Background

The Dili to Ainaro Road comprises a joint investment by the Government of Timor-Leste and the World Bank aiming to upgrade the road infrastructure linking Dili to the district capitals of Aileu and Ainaro. This road infrastructure and the communities living in the Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor (DARDC) are at risk to climate-induced natural disasters such as floods and landslides. Damage to road infrastructure is expensive to repair and restricts: i) economic development; ii) market access; iii) access to services such as education and health care; iv) evacuation during natural disasters; and v) provision of disaster relief. Furthermore, the risk of damage to road infrastructure is exacerbated because of ecosystem degradation resulting from existing land-use practices such as: i) timber logging; ii) slash-and-burn agriculture; iii) overharvesting of fuel wood; and iv) burning for hunting and fodder production. Such ecosystem degradation hampers communities’ livelihoods and increases the risk of floods and landslides owing to reduced water infiltration and increased soil erosion.

The “Dili-Ainaro Project”, which is financed through the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) and implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) with support from UNDP, seeks to address the expected increase in climate-induced natural disasters due to climate change and reduce the potential risks and damages to the Dili Ainaro road infrastructure and the communities in the DARDC. This project aims to achieve this by strengthening capacities and providing investments for disaster risk management (DRM) measures using ecosystem-based approaches. There are, however, significant barriers to successful application of DRM measures, using ecosystem-based approaches, including: i) limited knowledge and understanding of climate-induced natural disasters; ii) limited capacity of national and sub-national officials to plan for and respond to disasters; and iii) insufficient financial resources to deliver DRM measures using ecosystem-based approaches.

The project will contribute to overcoming these barriers by: i) enhancing integration of climate change into national DRM policy; ii) providing access to knowledge and training on DRM; iii) strengthening institutional capacity for planning, budgeting and delivering investments into DRM; iv) developing early warning systems to reduce risks posed by climate-induced natural disasters; and v) reducing damage to road infrastructure through implementing climate-resilient and ecosystem-based approaches to DRM. The ecosystem-based approach to DRM will support community livelihoods and restore ecosystems to reduce the risks posed by climate-induced natural disasters.

The LDCF funded Dili-Ainaro Project will be implemented as part of a joint project with the World Bank, who will also provide support to DRM measures within the DARDC. The project is implemented by the National Disaster Management Directorate within the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Other responsible parties include the National Directorate for International Environmental Affairs and Climate Change, the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Dili-Ainaro Project also builds on the on-going Strengthening Disaster Risk Management in Timor-Leste (DRM) –project which supports interventions at the district and sub-district levels to reduce community vulnerabilities and increase household resilience and community capacities for disaster preparedness and effective response. The DRM -project will also support the establishment and operationalization of an end-to-end early warning system and enhance the capacities within the country for better early recovery planning.

The UNDP is to recruit a Chief Technical Advisor for the Dili-Ainaro Project to take charge of the implementation and management of the project (full title: Strengthening Community Resilience to Climate-Induced Natural Disasters in the Dili to Ainaro Road Development Corridor),  and to provide relevant technical advice to the Ministry of Social Solidarity (National Directorate for Disaster Management), Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (Secretary of State for Forestry), and UNDP Country Office.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Project Steering Committee and UNDP, the CTA will be responsible for the following key functions:

• Effective project management;
• Technical oversight of project activities;
• Policy advice and capacity building; and
• Knowledge management and learning.

Effective project management:

• Coordination of project inception phase, including organization of Inception Workshop;
• Day-to-day operational project management towards delivery of results including work planning, ToR drafting, resource allocation and input mobilisation, technical, administrative and financial supervision, monitoring and reporting on implementation and results;
• Strategic inputs into project activities such as, training (curricula, courses, schedules), study tours, conferences and workshops;
• Managing partnership agreements and contracts from procurement to performance and results monitoring ;
• Ensure improved coordination between UNDP and counterparts including communities;
• Supervision, coordination and evaluation of the work of national and international consultants and Project staff;
• Coordination of Mid-Term Evaluation and Final Terminal Evaluation;
• Coordination of site visits;
• Reporting to Project Steering Committee, assuming Secretariat role to the PSC and preparing technical and financial reports on progress and achievement of results; and
• Brief interested donors or foreign missions on the activities of the Project and mobilize resources to ensure the sustainability of the project impacts;
• Fulfill reporting obligations to The GEF secretariat.

Technical oversight of project activities:

• Technical supervision of project activities, monitoring and evaluation tasks, and quality control of project outputs;
• Review all technical reports produced by national and international consultants;
• Liaise with national and international consultants to design project activities;
• Liaise with national and sub-national institutions to facilitate implementation of project activities;
• Draft methodologies for technical activities of the project, with focus on watershed management and disaster risk reduction, and prepare outline structure of technical reports;
• Specific technical responsibility for Outputs 2.2 (Community to district level EWS systems) and 3.2 (watershed management plans and community-driven resilience measures for reducing the impacts of climate-induced disasters);
• Provide technical advice to disaster risk reduction activities related Dili-Ainaro and DRM projects.

