Result of Service

1. Project Implementation: – Improved planning, design, and management of civil engineering, water, and WASH activities. – High-quality execution of works by contractors due to effective supervision. 2. Technical Documentation and Standards: – Comprehensive technical documentation developed/reviewed, including scope of work, drawings, specifications, and BoQs. – All projects implemented according to developed specifications and guidelines. 3. Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination: – Stronger collaboration with project beneficiaries and stakeholders. – Successful coordination of procurement processes and project management activities. 4. Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing: – Increased capacity of local authorities and stakeholders in water management and resource use. – Enhanced knowledge management processes, leading to better acquisition, storage, distribution, and use of knowledge. 5. Monitoring and Evaluation: – Accurate and timely progress and performance reports in compliance with M&E guidelines. – Valuable lessons learned documented from executed projects, providing recommendations for future projects. 6. Proposal Development and Research: – High-quality proposals written for future funding opportunities. – In-depth research and write-ups produced related to water, environment, and sanitation services. 7. Representation and Advocacy: – Effective representation of UN-Habitat in WASH working groups and collaboration forums. – Advocacy for resilient and sustainable water management planning approaches. These results would contribute to the overall success of the projects in Jerash, Irbid, and Mafraq, ensuring that they meet UN-Habitat’s standards and requirements while promoting sustainable and resilient infrastructure development.

Work Location

Amman, Jordan (office)

