Water quality monitoring expert

Result of Service By the end of the consultancy the laboratory capacity (technological, systems, procedures and protocols, etc.) as well as the capacity of relevant technical staff will be enhanced in the County Government of Turkana.

Work Location Nairobi

Expected duration 20 days

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Environment Programme is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Regional Africa Office is responsible for the organization's strategy, overseeing special initiatives, which include environment and security work, and the organization's performance review and monitoring. This position is in the Regional Africa Office of the UN Environment Programme.

The overall objective of this project is to develop the capacity of the County Government of Turkana to enhance the sustainable management of its natural resources in this case freshwater resources and hence improve the well-being of the local communities. This objective will be achieved in close cooperation with the expert that will provide the assessment of the capacity of the County Government to manage water resources and as part of the overall capacity development plan. The objective of this consultancy is to enhance the technical capacity of the laboratory facility for water quality monitoring as well as the capacity of relevant technical staff in the County of Turkana, Kenya. Based on this assessment hardware, consumables, indicative equipment and laboratory staff training program will be clearly defined.

The scope of work covers a technical review for laboratory requirements, specifications for equipment to be purchased, training technical staff and support to the county government to develop standard operating procedures for water quality monitoring for purposes designated in the overall capacity development plan. Under the overall guidance of the Regional Director of the UNEP Africa Office and the direct supervision of the Regional Sub-programme Coordinator for Ecosystems, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Undertake a technical review for laboratory requirements for effective water quality monitoring and assess the capacity need of government officers and of the laboratory stuffs The consultant shall undertake a technical review the needs for water quality monitoring in the Turkana county, assess the existing technological capacity for laboratory and develop requirements of the water quality monitoring laboratory facility in the County of Turkana. The technical review will also assess the capacity needs of the technical staff working in the laboratory facility. The final results from the validation workshop will inform the laboratory requirements, specifications for equipment to be purchased and to develop the training programme that will be used to train water managers/experts, field officers and other relevant technical staff in the County of Turkana. 2. Prepare specifications for equipment to be purchased and design the capacity development programme in collaboration with the overall lead of the program: The expert will prepare a specifications of laboratory equipment including hardware, consumables, and software as appropriate to facilitate their procurement and commissioning. Indicative equipment may include spectrophotometer, accessories, etc. 3.Train laboratory technicians, water managers, field officers and other relevant technical staff on water quality monitoring: The consultant will develop a capacity building programme/module to train relevant staff and stakeholders on the different aspects of water quality monitoring from field to laboratory etc. Depending on the budget, provided by County Government of Turkana the consultant will facilitate knowledge exchange activities which will be built into the training program by bringing water managers/experts, field officers and other relevant technical staff from other counties as well as facilitate County Government of Turkana experts to visit other counties/ laboratories. The training programme will include skills in operation and maintenance of the laboratory equipment. 4. Support the County Government of Turkana to develop standard operating procedures in areas identified under this consultancy: The consultant will support the County Government to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the analytical methods implemented in the Water Monitoring Laboratory and for field measurements with respect to the instrumentation used for those methods and measurements.

Qualifications/special skills Advanced university degree (masters and above) in water resources management, hydrology, Analytical chemistry or closely related area of study is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university.

At least 10 years of work experience in water resources management is required. Previous work experience in water resources management with a bias towards water quality monitoring from a laboratory perspective including demonstrated experience in managing a national level laboratory accredited to ISO 17025, and developing Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) for analytical method is desirable.

Languages Fluency in written and oral English is required for this consultancy.

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.