Policy advice and capacity building:

• Strategic inputs into the design of the project fund and stakeholder consultations;
• Provision of advice and support through technical assistance to the national counterparts, as required
• Provision of other advice as needed to UNDP concerning the evolution and role of the relevant Ministries/National Directorates;
• Participate and actively contribute to forum related to the project;
• Provide and coordinate substantive inputs to the preparation of Ministries and UNDP policy notes, statements for important events.

Active knowledge management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Identify, analyse and communicate lessons learned that may be useful in design and implementation of similar projects. The duty of identifying and analyzing lessons learned is an on-going one, and the duty to communicate those lessons is on an as-needed basis;
• Sharing of Programme results through Programme publications, and by taking responsibility for knowledge networking with national agencies and UNDP’s global community; 
• Represent the Project for the national authorities particularly the Ministry of Social Solidarity and relevant line ministries; 
• Assistance in knowledge sharing on DRR/CBA with the MSS and line ministries and  among different stakeholders.

Expected outputs/results:

• Improved knowledge management systems for DRR and CCA in Timor Leste;
• Inclusion of climate change and disaster risk reduction measures in National DRM policy and institutional roles
• Strengthened capacities of district and sub-district Disaster Management Committees and District Disaster Operation Centres to plan, budget and deliver climate induced disaster prevention measures;
• Design, test and installation of  EWS systems for climate induced extreme events from Community to district level
• Watershed-level climate change vulnerability and risk assessments within the Dili to Ainaro road corridor;
• Design of Micro-watershed management community plans and the implementation of community-driven resilience measures for reducing the impacts of climate-induced disasters;
• Updated Project Results Framework based on the Inception WorkshopSupport in strengthening a coordination mechanism with the other development partners in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation;
• Perform regular progress reporting to the project board as agreed to with the board; prepare the annual review report, and submit the report to the project board and outcome group; prepare the annual work plan for the following year, as well as quarterly plans;
• Regular progress reports, including fulfilling annual and other reporting requirements to UNDP and GEF-LDCF (in coordination with National Project Coordinator and UNDP CO);
• Quarterly financial reports detailing project expenditure (in coordination with Finance and Administration Associate)
• Annual financial audit (in coordination with Finance and Administration Associate);
• Ad hoc presentations and/or reports to Project Board, UNDP CO and other relevant parties on project implementation status;
• Documentation of lessons learned during project implementation to promote an adaptive management approach during the project lifespan as well as contribute towards design and implementation of future projects
• Carry out any other duties as will be necessary to ensure effective implementation of the project .
  

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays strong cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Management and Leadership:

• Interacts, establishes and maintains effective working relations both as a team member and as a task manager, with people of different national and multi-cultural backgrounds;
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and to provide credible leadership;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations at senior levels, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive stile tailored to match different audiences;
• Demonstrates strong negotiating and interpersonal skills;
• Demonstrated ability to be accountable for practice’s global policies; 
• Support in strengthening a coordination mechanism with the other development partners in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation;
• Leads teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Empowers others to translate vision into results;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Is able to anticipate and resolve conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Technical Expertise:

• In-depth knowledge and solid theoretical knowledge of the subject-matter and good practical experience in the relevant area, i.e., particularly disaster risk reduction and watershed management; solid knowledge of the region and the overall situation in Timor-Leste;
• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/her professionally.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
• Demonstrates skills and ability to coordinate and manage the work of others, work to tight deadlines.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to conduct results-based management and reporting;
• Strong analytical skills and ability to conduct comprehensive research on a range of issues including those of a complex and/or sensitive nature.

Managing Complexity:

• Substantive knowledge and understanding of development cooperation with the ability to support the practice architecture of UNDP and inter-disciplinary issues;
• Demonstrated substantive leadership and ability to integrate knowledge with broader strategic, policy and operational objectives;
• A sound global network of institutional and individual contracts.

Judgment/Decision-Making:

• Mature judgment and initiative;
• Proven ability to provide strategic direction in practice area;
• Independent judgment and discretion in advising on handling major policy issues and challenges, uses diplomacy and tact to achieve results.
  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters Degree in Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Climate Change, Physical Planning, Environmental Engineering or related discipline.
  

Experience: 

• At least 10 years experience relevant to Climate Change adaptation, institutional strengthening, planning and management of development actions, environmental and/or physical planning programmes in developing countries;
• Experience in project management of similar projects, preferably of UNDP/GEF or of other international/bilateral development organizations;Strong project management experience and expertise and proven track record in managing teams;
• Experience in capacity building of national institutions (government, private, civil society) in developing countries;
• Experience in successful partnership building and resource mobilization;
• Good interpersonal communication skill and proven team work is desirable;
• Proven good experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation and capacity development with development projects for international organizations and the government;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages

Language: 

• Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English;
• Oral and written skills in Portuguese and/or Tetum is an asset.