Expected duration

6 months, extensible

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational Setting: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Its mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. In October 2016, at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III – member states signed the New Urban Agenda. This is an action-oriented document which sets global standards of achievement in sustainable urban development rethinking the way we build, manage, and live-in cities. Through drawing together cooperation with committed partners, relevant stakeholders, and urban actors including all levels of government as well as the private sector UN-Habitat is applying its technical expertise, normative work and capacity development to implement the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 – to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) and country offices (COs) consider environmental sustainability and climate change as a priority issue that cuts across all projects and programs with its counterparts and other UN partners to achieve SDG goals related to environment and climate change. Future support will be linked to national SDG prioritization, both horizontally and vertically, by defining environmental challenges and developing a planning methodology to build up climate change resilience especially at the subnational level as well as enhancing social cohesion and improving people’s livelihoods and wellbeing. Hence, UN-Habitat has ambitious plans to deliver environmental and climate change projects including the Adaptation Fund, Spanish Development Agency (AECID), and other agencies funded projects. Background: The Adaptation Fund (AF) sponsored project titled “Increasing the resilience of both displaced persons (DPs) and host communities to climate change-related water challenges in Jordan and Lebanon” aims to support the development of a comprehensive response framework to climate change combined with the Syrian crisis especially in an urban context. The project’s main aim is achieved through identifying effective approaches and best practices to build urban resilience, focused on actions that address water challenges and that benefit both DPs and host communities especially women and youth. The framework is not only developed for the project’s target areas, but also for areas with similar contexts. The project will focus on supporting a sustainable water management approach, by reducing water use of unsustainable sources by means of reducing water losses and increasing water use efficiency and by increasing water supply of sustainable sources via supporting water harvesting and promoting the use of non-conventional sustainable water resources. The approach also includes promoting innovative, low cost and sustainable techniques and establishing urban-rural linkages as water challenges also impact agriculture and livelihood security. The project identifies DPs as the most vulnerable group due to socio-economic challenges that could affect affordability to access water in the target areas. However, the project also recognizes increased tension between DPs and host communities and the needs of poor Lebanese and Jordanians. The AECID “Enhancing climate change resilience through water related interventions and non-conventional nature-based solutions in areas hosting displaced people in Jordan and Lebanon” project aim to use water related interventions and non-conventional nature-based solutions such as rainwater harvesting, reuse of treated wastewater and organic fertilizers, agrivoltaics farming and subsequent greening of public spaces, in order to increase the resilience of communities in Jarash and Irbid, Jordan and Zahle, Lebanon. Several tangible results will be accomplished for the development of climate change resilience and water sustainability in the project areas in Jordan and Lebanon. Overall, the action aims to directly benefit local farmers, students, families, and the population of the District of Zahle and indirectly improve water resilience by creating greener and more sustainable public spaces for larger populations in Irbid, Jerash, and Bekaa Governorate. Environmental and water challenge: Issues in Jordan are to some extent similar to those in Lebanon. However, Jordan is an even more water scarce country. In fact, it is the second most water scarce country in the world. Water demand distinctly exceeds supply as the annual water availability per capita has declined significantly, from 3,600 m³ per capita in 1946 to only 145 m³ in 2008. If supply remains constant, per capita domestic consumption is projected to fall to 90m³ per person per year by 2025, putting Jordan in the category of having an absolute water shortage that could constrain economic growth and potentially endanger public health. Jordan requires about 1,400 MCM annually (2014) but has, on average, only 848 MCM of freshwater supply available for various uses. Non-revenue water accounts for approximately 50% of total water consumption. In 2014, 229.3 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) were lost, out of the 428.1 MCM delivered for municipal needs, the MoWI strategy includes the reduction of non-revenue water from 52% to 25% by 2025. The increased demand for water has caused over abstraction of water resources to reach 160 percent in 2014. According to the Ministry of Water, of Jordan’s 12 groundwater basins, 10 are being pumped at a deficit. Overall, groundwater is being extracted at twice the rate that it is replenished. In 2017, 50.3 percent of the Jordanian population had 24 h/week of piped water supply or less and 49.7 percent of Jordanians were listed with higher than 24 supply/week . This trend will make some areas unliveable, reduce agriculture lands and put more pressure on already scarce water resources, potentially increasing displacement, the continuous risk of social unrest and conflicts and migration to host settlements already struggling to provide basic services. Demographic challenge: With a total population of 10,558,717 in 2020, Jordan’s population has grown very rapidly, doubling more than ten times in 55 years. The largest increase took place during the last decade, especially because of the large influx of DPs since the Syrian Crisis started in 2011. This relatively high population growth rate puts pressure on government spending to deliver basic public services, and to stimulate economic development. Jordan registered an absolute poverty rate of 15.7 per cent for Jordanians only in 2018 while 78 per cent of the Syrian population is highly vulnerable, living below the Jordanian poverty rate Thus, the overall aim of the said AF regional project is to better respond to climate change impacts and vulnerabilities in the context of the Syrian crisis in Lebanon and Jordan. This will be done by UN-Habitat implementing the following components of the regional project: 1. Component 1: increasing the resilience of municipal governments through managing urban risks and vulnerabilities in the context of climate change, esp. water scarcity challenges, and urban (population) growth, incl. from Displaces Persons (DPs) migration. 