Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management (SLM). The Convention aims to address the challenges of desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD) through international cooperation and partnerships, with a focus on sustainable development and improving living conditions in affected areas. Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is one of the major goals of the UNCCD, consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under target 15.3. LDN is about ensuring that the amount of healthy and productive land resources remains stable or increases over time, compensating for land degradation by restoring and rehabilitating degraded lands. Article 19 of the Convention stipulates inter alia, “Parties recognize the significance of capacity building -- that is to say, institution building, training and development of relevant local and national capacities -- in efforts to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. They shall promote, as appropriate, capacity- building.” Since the adoption of the Convention, Parties to the UNCCD have agreed on several decisions that focus on strengthening the ability of countries, particularly developing nations and affected areas, to implement sustainable land management practices and address the challenges of DLDD. Capacity Building is therefore an integral part of the effective implementation of the Convention at all levels (i.e. national, sub-regional, regional and global). Within the Secretariat, the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) unit functions as the hub to facilitate and realize the capacity building and innovation initiatives across the Convention. The STI unit also serves the two subsidiary bodies of the Convention, namely the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the (CRIC), and the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) as well as its Science-Policy Interface (SPI). The unit supports the national reporting to track the progress countries are making towards the implementation of the Convention. The STI unit links scientific knowledge with implementation, planning and policy development, with the aim to ensure that findings and opportunities produced by science are effectively channeled to benefit field activities to implement the UNCCD. The Capacity Building and Innovation Programme Officer will play a leading role in the conceptualization, design, development, and management of the implementation of the Secretariat’s capacity building, development and innovation programme. The Officer will also spearhead the development of pathways for an innovation-driven UNCCD seeking to facilitate and strengthen the diffusion of innovative solutions to achieve the objectives of the Convention and a land-degradation neutral world. Furthermore, the officer will act as the UNCCD focal point for the Joint Rio Conventions Capacity Building Initiative aiming at strengthening the capacities of relevant national institutions, individual policymakers and practitioners to integrate and foster synergies among the Rio Conventions.