SPARK is implementing the regional programme Green Forward funded by the European Union, which aims to foster the green and circular economy (GCE) in the Southern Neighbourhood region, encompassing seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.

As part of the Green Forward programme, SPARK is hiring a Green Economy Expert – MENA, who will provide technical expertise, support strategy development, and foster collaborations to promote a green and circular economy (GCE) in the Southern Neighbourhood region. Supervised by the Green Forward Programme Manager, the Green Economy Expert will work closely with all of the country teams and partner institutions across the MENA region (specifically Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia).

This position will be under the supervision of the Green Forward Programme Manager. The Green Expert is preferred to be based in one of the implementing countries of the programme and of SPARK and she/he will work with partners in MENA and will closely coordinate with regional teams in the MENA region as well as country teams.

The Green Expert will be a flexible multi-tasker with a broad range in charge of country-level activities; participate in project planning and implementation; advising and supporting for country-level activities, delivery of results and smooth running of operations; communicate with local target groups and stakeholders, contribute to communication and visibility actions and support with the execution of the monitoring and evaluation plans.

This position, supervised by the Green Forward Programme Manager, will work closely with all of the country teams and partner institutions across the MENA region (specifically Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia).

The Green Economy Expert will play a crucial role in the Green Forward programme, which aims to strengthen the green business ecosystem by leveraging network effects and peer learning for sustainable green growth in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. This role involves providing technical expertise, supporting strategy development, and fostering collaborations to promote a green and circular economy in the Southern Neighbourhood region.

Main tasks and responsibilities:

• Provide technical expertise and guidance:

1. Work closely with the Programme Manager and offer technical expertise and guidance on green economy initiatives to ensure alignment with project objectives and sustainability goals.
2. Stay informed and integrate knowledge of EU green policies against climate change and the European Green Deal into programme activities.

• Support in the development and implementation of green economy strategies and action plans in collaboration with local partners and stakeholders in the 7 target countries.
• Coordinate with programme stakeholders to deliver capacity-building programs and provide technical assistance in green and climate sectors.
• Promote and build effective collaborations between local partners, collaborative spaces, the local private sector, and other related organisations.
• Work closely with the Programme Manager and the M&E officer to gather learnings from the programme and activities.
• Work closely with the Communications Officer to design the programme awareness campaign.
• Organise and/or facilitate events/workshops to promote green economy practices and knowledge sharing.
• Support on technical reporting
• Harvest insights from the Green Forward programme activities and compile them into a green economy best practices book for dissemination and integration into actions.
• Prepare country roadmaps after each conference in collaboration with the project partners to outline steps needed to build stronger business alliances for a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy.
• Support partner in developing workshops, coaching, and mentoring -based on a tailored to a common needs assessments- to support BSOs in the 7 countries.
• Advise partners on content preparation for the Green Business Training Academy and prepare a common methodology in close collaboration with the Programme Manager and partners.
• Guide partners in supporting their target group of BSOs to develop a toolbox to assess the integration of sustainability and circular economy approaches in services offered to entrepreneurs and SMEs. This includes labeling/certification of green start-ups and matchmaking support between green start-ups and existing SMEs.
• Guide partners and BSOs to test the toolbox with MSMEs in the 7 countries, monitor the implementation process, provide guidance, and measure results.
• Assist the communications team in designing and preparing the programme green awareness campaign.
• Support the programme team in upgrading the Digital Eco-innovation platform where entrepreneurs can propose solutions to challenges submitted by companies seeking innovative tools to advance their processes, technologies, products, or business models.
• Support the partners’ working groups in the 7 countries to develop policy recommendations to adapt laws and regulations in target countries.
• Create high-quality tools to deliver knowledge on GCE (Green and Circular Economy) to programme stakeholders such as the SPARK team and the regional implementing partners such as presentations, articles, etc.
• Create assessment tools to follow up with partners’ progress on capacity building initiatives, workshops, webinars, etc. This includes forms, training calendars, etc.
• Other Duties: Perform other duties as assigned.