WASH Specialist

Details

Mission and objectives

As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas; sustainable development, democratic governance and peacebuilding, and climate and disaster resilience. UNDP’s mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

Context

In 2014 the Government of Timor-Leste created the Special Administrative Region (SAR) and established the Special Zone of Social Market Economy (ZEESM) in Oé-Cusse district (an enclave nestled within Western Timor province of Indonesia and with an estimated population of 75,000). UNDP has been providing policy advice to the SAR-ZEESM Office since its establishment and has developed a program to help the ZEESM establish and operationalize institutional and developmental structures and systems, in different areas, including Tourism. The framework for UNDP’s support to Oé-Cusse ZEESM is built around two components: (i) governance (ii) sustainable and innovative development. Thus, as part of the roll out process of ZEESM there is a need to formulate policies and provide high quality advice to support priority areas that have clear and strong forward linkages to the ZEESM. The proposed assistance is aligned with the priorities of the Fifth Constitutional Government as articulated under East Timor Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 to establish special zones of social market economy to transform the lives of the people of Oé-Cusse with an integrated approach to sustainable, social and economic development. Water remains a major development challenge in Oecusse. People in Oecusse have been facing water problem not only for drinking but also for agricultural, business development, and other purposes. A significant portion of the population does not have access to clean drinking water and many public facilities such as schools and health clinics are suffering from inadequate water supply. The economic activities are also impacted due to shortage of water or poor water quality resulting in a decrease in the income generation. The rain scarcity, deforestation and the sea intrusion in coastal areas are the major causes of the limited access to clean water in Oé-Cusse. These have greatly reduced the soil integrity and quality, the biodiversity but also these have a

Task description

Under the direct supervision and guidance of UNDP Programme manager the WASH specialist will be responsible for the following key functions: Plan, implement and manage participatory water resource surveys and assessments; Support to the Department of Water to prepare the State of the Water Resources Report for Oe-Cusse, providing the basis for Regional Water Management Plans; Prepare preliminary designs and terms of reference/bill of quantity for construction of resilient small scale water harvesting, storage and distribution systems, and saltwater bund exclusions in the selected project sites; Monitor and quality assure water harvesting, storage and distribution systems, and saltwater bund exclusions Repor the progress to the Programme Manager and certify payments for contractors; Design terms of reference for procurement of remote sensing services and explore the potential they hold to support sustainable water management in the region. Organize capacity building and knowledge sharing activities Prepare reports and communication materials in coordination with local technicians; Liaise with other national or international institutions related to the field, and forge technical cooperation agreements in order to bring new knowledge to the region.