Regional Officer, Aviation Environment and Implementation Support
JOB DETAIL
The Regional Office is primarily responsible for maintaining continuous liaison with the States to which it is accredited and with appropriate organizations, regional civil aviation bodies and sub-regional bodies and UN Agencies and Programmes. The Regional Office ensures interregional coordination and promotes the timely and harmonized implementation of ICAO Strategic Objectives, policies and decisions. The Regional Office also provides technical guidance and assists States with implementation of ICAO Policies and Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
The Regional Officer will provide expert technical support and advisory services in the fields of Environment to States accredited to the North American, Central American and the Caribbean (NACC) Regional Office, and act as focal point/liaison Officer for States, in coordination with the Office of Environment of the Air Transport Bureau (ATB/ENV) and the Capacity Development and Implementation Bureau (CDI) at ICAO Headquarters, and with other Regional Offices, as required.
The incumbent reports directly to the Deputy Regional Director. S/he will be engaged in contributing to and accomplishing the vision, mission and goals of ICAO. S/he will collaborate closely as a team member of the Regional Office for environment matters, in order to promote the implementation ICAO standard and recommended practices (SARPs), procedures, plans and policies on Environment (ENV), with particular emphasis on the implementation of Annex 16 Volumes I, II, III and IV, the Long Term Global Aspirational Goal of net zero Carbon emissions by 2025 (LTAG), and the ICAO Global Framework for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs), Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAFs) and other Aviation Cleaner Energies.
The incumbent will also support States with the implementation of ICAO SARPs, plans and policies related to Aviation Environment and other ICAO Strategic Goals in assigned Regions through the management of targeted State and regional projects and programmes. For such implementation support, s/he will coordinate with the CDI for the alignment of priorities and work programme, and with ATB and the Air Navigation Bureau, for technical guidance and subject matter expertise. This will include guiding the utilization of voluntary contributions for the prioritized needs of States.
Supports the implementation of ICAO plans, programmes and SARPs on environment, in collaboration with ATB/ENV, in activities such as:
- Follow up, foster and initiate actions aimed at achieving efficient and effective implementation of the
Environmental SARPs contained with Annex 16, and ICAO policies and decisions on the environmental field.
- Support the robust implementation of CORSIA, including through seminars and workshops, and regular contacts with CORSIA Focal Points in the region, ensuring the continuous update of the focal points in each State in liaison with ATB/ENV.
- Identify, monitor and undertake follow-up action on Aviation Environmental Protection related issues (i.e. data, polices and measures) and foster their resolution in a coordinated manner; and
- Prepare reports, briefs, correspondence, etc. to inform on the status of States of Environment protection in the region.
Supports the implementation of ICAO policies on Environmental Protection as directed, including activities such as:
- Provide technical assistance and support for the implementation of the ICAO Global Framework for SAF, LCAF and other Aviation Cleaner Energies.
- Continuously monitor action and developments by States on SAF, LCAF and other clean energies
- Promote and support the development and production of SAF, LCAF and other aviation clean energies in the region, including through seminars and workshops, under the ICAO ACT-SAF programme;
- Support for the development and update of State Action Plans (SAP), including through seminars and workshops, and regular contacts with SAP Focal Points in the region, in liaison with the Office of Environment;
- Analyze States’ needs and initiate/propose solutions.
- Organize, facilitate and support seminars and workshops aimed at developing capacity or addressing specific challenges.
- Prepare working papers, reports, briefs, and correspondence on the environmental aspects of civil aviation.
- Facilitate inter-State coordination in order to achieve measurable progress in the field of Environmental Protection.
Supports meetings, workshops, and other outreach activities related to environment, achieving results such as:
- Support for raising awareness and sharing best practices on climate change risk assessment and adaptation measures in the region
- Support the update of the ICAO trackers on Aviation CO2 reduction initiatives with activities being developed on the regional level collecting regional informal to be directly feed into global tracker tools.
