Job information

                       Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific  
                                             http://www.rrcap.ait.asia/

I. Background:

The Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP) is an institute-wide center of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) that provides resources for policy setting towards sustainable development, acting as a science-policy interface by processing and assessing information and knowledge for governments, local communities and other stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region. RRC.AP has over 25 years of experience of working with various bilateral and multilateral aid agencies in dealing with regional environmental issues and is also serving as the secretariat for several intergovernmental networks/initiatives in the region. The AIT campus is located in Pathumthani province, 42 km. north of central Bangkok.

RRC.AP is conducting a project to assess selected low carbon technologies and their dissemination in Asian countries. The objectives of the project are a) to propose assessment methods and indicators that highlight the advantages of selected low carbon technologies and b) to propose the direction of research and development that enables those technologies to become adaptive to needs and conditions of Asian countries.

II. Major Functions: 

The appointee will ensure high technical quality of deliverables of the above-mentioned project on CO2 Emission Reduction Technology Assessment, in coordination with the project coordinator. The appointee will lead two components under the project (namely, Country Enabling Environment Assessment and Regional and International Schemes Assessment) conducting technical assessments as well as providing guidance on the performance of the project team.  In addition, the appointee will provide technical inputs to other components under the project, as well as other climate change related projects implemented by RRC.AP. The appointee will report directly to the director of RRC.AP.

III. Major Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Technical Assessment (70% of time):

• Assess the country enabling environment (environmental regulations and policies, markets, energy sources, infrastructures etc.) of three countries, namely Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, and analyse needs and barriers of the three countries for the application of eight selected low carbon technologies including solar energy, waste-to-energy, waste heat recovery, light-emitting diode (LED), once-through boiler, industrial heat pumps, high efficient air compressor and micro cogeneration.
• Assess several financial schemes and technical assistance mechanisms (e.g. type, scale and criteria) on low carbon technology transfer in Asia provided by international and regional organisations, examine the status of schemes’ utilisation in selected countries including the three mentioned above, and provide recommendations on how and to what extent those schemes can be utilised effectively to promote the transfer and application of the above-mentioned eight technologies.
• Identify the direction of research and development that enables the eight technologies to become adaptive to needs and conditions of the above-mentioned three countries, through comprehensive analysis of results of the above assessments.
• Provide technical inputs and instruction on the development of methods and indicators that highlight the advantages of selected low carbon technologies.
• Provide technical inputs and instruction on the development of monitoring indicators related to national adaptation plan processes tasked under a climate change adaptation project of the Climate Change Cluster.

2. Project management (15% of time)

• Ensure regular consultations and coordination with project partners, including IGES, AIT faculty and local institutes, on joint planning, information sharing and reporting in order to deliver high quality outputs expected under the entire project.
• Ensure regular consultations and coordination with RRC.AP colleagues on joint planning, information sharing and reporting.
• Oversee technical meetings, project budget and financial reporting of the two project components.
• Develop and update work plans of the components, monitor the progress of assessment work assigned to Climate Change Cluster members as well as local partner institutes in three countries.
• Develop and finalise two assessment reports.

3. Enhancement of RRC.AP’s Climate Change portfolio (15% of time):

• Provide colleagues with technical assistance and instructions that enable them to improve quality of work and deliverables of their climate change-related projects.
• Enhance cooperation at the regional level leading to project development on climate change.
• Initiate the development of project proposals and other forms of resource mobilisation on climate change.

IV. Required Competencies:

• Professionalism: ability to analyse and identify needs and challenges for climate change mitigation technology transfer in Asian countries by applying theories, concepts and approaches relevant to environmental economics, natural resource management, environment policies and development issues in tackling climate change mitigation challenges; ability to link between development and policy issues and climate change mitigation and adaptation;
• Communications: fluency in spoken and written English; demonstrated skills in having two-way communications; openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• Planning & Organising:  ability to formulate clear goals, prioritise activities and assignments; to allocate appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; and to monitor and adjust plans and actions as necessary.

V. Required Qualifications and Experience:

• Postgraduate degree in environmental economics, environmental management, natural science or relevant fields.
• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in technical assessment, data analysis and application of scientific information in development programmes and policy-making, in fields related to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

To apply, please register online and complete the registration form. You may be required to create your own user name and password, once completed, go back to the advertisement page and click "Apply Now" button.

Please do not forget to download your comprehensive resume which shall include a cover letter  highlighting relevant competencies, qualifications and experience (max. 6 page). Save them all in one file name and download a single file.  Also send a copy of your application by email to Hiromi.Inagaki@rrcap.ait.asia and jshaw@ait.ac.th.