Solid Waste Management Specialist

Cities Alliance, which is hosted by UNOPS, is a global partnership for the promotion of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Headquartered in Brussels and supported by a Secretariat, it is a unique partnership with a diverse membership including-global organisations of local authorities, national governments, international non-governmental organisations, foundations, knowledge networks and multilateral organisations - which have come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader, with a strong track record in grant making, that supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Members promote longer-term and integrated work programmes, while actively promoting gender equality throughout all activities.

The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.

The European Union is one of the largest international development cooperation partners of Liberia. This project is funded under the Global Climate Change Alliance+ (GCCA), which was established by the European Union (EU) in 2007 to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with developing countries, in particular least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS). It started its work in just four pilot countries. Today it has a budget of more than €300 million and is one of the most significant climate initiatives in the world. It supports 51 programmes around the world and is active in 38 countries (http://www.gcca.eu/technical-and-financial-support/national-programmes-old), 8 regions and subregions and at the global level. By fostering effective dialogue and cooperation on climate change, the Alliance helps to ensure that poor developing countries most vulnerable to climate change increase their capacities to adapt to the effects of climate change, in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Where this benefits their poverty reduction objectives, the Alliance also helps such countries to participate in the global climate change mitigation effort.

Within the scope of the Liberia Country Programme, Cities Alliance is managing two EU-funded projects. Both projects are related to urban development in Greater Monrovia with interventions in the informal areas.

Together, they represent USD 7 million investment. The Country Programme delivers technical assistance around municipal planning, urban policies and strategies, capacity development, community development, municipal services as well as small scale urban infrastructure. The Solid Waste Management Specialist will join a team of international and local specialists.

Cities Alliance is seeking a highly motivated, experienced, and skilled professional to manage the implementation of the EU-funded project that focuses on developing an integrated Solid Waste management system for Greater Monrovia that focuses on developing small scale Sustainable Energy options and Primary Waste Collection in Liberia.

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Specialist will be responsible for a) leading technical advice to planning, implementation and monitoring of Solid Waste management projects; b) coordinating with relevant partners and stakeholders working in municipal Solid Waste Management sector for programmatic alignment; c) Managing and disseminating knowledge and lessons learned internally and externally; d) coordinating the implementation of the Waste to Energy project with other Liberia Country Programme projects.

The Solid Waste Management Specialist will be supervised directly by the Liberia Country Programme Manager and will work in close collaboration with the EU Project team of specialists - Waste Management, and the Cities Alliance Secretariat to ensure successful monitoring, evaluation and learning activities of the Liberia Country Programme.

Technical Support and Specialist Services:

• Conduct research activities to identify and select beneficiaries of the project at community level and potential recipients of the small-scale waste to energy initiatives.
• Responsible for all technical activities of the Solid Waste projects within the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Prorgamme which includes civil works, grant/loan facility and expansion of the Community Based enterprises system in Greater Monrovia.
• Prepare technical documents and reports to advise the country programme manager as well as to report to the European Union delegation to Liberia.
• Participate in procurement processes as a technical resource, including preparation of bidding documents and evaluating technical submissions of bidders;
• Lead the coordination of technical and implementation matters to ensure delivery of outputs as scheduled.
• Visit the implementation sites regularly to monitor and report on the activities;
• Assist the Country Programme Manager in the follow-up of technical tasks related to Solid Waste Managers sub-projects.
• Monitor and oversee the provision of services by contractors and consultants in coordination with the country team.
• Review progress and financial reports (invoices) submitted by contractors and consultants and recommend to Programme Manager the release of payments after technical assessment
• Coordinate meetings with partners and counterparts ensuring necessary integration with other sectors
• Prepare progress reports/updates on Solid Waste Management projects for internal reporting and management as well as for donors, and/ or other recipients
• Deliver capacity building presentations, educative sessions and/or training activities for stakeholders and beneficiaries of the projects.
• Support the Country Project Manager in embedding sustainability dimensions including social and gender inclusion, environmental and economic aspects into SWM subprojects
• Advise the Country Programme Manager on the International Frameworks on Climate Change and Resilience as well as their international and national reporting needs will be considered an asset.

Management of the technical components

• Identify risks and propose risk management strategies to ensure smooth implementation of the solid waste pilots, including waste to energy initiatives
• Monitor and evaluate performance of service providers and contractors within the solid waste projects
• Draft the Terms of Reference for the procurement of construction services, studies, Individual Technical Assistances or any other require services within the implementation of technical activities.
• Provide oversight to the drafts of studies and or technical designs ensuring that the deliverables are properly disseminated for inputs from stakeholders in Liberia and fully compliant with UNOPS standards.
• Supervise consultants that will be hired to deliver specific products within the implementation of the activities of the solid waste projects.
• Oversee the implementation of training modules in the topics of solid waste and closely collaborate with the Cities Alliance capacity building specialist.
• Prepare Cross-Visits and On-the-job training of representatives of Community Based Enterprises, local and national governments;
• Providing oversight to the implementation of Small Grants and/or loans on Waste to Energy alternatives, composting and recycling initiatives in the geographic scope of the project.
• Manage and supervise the realization of agreed project deliverables, taking responsibility for overall progress and use of resources and initiating corrective action/s, where necessary.
• Support the awareness and outreach campaign which will be implemented in coordination with the EU- funded Primary Waste Collection project specialist.

Stakeholder Management and Coordination

• Ensure proper engagement with stakeholders (internal and external) for effective planning and implementation of municipal SWM interventions in a coordinated manner.
• Represent Cities Alliance in related sub cluster coordination forums, technical working groups, solid waste commissions, follow up meeting and to liaise with relevant stakeholders for programmatic and technical alignment and coordination.
• Support the Cities Alliance team in Liberia in the preparation of technical communication, didactical material and/or documentation on Solid Waste Management interventions.
• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned on integrated solid waste management for development planning and knowledge building.
• Coordinate engagement with the Covenant of Mayors Sub-Saharan Africa (COM SSA) and support the Country Programme Manager in triangulating the coordination between COM SSA and the European Union Delegation to Liberia.

Gender Mainstreaming

• Ensure the Solid Waste projects and all its activities pro-actively includes gender considerations and adequately mainstreams them through the implementation of targeted and mainstreaming actions.
• Ensure that the project activities, outputs, and indicators mainstream gender.
• Promotes a gender-responsive institutional environmental of the office in accordance with UN Values.

Perform other related duties as assigned by the Country Programme Manager

• Advanced university degree in engineering, environmental studies, international development or economics; or related disciplines is required.
• A Bachelor Degree in combination with 2 additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master's Degree.  

• Minimum five (5) years of professional work in the field of civil or environment engineering, sanitation and/or WASH sector is required
• Previous experience in implementation of projects that required coordination at multi stakeholder level is required.
• Previous experience on the solid waste management sector is highly desirable.

• Ability to work collaboratively and operate technically across at least three of the following thematic areas: Environmental engineering, Community-based Waste Management, Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management, Recycling & Composting, Waste-to-Energy, the Green Economy, Climate resilient development, gender mainstreaming.
• Ability of promoting constructive dialogue between diverse stakeholders and of communicating clearly and respectfully at the highest levels of government as well as with civil society at community level or as required.

1. Contract type : Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA)
2. Contract level : Local ICA Specialist Level 10
3. Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.