Project Associate

1.            Position Information

2.      Office/Unit/Project Description 

UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. 

UNDP positions itself as a development partner that brings global knowledge, through a multi-sectoral approach – the key comparative advantage of UNDP - and concentrates its work on 3 programmatic fields: i) Inclusive and Sustainable Growth, ii) Inclusive and Democratic Governance, iii) Climate Change and Environment.

CCE Portfolio focuses on three programmatic areas that complement each other: 1-Natural Resource Management contributing to sustainable environment management and conservation of natural resources in production landscapes, within the general framework of the ecosystems approach; 2- Climate Change and Disaster Resilience (including chemicals and waste) strengthening institutional capacities for analysis and risk management for resilience with a specific emphasis on climate change, and 3- Cooperation with relevant stakeholders to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Türkiye was hit by a series of devastating earthquakes on 6th February 2023. Even for an earthquake-prone region, the disaster was unprecedented in scope and magnitude. The official death toll hit 53,537 and 3.3 million people lost their homes. Urban and rural structures were demolished across an enormous sweep of land encompassing 11 provinces – Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya and Elazığ – in southern Türkiye that are home to million people.

The impact on housing and infrastructure was devastating, with thousands of buildings collapsing immediately and thousands more requiring urgent or future demolition. Government institutions carried out damage assessments, revealing that the 7.5 and 7.8 magnitude earthquakes on 6 February 2023—together with more than 22,500 aftershocks recorded by the end of March 2023 (including 47 stronger than magnitude 5.0)—produced an unprecedented volume of demolition waste. Adıyaman was among the most severely affected provinces, with over 64,000 damaged residential buildings and heavy impacts on commercial properties and agricultural structures. Despite large-scale national recovery efforts, the safe removal of debris, recycling of demolition waste remains a critical challenge, requiring both immediate action and long-term solutions to ensure environmentally sound reconstruction.

UNDP, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change (MoEUCC), has already piloted a demolition waste management project in Hatay and Kahramanmaraş provinces. That initiative successfully established two nonhazardous recycling facilities and introduced mobile curshers to reduce the demolition waste volume, recycle recyclable waste and safely handle hazardous waste. The lessons learned and best practices from this project provide a strong foundation for scaling up interventions in other provinces.

Building on this experience, the proposed project in Adıyaman aims to replicate and expand the model by mapping demolition waste temporary storage sites, establishing one new recycling facility, and supplying one mobile crusher for flexible on-site processing. The project will also strengthen institutional capacity, promote participatory monitoring to prevent dumping, and raise public awareness with a strong emphasis on women’s and youth engagement. In doing so, it will not only address urgent health and environmental risks but also contribute to circular economy-based reconstruction, directly supporting Türkiye’s recovery agenda and advancing key SDGs.

The project will be implemented in five components: 

Output 1: Coordination with relevant provincial crisis coordination and emergency management teams, including municipal actors, and relevant Ministries to identify and map temporary storage sites and, among them, critical hotspots.

Output 2: Preparing environmentally sound demolition waste management strategy and action plan tailored for Adıyaman 

Output 3: Constructing one recycling facility, supplying one mobile crushing facility and other needed equipment  that will be identified during the analysis for effective waste management in Output 2.

Output 4: Enhancing community awareness and participatory monitoring mechanisms.

          Output 5: Providing an enabling environment for better demolition waste recycling

The Project Associate (PA) will be assigned full time for the whole project’s duration. PA will assist the Project Manager in fulfilling his/her duties and tasks. The PA shall be responsible for supporting day-to-day implementation of project activities, drafting progress reports and output related substantial documentation as well as liaising with the project partners, national and international stakeholders at the institutional level. PA will also provide assistance to other key experts or relevant stakeholders, as deemed necessary by the Project Manager. PA will report to the Project Manager.

3.      Scope of Work 

Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Associate is responsible for efficient and timely implementation of the activities referred in the project document and the associated work plan. S/he is also expected to support project planning and AWP formulation as well as quality check of the technical reports and other outcomes. S/he will maintain high standards of service delivery, including adherence to deadline, quick response time, accuracy and completeness of information, sensitivity to client needs.

Project planning and AWP formulation:

• Support the preparation of AWPs of the Project.

• Support the preparation of the annual budgets and procurement plans of the Project under the coordination of Project Manager and Projects Implementation Administrator.

• Make periodic revisions of AWPs and procurement plans of the Project in consultation with the Project Manager.

Timely and effective implementation of the project

• Provides general administrative support to ensure the smooth running of the project management.

• Provides project logistic support to the Project Manager and short term consultants in conducting different project activities (trainings, workshops, stakeholder consultations, arrangements of study tour, etc.).

• Supports the control of budget expenditures by preparing payment documents, travel related documents for the project staff and reviewing financial reports.

• Controls the usage of non-expendable equipment (record keeping, drawing up regular inventories).

• Keeps regular contact with project experts and consultants to inform them about the project details and changes.

• Provides English translation as required.

• Provides logistical support to the project staff and project consultants, inter alia, for travel arrangements.

• During the visits of foreign experts, manages their visa support, transportation, hotel accommodation etc.

• Supports project experts during implementation and monitoring of site-based joint activities with local stakeholders. 

• Files and archives all relevant correspondence and project related documents (tender dossiers, proposals, technical reports, evaluation reports etc.).

• Plans and organizes implementation of project activities according to AWP and project budget. Coordinates implementation with, and between, the project partners ensuring effective information flows between partners.

• Organizes the Project Steering Committee meetings.

• Organizes and coordinates project meetings, reviews and site visits.

• Organizes project events (meetings, workshops, events, seminars, training).

• Monitors timetable and performance of contractors (consultants, companies) and makes necessary amendments thereto.

• Monitors bottlenecks and problems in project implementation, proposes/takes necessary corrective actions as required.

• Prepares inputs to APR and compile project reports according to the project document (monthly reports, quarterly reports, donor reports, final report).

• Drafts correspondence, notes, briefs and other materials and documentation.

Project inputs administered timely and efficiently according to project plans and UNDP procedures

• Prepares inputs to procurement related documents such as ToR/RFP/RFQ/ITB,etc.

• Assists in evaluation of bid and offers, compiles and prepares necessary documentation.

• Assists in selection of project experts and consultants and participates in selection process.

• Prepares documents related to HACT framework such as Direct Payments (RDPs) for signature.

• Provide assistance in formulation of expectations, duties and deliverables of the experts and companies as necessary.

• Provide support in reviewing and providing feedback on the technical reports submitted by the contractors of the project. 

• Assist in ensuring that the deliverables submitted by the contractors of the project are in alignment with the defined deliverables in the ToRs. 

4.      Institutional Arrangement

Project Associate will report to the Project Manager and work in close co-operation with the CCE Projects Implementation Administrator and M&E Officer to ensure the project inputs are administered timely and efficient manner according to UNDP rules and procedures. 

5. Competencies         

6.      Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA