Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert (IRH)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) (www.thegef.org) unites 183-member governments—in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector—to address global environment issues. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, the GEF has provided US$12.5 billion in grants and leveraged US$58 billion in co-financing for 3,690 projects in 165 developing countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP) the GEF has made more than 20,000 grants totaling about US$1 billion to civil society and community-based organizations.

The GEF International Waters (IW) focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and large marine ecosystems. The IW portfolio comprises 242 projects to date and some US$1.4 billion of GEF grants invested in 149 different countries. This investment has leveraged about US$8.4 billion in co-financing. 

UNDP GEF Kura Project “Advancing Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) across the Kura river basin through implementation of the transboundary agreed actions and national plans” will be implementing the Strategic Action Program for the Kura River Basin in partnership with the Governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The SAP is framed around four agreed Ecosystem Quality Objectives (EQO) which are:

• To achieve sustainable utilization of water resources to ensure access to water and preserve ecosystem services;
• To achieve water quality such that it would ensure access to clean water for present and future generations and sustain ecosystem functions in the Kura river basin;
• To achieve and maintain ecosystem status whereby they provide essential environmental and socio-economic services in a sustainable manner in the Kura River Basin; and,
• To achieve mitigation of adverse impacts of flooding and climate change on infrastructures, riparian ecosystems and communities.

The GEF will support priority activities towards these objectives. The GEF funded SAP implementation Project has the objective “to integrate water resources management in the Kura river basin to address water-energy-food-ecosystem security nexus through the implementation of agreed actions in the SAP”.

There will be five components to support the countries to achieve this objective. These are:

• Project Component 1: Establishment of effective cross sectoral IWRM governance protocols at the local, national and transboundary levels in the Kura Basin;
• Project Component 2: Strengthening national capacities to implement multi-sectoral IWRM in the Kura basin;
• Project Component 3: Stress reduction in critical areas and pre-feasibility studies to identify investment opportunities for improving river system health;
• Project Component 4: Targeted education and involvement projects to empower stakeholders in implementing local / national / regional actions in support of SAP implementation;
• Project Component 5: Enhancing science for governance by strengthening monitoring, information management and data analysis systems for IWRM.

The responsibility of this expert is to provide overall junior level input to the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project related to the necessary structures for hydrology in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert will provide a series of inputs over the course of the year, as assigned and agreed, based on the growing expertise in hydrological issues, as assigned by the Regional Project Analyst. The Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert inputs will be based on the weekly assessed needs of the project pertaining to hydrological inputs needed. S/he will be responsible for communicating relevant technical information within UNDP-GEF Kura II Project to the project team, project national and international experts, and project stakeholders.

The services of a qualified and highly motivated The Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert will be required to assist the Project Coordination Unit in developing the below-mentioned tasks.

Scope of Work:

The work of the Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert will include providing support to project reports, including formatting and translation as needed, supporting trainings, workshops, and conferences held by the project, and conducting trainings for stakeholders on an as needed basis. Additionally, inputs will be expected to transfer project trainings to on-line video trainings, working with project stakeholders, and other IWRM related work, depending on the scope of the project needs.

The work of the Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert will vary based on the specific needs of the PCU over the scope of the year. The Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert will be assigned specific inputs, with specific deliverables as the needs arise as assessed on a weekly review of project progress, under the guidance and authorization of the Regional Project Analyst. All deliverables will include a clear number of days needed to complete the assignment, timeframe for completion, and guidelines pertaining to the deliverable quality and acceptability. These will be agreed by the Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert, upon acceptance of the assignment. 

Key Deliverables and payments of the consultancy: 

The deliverables of the deliverables will include: 

