Kenya: Principal Water Resources Adviser, Africa Borderlands

Jun 27, 2022 | UNDP
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the global development network of the United Nations system and is working in 177 countries and territories around the world with its Headquarters based in New York. The UNDP Strategic Plan (2022-2025) describes the three key directions of change to help 100 million people escape multidimensional poverty and 500 million gain access to clean energy. UNDP propose to support countries to undertake structural transformation, ensure no one is left behind and build resilience. Within the resilience direction of change, UNDP will place emphasis on 6 signature solutions of poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy and gender equality. These solutions will be enabled by development financing, digitalisation and strategic innovation. One of these key innovations is a recognition that climate-resilient water is a driver of economic development, is the basis of the clean energy-climate resilient water nexus and is an essential component of multidimensional poverty reduction and resilience.

Globally, the climate crisis has seen an increase in droughts and floods which destroy climate-resilient water infrastructure and demand investment in innovative technological solutions that can deliver climate-resilient water infrastructure for economic development. In the African sub-continent there have been 40 droughts or floods since 1980 and this is a 6 fold increase from the previous 40 year period. These droughts and floods force communities to migrate in search of climate-resilient water for livelihoods, climate-resilient water for health and climate-resilient water for prosperity. The UNDP Africa regional plan therefore, promotes the 4 Ps (Planet, Prosperity, Peace and People) and climate-resilient water for development is key to the protection of the African people, African planet, African prosperity and reduction in climate-resilient water driven conflict and increased peace.

The UNDP Africa Regional Resilience Hub and specifically the Africa Borderlands Centre and programme provides a model to demonstrate the interface between the 6 signature solutions of the environment, resilience, governance, energy, gender equality and reduced inequality. Borderlands are home to more than 270 million people in Africa and are the territorial margins of nation-states, regions where border contact is a central feature of economic and political life. The borderland communities are left behind and have the lowest levels of access to social services such as climate-resilient water, energy, healthcare, education and livelihoods. The African Union, UNDP and partners have positioned UNDP as the “thought leader” in essential social sectors in the borderlands and to conduct research, produce data, and design programmes that extend across borders, and treat these regions as economic and political units in their own right. Central to this aim is ensuring climate-resilient water for economic development. Due to the location of borderland locations, access to climate-resilient water resources, climate-resilient water for energy and climate-resilient water supply requires intensive investment and results in the economic marginalisation of many climate-resilient water users. This in turn causes instability, lack of security/stability,  prosperity, gender inequality and reduced resilience.

UNDP has identified that the SDG targets may not be met in Africa without addressing the social sector needs of the borderland communities. SDG6 and the need for climate-resilient water solutions have been identified by the Africa Borderlands Centre as a critical area and where greater strategic thought leadership is needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Team leader of the Africa Borderlands Centre, the Senior Water Resources Adviser is responsible for the formulation of a cohesive corporate climate-resilient water normative framework and signature interventions for Africa borderlands programmatic to promote resilience.

S/he will be responsible to:  

  • Provide thought leadership, strategic guidance and advice to the Regional Director for Africa and the ABC on climate-resilient and sustainable water management in Africa’s borderlands;
  • Provide technical leadership for the formulation of an effective, best-in-class  climate-resilient water normative framework, which serves to guide sustainable water governance in Africa borderlands;
  • Provide overall leadership for the development of a new programme pipeline on climate-resilient and sustainable water management, with a specific focus on innovative and blended finance, and in close coordination with bilateral and multilateral institutions;
  • In line with the ABC 4-pillar approach, develop specific programmatic interventions on climate-resilient and sustainable water resource management for the borderlands in a manner that accelerates the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 in the borderlands
  • Oversee the entire project cycle of governance, innovation, concept design, development, implementation, supervision and sustainability of flagship climate-resilient water and resilience interventions in the Borderlands areas;
  • Build, expand and cultivate relationships with leadership partners (development banks, international financing institutions, foundations, private sector) in support of partnerships and resource mobilization objectives of the ABC;
  • Direct the preparation of the annual work plans and budgets for the climate-resilient water programme, fundraising and partnerships; planning and management of human, financial, and material resources with a view to ensuring their optimum utilization;
  • Represent UNDP at key public and private sector international meetings and conferences as requested.

