Engineer (Irrigation Expert) SC9

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WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.

Job related key information

Job Title: Irrigation Expert Grade: SC 9 Type of contract: Service Contract Duration: 12 months Duty Station: Dushanbe Vacancy Number: 167746 Date of Publication: 28 June 2022 Deadline of Application: 13 July 2022

Terms and conditions

WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, pension, leave plus a medical insurance

JOB PURPOSE

In relation to water management and irrigation, provide detailed technical specifications, engineering expertise and contribute to the design of infrastructure/assets linked to agroecology/natural resource management (NRM) for efficient project delivery in communities and schools. This role requires extensive travelling across all geographical locations in the country.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Reporting directly to the Climate Change and Resilience Building (CCARB) Coordinator and with the overall guidance of the head of programme, the incumbent is expected to perform the following duties: 1. Provide technical advice and support on implementation of various school, household, or community infrastructure/assets, ensuring that outputs meet the established quality standards and are compliant with wider WFP policies. 2. Provide recommendations on the type of water infrastructure/assets suited for schools, households, or communities of different contexts (e.g., urban, peri urban, rural, geological conditions, etc.). 3. Develop a list of equipment and materials with detailed technical specifications and cost estimates for various infrastructure/assets (e.g., greenhouses, drip irrigation system, water pumps, renewable energy sources, rainwater or grey water harvesting, etc.) for schools, households, or communities suited for different contexts to support development of proposals to source funding, technical assessment of submitted proposals, and procurement processes. 4. Conduct analysis of submitted project proposals to ensure sustainability and technical feasibility based on context and that objectives are attainable within prescribed resources. 5. Collaborate with cooperating partners to assess conditions of infrastructure/assets at schools, households, or communities as needed and develop plans to ensure suitability to operational purposes, safety, and efficiency of water/irrigation structures. 6. Collect geocoordinates for all relevant infrastructure/assets supported by WFP. 7. Provide recommendations for irrigation systems for orchards and agricultural fields, including recommendation on water requirements for various trees and other crops. 8. Participate in discussions with partners, donors and stakeholders, exchange knowledge and experience, keeping abreast of engineering technologies, to ensure implementation of innovative, cost-efficient, and environmentally-sound technological solutions. 9. Develop standard operational guidance manuals for infrastructure/assets adapted to different contexts. 10. Conduct periodic monitoring of all infrastructure/asset activities followed by preparation of a comprehensive report with best practices and recommendations. 11. Incorporate successful regional and international experiences in water management and irrigation systems and strategies in comparable situations to optimize the system. 12. Support in preparation of funding proposals and briefing documents for donors. 13. Any other actions as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Advanced University degree in Irrigation Engineering, Agricultural or Civil Engineering or related engineering discipline, or First University degree with 5 years of experience.

WORK EXPERIENCE

At least 3 years of postgraduate professional experience in designing and installation of different irrigation systems and other relevant sustainable water management measures/assets.

Desired Experiences:

• Has managed or contributed to the management of a small to medium scale irrigation project or construction project, taking responsibility for decision-making. • Has demonstrated experience in planning, organizing, and managing work programmes and objectives, managing staff and budgets, and liaison with stakeholders/donors. • Has developed good knowledge in engineering specialisations (e.g., greenhouses, water management, general irrigation systems, drip irrigation, grey water harvesting, rainwater harvesting, etc.) with applied renewable energy sources as relevant. • Has conducted research on and has sound working knowledge on soil drainage and conservation of water resources. • Has conducted scientific studies of water sheds and river systems to determine the amount and quality of water that can be diverted for agriculture, estimating the potential damage to the water resources and the potential food production from the diverted water. • Experience with community-based participatory planning approaches. • Experience of managing projects involving studies for irrigation development, design of small-scale gravity works, drip irrigation, grey water harvesting, rainwater harvesting and other various community infrastructures. • Experience of working closely with counterparts and providing training/capacity building. • Experience in various community infrastructure/asset design, quality control, construction management and ability to train other persons.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Behavioural competencies such as action management, client orientation, cognitive capacity, innovation, partnering and teamwork.

LANGUAGES

Required fluency (level C) in English (oral and written). Required fluency in both Tajik and Russian (oral and written).

BACKGROUND

Despite positive economic growth and progress in poverty reduction, Tajikistan is still facing a challenging food security and nutrition situation. Recent economic challenges compounded by population growth have contributed to the reclassification of the country as low-income in 2018 and have increased household vulnerability. Malnutrition rates remain the highest in Central Asia, and the number of undernourished has remained stagnant. Tajikistan faces different environmental challenges, including environmental and soil degradation and poor natural resource management. Additionally, Tajikistan is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which has further exacerbated food security and livelihoods of vulnerable communities. Given the above, the government has identified food security and access to quality nutrition as one of its development priorities.

WFP is currently operating under a Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019-2024, the duration for which will be shortened to end in 2022 whereby a new CSP 2023 – 2026 will commence in tandem with the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) covering the same period. By means of the CSP, WFP is undertaking a strategic shift from direct implementation to enabling and strengthening capacities of national and sub-national institutions to deliver on their food security and nutrition priorities. WFP activities support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The geographic scope of WFP Tajikistan operations encompasses the entirety of the country. In addition to the country office in Dushanbe, WFP has field offices located in Bokhtar, Gharm, Khorog, and Khujand to oversee operations in those specific regions.

WFP’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) supported 4-year project titled “Building climate resilience of vulnerable and food insecure communities through capacity strengthening and livelihood diversification in mountainous regions of Tajikistan”. The project takes a transformative approach to ensure food security and support communities to adapt to climate change through capacity strengthening and awareness raising of food insecure climate vulnerable communities and national actors for enhanced rural resilience and food security, and resilience building at household and community level through diversification of livelihoods and improved market access. In the first year of GCF project implementation (2021/2022), the following outputs will be ensured: greenhouses installation, drip irrigation systems installation, rehabilitation of irrigation canals, live fencing of orchards, storage facilities construction, installation of fruit dryers and solar cookers.

WFP also works to build the capacity of central and subnational government structures through provision of technical support in a range of activities that build upon innovative approaches to enhancing food security and nutrition. As such, schools are being empowered to seek resources that support provision of diversified daily nutritious meals to schoolchildren. WFP therefore directly assists schools in creating greenhouses and fruit orchards, yields from which could directly support the meals or provide income to purchase other foods and supplies. In addition, as part of the long-term process to nationalize school feeding and secure sustainable access to locally produced healthy foods, WFP seeks to increase local agricultural production, especially for women’s groups, and strengthen food systems and value chains by linking smallholder farmers to schools.

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WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce. WFP has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority or discrimination. All selected candidates will, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.