Job Category: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)

Job Subcategory: Climate change, Environment & Sustainability

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

This is a new role in the growing Vietnam Climate Team. Vietnam is one of the fastest growing carbon emitters.  With trend GDP growth at 6-7%, deep integration into global trade (200% trade to GDP) and highly attractive to FDI, Vietnam’s energy demand is predicted to double in the next 10 years and double again the following decade. In a BAU scenario this means adding 40GW of coal power by 2030.  Vietnam is already twice as energy intensive as China per unit of GDP.  Coal driven growth will lead to huge emissions growth.  Vietnam is also highly vulnerable to climate change, with 50% of the population in coastal areas liable to flooding, highland areas liable to drought, and the Mekong Delta liable to salt water intrusion.

At COP26 Vietnam made a bold change in its climate policy, committing to 2050 net zero, and to a transition away from coal.  There is a window of opportunity now for Vietnam to radically shift away from the BAU scenario, driven by the growth of renewables.  Vietnam has excellent solar and wind (offshore and onshore) potential.  Scenario planning under the COP Energy Transition Council shows that this could reduce 59% of power emissions vs BAU, create 200,000 jobs.  Vietnam wants to access more climate finance, but in recent years it has reduced the level of loans taken from the MDBs and from bilateral donors.  This trend needs to be reversed if Vietnam is to generate the public investment needed, particularly into the grid.

A key tool in enabling the rapid transition we want to see in Vietnam is agile technical assistance. UK PACT is a technical assistance programme that has been established to support partner countries to accelerate their clean growth transitions and reduce carbon emissions in line with their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Long Term Climate Strategies (LTS). The UK Government is scoping the potential to run this programme in Vietnam.

This new position, based in the British Embassy in Hanoi will lead on the scoping of a new multi-sector, multi-year, UK PACT country programme in Vietnam. This will include: developing an overarching strategy for the programme and how this will further the UK-Vietnam climate relationship; designing a programme to best suit Vietnam’s context, and in-depth scoping on areas of focus for country programme to help Vietnam deliver its 2050 net zero commitment.

The role holder will also be expected integrate this strategy with existing UK programme activities, including climate diplomacy initiatives in country, particularly enhanced efforts with the EU to convene a more focussed package of donor and private finance.

This role will be based in the climate and energy team in the British Embassy in Hanoi but will require frequent cross-team working with colleagues across the Embassy and in the UK. The post holder will be expected to develop strong links and maximise synergies with other colleagues working on climate-relevant issues across the embassy.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

1. Vietnam-UK PACT Scoping and Strategy Development (70%)

• Working within the embassy and FCDO UK PACT London team to develop clear understanding of the climate change landscape in Vietnam. This should include mapping existing climate activities funded by the UK and other donors, understanding partner country demand, and setting out the political, economic, and social context the programme would be operating in. An understanding of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) issues in-country and how they interact with climate will form a significant part of any coping or strategy work.
• Identify sectors of demand where UK PACT projects could support emissions reduction (de-conflicting with existing programme and diplomacy work), to design a multi-sector UK PACT programme.
• Identify, analyse and flag policy, technological and commercial developments and risks that could influence the delivery of Vietnam-UK climate collaboration.
• Lead on briefings, presentations and other reporting to UK PACT team in London to inform the development and management of relevant UK PACT opportunities.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations on collaboration opportunities to senior management at the Embassy and in London.

2. UK PACT Stakeholder management (20%)

• Proactively develop, manage and strengthen the Embassy’s network of UK–Vietnam climate contacts at all levels of seniority and in all sectors, to identify capacity building and policy influencing opportunities for UK PACT and wider climate change diplomacy and programmes.
• Support the British Embassy team to scope and develop deeper climate collaboration with Vietnam, at national, provincial and local level, fostering relationships across the Government of Vietnam.
• Prompt strategic, regular communications with key stakeholders in the UK, Vietnam and other regional stakeholders to facilitate best practice sharing where appropriate.
• Publicly represent the Embassy and UK Government as a credible interlocutor in climate related engagements as necessary.
• Ensure coordination between UK climate programmes and initiatives supported by other donor agencies, identifying opportunities for multilateral cooperation where possible.
• Proactively seek cross-team collaboration opportunities amongst Embassy teams to continue supporting a mainstreamed approach to climate change in bilateral programmes.

3. Corporate (10%)

• Play an active part in the corporate life of the Embassy.

Resources:

No direct management but will be expected to ensure value-for-money and best practice compliance when scoping Vietnam-UK PACT strategy and programme.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 

We are looking for a proactive self-starter, able to work well and have a flexible approach to work whilst under pressure and excellent interpersonal and communications skills to build strong relations within the British Embassy and UK teams and with a wide range of stakeholders in Vietnam.

Candidates should demonstrate:

• A university degree, preferably in Environmental Science, Climate, Public Policy or related course;
• An understanding of climate and environment issues and policies in Vietnam;
• A minimum of 5 years of work experience, ideally with climate-related Project/Programme management experience, preferably with international stakeholders;
• Strong interpersonal, communication and relationship skills;
• Flexible and creative problem-solving skills, and the ability to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems, and coordinate coherent and compelling programmes and projects;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Vietnamese;
• Experience providing administrative and logistical support;
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and ability to adjust to different audiences;
• Excellent presentation skills;
• Team working skills.

Language requirements:

• Language:  Fluent written and spoken English and Vietnamese
• Level of language required:  English - minimum level required C1 under the CEFRL or equivalent.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience in designing and managing programmes related to Vietnam climate change policy, its international commitments and institutional framework;
• Sound network of contacts in Vietnam political arena, government, private sector and civil societies.
• Candidates with prior work experience in international or multilateral programmes will be considered as a plus;
• Knowledge of green finance, carbon pricing, nature/biodiversity and low carbon energy issues in Vietnam;
• Knowledge of Vietnam change governance and policy development;
• Knowledge of UK climate and energy policy, technology and commercial capabilities, and its global leadership in the subject matter

Required behaviours: Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

Application deadline: 27 June 2022

Grade: Higher Executive Officer (HEO)

Type of Position: Fixed Term, Full-time

Working hours per week: 35

Duration of Post: 12 months

Region: Asia Pacific

Country/Territory: Vietnam

Location (City): Hanoi

Type of Post: British Embassy

Number of vacancies: 1

Salary Currency: VND

Salary: VND 53,809,569

Start Date: 8 August 2022

Other benefits and conditions of employment  

This position is being advertised as a 12 months fixed term position in Hanoi, with possibility of renewal.

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to developing its staff, working hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources through the Diplomatic Academy and Civil Service Learning. Staff are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all the available opportunities.

The job-holder will be required to take some specific training courses related to their role. All new staff undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses covering areas such as diversity, health and safety, and information management.

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. Visa sponsorship may be possible for non-Vietnamese nationals if meet local requirements.  

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

Disabled and ethnic minority applicants will be invited to interviews if meeting the minimum requirement of the job.

Working patterns:

This role will require office based work at the British Embassy in Hanoi with limited scope for remote or flexible working.

Additional information  

All applications must be received before 23:55 (Local Vietnam Time) on the day of the deadline indicated above.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core competencies listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time.

Indicated start date is provisional and subject to successful completion of reference and security checks.

To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.

Please check the application centre regularly for any update on your application.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

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