- Organize information on annual Environmental Regional Seminars on the region in coordination with Head quarters
- Support the organization of the ICAO LTAG Stocktaking Events on Aviation CO₂ Emissions Reductions and other HQ events
- Conduct, participate and/or serve as secretary/technical adviser at ICAO meetings, seminars and workshops related to ENV and assist as required at other meetings.
- Keep abreast of current civil aviation developments on environment, including relevant activities of international associations and organizations and individual States.
- Update the ICAO trackers with relevant information on developments in States of the region and inform HQ of any major activities impacting the ICAO policies and programmes implementation promptly.
- Coordinate regional programmes and planning of operational documents with HQ activities.
Conducts implementation support activities in Environment, achieving results such as:
- Provide assistance to States on the implementation of ICAO environmental policies.
- Provide guidance to States in the development of their State Action Plans.
- Provide assistance to States for the collection and processing of relevant data necessary for monitoring and assessing the reduction of the environmental impact of international civil aviation.
- Represent ICAO in the regional meetings and events organized by other UN and international organizations of relevance to aviation and the environment.
Serves as liaison, manages, and provides support to the environment implementation support programmes and projects, in coordination with ICAO HQ, including liaising with donor and/or recipient States and relevant regional and international organisations, achieving results such as:
- Support the ongoing activities related to the ICAO-Environment assistance projects.
- Green funding opportunities and projects to be used in the development of sustainability of Environment.
- Manage and coordinate with funding partners, as well as other ICAO Bureaus.
- Coordinate and provide technical advice on the work of the project with the consultants recruited for assistance work.
- Prepare and review documentation associated with the assistance work (such as progress report, contracts, etc.).
- Serve as the interface between project-related activities in the regions and with HQ.
- Prepare and review documentation associated with assistance projects (such as progress reports, contracts, etc.).
Supports the Regional Office, in coordination with CDI, in enabling Implementation Support and Capacity Building initiatives regarding all ICAO Strategic Goals, through the assessment of needs, development and coordination of projects, and Regional Engagement, achieving results such as:
- Conduct comprehensive assessments to identify implementation support and capacity development needs in member states within the assigned regions.
- Engage with Member States to understand challenges, gather insights, and develop strategic action plans for compliance with ICAO standards.
- Utilize data analysis, surveys, and stakeholder consultations to evaluate aviation infrastructure, human resources, and regulatory frameworks.
- Collaborate with CDI and regional teams to develop, manage, and refine technical implementation support projects, including expert selection and training coordination.
- Support the development and enhancement of ICAO’s capacity development and implementation support products, including training packages and customized projects.
- Coordinate and facilitate workshops, seminars, and meetings to address member states’ needs and share best practices.
- Monitor and assess the quality and effectiveness of capacity development initiatives, including the Trainair Plus (TPP) Network activities.
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with state authorities and regional bodies to enhance ICAO’s visibility and promote implementation support initiatives.
Performs other related duties, as assigned.
A first-level university degree in environment, air transport economics, environmental economics, environmental law, engineering or a related field.
Desirable
Qualification and certification in programme or project management.
- A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in the field of aviation environment in a government, airport, airline, international or environmental organization.
- A minimum of five (5) years’ experience in programme or project management.
- Experience participating in and supporting the organization and conduct of international civil aviation meetings.
- Experience in developing, conducting and/or coordinating training and other capacity building activities.
Desirable
- Experience in dealing with high-level officials, government representatives or senior executives from State organizations.
- Experience in dealing with ICAO and/or United Nations bodies.
Essential
Fluent reading, writing and speaking abilities in English and Spanish.
Desirable
- A working knowledge of French.
- A working knowledge of any other language of the Organization (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish).
Professionalism: Good knowledge of the policies plans and SARPs relating to environmental protection. Good knowledge of environmental impacts of civil aviation and familiarity with the work of ICAO. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style, and format to match the audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.
