Head, Global Green New Deal Pilot Implementation (London, Los Angeles or Johannesburg)

The Head of GGND Pilot implementation will lead on delivering the new GGND initiative of the ICA programme, reporting to the Director of the ICA programme and working closely with other members of the ICA team. S/he will be directly managing five ICA city advisors located in 5 pilot cities, a dedicated technical assistance team and will be supporting the Director of the ICA Programme in the day to day management of the partnership with the Just Transition Center and the international union movement. Working in tandem with C40’s relevant teams, s/he will support the identification of pilot and sister cities, the delivery of technical and strategic support to pilot and sister cities as well as collaborate with (among others) C40’s Communication and Campaigns team to ensure coherent narratives & strong communication outputs.

S/he will be passionate about working with cities to identify practical solutions in the environmental and socio-economic sectors with regards to tackling climate change, have strong interest and familiarity with notions of just transition, environmental justice, the needs and resilience of vulnerable communities as well as on other key equity challenges and opportunities in delivering inclusive climate action. The person will be a natural communicator, collaborator, and facilitator, with strong political awareness and knowledge of working with mayors, cities and stakeholders on key strategic priorities. Very organised, with demonstrative leadership and understanding of the challenges in delivering technical assistance programmes at the local level and strategic support to decision-makers and leaders on stakeholder engagement, coalition building and communication.  S/he will collaborate very closely with the ICA Programme Director to successfully support the ICA Forum Manager, the ICA Global Leadership Manager and the ICA Knowledge and Content Managers in developing knowledge products; in bringing cities together to share lessons learnt and best practices; in developing and managing major global partnerships; and in facilitating delivery of support to C40 member cities working collaboratively with regional staff and partner organisations. S/he will also collaborate with the wider ICA team on joint projects and programme work streams and will work closely with key C40 teams such as the Communications Team, the City Diplomacy Team, the Global Initiatives Team, the Climate Action Planning Team, the Regions Team, and the Office of the C40 Chair.

The post holder’s main goal will be to successfully show how mayors can implement bold climate action that is just and inclusive, including as a way of recovering sustainably and equitably from the Covid-19 global pandemic. S/he will start working closely with five pilot cities while developing and delivering strategies and methodologies to scale and share learning across 20+ other cities in different regions of the world.      

