UNDP Jobs - 90960- International Expert, Smart Data Integration

International Expert, Smart Data Integration

Location :

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-May-2020

Application Deadline :

12-Apr-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

ONE YEAR

Languages Required :

Arabic 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

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.

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.

This information system has two components, the National Water Database and the Water Management and Control Center. The latter will serve for daily routine work and inquiries for Integrated Water Information and Management, but also as an Emergency Control Room with live-feed of data from all stakeholders.

https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=64570

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

Objective within the Framework of the UNDP Project

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) has the mandate to manage and protect the water resources of the Kingdom. During last 10 years, MEWA has conducted a number of detailed studies for surface and groundwater resources assessment which were used for long term, sound and sustainable management of water resources. All these data, plus all other data relevant for the water sector, shall be stored and managed centrally in MEWA. For this purpose, MEWA is presently developing an Integrated Water Information and Management System (IWIMS). This system has two components (National Water Database, Water Management and Control Center) and five major objectives:

To collect and store all water-related data from the Kingdom;
To collect and integrate data from other stakeholders and their database environments.
To access real-time data on water resources, water abstraction, and meteorology;
To display these data in a control room for every-day control and for emergency cases;
And ultimately, to management the entire water resources of the Kingdom in a sustainable way.

The integration of the geospatial and other data from the stakeholders into MEWA’s system shall be based on “Smart Data Integration”. Hence MEWA has asked UNDP to help in the selection of an International Expert for these tasks.

Scope of Work of the UNDP Expert within the Framework of this Project

The tasks and responsibilities of the UNDP Expert are to:

To advise on designing, implementing and reviewing MEWA’s location-based data management

strategies.

To map the existing geospatial data infrastructure of the Kingdom, especially water related datasets.
To connect to the stakeholders and develop concepts for the integration of their data.
To closely cooperate with the General Commission for Survey, which is leading a program for spati

data provision for the Kingdom.

To closely cooperate with both the responsible in MEWA for the establishment of the National Water

Database and the Water Management and Control Center.

EXPECTED KEY DELIVERABLES

Water Management and Control Center connected to stakeholders.

Expected Output 1st year

Workshop with all stakeholders
Conceptual Design Smart Water Integration system.

Reporting requirements, frequency, format and deadlines

The Consultant will report directly to the CTA. Together, they will develop a mutually agreed upon quarterly work plan with key milestones and KPIs. The Consultant will submit a quarterly progress report against these milestones.

Competencies

Competencies:

Core Competencies:

Strategic planning
Innovation
Organizational Awareness
Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring
Works effectively in Teams
Clear and concise communication
Ethics and Values
People Management

Functional Competencies:

Technical/ Functional:

Strong knowledge and expertise in civilian policing aspects
Builds support and good judgment
Strong analytical capacities and ability to synthesize complex inputs into coherent documents
Change agent including the ability to convince, convey and advocate.

Managerial:

Focuses on impact and result for the client
Coordinates/collaborates with all key stakeholders and build strong networks/ partnerships
Effective team leadership with strong conflict resolution skills
Establishes priorities for self and other members of the team; schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources
Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills

Behavior:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats people fairly without favoritism
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude

Required Skills and Experience

QUALIFICATIONS and REQUIREMENTS

Education: MSc. in Computer Sciences with Geoscience Background;

Experience:

Expert knowledge in different database systems;
Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in geo-related projects;
Demonstrated expert knowledge of standard practices within field of expertise, as well as applicable

codes and regulations;

Good (and demonstrated) organizing skills, preferably with development project management

competency;

Excellent and demonstrated communication, consultation, negotiation and drafting skills;

Languages:

English, excellent communication and writing skills in English; as the position implies frequent contact

with local authorities, also excellent communication and writing skills in Arabic are required.