UNDP Jobs - 52343- International Consultant for Lead Flood Forecastin

International Consultant for Lead Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Expert/Lead Modeller

Location :

Baku, AZERBAIJAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

05-Jan-2015

Application Deadline :

24-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

11 months

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

Azerbaijan belongs to the world’s water stress countries. With current deficit of water resources being about 5 km3, the additional pressures on water resources due to climate change will seriously affect the rural water supply. The region of Greater Caucasus has been identified as particularly vulnerable in this regard.

Water is unevenly distributed across the seasons and geographic areas in Azerbaijan. Despite an overall trend of rainfall reductions in the country, the mountainous regions of Greater Caucasus experience increasingly prolonged inundations and flash floods during the wet season and extended dry spells during the dry seasons. Variation of water flow may reach 30% between the dry and wet seasons. Paradoxically, most of the quality ground waters are formed in foothills of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and constitute 24 million m3 (8.8.km3) per year. However, currently, only 20% of a total resource has been used. And as Azerbaijan's Second National Communication (SNC) suggests, with the view of increasing water deficit, the country will have to increase ground water extraction both for irrigation and fresh water supply needs.

The project aims to reduce vulnerability of the mountain communities of the Greater Caucasus region of Azerbaijan to climate change induced water stress and flood hazards by improved water and flood management through addressing the management framework at the legislative and policy level, strengthening institutional capacity by introducing new non- structural methods and providing training and empowering communities to actively participate in water and flood management.

Azerbaijan already has considerable experience of structural measures and therefore the proposed project focuses on non-structural measures. These measures mainly address institutional and management challenges, as well as improving public understanding of the problems and potential solutions, developing both organizational and community involvement in the process and pilot actions to improve micro-watershed management practices with a direct engagement of affected communities. The project proposes to sensitize water management policies and practices to the long term risks of, and adaptation to, climate change. Other aspects of flood mitigation and reduction of water stress, such as improved land use management and flood zoning, also require the sensitization of both government and civil society and these tend to have become very much secondary considerations in water management.

Project has following Components:

Water and Flood management policy and regulatory frameworks to respond to climate change risks;
Technical capacities to improve climate risk management in the Greater Caucasus;
Water and Flood management practices demonstrated to lead to community resilience.

Expected Outcomes:

Water and Flood management framework is modified to respond to adaptation needs and improve climate risk management on over 11,838.5 sq. km 3of land in highly vulnerable region of Greater Caucasus;
Key institutions have capacities, technical skills, tools and methods to apply advanced climate risk management practices for water stress and flood mitigation;
Community resilience to floods and water stress improved by introducing locally tailored climate risk management practices benefiting over 650,000 people on total land area of 11,838.5 km2 of the Southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus.

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical leadership of a modelling team, further development of hydrodynamic modelling solution;
Gather, review and analyze data for use in building of hydrodynamic model;
Provide training plan and training on modelling;
Management of data gathering and input to the preparation of briefs for gathering of further information and surveys;
Continue management and supervision of design and development of hydrodynamic models for Turyanchay and Kishchay river basins including calibration and sensitivity;
Undertake multi-hazard risk assessment for the study basins;
Contribute to guidance for undertaking field surveys;
Produce indicative floodplain inundation maps for Turyanchay and Kishchay river basins;
Contribute to guidance on the feasibility studies and design methods for FRM structures;
Contribute to the strengthening of Water User groups for flood and drought management;
Contribute to the development of Flood Risk management plans for the Turyanchay and Kishchay pilot basins;
Design community-based EWS for Kishchay river basin in consultation with local community. Specific focus should be on public consultations with communities on proposed schemes;
Develop detailed specification of equipment required for community-based schemes for the pilot basins (this should be connected to specification of requirements for full FFEWS. This task will focus on the general specification of equipment for the 3 pilot basins);
Other tasks requested by UNDP.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies:

Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams;
Ability to work under pressure against strict deadlines;
Ability to present complex issues persuasively and simply;
Ability to think strategically;
Computer literacy and good report writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

MSc in Hydrology or Water Resources Engineering.

Experience:

At least 10 years experience in flood risk management, flood warning and forecasting systems and hydrometric monitoring and data management and experience in hydrodynamic analysis, river hydraulics and hydraulic and hydrology modelling;
The specialist should have good knowledge of climate modelling and downscaling;
He/she should have good knowledge and experience in flood forecasting modelling;
The candidate should have good understanding of developments in international flood hydrometric modelling and experience of River hydraulic.

Language:

Full working knowledge of spoken and written English, including the ability to draft and edit project documents.