Wastewater and Water Quality Data Technical Specialist

Result of Service

To have a project proposal in support of wastewater 2030 commitment with GWOPA and other donors.

Work Location

Home based.

Expected duration

12 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the UN agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat is tasked to improve the access to sustainable wastewater management services by improving policies and guidelines in partnership with local, regional and national authorities, enhancing the enabling environment for investments in sustainable wastewater management services with a focus on urban areas of all sizes. The Urban Basic Services Section is responsible for the implementation of a Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) project on monitoring SDG 6, as part of the Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 (GEMI) convened by UN-Water. GEMI is an inter-agency partnership comprising The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). As the agency in the UN system responsible for urban development, UN-Habitat has for many years been leading operational initiatives on urban water, sanitation and waste management. In addition to producing flagship publications such as the State of Water and Sanitation in the World's Cities and the Global Biosolid Atlas has developed monitoring tools such as the UN-Habitat Urban Inequities Surveys (UIS), which were used to monitor and report on the slum target under the MDGs. UN-Habitat continues to contribute experience on integration of national and local level data to strengthen progress estimates on SDG indicator 6.3.1 and in other relevant areas. In addition to leading the component on industrial wastewater and coordinating with WHO, which is leading the component on domestic wastewater, UN-Habitat has in-house expertise on WRM and water. Finally, UN-Habitat's extensive experience in urban monitoring, gained through the use of its UIS and other tools, will be drawn upon to support the proposed work. The consultant will be home-based and report to the Programme Officer responsible for the GEMI project (Hezekiah Otieno Pireh) within the Urban Basic Services Section. The Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks: i. The consultant will work on the methodology (UN-Water guidance document for countries and metadata of indicator 6.3.1) for monitoring the flows of total and industrial wastewater generated and safely treated. This will be done in close collaboration with WHO and UNSD as co-custodian agencies for SDG 6.3.1, and in partnership with OECD and Eurostat. The consultant will be expected to consult with these and other relevant partners on (1) data collection process, (2) country data, and (3) comparison of metadata and terminology used in their questionnaires to contribute to harmonizing international wastewater data collection. The consultant will collaborate with these partners to increase the availability and quality of data to populate the SDG Indicator 6.3.1. through the UNSD/UNEP Questionnaire on Environment Statistics and through the OECD/Eurostat Joint Questionnaire on Inland Waters. ii. Work closely with SDG 6.3.1 co-custodian agencies WHO and UNSD in support of a coherent repository of monitoring information on the SDG 6.3.1 indicator. In this context, the consultant will review and exploit the wastewater data from relevant databases and check for data accuracy and consistency. Depending on available data, the consultant will be responsible to develop country flies, produce graphics, aggregate wastewater data by regions, build time series and ensure that the data is included in a global database used to determine SDG 6.3.1 progress. iii. Collect disaggregated wastewater data from at least 10-15 countries that are not currently reporting such data to aforementioned databases (UNSD/OECD/Eurostat), by working through official national SDG reporting mechanisms and other means. The consultant will advise countries to progressively align with international definitions and standards, by encouraging and assisting them in reporting to indicator 6.3.1 and to the existing international databases. iv. Contribute technical inputs in support of the 2024 SDG 6.3.1 indicator report, including updated statistical information, drafting of report sections and related documentation. This will require close collaboration with WHO and UNSD as co-custodian agencies for SDG indicator 6.3.1. v. Advise and actively participate in the meetings and activities conducted by UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 (IMI-SDG6) on cross-cutting analysis, outreach and use of SDG 6 data to inform target setting, policy, planning, investment and management of water resources at all levels; with the objective to coordinate and consolidate data-driven interlinkage analysis (including at basin level) and provide guidance to selected countries on cross-cutting and institutional issues. vi. Communication and outreach: Prepare and design of outreach materials for selected projects and activities of UN-Habitat and UN-Water on the topic of wastewater monitoring, as well as in the design and preparation of project proposals, publications, position papers and other internal and external communication products. vii. Discuss strategy and opportunities with partners and donors, develop project concept notes and proposals for further work, to mobilize resources to ensure project sustainability.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Management, Public health, or in a closely related field; or A first degree with 7 years of qualifying experience will be accepted in lieu of an Advanced degree is required A minimum of fifteen (7) years' experience in environmental sciences, water resources management, or water and development, of which at least five years of experience in similar projects in the area of monitoring of basic services such as water, sanitation and hygiene or a closely related field is required. Experience in preparing scientific analysis on issues related to wastewater and water quality is required. Experience in the United Nations is regarded as an asset. Experience in the use of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and in monitoring, data and data management, and capacity development. Experience in GIS in the urban context will be an additional asset Strong understanding of technical issues in the area of wastewater management is an advantage

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required. Working knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.