability through the management of disaster risk and assessment of hazards. This includes building resilience through wider support for climate change, disaster risk management (DRM) initiatives, and water and sanitation initiatives. Ridge to Reef is a stand-alone programme that pulls expertise from the three scientific areas and is located within Disaster and Climate Resilience.
4. The other two focus areas within this division are Programming and Operations, which is responsible for driving integrated programming excellence and operational support across the division, and Geo-informatics, which is responsible for providing diverse, integrated, and unique and demand driven services across SPC work programmes, projects and countries. This includes developing, managing, building on and retaining or preserving spatial data and information for the benefit of all scientific areas.

The role – The Pacific Islander Junior Professional (PCREE) will support the Manager – PCREEE including Programme Delivery Officer and PCREEE Experts with providing support and advice to governments, stakeholders and the private sector in planning and implementing PCREEE activities, focusing on entrepreneurship, investment promotion and capacity development relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The key responsibilities of the role include the following:

1. Regional Collaboration, Coordination and Communication:

• Assists with conducting and updating of needs assessments, with the data collection and analysis effort of the PCREEE;
• Assist with the visibility effort of the PCREEE and with the updating of the PCREEE website. 

2. Technical Cooperation and Services:

• Assist in the implementation of the PCREEE entrepreneurship activities;
• Assist in the planning an conduct of business, investment promotion activities and PCREEE training activities.

3. Resource mobilisation:

• Draft funding proposals to internal resources in SPC as well as to external sources;
• Draft bids and proposals to consultancy works in member countries and those offered by regional and multilateral stakeholders;
• Assist in the production of progress and acquittal reports on resources provided to the PCREEE.

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the attached job description.

Key selection criteria

1. 1. Pacific Islander

• Only applicants from Pacific Island countries or territories are eligible to apply;
• Applicants must be employed in a Pacific Island National / Regional energy office or a recognized NGO working in the field of Energy in a Pacific Island country or territory.

2. Qualifications

• University degree or equivalent in a discipline relevant to renewable energy and energy efficiency, or related field.

3. Technical expertise

• At least three years’ direct relevant experience in Pacific Islands energy sector.

4. Language skills

• Excellent English language skills, with a working knowledge of French being an advantage.

5. Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• A team player, with the ability to network and work effectively in a multicultural setting.
• Cultural sensitivity, and a demonstrated understanding of developing country environments.
• Knowledge of Pacific Island countries and territories is an advantage.

Salary, terms and conditions

Required starting date – January 2020.

Contract Duration – 6 months.

Requirements: Only applicants who are nationals and residents of Pacific Island countries or territories are eligible to apply. Applicants must be employed in or contracted by a Pacific Energy office, agency, or a recognized NGO working in the field of Energy in a Pacific Island country or territory.

Letter of endorsement –A signed letter from the employer, stating they agree to release the applicant for the attachment and that the position will be held for the applicant to return to at the end of the attachment with SPC must be provided before an appointment can be finalized.

Remuneration – The Pacific Islander Junior Professional is a Band 8 position in SPC’s 2019 salary scale, with a salary of SDR (special drawing rights) 2,308 per month, which currently converts to approximately USD 3,277 (EUR 2,762). Remuneration of expatriate SPC staff members is not subject to income tax in Tonga; Tonga nationals employed by SPC in Tonga will be subject to income tax.

Benefits – SPC provides a housing allowance of USD 1,000–2,000 per month, an establishment and relocation grant, return airfare, and will cover the cost of up to 36 kilograms of cargo or unaccompanied baggage. Employees are entitled to: 25 days annual leave and 30 days sick leave per annum; medical and life insurance; and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8% of salary to which SPC adds a matching contribution).

We encourage all eligible candidates to apply but please note that, since this is a special short-term contract, the full list of benefits included in other international contract types are not available to this contract type. Appointees may bring their families, but all extra costs for travel, insurance, education, housing and other additional expense will be their own responsibility. 

Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French.

Child protection – SPC is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. SPC’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Police clearance – Successful candidates will be required to provide a police clearance certificate.

Application procedure

Closing date: 8 December 2019.

Job Reference: AL000240.

Applicants must apply online through the link: Pacific Islander Junior Professional

Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.

For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:

• an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions

Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

All positions at SPC have specific screening questions. All candidates MUST respond to the screening questions, otherwise the application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at the shortlisting stage.

Screening questions

1. Please describe your experiences and achievements in the energy sector.
2. Have you been involved in jointly implementing energy projects or events with partners? If yes, please describe your role and the impacts of the project.  
3. Have you drafted projects worth USD 50,000 and above that got approved for funding? If yes, please describe the projects and your approach to drafting the proposal(s).

Source: The Pacific Community (SPC)