S/he will have oversight and responsibility to deliver transformative change in key areas for inclusive climate action in C40 member cities. An energetic and delivery-focused individual, s/he will work with the team to consolidate delivery and results, manage funder relationships where relevant, and develop critical partnerships where necessary. S/he will be an effective manager, strategist and collaborator to build strong connections within C40, and with key C40 stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Director of International Diplomacy, the ICA Programme Director, the Head of Campaigns and the Director of the Office of the C40 Chair to identify and establish the Global Green New Deal Initiative project team and overall workplan.
• Ensure the successful delivery of the initiative, including tracking and reporting on results/impact, managing a number of streams of work simultaneously.
• Draft, deliver and maintain a comprehensive work plan for the programme of work, including providing support to the development of the overarching monitoring and evaluation structure/activities to ensure the goals of the programme are delivered on and that the partnership objectives and expectations are met.
• Deliver key components of the ICA programme as set out in C40’s new business plan and report to the Director of the Inclusive Climate Action Programme and funders on budget, KPIs and results.
• Work closely with the Programme Director, Regional Directors and other relevant team members to confirm the 5 pilot cities, the sister cities and the other wider cohort of involved cities. S/he will lead in co-developing with the 5 pilot cities the related work plans to define a programme of work and support for minimum two years.
• Coordinate the identification and selection of dedicated ICA City Advisors for the 5 pilot cities (where selection has not yet happened).
• Oversee and deliver technical assistance support to the five pilot cities through line management of the ICA City Advisors and dedicated technical assistance team members.
• Support the Director of ICA with management and day-to-day coordination of the partnership with Just Transition Centre (JTC) as well as coordinating and aligning with other relevant strategic partners to deliver joint outcomes. This will include:
  • Refine and deliver the dedicated work plan developed jointly with the international union movement and the Just Transition Center to develop successful partnerships between mayors and local unions to deliver just transition initiatives related to cities’ climate priorities and projects;
  • Collaborate with other C40 relevant staff and teams to deliver city-level coalition building workshops and outreach to enhance social dialogues (e.g. with unions), establish joint priorities and co-deliver common activities;
  • For relevant cities, alignment of city and labor priorities and understanding of teams across the JTC and labor partners;
  • Support regional convenings bringing together key partners to drive action and advocacy on regional thematic goals.
• Work with the ICA Programme Director, relevant ICA team members, C40’s City Diplomacy Team and Regional Directors to develop and manage partnerships and strategies which will direct resources to C40 member cities participating in the programme and showcase mayoral leadership.
  • Co-develop and deliver strategies for advocacy and vertical integration with national and regional levels of government
• Collaborate with relevant teams and team members to support bilateral and multilateral city interactions and convenings, in order to leverage expertise and knowledge residing among cities. This will include:
  • Enhance mayoral leadership, co-organising mayors only moments and mobilizing and assisting a couple of mayors per region who can act as "ICA/GGND ambassadors" focusing engagement of pilot and sister-cities;
  • Facilitate peer-to-peer exchange and research/knowledge creation and management on priorities identified by cities, responding flexibly when such priorities change.
• Contribute to the development of campaigns on GGND and GGND themes built with partners.
• Showcase the leadership of cities at key global events: demonstrating cities delivering a green new deal in action supporting mayors participate in key global and regional events.
• Support the Communication Team in engaging communications and messaging expertise to ensure the definition of the initiative is clear and resonates across C40 regions.
• Support C40 in developing a joint narrative, key messages, and common communications moments to highlight how the green new deal can be delivered, and is being delivered in cities.
• Support the development of highly effective knowledge products for cities and mayors.
• Serve as a senior subject matter expert for just transition, global green new deal and key areas of inclusive climate action.
• Work with senior city officials from various departments as needed to enable ambitious and accelerated delivery of inclusive climate action.
• Manage programme of work’s logistics, including dedicated budget, timelines and grants, team’s work plans, etc.
• Support the ICA Programme Director and the International Diplomacy Director as requested and when needed to ensure the strategic delivery of the overall ICA programme.
• Additional duties as requested.
  

Person Specification:

Essential

• Demonstrable experience in government, business and/or NGO sectors with a strong focus on policy development, policy-making, and strategy development.
• Proven knowledge of Just Transition notions, labour union engagement and socio-economic challenges and issues, in particular related to the environmental sector at city level.
• Proven strong understanding of political dynamics in cities and local governments, and of strategic and technical needs of city leaders.
• Proven experience of engagement with senior representatives of civil society and business organisations.
• Proven track record in working collaboratively and effectively with partners and groups, such as NGOs, community-based organisations, activists, etc.
• Strong problem-solving, interpersonal and strategic thinking capabilities coupled with an outcome, delivery-orientated approach.
• Significant project and programme management experience, including oversight of multiple concurrent projects.
• Experience managing staff and teams.
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills. Very strong convening skills.
• Excellent presentational skills and the ability to represent C40 effectively at high level meetings, global events and with high level city officials, funders and other relevant stakeholders.
• International experience, particularly working across different cultures, languages and time zones.
• Fluent in English (spoken and written).

Desirable

• Proven experience of engaging with programmes, initiatives and/or organisations that provide support, advice and/or knowledge to governments.
• Knowledge and understanding of international and regional decision-making policy forums (ie. UN, EU, etc.) on climate related topics and just transition.
• Previous experience in working effectively with communication teams and/or organisations will be an asset.
• In addition to English, fluency in one or more native languages from C40 member cities.
  

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in their preferred location. Moderate to significant travel may be required as part of the role.

Location: London/Los Angeles/ Johannesburg

Term: Fixed Term Contract - 1 Year (with possibility of extension, subject to funding)

Salary:  £58,684 (London), US $88,107 (Los Angeles), ZAR 947,102 (Johannesburg) per annum

Closing date for receipt of applications is Monday 7 September 2020.

To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

C40 is an equal opportunities employer.