Temporary assignment as National Programme Officer (NPO) for Environment and Natural Resources

Who are we?

The Embassy of Sweden in Lusaka has approximately 30 employees. The Embassy has three specific sections: political affairs/trade and promotion/communications, development cooperation, administration and migration. Please refer to our website for more information about the Embassy, www.swedenabroad.com/Zambia

The section for development cooperation

The section consists of the Head of Section, two financial controllers, eight program officers (including four NPOs) and a program administrator. The section implements Sweden’s development cooperation with Zambia, guided by the Swedish Strategy for Cooperation with Zambia, focusing on the following areas:

• Human rights, democracy and the rule of law
• Economic development and livelihoods.
• Environmentally and climate-resilient sustainable development

The Embassy has an integrated way of working across sections, and the section for development cooperation works closely with the section for politics, trade and promotion and contributes to political analyses and reporting of the Embassy. The NPO will work under the overall authority of the Ambassador. The NPO will be part of the development cooperation section and s/he will work under the direct supervision and report to the Head of the Development Cooperation Section at the Embassy.

What will you do?

• Manage projects and policy dialogue within the area of environment and natural resources, including appraisal, results monitoring and analysis, financial follow-up including audits.
• Participate in relevant sector working groups and coordination mechanisms together with other cooperating partners and government representatives.
• Coordinate with the environment advisors at Sida headquarters and participate in Sida’s thematic network on environment and climate change.
• Contribute to the external communication of the development cooperation of the Embassy, as well as liaise with the promotion team on issues related to natural resources.
• Perform other duties as required and assigned by the Head of Cooperation.

Necessary qualifications:

• Academic degree in a field relevant to the work of the section
• Minimum of 5 years relevant work experience in contribution management from cooperating partners or civil society organisations
• Excellent knowledge in spoken and written English
• Willingness to travel in Zambia and internationally

Merits:

• Experience and good knowledge of anti-corruption work.
• Prior experience of Swedish policies and Sida’s ways of working will be considered an advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal skills. We seek someone who is flexible, and that can organize and plan their work, work well in a team and respect individual differences.

The Embassy follows Zambian law for local staff. The salary is determined on an individual basis. The position is subject to the Embassy’s terms and conditions for local staff.

The position is a vacancy due to the maternity leave of one staff member. The intention is to offer the successful candidate a contract for a period of approximately 9 months from April until December. The exact starting date is subject to the successful candidate’s availability.

We welcome your application by e-mail only, with subject line National Programme Officer, Environment and Natural Resources to ambassaden.lusaka@gov.se  including:

• CV (no more than two pages)
• Cover letter explaining why you are suitable for the position and what motivates you to apply (1 page).

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted, and applications will not be returned. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide supporting documents such as certificates and references. A reference check will be part of the recruitment procedure. Interviews will take place with a small number of candidates.

The final date to submit the application is Friday 15 March 2025.