• Participation in hydrological data collection, surveys, and analysis conducted by the project national and international efforts that are related to IWRM in Azerbaijan;
• Accompanying the Senior National and International Experts in the field trips and regularly updating the Senior Capacity Building Expert about the status of demonstration projects and/or any other project activity;
• Conduct initial meetings with stakeholders in Hajigabul, Saatly and other regions over the Kura Basin to determine priorities in advance of the Environmental Flow Stakeholder Meeting with support of the International Stakeholder Engagement Expert;
• Building awareness in the field of hydrology among the general public and contributing to the project’s communication efforts in this regard;
• Regularly updating the social media accounts and project webpage to highlight the importance and approaches of IWRM, Water Nexus and Hydrology, highlight project’s efforts in this direction and draw from national, regional, and global examples, and challenges;
• Drafting press-releases about the meetings, training, field trips and events conducted by the project;
• Providing inputs to the review and finalization of project reports under the guidance of the PCU team, and National Coordinators related to hydrology; 
• Providing co-facilitation to trainings, workshops and academic conferences and evaluations of the trainings as they pertain to the application of Hydrology curriculum;
• Doing translations of the IWRM Academy training presentations into Azerbaijani language;
• Preparing the online version of the IWRM Academy trainings’ video version supporting the Senior Capacity Building Expert and Regional Project Analyst;
• Provide the video transcription of the trainings conducted within the IWRM academy related to Hydrology and prepare the Azerbaijani version of those trainings by using the training presentations and video transcriptions;
• Translation of project materials specifically related to hydrology and providing critical inputs into the materials for use in future curriculum development;
• Provide assistance to international experts as needed in missions as it pertains to hydrology; 
• Provide Hydrology approaches to targeted recruitment for IWRM Trainings for stakeholders’ groups, and the work of the Public Private Partnership outputs;
• Deliver trainings for the stakeholders in the field of Hydrology in Azerbaijani and English as needed;
• Additional tasks related to the listed deliverable as appropriate and assigned under the authorization of the Chief Technical Advisor/Project Coordinator (CTA/RPC). 

Tasks and specific deliverables for the Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert will be assigned by the Regional Project Analyst on weekly basis with anticipated time inputs for each assignment to be discussed and agreed. These will be reflected in “assignment notes” kept by the Regional Project Analyst.  Payments will be made monthly for approved task completion and accepted deliverables based on daily rate (or portion of daily rate) as per UNDP IRH Consultant Timesheet approved by the certifying officer. It is expected the workload will vary based on project needs and availability of the Azerbaijan Junior Hydrology Expert.

Information on Working Arrangements: 

The Junior Hydrology Expert will report to the Regional Project Analyst. Deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the project team and ultimately by the CTA/RPC.

Functional competencies

• Excellent communication and management skills and demonstrable capacity to work with a multi-national team and to work with government institutions;
• Demonstrated aptitude for in Hydrology approaches in Azerbaijan; 
• Ability to take responsibility for data collection, and work with multiple water use sectors within Azerbaijan;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities.

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards; 
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP; 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; 
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in geography, environmental studies, developmental studies, hydrology, or other relevant field required. 
• Graduate training in Hydrology related fields a strong asset.
• Enrolment in professional programs and trainings for water resources management is a strong asset;

Experience

• At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in water resource management, or environmental management related work required;
• Proven experience in conducting monitoring and reporting is required;
• Proven experience in identifying stakeholders in water resources is a strong asset;
• Experience with the water nexus, intersectoral water management, or approaches related to building capacity for intersectoral IWRM is a strong asset;
• Experience with water management issues across Azerbaijan is a requirement.

Language: 

• Ability to communicate clearly and write professionally in Azerbaijani and English languages is a requirement for this position; 
• Ability to communicate in Russian is an additional advantage.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11/CV, and cover letter desk review, samples evaluation and interview) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. 

Technical Criteria – 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

• Criteria A – (desk review) education and additional trainings – 5 points
• Criteria B – (desk review) experience in water resource management or environmental management related work – 10 points
• Criteria C – (desk review) experience in conducting monitoring and reporting is required – 5 points
• Criteria D – (desk review) experience with the water nexus, transboundary water management, or approaches related to building capacity for transboundary IWRM – max 5 point.
• Criteria E – (samples evaluation) language skills – max points: 5.
• Criteria F – (desk review) experience with water management issues across Georgia – max points: 5.

Financial Criteria – 30% of total evaluation (max points 15).

Only candidates who will get at least 70% of points in Criteria A-E will be considered for the interview; and only candidates who will get at least 70% of points in the technical evaluation (A-F) will be considered for financial evaluation.

Application procedures

The application submission is a two-step process. Failing to comply with the submission process may result in disqualifying the applications.

Step 1: Interested candidates must include the following documents when submitting the applications (Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document):

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the “Resume and Motivation” section of the electronic application. 
• Min. 2 samples of previous work (relevant translation materials are required)
• Filled P11 form or CVs including past experience in similar projects, and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); 

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal – Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and requested to provide a financial offer.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services…). 

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.