This Action Area Coordinator position offers an exciting opportunity to lead Action Area B (AAB), one of ICIMOD's six Action Areas (AA), specifically focused on Stimulating Action for Clean Air across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). This important new position is responsible for managing the AAB and delivering AAB-specific results as committed to in ICIMOD’s Medium-Term Action Plan V (MTAP V): Embracing Change and Accelerating Impact (2023–2026). AAB is part of Strategic Group (SG) 1, one of ICIMOD’s three SGs. The position reports directly to the Strategic Group Lead (SGL). We are seeking a strong manager with excellent organisational and multitasking skills, as well as technical expertise in all aspects of air pollution and air quality management. This role is ideal for someone skilled in planning and coordinating multiple concurrent workstreams, including budgets and personnel management, while maintaining a strong focus on delivering outcomes and impacts.
Action Area B: stimulating action for clean air
The AAB highlights the impacts of air pollution on health, economy, climate, and the environment. Air pollution is high across the HKH, and transboundary in nature. Air quality often falls short of international and regional targets. ICIMOD enhances air monitoring and communications on impacts across the region. We co-develop tools to assess mitigation strategies, scale solutions, and support Regional Member Countries (RMCs) in building air quality monitoring, assessment, and communication capabilities. This AA collaborated with the World Bank and 24 government institutions in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, hosting science-policy dialogues in Kathmandu (2022) and Thimphu (2024) to develop a roadmap for transboundary air pollution mitigation. Stronger links between air pollution and climate are needed, as black carbon affects health and accelerates glacier and snow melt. Methane, a key greenhouse gas, is a significant area Page 2 of 7 TERMS OF REFERENCE: COORDINATOR: AIR QUALITY (AAB) for potential work for this AA. We aim to lead evidence-based policy and practice changes for clean air in the HKH region.
This AA focuses on two key interventions:
Minimum qualifications and experience
ESSENTIAL
From 1983 to 1987, ICIMOD went through a formative stage during which the Centre had to find its footing, build its identity and niche, and establish a base of operations. The Centre started in 1984 with five programmes: Watershed Management, Off-farm Employment Generation, Rural Energy Planning, Engineering in Fragile Environments, and Information Systems for Mountain Development, together with a Documentation and Information Exchange service. Major activities were confined to holding seminars and workshops on key mountain issues; and these were, for the most part, determined annually based on staff expertise and the nature of the funding available.