2. Component 2: Increasing the resilience of citizens (DPs and host communities): Improve awareness, ownership and capacities to respond to climate change, incl. to operate, maintain and replicate resilient water harvesting, supply and irrigation systems 3. Component 3: Demonstrating what concrete adaptation measures respond to the needs of both DPs and host communities through increasing the adaptive capacity of the water sector via expanding unconventional water harvesting, supply and irrigation options, using innovative and replicable techniques suitable for the context; this Component includes executing the following Outputs (measures and techniques) in Jordan 3.2. Rooftop rainwater harvesting in Jordan 3.3. Greywater treatment and reuse in Jordan 3.5. Efficient treatment and reuse of wastewater in Jordan 3.7. Water-use Efficient irrigation of treated wastewater in Jordan 3.8. Permaculture demonstration –closed loop water system in Jordan and 4. Component 4: Improving knowledge and policies and regulations to increase urban resilience in the region: Project knowledge management (KM) and replication, incl. development of regional urban risks and vulnerabilities management model in the context of climate change and urban (population) growth (incl. from DPs migration) The overall aim of the AECID regional project is to improve the resilience of communities in both Jordan and Lebanon to Climate Change. This will be done by UN-Habitat implementing the following outcomes relevant to Jordan of the regional project: Outcome 1: Increased utilization of sustainable, non-conventional sources of water for domestic and agricultural purposes. 1.1 Rainwater harvesting in an education facility in Irbid, Jordan. The successful implementation of the rainwater collection and storage system on the rooftop of the identified school will lead to a substantial increase in water availability and promote sustainable water management within the school premises. 1.3 Nature-based wastewater treatment system installed in Jerash, Jordan. construct a nature-based wastewater treatment system lagoon in Jerash Wastewater Treatment Plant that will serve as a sustainable and eco-friendly solution. The successful establishment of a nature-based wastewater treatment system lagoon in the Jerash Wastewater Treatment Plant will result in significant outcomes, positively impacting water quality and availability for agricultural irrigation. Outcome 3: Effective systematization of the implemented interventions in local governance. 3.1 Dissemination materials developed and events implemented. The successful implementation of dissemination materials and events, including project flyers and social media posts, virtual national and regional information disclosure and exchange workshops, and organized tours to implemented subprojects, will result in increased awareness and knowledge dissemination regarding resilient water solutions. Reporting Line: The Water & Environment Engineer will work under the direct supervision and report to the National Project Coordinator for the Jordan’s part of the AF project (seated in Jordan) . Duties and responsibilities: The Water & Environment Engineer will be in charge of following-up and supporting the implementation of all civil engineering and water and environmental structures and measures in the Jordanian’s part of the projects (Jerash, Irbid and Mafraq), which include but will not be limited to: Function 1: Technical support • Contribute in the planning, design, and management of all civil engineering, water and WASH activities undertaken in the project and other UN-Habitat’s country office projects. • Take lead on the development/review of technical documentation (scope of work, drawings, specs, BoQs, etc.) related to civil, water and WASH interventions and projects. • Ensure that all civil, water and WASH projects and related activities are implemented according to developed specs, Terms of References (ToRs), and guidelines, and report any breaches or concerns. • Closely monitor the work of the contractor(s) during the implementation phase, ensuring high quality of executed works. • Support the Project Coordinator in providing technical input to working documents, studies, and technical reports as required in the framework of project activities on the topics of climate resilience, transboundary water management and food security. • Report and advise on all the lessons-learnt from implemented projects to inform the resilient and sustainable water management planning approaches. Function 2: Coordination and project management • Participate in the project’s National Steering Committee meetings (to be held bi-annually) to provide experience and briefing on the technical aspects of activities. • Support the Project Coordinator in drafting and/or draft necessary project documents, including work plans, procurement plans, spending plans, M&E plans, risk matrices, O&M plans, progress reports, etc., ensuring that the projects meet UN-Habitat’s standards and requirements. • Coordinate and follow up on all procurement processes related to civil, water and WASH projects. • Engage and maintain direct dialogue with project beneficiaries, stakeholders – including municipalities, water establishments (Ministry of Water and Irrigation/Yarmouk Water Company), Regional Technical Offices and UN agencies, among others. • Participate in conducting trainings and awareness raising workshops for local beneficiaries as needed. • Support in trainings and providing awareness/capacity building for local authorities and stakeholders in water management, resource use, contamination issues etc. • Contribute to the knowledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, storage, distribution, and use). Function 3: Reporting, monitoring and evaluation • Support the National Project and Regional Project Coordinators, when required, in drafting progress and performance reports (periodic and annual) in compliance with Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) project guidelines and provide relevant data to the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Safeguards specialist officer of the projectin UN-Habitat • Conduct frequent site visits across the country to supervise civil engineer, water and WASH activities. • Document in coordination with the Project Coordinator the lessons learned from executed projects – those related to the civil, water, and WASH activities – and in providing recommendations for replication and up-scaling of best practices. • Undertake regular project reporting as required. Function 4: Other duties • Contribute in planning, designing, and implementing civil, water, and WASH related activities, based on field investigations and stakeholder consultations. • Participate in developing tender documents for all water, wastewater and sanitation related projects. • Actively represent UN-Habitat in WASH working group, UN task forces and collaboration forums, in close coordination with the Project Coordinator. • Support in proposal writing, research and write-ups related to water, environment, and sanitation services. • Take part of the regular projects reporting.

Qualifications/special skills

• Masters’s Degree in civil engineering/ water & environment/wastewater and sanitation/WASH is required. • A bachelor’s degree with two additional years of experience, in lieu of a master’s degree, is acceptable. • Certificates or Training or Courses in climate change adaptation is desirable. • 2 years of progressively responsible experience in managing civil, water or WASH projects is required. • Experience in project management or support is required. • Good understanding of climate change adaptation, sustainable/integrated water management or related and water challenges in the context of the impact of conflict and displacement in the region is desirable. • Experience working in international development and/or humanitarian sector is desirable, especially in the United Nations System is desirable. • Good knowledge of municipal work and systems is desirable. • Experience in working with communities, community-based organizations and local authorities is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in English as well as Arabic (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.