City Adviser, Lagos at C40 Cities

Position Description

The C40 City Adviser will be the focal point for long-term climate action planning in the Lagos State that aligns with the ambitions of the UNFCCC Paris Climate Agreement and Nigeria country commitments. This will involve engaging internal and external stakeholders, coordinating consultants to develop additional action pathways and update plans as necessary, including governance frameworks, facilitating knowledge transfer across the city / region, and ensuring sustainability after the project duration. This includes setting / reviewing targets, identifying locally appropriate climate change response actions, and defining measurement, reporting and verification processes.

The C40 City Adviser’s relationship with the Lagos State government and other key stakeholders is critical for efficient and effective delivery. The City Adviser will be based at the Lagos State offices in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Lagos City Adviser will join a cohort of C40 City Advisers across several cities in Africa. A series of in-city and workshops will be held for all C40 cities in Africa, complemented by regional workshops, to build capacity and enable peer interaction.

As the ‘on the ground’ ambassador in Lagos, the City Adviser will also help to manage the partnership between the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Lagos State Government. This will include identifying and facilitating opportunities for collaboration, learning, innovation, action and advocacy, building local capacity, and building connections with other C40 cities and initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have a strong technical background in carbon accounting (preferably using the Global Protocol for Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories – GPC), climate action planning, scenario planning and stakeholder engagement; substantial experience working with cities on climate action planning and risk assessments; and excellent problem solving, project management and communication skills.

Responsibilities:

Working closely with the Lagos State Government, C40’s Head of Climate Action Planning Africa and C40’s Regional Director for Africa, the City Adviser will develop and deliver a varied technical assistance programme to support the Lagos State Government in:

• Setting evidence-based emissions reductions targets;
• Updating the city’s climate action plans to deliver mitigation and adaptation outcomes, and inclusive low-carbon, climate resilient development consistent with the 1.5ËšC target of the Paris Agreement;
• Engaging internal and external stakeholders in the review and updating of the city’s climate action plans to ensure their commitment to resource and implement ambitious, transformational action and to facilitate better national and local integration of climate response activities;
• Managing consultants and coordinating technical assistance with the aim of building city capacity to implement climate action;
• Contributing to the development of C40’s 1.5ËšC climate action plans programme and frameworks, and the development of regional engagement and delivery strategies;
• Facilitating the city’s engagement in C40 Cities networks and initiatives.

Person Specification:

• A relevant post-graduate degree;
• Substantial experience in government, business or NGO sectors with a focus on sustainability and/or climate change, and substantive experience working with or within municipal governments;
• Strong record of previous engagement with Federal Authorities and relevant development partners in Nigeria on climate change matters;
• Technical expertise in completing city-wide greenhouse gas emission inventories, undertaking scenario planning, and developing climate action plans;
• Experience in working with climate change adaptation-focused plans;
• Excellent project-management, strategic thinking and analytical capabilities, with MS Excel experience and data management skills;
• Demonstrable problem-solving, budget and people management experience, including working with third party delivery teams, and ability to manage multiple parallel tasks;
• Strong interpersonal, relationship building and written and verbal communication skills, combined with English fluency;
• Strong stakeholder engagement experience, as well as experience in developing or facilitating webinars and workshops;
• International experience, working across different cultures, languages and time zones.

Other Requirements:

• Applicants must already have the right to work in Nigeria. Moderate travel may be required, as part of the role.