Environmental Engineering Technician -Senior Analyst(UPOPs)- Retainer

The objective of this assignment is to determine and assess the availability of necessary equipment and methodologies for accurate UPOPs analysis and develop the technical specifications of the identified needed requirements for selected laboratories with costing.

The consultancy will build upon the assessment of the local laboratories’ capacities and needs and sampling and testing of hazardous substances which is being conducted by UNDP under the Lebanese Financing Facility (LFF) funded Beirut Environment Recovery Project. The assessment by the LFF- Environment Recovery project aims to understand the capacity of national laboratories (public and semi-public) and academic research laboratories, identify gaps in analyzing hazardous substances, and identify needs and requirements for their accreditation and will include the following task: 

• Identification of Laboratories: The Consultant will review the LFF report and identify laboratories within universities, and governmental agencies in Lebanon and prioritize about five or six laboratories for assessment through a joint consultation with potential laboratories and the Ministry of Environment (MoE), Government of Lebanon, preliminary screening of their ability to analyze hazardous chemicals, and their willingness to collaborate with MoE for the purpose.

• Assessment of Laboratories: This task involves a comprehensive evaluation of the capabilities and services of the 5-6 environmental laboratories in Lebanon identified above.  This will include assessing the availability and capacity of relevant laboratory equipment to analyze hazardous chemicals and wastes and other key chemical parameters at these laboratories. The evaluation will also cover the range of parameters each laboratory can analyze, the technologies and methodologies they employ, and the physical infrastructure available in terms of equipment, infrastructure chemicals, and testing apparatus. A critical aspect of this assessment is evaluating the human resources, including the number of staff, their qualifications, and expertise.

• Compliance with Existing Standards: This involves reviewing the laboratories' existing quality management systems, particularly their alignment with the ISO/IEC 17025 standards. It also includes determining the current accreditation status of these laboratories under ISO/IECISI and their current QA/QC protocols for analyzing hazardous substances (if any).

• Accreditation Requirements: The Consultant will analyze each laboratory's available resources (human, financial, technical) and their capacity (knowledge, guidelines, procedures) for achieving or maintaining accreditation. This analysis will identify the technical needs in terms of additional equipment (in the context of hazardous chemicals and waste to be analyzed in Lebanon), development/updating QA/QC protocols/methods, or expertise needed, along with providing cost estimates for meeting these requirements.

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNOPS Project Manager (PM). During the fulfillment of the tasks under this agreement, the consultant will ensure regular communication with the project team, will ensure a timely delivery of the expected outputs, and will regularly inform the project team of the progress as well as any obstacles that might occur. The incumbent shall perform the tasks indicated below:

Task 1: Identification Report of 5-6 selected Laboratories 

• Review the LFF Report

• Inspect 5-6 Labs based on the LFF report

• Prepare an initial assessment report describing the current status of each Lab. 

Task 2: Detailed Assessment Report 

• Assess the needs in equipment and infrastructure for selected laboratories based on selected criteria. 

• Assist in the Assessment investment in state-of-the-art instrumentation to enhance analytical capabilities for UPOPs testing and analysis.

Task 3: Develop Technical Specifications, BoQ, and Cost Estimations 

• Assist in the Development of the technical specifications of needed equipment, tools, and infrastructure of selected laboratories. 

• Prepare a detailed item by item Bill of Quantity, cost estimate including needed maintenance and operations for the selected equipment, preamble, including spare parts, etc.

Task 4: Presentations and training materials 

• Support in  training sessions on usage and calibration of equipment and characteristics of each equipment.

• Support in the Design and implementation of public awareness campaigns to educate the general public on UPOPs and its adverse effect on the health & safety of the public and environment.

Task 5: Final Report 

• Assist in the preparation and delivering of final assessment Report including all findings and details of all reports, recommendations, training material, operational manual

•  Identify potential suppliers for recommended equipment, tools, and infrastructure.  

Task 6: Inspection of delivered equipment 

• Inspect the delivered equipment both software and hardware, Checking of equipment against contract specifications, applicable drawings and other relevant documents

• Checking of quantity, checking of commissioning test programme, verifying of availability of test apparatus and test programme, visual checking of readiness of equipment before testing, verifying accuracy of test instruments and apparatus, verification of test results and performance data

• Issuance of a certificate of inspection and a Receipt and inspection report (RIR) including check of equipment against contract specification, test reports, dimensional checks, visual checks, estimated remaining life time.

• Other tasks as would be assigned by the Project Manager.

The incumbent will be responsible for preparing and finalizing the below deliverables:

The consultant will present a brief inception report and workplan to ensure that both parties (the Consultant and PM) agree that the assignment will be carried out as planned and as stipulated in the contract. 

The consultant is expected to submit one report for each assigned task, as follows: 

• Task 1 Initial Assessment Report of 5-6 Labs. 

• Task 2 Detailed Assessment report. 

• Task 3 Develop Technical Specifications, BoQ, and Cost Estimations 

• Task 4 Presentations and training materials. 

• Task 5 Final Report . 

• Task 6 Inspection of equipment and software. upon delivery of equipment

Each of the deliverables shall be provided in draft form and revised based on received comments within 1 week. All deliverables should be handed out one soft copy (Google format, Word format, Excel format, etc.…) and a PDF format. 

Education

• Bachelor Degree in Environmental Sciences, Electromechanical Engineering, or a related field is required. 

• A master's or doctoral degree in the above-mentioned fields or related fields will be considered an asset and may reduce some of the required years of experience.

Experience

• Minimum 4 years (or less depending on academic credentials) of relevant experience in the operation of environmental labs and UPOPs prevention is a must.

• Experience in Industrial Air pollution monitoring, monitoring of open dumps, assessment of POPs pesticides, and unintentionally released POPS is preferable 

• Demonstrated knowledge of Stockholm conventions, proceedings, and recommendations. Assessment of Industrial POPS and Unintentionally released POPS is desirable

• Experience in the field of Environmental Pollution Prevention and socio-economic impact assessment of POPs is desirable

• In-depth understanding of national and international regulatory frameworks related to UPOPs management is preferable.

• Knowledge of laboratories sampling and testing technologies is required. 

• Demonstrated experience in stakeholder engagement, including working with government officials, industry representatives, certification bodies, and Academia is a plus.