LocationsJPO Story - Malin Anderberg
October 31, 2022
Malin Anderberg, Programme Analyst UNDP Angola
What is your educational background?
I am an Environmental engineer with a specialization in energy systems.
What made you apply to the JPO programme/what is your motivation to work with your UN agency?
One of the most important things for me in a job is that it is meaningful, and I have always thought that UN, and thereby UNDP, is one of the places where you can have both a meaningful and positive impact in an international context.
What are the main activities/tasks you are working on? What is a day at the office/in the field like?
My functional title is Renewable Energies Officer and I work in the Environment and disaster risk reduction (DDR) team. We are quite few in our team, and that means that I may contribute to any of our projects if need be. However, my focus is on energy and climate and supporting the CO and the government of Angola regarding these issues. My days can be very different with a wide range of tasks. Mostly I work in the office in Luanda, but I have also been fortunate enough to get to go into the field and see the results and meet the people benefiting from our project. One of the projects I have been focusing a lot on this past year is a GEF-funded project for a more sustainable charcoal value chain. My role is to coordinate from the UNDP side, and I work closely with the project team from the ministry of culture, tourism and environment. I support them both with coordination, planning and technology. We also support Angola’s NDC development with this project.
Furthermore, we are just now starting two solar energy-related projects: one of them will be coordinated by me, and I will be technical support in the other one.
Visiting a field project in Angola
I also contribute to the CO´s internal work. Angola was selected to take part in the Deep Demonstration process, and I am part of the core task force. This is a part of UNDP Angola’s efforts to build capabilities within our team around Systems thinking and portfolio design to enable us to sharpen our programmatic offer on Future of work.
Finally, I am also our CO´s focal point for the Greening Moonshot initiative, reporting on the CO´s CO2 emissions and energy consumption, and developing an internal action plan which now has been set to action. I also work with activities such as developing a recycling system for our office waste (harder than it sounds in a country where there is no large-scale working system for it) and energy efficiency measures at the office.
In your day-to-day work, what SDG(s) are you helping to implement?
I believe that the SDGs are very interlinked, but I would say that my main focus is on number 7 and number 13.
What is the most challenging project that you have worked on/are working on?
If I had to pick a specific project, that would be the Charcoal project mentioned above. We have a very short time left in the project period and there are still many activities left to do and many challenges to overcome.
What has been the most rewarding experience to date for you at your duty station? (work and/or non-work related)
Hard to say! Maybe that even if things are slow and full of challenges, I have received positive feedback from my colleagues making me realize that I am actually contributing well. I also love when I can take part in field missions within the projects I am working on- it is really cool to see the results out in the communities and in the vocational centers where we work. Furthermore, I have been struggling with learning Portuguese a lot and every time I realize that I am getting better, it is a very rewarding feeling.
Malin at a panel discussion at Total Energies offices in Angola, June 10th 2022
What set of skills have you developed most throughout your assignment?
The most important set of skills that I will bring from here is a bit hard to define. It is for example: the experience of working in a new culture- specifically the Angolan culture, the experience of working in the UN and an international setting, learning a new language, and finding ways to work in a language I haven’t fully mastered. I have also developed my patience; and I combine this with finding new and innovative ways of making things move forward, so I don’t have to use this newly found skill.
What piece of advice would you give to those who are considering applying to the JPO Programme?
Do it! It is an amazing experience and opportunity, but also keep your expectations realistic- part of the experience is the many challenges you will face.
How do you feel your JPO assignment will influence your career choices/opportunities within the UN?
It has given me a new and better understanding of what it means to work within the UN. I believe that it will be a door opener both through the contacts I have made and from my experiences and learnings.
Do you feel that you're part of a community of purpose?
Yes, I am very happy to work within a community of people wanting to make meaningful changes for the world and their community
What's the biggest motivator for you when it comes to your work?
For me meaningfulness and positive impact is key, but also that I constantly feel like I get to develop and grow in my professional role.
Could you tell us about a funny anecdote or a curious tradition that you have experienced in your duty station?
In Angola, they have this custom that you must open the door for your visitors when they are about to leave. In my culture that would be seen as kicking someone out, but here your guest will patiently be waiting for you to open it for them and think you are rude if you don’t. In the beginning, this would create very long goodbye moments in my hallway as we were all waiting for each other to open the door for the departure to be able to take place.
"My JPO experience is for me the experience of working and living in Angola. It has been an adventure to discover the Angolan culture and getting to know the people. My life here has been intense and patience-testing at the same time."Malin Anderberg