Chief Climate Officer

The Executive Office (EO) leads and is accountable for the strategic direction, performance, and integrity of UNOPS, ensuring the organization implements its mandate in support of Member States and the UN system. Providing strategic leadership, the Office sets and oversees the implementation of the 4-year Strategic Plan, ensuring alignment on corporate priorities across the organization. The Office ensures robust governance, and accountability for resources and results while driving culture change and the transformation of the organization for cost-effective agile deployment in collaboration with sister agencies of the United Nations, and other partners. 

The Executive Office represents UNOPS and ensures accountability to the Executive Board. The Office leads UNOPS engagement with Member States, UN partners, and other stakeholders to advance United Nations objectives by bringing practical solutions to bridge the implementation gap so that all people can live peaceful and dignified lives, where human rights are respected, and where countries and communities are on a path to sustainable development.

UNOPS Strategic Plan 2026–2029 positions climate action as a cross-cutting institutional priority, which entails targeting pathways ranging from corporate emissions reduction and value-chain engagement to office-level optimization and project-level integration. 

The Climate Action Programme (CAP) is an organization-wide initiative designed to embed climate mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and environmental sustainability into every dimension of UNOPS operations. The strategic ambition for this programme focuses on three concrete climate commitments:

1. Reduce corporate emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero before 2050.

2. Account for Emissions in UNOPS Supply Chains. 

3. Driving Emission Reduction and Climate Resilience in UNOPS Projects.

UNOPS is uniquely positioned regarding climate action. As a global infrastructure, procurement, and project services provider, UNOPS influences the carbon footprint, resilience profile, and environmental integrity of thousands of projects worldwide. UNOPS also hosts and supports strategically important climate initiatives, which span over national planning and implementation, loss and damage support, transparency, climate finance access, and targeted assistance to climate-vulnerable countries — forming a distinctive and strategically significant climate footprint.

The Chief Climate Officer will lead a team of 8 climate professionals and will lead efforts to transform UNOPS strategic ambitions into operational reality across a global organization.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Chief Climate Officer provides strategic leadership for UNOPS on climate. The Chief Climate Officer will shape institutional direction, embed climate intelligence into UNOPS operational DNA, leverage global partnerships, and influence how infrastructure, procurement, and project services are delivered across diverse contexts.

UNOPS seeks a senior professional with extensive experience in climate action, combining strategic foresight with operational discipline and ambition with pragmatism. The successful candidate will elevate climate action to a defining pillar of how UNOPS delivers for people and planet.

1. Strategic Alignment and Direction

• Drive the UNOPS Climate Action Programme (CAP) and Strategy in alignment with the Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the Results Framework.

• Contribute to the formulation of UNOPS climate strategy and policies through strategic advice to the Executive Director.

• Engage the CAP Board on strategy, performance, and risk, ensuring transparency and alignment. Anticipate emerging risks and opportunities, including system-wide climate reforms and shifts in global financing.

• Build senior leadership ownership and accountability across the organization through proactive knowledge sharing and institutional learning.

• Integrate climate action into corporate planning and performance systems.

• Lead the strategic planning and allocation of human, financial, and administrative resources to achieve defined goals.

2. Climate Action Programme Leadership

• Drive initiatives under the Climate Action Programme to meet UNOPS climate commitments, including:

  1. Reducing internal emissions from UNOPS operations worldwide, including air travel and electricity consumption.

  2. Expanding supply-chain emissions accounting, supporting suppliers in reducing their climate footprint.

  3. Lowering project-related greenhouse gas emissions and promoting climate-resilient development in partnership with clients.

• Provide strategic guidance to UNOPS HQ units, supporting them in further embedding climate and sustainability considerations into operations. This includes strengthening UNOPS climate risk screening with a project management approach (across UNOPS service lines), embedding advanced climate and sustainability criteria into procurement systems and processes as a project or a project output, and updating global standards for resilient, low-carbon infrastructure.

• Ensure UNOPS achieves and maintains organizational climate neutrality, including Scope 1–3 emissions management through intagrated data-driven accountability tracking of Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions at the transaction level, providing on-time climate impact data for offices and prioritising absolute emissions reductions while utilising credible offsetting only as a transitionary measure for residual emissions.

3. People Leadership

• Serve as a member of UNOPS global leadership team. 

• Build and empower a high-performing, diverse Climate Action Programme team.

• Create, foster and role model a culture of trust, empowerment and accountability.

• Build engagement and foster a diverse and inclusive work environment, respectful of all, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

• Create, foster and role model a culture of respect and zero tolerance for discrimination, abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse. Ensure accountability for actions and perform duties in accordance with protection mechanisms and action plans, as expected by UNOPS policies, standards and commitments.

• Promote teamwork, collaboration and diversity, by providing timely guidance and supervision to the team, to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.

• Plan, recruit, manage and develop a flexible and diverse workforce, with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance.

4. Representation and Inter-Agency Partnerships

• Support partnership development and help position UNOPS as a partner of choice in relation to climate action and sustainable development.

• Represent UNOPS in inter-agency and global forums, including engagement with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), SG's Climate Action Team, and other multilateral institutions.

• Champion UNOPS capabilities at major global platforms such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) and global financing fora.

• Strengthen UNOPS standing within the UN climate architecture and aligning with system-wide sustainability frameworks.

• Drive strategic alliances with governments, foundations, climate funds, and development finance institutions.

• Serve as focal point for UN system-wide climate reporting and compliance.

5. Knowledge Management and Innovation

• Bring thought leadership to position UNOPS as an innovative partner on climate action. Anticipate shifts in global policy and climate finance and aligning UNOPS long-term partnership strategy accordingly.

• Monitor global climate action trends, identifying key risks and opportunities for UNOPS

• Translate global climate policy developments into actionable institutional guidance.

• Lead sharing of knowledge related to climate action across the organization, including identification and dissemination of best practices and lessons learned.

• Contribute to the development and introduction of innovation to ensure UNOPS is continuously incorporating best practice approaches in relation to climate action.

• Support the planning, implementation and organization of capacity building of personnel, partners and stakeholders.

• Serve as focal point for UNOPS cross-cutting climate agenda through engagement with UNOPS eight Mission Hubs.

• Serve as Technical Lead for UNOPS Mission Hub on the Triple Planetary Crisis.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Engineering, Environmental Science, Climate Change, Economics, International Relations or any related discipline with 12 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related disciplines with 10 years of relevant experience is required.

Required

• Relevant and demonstrated experience working in climate science, international climate policy, intergovernmental agreements on climate change, and engaging with the scientific and policy communities on climate change.

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Leadership experience in change management, preferably in an international context, is desired.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here [link removed]. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here. [link removed]
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.