1. Strategic leadership

  • Develop and set the strategic direction for climate-resilient water in the UNDP Africa Borderlands Centre and Regional Resilient Hub and its integration into UNDP country offices, regional and global corporate planning, programming and operations;
  • Thought leadership in developing the governance structure and investment case for UNDP and the required support and resources in the area of climate-resilient water in the Africa Borderlands and Resilience Hubs network on the basis of assessments of the risks/threats
  • Establish new partnerships for the Africa Borderlands Centre, in the area of climate-resilient water
  • Represents UNDP at senior representational levels in interagency forums for policy and decision making in the area of climate-resilient water,
  • Provide on-demand technical regional and global thought leadership and be the focal for UNDPs engagement in the multi trust fund Climate-resilient water Investment Programme for Africa

2. Research, produce data, and design programme and implementation

  • Lead teams across multiple borderlands sites in a number of countries in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa to design programmes (undertake pre-feasibility, feasibility) for mobilizing development finance;
  • Lead the introduction of innovative pipelines of bankable sustainable climate-resilient water investments in borderlands to maximize development finance,
  • Develop transformative governance partnerships, approaches, funding and financing resources to assess and produce climate-resilient water projects in the Borderlands,
  • Ensures organizational compliance with all United Nations Environmental and Social Safeguarding policies, procedures and regulations;
  • Establish technology innovation partnerships with global and regional climate-resilient water academic and private sector organizations to undertake human-based design and operational research.
  • Inform innovative evidence-based policy changes that impact communities in the borderlands areas in regards to climate-resilient water.

3. Management supervision

  • Provides oversight of climate-resilient water interventions in the ABC;
  • Build UNDP climate-resilient water project preparation and implementation capacity in coordination with relevant functional units in UNDP;
  • Facilitate and directs the planning, management, operations and activities of UNDP climate-resilient water for consistently high levels of performance, efficiency and engagement;
  • Oversees and administers allocation and utilization of funding for climate-resilient water in the UNDP Africa Resilient Hub – Borderlands Programme;
  • Advocates the implementation of corporate and best-practice approaches to ensure effective procurements and service (human, financial and administrative) resources provision aligned with results.

4. Innovation and Knowledge management

  • Encourage technological and financial innovation models to crowd in private sector partners to provide sustainable climate-resilient water services,
  • Collate, document and disseminate with counterparts and partners the best practices and lead knowledge events,
  • Provides inputs to the development of systems to capture and codify knowledge in the climate-resilient water practice for the enhancement of staff training, learning and awareness concerning security issues.

Competencies

Core

  • Achieve Results: LEVEL 4: Prioritize team workflow, mobilize resources, drive scalable results/strategic impact
  • Think Innovatively: LEVEL 4: Easily navigate complexity, encourage/enable radical innovation, has foresight
  • Learn Continuously: LEVEL 4: Create systems and processes that enable learning and development for all
  • Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 4: Proactively initiate/lead organizational change, champion new systems/processes
  • Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
  • Engage and Partner:  LEVEL 4: Construct strategic multi-partner alliances in high stake situations, foster co-creation
  • Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 4: Create ethical culture,  identify/address barriers to inclusion

People Management

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical

  • Business Direction & Strategy
    • Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks, and opportunities, linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions. Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends, to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.
    • Entrepreneurial Thinking: Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate.
  • Business Development
    • Collective Intelligence Design: Ability to bring together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and technology to design services or solutions.
    • UNDP Representation: Ability to represent UNDP and productively share UNDP knowledge and activities; advocate for UNDP, its values, mission and work with various constituencies.
  • Business Management
    • Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
    • Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication, to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels.
  • 2030 Agenda: Partnerships
    • ​​​​​​​SDG Finance: Innovative Finance
  • 2030 Agenda: Planet
    • ​​​​​​​Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery: Climate Risk Management

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (Master’s degree) in Engineering or Environment or a relevant discipline, formal multi-year education in climate-resilient water to an Advanced University degree.
  • A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in any of the above disciplines with 2 additional years of relevant experience in addition to the requirements set out below,  will be given due consideration in lieu of an Advanced University degree.
  • Current relevant Professional Certification is an advantage, e.g. as a Chartered Engineer, Professional Engineer or Climate Resilient Water and Environmental Manager, etc.

Experience:

  • Minimum 15 years with Advance University degree or 17 years with a First- Level University degree of extensive professional experience in recognized development organizations, of which at least 5-7 years are in middle or senior management in the UN system.
  • At least 5 years of management experience in country/field operations of the UN system
  • Proven experience in personnel management, development and leadership.
  • Demonstrated experience in the development and implementation of climate-resilient water projects is required.

Language:

  • Excellent knowledge of English, as well as writing, presentation, and communication skills, is required.
  • Knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Disclaimer

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