UNDP Jobs - 85886- Development of Environmental and Social Management

Development of Environmental and Social Management and Monitoring Plan for hydro-met stations

Location :

Lilongwe, with limited travel to selected districts, MALAWI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Jun-2020

Application Deadline :

27-Jun-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

90 working days spread across a 5 month period

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

90 working days

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

The Government of Malawi, with the support from UNDP, has secured funding from the Green Climate Fund to scale up the use of modernized early warning systems (EWS) and climate information in the country. The project will work with communities in disaster prone and food-insecure districts to codevelop tailored weather- and climate-based agricultural advisories to be disseminated through ICT/mobile, print and radio channels. The project will also scale up best practices in community readiness to respond to disasters and mitigate key risks. Community-based EWS will be scaled up in flood-prone areas and capacities to use and respond to warnings will be strengthened at the national, district and community levels.

The project is being implemented in 21 districts by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services , Department of Water Resources, Department of Agricultural Extension Services, Department of Fisheries, and the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi.

The project has three expected outputs;

Expansion of observation networks that generate climate-related data to save lives and safeguard livelihoods from extreme climate events

Development and dissemination of products and platforms for climate-related information/services for vulnerable communities and livelihoods

Strengthening communities’ capacities for use of EWS/CI in preparedness for response to climate related disaster

The project intends to install a number of hydro-met stations/equipment that includes automated weather stations, hydrological stations and lake-based weather buoys. In accordance with the Environment Management Act of 1996 for Malawi Government, Environmental and Social Screening was done by Environmental Affairs Department at 53 sites identified for installation of automated weather stations, hydro-stations, lake-based weather buoys and lighting detection sensors. The screening concluded that installation of hydro-met equipment will have very limited spatial and temporal impacts and will not have significant adverse environmental and social impacts. The findings of the assessment conducted by EAD resonates with the findings of social and environmental screening assessment conducted by UNDP during project design. The screening confirmed that the overall social and environmental risk category for this project is low and the project will provide a number of significant environmental benefits by enabling better predictive management of droughts and floods and risk informed planning for agriculture and fisheries, the project will yield environmental benefits through strengthened ecosystem resilience and improved soil and water quality. Support to water resource use modelling will also enhance sustainable water resource planning and use. Although the EAD assessment concluded that the level of the potential social and environmental risks associated with the installation of hydro-met equipment is low, it recommended the project to develop a generic environmental and social management and monitoring Plans to mitigation risks to any anticipated environmental and social impacts, minimal as they may be, arising from installation of hydro-met equipment. In the above context, UNDP Malawi is looking for a consultant to develop ESMP plan for the hydro-met sites.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant is expected to undertake this assignment by reviewing and analyzing existing reports and engaging key stakeholders including the local communities at the proposed installation sites in order to gain a thorough understanding of the existing socio-economic and bio-physical conditions.

The consultant is required to undertake comprehensive field visits and collect all the necessary data which will form the basis of his/her recommendations.

The consultant is also required to review the ESS assessments conducted by UNDP and EAD and come up with appropriate ESMP measures that are compliant to standards established by the government of Malawi and UNDP

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies

Ability to conduct environmental and social assessments, development of ESMP plans for national governments and donor organizations;
Fluency in English with concise, diplomatic, and accessible written and oral communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Minimum University degree in Environmental Studies; Environmental Sciences or related subject

Experience

At least 5 years of work experience in of relevant and practical working experience with environmental and/or social impact assessments;
Previous experience in working with national governments in Africa or other developing countries;
Experience in climate change and/or disaster risk management;

Languyage:

Fluency in English with concise, diplomatic, and accessible written and oral communication skills.

The detailed Procurement Notice and Terms of Reference can be accessed through the following link: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=56597 .