UNDP Jobs - 106923- IC-052-22 National Water Resources Management Spec

IC-052-22 National Water Resources Management Specialist

Location :

Office & Home based, IRAQ

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

17-Jul-2022

Application Deadline :

16-Jun-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

260 days over a period of 1 year (Possibility of extension)

Languages Required :

Arabic 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

Climate Change is turning out a major driver behind growing water scarcity in the Tigris, Euphrates, and Shat Al-Arab river basins. The impact of climate change related water scarcity is regional in scope. The riparian countries, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria are facing greater stress due to a combination of climate change and a combination of socio-economic factors, i.e. population explosion over the past 50 years, urbanization, rapid economic growth and growing industrialization. The challenge of water scarcity across the river-basins are expected to intensify and tensions over shrinking water shares could lead to conflicts between riparian countries.

To address the growing water needs, upper riparian countries have been engaged in expanding the networks of dams and reservoirs, which has led to massive reduction in downstream flows. The diversion of water by upper riparian countries of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers has serious consequences for water availability in Iraq. Dam and hydropower project constructions on the Tigris and Euphrates are estimated to have cut water to Iraq by 80 percent since 1975. The reduction in river flows has jeopardized agriculture, ecosystems and biodiversity and Iraq is losing an estimated 25,000 hectares of arable land annually, mostly in the south.

The growing water shortage coupled with water pollution (which is partially a side effect of the reduced water flows) affects the socio-economic life in Iraq in multiple ways; including the supply of potable water, very high levels of salinity, waterborne diseases resulting from drinking and usage of polluted water, chronic drought conditions in the southern Iraq resulting from shrinking downstream flows, threats to food security, loss of biodiversity especially in the southern marshlands, sea intrusion, land degradation, loss of livelihoods by agrarian communities and displacement of communities are a few to be noted.

Diverse challenges exist within different areas of Iraq over water shares, seasonal water supplies, water quality and access. These for example include the differential supply and quality of water between northern vs southern Iraq, the lack of water supply to the historic marshes which are also home to rich but at-risk biodiversity, the tensions within southern governorates and the issues between federal and Kurdistan region governments.

There is also a sectoral dimension to water supply and quality: like the excessive consumption of water in the agriculture sector (due to old style irrigation) vs a vs other sectors, the polluting of rivers from urban, industrial and hospital sewage. Seasonal aspect of water management is important too, especially in the case of rain failures during winter which leads to subsequent shortages in summer for different downstream areas of Iraq.Southern farming communities and marsh Arabs are most vulnerable due to reducing and polluted water supply and are forced to abandon their communities and lifestyle.

In view of these growing risks to its society and economy, Iraq is looking for solutions to improve its water resources management regimen as well as to improve cooperation with upper riparian countries on transboundary water resources. Iraq is about to achieve accession to the UN Water Convention and this would require Iraq to address water as a basic human right issues and ensure supply of good quality water to all Iraqi citizens and sectors of economy. This may include developing new strategies, policies, laws and strengthening capacities, as well as adopting new technologies for efficient water resources management.

The National Water Resources Management Specialist will have a key role in supporting the Government of Iraq including federal, regional and provincial levels in identify challenges, devising opportunities and strategies and developing systems and capacities for effective water resources management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Recognizing the broad needs of the Government of Iraq with regards to capacity development for water resources management and improving cooperation with the upper riparian countries, UNDP is recruiting a set of national and international experts and institutes to provide advisory and capacity building support to the Government of Iraq.

The National Water Resources Management Specialist will be responsible for planning, implementation and coordination of UNDP’s support to the Government of Iraq on water resources management internally in Iraq and on transboundary water cooperation. The Specialist will directly work with the Ministry of Water, and closely coordinate with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, other national stakeholders and UNDP.The Specialist will be response for coordination with the international advisors, experts and institutes which would be hired by UNDP to provide policy and technical advisory to the Government of Iraq.

Towards this end, the Specialist is expected to support the following processes and activities specifically.

Coordinate with the Ministry of Water, the Ministry of Environment and other key national, regional and provincial stakeholders with regards to implementation of the project activities;
Coordinate the work of international experts and entities to plan and implement the supporting activities;
Facilitate the preparation of workplans by the international experts and entities through consultations between the national stakeholders and service providing experts and entities;
Coordinate national consultations on water resources management including holding meetings and workshops with participation of national, regional and provincial governments and other stakeholders; i.e. academia, civil society, media, private sector, youth and women organizations and others;
In coordination with the UNDP Communications team and the Communications Specialist of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change (EECC) team, design a public awareness campaign on multidisciplinary water analysis of Iraq and implement it through social media, electronic media and other mediums as required;
Facilitate meetings between the scientific community/academia and the national decision-makers to share results of scientific and academic studies on the water resources management, water flows, the impact of water scarcity on different aspects of life (society, economy and environment) and discuss approaches, technologies and solutions for effective management of water resources in Iraq;
Support the conduct of Climate Vulnerability Assessment of Iraq by working closely with the selected entity, sharing data sources and facilitating stakeholder consultations and interviews etc
Coordinate with relevant national stakeholders and international partners to organize the participation of Iraq government in the following fora: i) Meeting of Parties of the UN Convention on Water, ii) IWRG working group meeting, iii) visit to the Sava river commission and others iv) UNFCCC Conference of Parties;
Coordinate with the selected entity and the Ministry of Water resources for development of a river-basin monitoring system for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers;
Coordinate with UNAMI and national stakeholders (ministries of environment, water, agriculture and others) with regards to bilateral dialogue between Iraq and upper riparian countries over Tigris and Euphrates flows and cooperation;
Support national consultations on water resources management and related activities; i.e. capacity assessment of water resources management system, development of concept notes for water resources management and formulation of laws, strategies, guidelines for effective water resources management;
Organize dissemination of the developed concept notes, guidelines/laws/strategies and the capacity assessment with relevant stakeholders through participating in different fora, including public awareness raising through social and electronic media;
Identify opportunities for UNDP support on water resources management and for resource mobilization in this regards;
Closely work with the Project Manager of the Catalytic Climate Action in Iraq project with regards to UNDP support to Iraq on water resources management;
Closely coordinate with the EECC Finance and Admin Officer regarding the financial and administrative management of the UNDP support to Iraq;

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrates commitment to the UN’s values and ethical standards.
Promotes the mission, vision and strategic goals of UNDP.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Treats all people fairly and with impartiality.

Functional Competencies

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Identifies priorities, allocates time and resources, foresees risks and allows for contingencies.
Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines.
Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills.
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Self-reliant and able to work as a part of a multi-cultural team in a stressful.
Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in hydrology, geography, environmental management, climate change or other relevant discipline. In addition, the Consultant must possess the relevant competencies listed below.

Work Experience

Five (5) years’ experience in water resources management required;
Three (3) years of experience of working with national or provincial governments on water resources management required;
Experience in coordination with stakeholders and organizing consultative events is desirable;
Experience in awareness raising activities, use of media, social media and communications desirable;
Experience of working with the United Nations or an international organization is an advantage
Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic is required.

The detailed terms of reference and the Letter of Confirming Interest and Availability form are available in the following link with mentioned Job Title above : https://procurement-notices.undp.org/

Please note you can upload only one document in the online application, therefore combine the CV, and the Letter of Confirmation and Availability as one pdf and upload it accordingly. moreover, please note that failure to submit required mandatory documents by UNDP will lead to rejection of your offer