UNDP Jobs - 50362- The Design of a National Coastal Observation Syste

The Design of a National Coastal Observation System for the North Coast of Egypt

Location :

Cairo, EGYPT

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

28-Oct-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Egypt is one of the countries that are vulnerable to climate change (CC) with the most significant negative impacts likely to be experienced within the coastal and delta regions. Increases in average temperatures, changes in seasonal rainfall, extreme storms and droughts are becoming more frequent and noticeable phenomena. These severe weather stresses, enhanced by climate change, can cause catastrophic disruption to livelihoods for coastal communities and can result in increased deterioration and vulnerability of human activities. The Nile Delta and Mediterranean Coast includes 30-40% of Egypt’s agricultural production, half of Egypt’s industrial production, and over 75% of Egypt's foreign trade (mainly Alexandria, Damietta and Port Said).

At the national level, the Adaptation to Climate Change in the Nile Delta through Integrated Coastal Zone Management project (ACCNDP) is an initiative of the Coastal Research Institute (CoRI) and funded by the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources (MIWR) through the Shore Protection Authority (SPA), the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This project is a contribution to a national effort that is seeking to respond to climate changes by supporting vulnerable communities to effectively adapt to and reduce potential climate risks through various means and approaches.

The project focuses on the Nile Delta Coast, extending from Alexandria at the west to Port Said at the east. The overall goal of the project is to enhance Egypt’s resilience and reduce vulnerability to Climate Change impacts. It focuses on 3 components: (1) Regulatory Framework and Institutional Capacity improved; (2) On-the-ground pilot activities and capacity strengthening; and (3) Improving and enhancing Knowledge Management systems.

On a regional level, the ClimaSouth project aims to achieve a strong partnership between the two shores of the Mediterranean to successfully tackle climate change.

The ClimaSouth project aims at:

Reinforcing dialogue and cooperation on climate change between the European Union and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries;
Supporting the transition of partner countries towards low carbon development and climate resilience, in a context of sustainable and democratic development;
Enhancing regional cooperation, information sharing and capacity developments on climate change mitigation and adaptation, between the European Union and its Mediterranean neighbours.

The ACCNDP and ClimaSouth project agreed to fund the design a national observation system in the North Coast of Egypt.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the consultancy is to design a national systematic observation system that shall assist in monitoring relevant oceanographic parameters along the North Coast of Egypt to enable future assessment of the impacts of climate changes through the collection and analysis of relevant data (e.g. sea level and waves etc). The observation system will act as “hub” for the recording, compiling, evaluation, and storing quality assured (certified) data and information on coastal conditions along the North coast of Egypt for decision makers, researchers, as well as practitioners and professionals interested in the area of protection and development of Egyptian Mediterranean coastal zones.

Time duration & location:

It is anticipated that the programme to design the observation system will be circa 6-9 months, starting in November 2014.

Specific tasks

The Consultant(s) or expert(s) will closely collaborate and work with ACCNDP project team as well as project partners to ensure that the entire National Coastal Observation system is designed in accordance with National and international design principles.

The Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Assessment of international best practice on existing observation systems or network design which are applicable and potentially replicable to the coastal area situation in Northern Egypt and from this, develop an inventory of all existing observation mechanisms or systems (in operation withinr the North Coast of Egypt) that belong to governmental or non-governmental organizations including metadata of available historical data;
Undertake an Inception Workshop to present the assessment outputs of the above task;
Determine the possibility of integrating the existing observation mechanisms or systems into the design of the National Coastal Observation system;
Provide a full design of a coastal observation system in the study area including the framework for the monitoring tasks taking into account integration of the existing systems (where possible) and in accordance with the National design principles and Global standards;
Determine the required hardware and software “infrastructure” requirements to implement the observation system;
Support and assist ACCNDP and ClimaSouth projects to develop metadata forms and data audit standard procedures for data collection, analysis and reporting;
train selected MWRI staff on data processing and data analysis including identification of trends;
Undertake a final project workshop to present the design of the National observation system;
Collaborate with MWRI staff and implementing partners on qualitative monitoring to provide relevant information for ongoing evaluation of climate change, effects and impacts;
Ensure the collection of the comments and recommendations from the project workshops and stakeholders and analyze them for effective use in improving the system design.

Outputs

The main output of this assignment is a report that presents the format and framework for the complete design of the Coastal Systematic Observation Network for the North Coast of Egypt.

This should include (but not be limited) to the following aspects:

Oceanographic parameters monitoring equipment specifications, numbers, locations, installation site conditions, priority of installation, recommended suppliers list, estimated costs for each equipment;
Hardware and software for coastal information system including equipment specifications, number of terminals, communication systems specifications, procedures and protocols, data accessibility and use protocols, etc.;
Inventory of existing systems and catalogue of metadata;
Inventory of oceanographic parameters to be monitored and frequency of data recording for each parameter;
Quality control guidelines for data collection;
Recommended links to international oceanographic data centers and networks and models of protocols for data exchange.

Undertake a 1 week training program on:

The developed observation system showing its various components;
Data processing and analysis and identification of trends.

A power point presentation for the final report

A final report detailing the system design and all the project activities.

A monthly progress report detailing project progress, schedule for remaining activities, issues or concerns.

Inception and final workshops.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

Conceptual thinking and analytical skills;
Good communication, technical, and writing skills;
Computer literacy and the application of relevant software.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree in coastal engineering, oceanography or related discipline.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of experience in coastal and marine data projects;
Demonstrated experience in the design of coastal observation and Climate Change impact assessments;
Skills and experience in training including curricula designing, facilitating training workshops for project staff and local stakeholders;
Preferably experience in working with coastal and marine projects, or/and UNDP Projects in Egypt.

Language:

Excellent English communication skills;
Working knowledge in the Arabic language is an asset.