PACT Country Officer

Arup has an exciting opportunity for an individual with demonstrated project management skills and experience in climate mitigation and low-carbon development to serve as Country Officer for the UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) programme.

The UK PACT programme is funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDC). It aims to improve the effectiveness of key institutions (public, private and civil society) in partner countries so that they can deliver accelerated emission reductions and raise the ambition of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets. Specifically, the programme will deliver the following results:

• An increase in the capacity and capability of partner institutions (national, sub-national and civil society) to deliver enhanced and accelerated climate actions; and
• An increase in in-country buy-in to urgently facilitate low-carbon development.

Purpose of the position

The PACT Country Officer is responsible for supporting the PACT Country Fund Manager in the management, monitoring and coordination of UK PACT activities in Thailand. They will be a part of the Arup team contracted to deliver on positioning, representation and promotion of the UK PACT programme in Thailand.

The position will be based in Bangkok, Thailand, with some national travel.

Primary responsibilities

In this role you will be a key in-country member of the Arup PACT team, working closely with the PACT Country Fund Manager to support management of day-to-day activities from project implementation and reporting, to pipeline development, stakeholder engagement and context analysis, to ensure overall programme success.

Specifically, you will:

Project Management; Identification, Selection and Design of Interventions

• Support the PACT Country Fund Manager and Country Programmes core team in coordination of grant funding windows and support market engagement to ensure the right local stakeholders are aware of, and well-placed to apply for, PACT funding opportunities;
• Contribute to the project screening and selection process, particularly with regard to assessing deliverability and impact potential on the ground;
• Support the PACT Country Fund Manager to oversee timely implementation of projects and regularly ensure the feedback of results, impacts and learning through quarterly reports to FCDO covering overall progress, progress against outputs, main activities and outputs for the next period, budget, spend and forecast, and risks;
• Support the PACT Country Fund Manager and core team to adhere to any local due diligence required from Implementing Partners and to support initial briefing to potential Implementation Partners;
• Support defence against fraud, corruption and safeguarding risks, conducting spot checks and other processes to ensure FCDO grant funding is spent as intended and that Implementing Partners meet FCDO compliance requirements;
• Support the PACT Country Fund Manager in advising on the potential to extend, scale up or replicate successful projects, and work with successful Implementing Partners to do this with FCDO approval.

Programme Reporting

• Support Implementing Partners on project reporting (technical, financial, results and risk), ensuring reporting meets FCDO requirements;
• Support identification of country and project-specific risk management, working with FCDO in post and in the UK, the Team Leader and core team.

Strategy Development and Engagement:

• Support on continuous context analysis and assessment of local market capacity to identify the most appropriate avenues for interventions and pathways to climate change impact within each key strategic sector;
• Support further demand scoping for PACT-funded projects in-country, including through stakeholder mapping and engagement, identification of complementary existing programmes (funded by the UK and other donors) to avoid programme duplication, and horizon scanning.

Stakeholder Relationships:

• Support the PACT Country Fund Manager in promoting PACT funding opportunities to potential implementing partners; project and programme outputs to intended beneficiaries; and broader UK engagement on low-carbon development where relevant;
• Working closely with the PACT Country Manager, contribute to, and where appropriate lead in, managing day-to-day interactions with local stakeholders, specifically supporting on relationships with project applicants and grant recipients/implementing partners;
• Maintain an excellent working relationship with the local FCDO team within the British High Commission in order to collaboratively design and generate buy-in for the programme activities.

Person Specification

• Good and up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the local political, economic and operating context in Thailand, with a focus on the low carbon / climate mitigation sector;
• Understanding and experience of project management (desirable: experience of technical and financial grant management);
• Excellent organisational, inter-personal administration and communication skills;
• Professional fluency in English (written and verbal);
• A high degree of personal resilience, flexibility and ability to adapt to changing circumstances;
• Highly collaborative and committed to close working and open communication with FCDO in post and in the UK, and other PACT partners, as well as ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders at different levels of seniority.