Water and Environment Officer

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.

UN-Habitat started the implementation of the regional project “Increasing the resilience of both displaced persons (DPs) and host communities to climate change-related water challenges in Jordan and Lebanon” funded by the Adaptation Fund. The project 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 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.

UN-Habitat will be implementing the following components:

• 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; • 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, sup-ply and irrigation systems; • 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 in both Irbid and Mafraq Municipalities; • Component 4: Improving knowledge and policies and regulations to increase urban resilience in the region.

Under the direct supervision of National Project Coordinator who is managing the project in Jordan, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Support in the planning, design, supervision, and management of all civil engineering, water and WASH activities undertaken in the project and other UN-Habitat’s country office projects; • 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 supervise 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; • 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 pro-jects 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 (MWI/Yarmouk Water Co.), 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 know; • ledge management processes (knowledge acquisition, storage, distribution, and use); • Support the Project Coordinator in documenting 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;

• Accountability • Adaptability and Flexibility • Commitment and Motivation • Commitment to Continuous Learning • Knowledge Sharing • Planning and Organizing • Professionalism • Respect for Diversity • Self-Management • Working in Teams

(up to three years) and/or demonstrated interest in water management, climate change.

Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded.

Location: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is located in the Middle East. Bound by Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Red Sea to the south and the Palestinian National Authority to the west.

Weather: Jordan’s climate can be classified as semi-arid (Bsh) on the Koeppen-Geiger classification. It features a hot, dry climate characterized by long, hot, dry summers and short, cool winters. The climate is influenced by Jordan's location between the subtropical aridity of the Arabian desert areas and the subtropical humidity of the eastern Mediterranean area. January is the coldest month, with temperatures from 5°C to 10°C, and August is the hottest month at 20°C to 35°C. Daily temperatures can be quite hot, especially in the summer; on some days it can be 40°C or more, especially when a hot, dry southerly wind blows. Such winds can sometimes be very strong and can cause sandstorms. About 70 percent of the average rainfall in the country falls between November and March; June through August are often rainless. Rainfall varies from season to season and from year to year. Precipitation is often concentrated in violent storms, causing erosion and local flooding, especially in the winter months.

Safety and Security: Jordan is a relatively stable country. The potentials for internal or external armed conflict are considered very unlikely in the current political environment. Peaceful demonstrations, and sometimes road blockages, do occur in Jordan, motivated by domestic factors such as unemployment, deprivation of resources and development or for regional issues such as solidarity with the Palestinian cause or with the Syrian crises. Most of these events are driven by civil society unions and Islamic parties. Domestic tribal civil unrest sometimes turns violent, especially outside main cities, due to tribal disputes or socio-economic reasons. In all occasions law enforcement agencies usually manage to contain the situation rapidly. Road traffic accidents are the primary threat against UN personnel in Jordan. Poor road conditions and bad driving behaviours are the main reasons for the high rate of traffic accidents. Amman is a category A duty station with security level 1.

Transportation and housing: Taxis as well as ride-hailing services (Uber and Careem) are abundant and affordable in Amman. Medical facilities are generally very good, particularly in Amman where there are several modern, well-equipped public and private hospitals. Public minibuses are the most common form of public transport. They normally only leave when full, so waiting times of an hour or more are inevitable, especially in rural areas. The larger air-con buses offer a speedy and reliable service, departing according to a fixed schedule. Housing is readily available with rents for one- to two-bedroom apartments ranging between 500 and 800 JD (1 JD = 0.708 USD) depending on the location.

Health Services: Medical facilities are generally very good, particularly in Amman where there are several modern, well-equipped public and private hospitals. Almost all doctors (and most pharmacists) speak English; many have studied abroad.

Language: The official language of Jordan is Arabic, but English is widely spoken – especially in the cities. Many Jordanians have travelled or have been educated abroad so French, German, Italian and Spanish are also spoken, but to a lesser extent.

Learn more about Jordan from the Ministry of Tourism’s website: https://www.mota.gov.jo/EN/Pages/Get_to_know_Jordan