Chief, Climate Mobility Innovation Lab Unit

Job Identification (Reference Number): 18256
Position Title: Chief, Climate Mobility Innovation Lab Unit
Duty Station City: Rome
Duty Station Country: Italy
Grade: P5
Contract Type: Fixed-term (1 year with possibility of extension)
Recruiting Type: Professional
Vacancy Type: Vacancy Notice
Initial duration: 1 year with possibility of extension
Closing date: 22 January 2026

Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. 

IOM is committed to ensuring a workplace where all employees can thrive professionally, while working towards harnessing the full potential of migration. Read more about IOM's workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

Applications are welcome from first- and second-tier candidates, particularly qualified female candidates as well as applications from the non-represented member countries of IOM. For all IOM vacancies, applications from qualified and eligible first-tier candidates are considered before those of qualified and eligible second-tier candidates in the selection process

For the purpose of this vacancy, the following are considered first-tier candidates: 

Internal candidates

External female candidates:

Candidates from the following non-represented member states:

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Comoros, Congo (the), Cook Islands, Dominica, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Iceland, Israel, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Second-tier candidates include:

All external candidates, except candidates from non-represented member states of IOM and female candidates.

Context

IOM has been engaged in migration, environment, climate change and disaster risk reduction efforts since the early 1990s. IOM's vision is to support States in their efforts to achieve safe, orderly, and regular international migration and to ensure that all people on the move and those internally displaced by the adverse impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters, are assisted and protected. In this regard, IOM`s activities reinforce local and national initiatives to prevent and prepare for disasters and related population movements, provide emergency assistance and protection where displacement cannot be avoided, and foster post-disaster recovery solutions and resilience-building.

In line with IOM's Strategic Plan , the Climate Road Map and the Institutional Strategy on Migration, Environment and Climate Change , IOM's Climate Change programming is informed by the following three broad objectives in managing environmental migration, intervening at each stage of the migration cycle:

1. "Solutions for people to move" - Managing migration in the context of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters due to natural hazards.
2. "Solutions for people on the move" - Assisting and protecting migrants and displaced persons in the context of climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters due to natural hazards. 
3. "Solutions for people to stay" - Making migration a choice by building resilience and addressing the adverse climatic and environmental drivers that compel people to move.

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director General for Operations and direct supervision of the Director of Climate Action, the Chief, Climate Mobility Innovation Lab Unit, in collaboration with other Climate Action Division (CAD) colleagues, (Regional Thematic Specialists) RTSs and relevant Climate Mobility Innovation Labs (CMIL), will develop, clarify and articulate IOM's strategy and operational plans for leveraging transformative change and designing innovative and customized quality solutions using a laboratory approach for climate adaptation and just transition to reduce pressure on ecosystems, drive resilience and sustainability for people and biodiversity, and generate financial return for sustainable development for communities and investors. Under the lab, IOM will lead with diverse partnerships private sector, academia, financial institutions, diaspora alliance and local stakeholders and will develop models and initiatives that allow for new financing with a high return on investment with a focus on depth of transformation, scale and reach a strategic response to the pressing challenges faced by communities affected by climate-induced migration.