Jobs - 48627- Project Officer (Disaster Risk Reduction)

Project Officer (Disaster Risk Reduction) - (Open to Zambian Nationals Only)

Location :

Lusaka, ZAMBIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

15-Aug-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-8

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Two years

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UN-Habitat has been supporting the Government of the Republic of Zambia for over 3 decades now through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (MLGH) and more specifically, city councils. Currently, UN-Habitat is supporting the MLGH and the Lusaka City Council (LCC) in reviewing the Comprehensive Urban Development Plan (CUDP) for the City of Lusaka.

Almost half of the population of Zambia is now concentrated in urban settlements. Incoming poor people often settle in unsafe areas, informally, with no access to basic services, thus determining a high degree of vulnerability to natural hazards. In particular Lusaka, the capital city, which already has one of the fastest population growth rates of the continent (over 5% per annum), is greatly affected by recurrent flooding, which leads to outbreaks of disease. Current basic services and infrastructure were designed for a city that was only a quarter of its present-day size. Importantly, the Lusaka City Council (LCC) lacks an inter-sectoral disaster risk reduction plan that looks at the cross-department linkages for building its resilience to natural hazards. The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Project, therefore, seeks to build disaster resilience in Zambia by implementing demonstration activities in Lusaka. This requires enhanced inter-sectoral coordination for DRR, and reinforced local capacities within the LCC. This initiative will be driven by the LCC with the institutional support of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the UN-Habitat National Technical Adviser - Zambia, the Project Officer (DRR) is responsible for ensuring the technical implementation of the different components of the Lusaka DRR project in the identified unplanned settlements of the City of Lusaka, including training and capacity building, support to policy-making and strategy formulation, advocacy and dissemination, and implementation of demonstration interventions at the local level through the use of participatory labour based techniques. The Project Officer supervises and leads community members and coordinates all technical activities in the selected communities. The Project Officer will work in close collaboration with government counterparts, non-governmental organizations and other UN Agencies, ensuring successful Programme implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Main institutional counterparts are supported through ad-hoc technical assistance;
Engineering solutions are adequately designed and implementation works through community labour are efficiently supervised;
Implementation status of Agreements of Cooperation are monitored.

Ensures main institutional counterparts are supported through ad-hoc technical assistance on DRR, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Pioneering essential work for creating disaster management capacity at the municipal level;
Organizing of workshops and training sessions, as required;
Provision of support in budget monitoring.

Ensures engineering solutions are adequately designed and implementation works through community labour are efficiently supervised, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

Priority activities defined by the communities mainly related to the improvement of the drainage system;
Designing engineering solutions using adequate computer software and leading discussions with key partners and communities to achieve consensus on implementation of activities;
Day-to-day supervision of community members in physical implementation of selected activities (e.g. improvement of secondary and tertiary drainage system) through participatory and gender sensitive techniques using labour based implementation methodologies.

Ensures the implementation status of Agreements of Cooperation is monitored, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Monitoring of the implementation status of Agreements of Cooperation signed with public/no-profit implementing partners;
Undertaking of field work missions and consequent preparation of reports.

Ensures effective implementation of the Lusaka DRR Project, through provision of sound technical assistance focusing on the achievement of the following results:

Conducting field missions and preparing aggregate reports on activities and outcomes using results-based management tools;
Drafting concept notes and terms of reference;

Facilitation of knowledge building and management, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Identification of sources of information or knowledge related to policy matters;
Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to country programme and project implementation;
Organisation and/or facilitation of training sessions and workshops.

Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on the success of the country programme within specific areas of cooperation. In particular, the key results have an impact on the design, operation and programming of activities and implementation of the Lusaka DRR project.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

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

Functional Competencies

Capacity to analyze and synthesize information;
Ability to work independently with a high degree of professionalism, responsibility, ability to exercise good judgment, personal initiative and flexibility;
Ability to work with key partners and supervise local community members during implementation;
Good communication skills;
Computer proficiency in MS software packages, eg. Excel or Word, and proficient in use of engineering design software, such as AUTOCAD.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

A Master’s Degree or equivalent in Civil Engineering, Quantity Surveying or related field.

Experience

Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in the area of infrastructure, project development and design with specific knowledge of urban planning, disaster risk reduction, participatory approaches and technical supervisory work at community level;
Relevant experience in liaising with Government authorities in Zambia at district and sub-district levels;
Exposure to and working experience in unplanned settlements in Zambia.

Language Requirements

Fluency in English is a requirement.;
Knowledge of the relevant local language is an added advantage.