Background

During the last years, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) initiated an ambitious program for the investigations of its major surface and groundwater resources, for the monitoring of these resources, for the study of hydrological resources (research side), and for the management of the resources (management side). While most of these tasks have been completed or are about to come to an end, the implementation of most of the necessary measures is in its very early stages and hampered by the increasing workload in the ministry. The still rapidly increasing population mainly counteracts the successes the Saudi government and MEWA have achieved in sustainable resources water management through its reforms.  In addition, newer and more precise predictions of the effects of climate change indicate that Saudi Arabia will be affected more than had been assumed only a decade ago.

To make a transition from the current patterns of water administration to sound water management mode, two things must happen. First, there is strong need to strengthen the technical and organizational capacities of the MEWA to deal with the triple challenge of water exploitation and distribution (operational side), research for additional resources and cutting-edge technologies to satisfy the increasing demand (research side), and rigid control and administration of all water-related aspects (control side). Second, a sound information base covering data on groundwater availability, quality, withdrawal, and usage is about to be put in place.

The transformation of this information into an all-encompassing water resources management requires sustained long-term efforts, especially since the MEWA has limited capacity and experience in this field. An UNDP program has been designed to initiate a systematic process of capacity development to help in sustainable development of water resources and management of water-related affairs the Kingdom to ensure permanent and sufficient supply.  The program has five pillars: Groundwater Resources Management; Secondary Water Resources; Water Supply Management; Public Relations, and capacity development and research each represented by a working group. Consequently, for this UNDP program, a Chief Technical Advisor is needed in order to

• Coordinate all activities between UNDP, MEWA, and all groups in coordination with the project manager
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of the individual groups
• Coordinate group activities with the corresponding stakeholders
• Enforce the time schedule of the entire program and the activities of the four groups

Duties and Responsibilities

• Stay in permanent contact with UNDP to discuss and handle all technical issues arising from the project
• Help in the selection of suitable candidates for the water expert positions within all working groups
• Coordinate the daily work within the working groups and mediate in cases of conflicts of competence or interest
• Exert quality control and evaluation on the individual outputs within the working groups and of the entire working groups
• Organize workshops for each group every three month, in which achievements and problems of the group are discussed and documented
• Prepare a status report (with percentage of achievement) for the entire project following the quarterly workshops documenting achievements and problems
• Present the main topics of these status reports to the steering committee
• Inform the steering committee immediately in case of unforeseen risks that arise and endanger the successful execution of topics of the program

The scope of Work:

• Coordinate all technical activities amongst technical experts and between UNDP and MEWA in coordination with project manager
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of technical teams
• Coordinate group activities with the corresponding stakeholders
• Build the MEWA technical human capital by providing technical training and assisting in provision of trainings by other experts, as well as providing advice on relevant graduate programmes

• Enforce project time table in terms of deliverables
• Shortlist suitable candidates for expert positions within the Project and provide advice to the Project Coordinator on this matter
• Coordinate the daily work within the technical groups and mediate in cases of conflicts of competence or interest
• Exert quality control on the individual experts’ outputs within the teams and of the entire technical project staff
• Organize the substantive material and agenda of workshops for each team every three month, in which achievements and issues of the group are discussed, documented and resolved
• Prepare quarterly and Annual status report for the entire project following the quarterly workshops documenting achievements and problems to be submitted to the project coordinator for approval. 
• Present the main topics of these status reports to the steering committee
• Inform the steering committee immediately in case of unforeseen risks that arise and endanger the successful execution of components of the project
• Provide scientific and technical support and guidance to project Lead Specialists, national focal points and thematic networks for enhanced project effectiveness.
• Lead a strategic plan for capacity development in all water areas
• Identifies and evaluates issues, prepares work programmes, technical terms of references, proposals for sector policies, and other papers as deemed necessary in working towards the overall project objectives.
• Guide various written outputs, e.g. background papers, analysis, substantial sections of reports and studies, etc.
• Provision of advisory services to  the National Project Coordinator on project reporting (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports,  etc.) and ensures preparation of related documents/reports.
• To head and guide the on-the-job training to the technical national staff of the Water Sector.

Competencies

People Management:

• Empowers team managers to act independently
• Holds  units accountable for  setting challenging goals
• Sets high peer standards for measuring success and provides encouragement
• Anticipates and solves organizational conflicts
• Models best corporate practices and highest ethical standards
• Creates atmosphere of trust; builds acceptance and seeks diverse views, cultures and individual needs within the team
• Actively mentors and develops leaders

People Skills:

• Promotes a learning and knowledge sharing environment
• Facilitates the development of individual and multi-cultural/team competencies

Managing for Results:

• Plans and prioritizes work activities to meet organizational goals 

Required Skills and Experience

• MS or PhD in geosciences or civil engineering with specialization in water-related topics; a relevant multi-disciplinary background is considered useful.
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in management of major projects, preferably in water-related business’
• Comprehensive record of successfully completed projects
• Excellent leadership and influence skills
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills in English; Arabic language skills will be an advantage.