Waste & Circular Economy Portfolio Assistant

Contract

This is a UNV International Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Youth contracts.

UNDP has four focus areas in its mandate: poverty reduction, democratic governance, environment and energy, and crisis prevention and recovery. Within portfolio of Chemical, Waste Management, Circular Economy and Ocean Economy, under Environment and Climate Change Unit (CCE Unit), UNDP is implementing projects on (i) development of waste management models for domestic solid waste, solid waste from fishery sector, (ii) promotion of initiatives for ending plastic challenges, (iii) circular economy, (iv) Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and chemical management and (v) ocean economy and marine spatial planning.

Facing with the challenges of environmental pollution and waste generation, climate change along with the increasing of greenhouse gases, in addition to the exhausting exploitation of natural resources, countries around the world, including Viet Nam, have been gradually transi-tioning to green and sustainable economic models.

In terms of policy, the Government has begun to develop a transition program towards circu-lar economy when the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 (LEP) approved, in which the principles of circular economy, for the first time, are included in the policy framework. Re-cently, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has been supporting the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) to develop the cir-cular economy section in the Decree No. 08/2022 guiding the implementation of the LEP, comprising of criteria, roadmap and incentive mechanism to accelerate circular economy. After the Decree, it is expected that the National Action Plan for Circular Economy imple-mentation will be developed. At the local level, UNDP has coordinated with the focal units to develop the provincial CE plan, such as in Da Nang, Hue and Binh Dinh.

In this context, UNDP with Norway Embassy, Dutch Embassy, and Finland Embassy have supported the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) to develop "Viet Nam Circular Economy Hub" (CE Hub). The CE Hub aims to raise awareness and build the capacity of all stakeholders (public authorities, businesses, civil society, academia) to sys-tematically adopt the Circular Economy principles, and create synergies and integrate finan-cial and technical resources for supporting the transition towards a low-carbon and circular in Viet Nam.

In Viet Nam, Small and Medium Enterprises account for 96% of the total number of compa-nies, employing 47% of labour and contributing 36% for the national value added . The busi-ness sector plays a key role in accelerating the transition, application and operation of circular business models, low-carbon technologies, and clean technologies. With financial supports from Dutch Embassy, the CE Hub has designed a Circular Economy capacity building program for enterprises in Viet Nam, to deliver knowledge on what Circular Economy can be meaning for them, share Circular Economy best practices, connect with the network of experts, and strengthen capacity of this target group. International experts from Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Saxion UAS) in the Netherlands and national experts from Environmental Economic Policy Institute (EEPI), which is a unit under Viet Nam Association for Environmental Economics, Hue Innovation Hub under Hue Institute for Development Studies (Hue IDS), the Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED) and National Economic University (NEU) will participate to join the program.

The Project “Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge” (EPPIC) aims to bring together citizens, local governments, and the private sector to identify pressing issues and collaborate in implementing effective solutions, in four ASEAN countries Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines. Within the EPPIC project, innovative solutions that contribute to the creation of a circular economy by preventing plastic waste and pollution at the local level are promot-ed. The project’s duration is from December 2019 – December 2022.

The Project “Scaling up a socialized model of domestic waste and plastic management in five cities” (DWP5C) aimed to develop integrated, green and fair models to improve domestic waste and plastic management in 5 provinces: Quang Ninh, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Binh Duong. The DWP5C comprises of two components (i) five socialized models are estab-lished to improve solid waste management and (ii) the circular economy approach to waste and plastic management is successfully introduced. The project’s duration is from September 2019 – December 2022.

Following the DWP5C, the Project “Scaling-up integrated and inclusive waste management models through empowering the informal sector and fostering the Circular Economy” will be implemented from June 2021 to June 2024, with the aim to development of waste manage-ment model for domestic waste and solid waste in fishery sector, in which a Material Recov-ery Facility (MRF) will be established to improve the value chain of recyclable materials in local. Besides, supports for the informal waste workers to improve their livelihoods, for pilot on segregation at source, for development of technical guideline on waste segregation will be carried out under the project’s framework.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Program Analyst, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: - Support advocacy in the areas of circular economy, waste management and marine plastic reduction. - Support implementation and development the CE and Plastic waste portfolio, projects and activities, including: o Support to the implementation of surveys, data analysis on plastic waste in-ventory in Quy Nhon City to develop the guideline on assessment of marine plastic leakage o Support to the survey on Informal Waste Workers (IWWs) in Quy Nhon City and the stream of recyclable materials collected by IWWs; o Contribute technical inputs for the development of recyclable materials collec-tion network by IWWs, which directly provides input materials for the MRF - Support the implementation of the CE capacity building program and coordinate in-volved partner during the CE trainings, post training activities - Coordinate with CE Hub intern to curate and share knowledge documents on CE showcases, studies, inspiring stories, financing opportunities, etc. on the CE Hub web-site: https://vietnamcirculareconomy.vn/

☒ Accountability ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Building Trust ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Empowering Others ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Judgement and Decision-making ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Leadership ☒ Managing Performance ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Self-Management ☒ Technological Awareness ☒ Vision ☒ Working in Teams

demonstrated interest in: • Working experience in similar projects on waste management, environment man-agement, circular economy, sustainable development
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded;

Hanoi is the capital city of Viet Nam with an area of 3,358.6 km2, which is the second largest city in Vietnam. Ha Noi, located within the Red River Delta, consists of 12 urban districts, one district-level town and 17 rural districts. Population of Ha Noi is about 8 million people in 2020.

It is easy to rent furnished apartment, especially in central districts. For traveling around, you can rent a motorbike for US$40 per month, fuel price is around US$15 per week. Another option is by taxi which can easily to book through Grab service.