الوصف الوظيفي

Job Title: Chief Technical Specialist - Debris Management

Type of Contract: National Personnel Service Agreement

Duty Station: Gaza

Duration of Contract: 12 months, renewable based on fund availability and performance

Closing Date: 23:59 on 14 April 2025

Job Description

1- Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization in fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”.

UNDP’s Palestinian Programmatic Framework (PPF) 2023-2025 sets out a vision of “a world in which all Palestinians can enjoy a dignified life and fulfil their own vision of a unified, peaceful and free society”. The PPF is centered around the concept of “Transformative Resilience” and its three elements: a cohesive Palestinian identity, self-reliance, and ownership and leadership.

Over the next three years, UNDP/PAPP will build on its experiences and achievements to make critical contributions to the priorities defined by the Palestinian national development plans and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), through interventions in three programmatic priority areas: i) democratic governance and quality services; ii) inclusive economic opportunities; iii) sustainable natural resources management.

In the Gaza Strip, over 13 months of war have caused large-scale destruction and exacerbated pre-existing humanitarian needs, thus depriving Gazans of their basic human rights, including access to shelter, electricity, water and sanitation, healthcare, and education.

Gaza experienced unprecedented destruction of essential infrastructure, with around 87% of housing units damaged or destroyed, and over 50 million tons of rubble generated. Approximately 90% of the entire population has been internally displaced, seeking refuge in overcrowded shelters and unsanitary makeshift camps. Livelihoods have been severely disrupted, with unemployment skyrocketing to 80%. This unprecedented humanitarian crisis is further compounded by limited access of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, as well as a shrinking space for safe and unimpeded humanitarian operations on account of continued warfare and recurrent evacuation orders.

According to the World Bank, UN and EU “Gaza Strip Interim Damage Assessment”, residential buildings were found to be making up most of the recorded damage (72%), followed by damages to critical infrastructure and services such as education, WASH, health, energy, ICT, municipal services and transport (19%), as well as infrastructure damages in the commerce, industry, and services sector (9%). Moreover, 65% of the total road infrastructure/network has been destroyed, further hindering humanitarian access and operations, as well as compounding challenges to future recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Considering that hundreds of thousands of people will have no home to return to, the need to deploy dignified transitional shelter solutions (e.g., prefabricated housing units) is critical - not only as part of the ongoing humanitarian response, but also to support and foster early recovery including rehabilitation works to partially damaged households and reconstruction of the totally damaged ones as soon as conditions on the ground allow. Area based approach will be adopted in the early recovery and reconstruction phase where all utilities will be reinstated to allow the internally displaced people return to their neighborhoods.

Access to education has also been fully disrupted, with an estimated 625,000 students in the Gaza Strip having no access to education since the onset of the war. Education facilities have been severely impacted, with an estimated 87% directly hit or damaged, and requiring either full reconstruction or rehabilitation. Higher education institutions have been significantly impacted too, with an estimated 35 university buildings destroyed and another 57 damaged. The protracted lack of access to education further exacerbates the war-induced trauma, emotional distress and mental health crisis affecting virtually all children and youth across the war-torn Gaza Strip.

ONLY CURRENT PALESTINIAN NATIONALS AVAILABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT IN GAZA STRIP AND WILLING TO WORK AND TRAVEL THROUGHOUT VARIOUS CITIES IN THE STRIP ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION. ALL OTHER APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

2- Scope of Work

The selected incumbent will undertake the following key functions:

1- Lead development of early recovery and reconstruction strategic policies and guidelines with a focus on debris management as well as UNDP’s project or programme-relevant activities:

Provide technical inputs to projects addressing key sectors such as essential infrastructure, education, and housing, with a focus on delivering dignified transitional shelter solutions and road rehabilitation.
Utilize assessment results to develop a costed plan for debris, construction, housing and education rehabilitation, and demolition waste management.
Design a comprehensive debris management strategy covering debris removal, disposal, recycling, and utilization to support infrastructure and housing recovery.
Identify institutional capacities, policies, and legislation impacting the rubble removal process, including varying regulations for debris disposal, housing rehabilitation and construction.
Provide technical inputs in developing project documents/proposals, either for debris management, MSWM, removal and recycling of rubble/ MSW, as a stand-alone project or as the component of a wider recovery program.
Review the Standard Operating Procedures prepared for each activity and ensure proper adherence to it during the implementation.
Review the safety plan of the implementation for each site and give guidance to the teams on the ground to lead risk-managed implementation.
Develop an adequate monitoring and evaluation plan that allows periodic monitoring of the project’s results, performance, achievements, risks, and challenges.
Identify any institutional capacities, policies and legislation that may affect the rubble removal process (including different status for disposal of debris).
Ensure relevant maps and technical assessments for debris removal are in place.
Provide technical inputs for environment impact assessment and mine/EO risk analysis.

2- Provide technical advisory to early recovery and reconstruction projects with a focus on debris management:

Assess the scope of building and infrastructure damage, the mapping of the area and the composition and volume of rubble and waste to be removed. This includes comprehensive assessments of damage to housing units, educational facilities, and essential infrastructure.
Analyze education facilities, housing units, and the state of public infrastructure including landfills and dumping sites and the accessibility to them by different kinds of vehicles and machinery.
Establish priorities for the areas of debris removal, disposal and recycling, in consultation with relevant actors.
Design specifications and/or review the scope of works for the procurement of needed C&D/rubble removal and related equipment for debris management.
Support the evaluation of Contractors that will be undertaking the works on the ground in line with the set specifications and international best practices based on UNDP procurement rules and guidelines.
Oversee engineers and contractors to ensure the efficient and timely execution of debris removal, disposal, recycling operations, housing unit rehabilitation, and the restoration of educational facilities.
Track projects implementation progress while ensuring quality assurance and adherence to environmental protection standards.

3- Ensure high quality team management on early recovery and reconstruction interventions with a focus on debris management:

Provide technical assurance for design specifications and/or review scope of works for the procurement of needed C&D/debris removal and related equipment for the debris management.
Continuously monitor and give guidance to project manager to ensure engineers and contractors are implementing within the prescribed time frame and following developed SOPs and proper actions under risk management.
Devise the proper plan with the team to capture the progress of different projects’ activities including transitional shelter neighborhoods, debris management, reconstruction of damaged schools and public buildings, utility networks and others. S/he will develop quality assurance indicators providing clear evidence to proper risk managed implementation.
Review various mitigation measures effectiveness to preserve environment and protection and carry out corrective actions if necessary, during implementation.
Continuously review the plans for early recovery and reconstruction in terms of priority areas, quantification, coordinated access of materials, availability of land for temporary solutions, storage and recycle areas and strengthening environmental protection.

4- Contribute to the effort of country office’s knowledge management and dissemination:

Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to programme country goals and activities, particularly in the areas of donor relations, partnerships, and resource mobilization.
Provide substantive and sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including corporate communications repositories.
Organize and provide training, consultancy, and advice to UNDP staff both on internal and external knowledge management.
Oversee maintenance of UNDP’s Intranet on country office activities for internal knowledge sharing, and the sharing of relevant knowledge products with external stakeholders through the corporate website.
Work with the Programme/Communication teams to ensure all knowledge products and success stories are captured, updated, readily available and in the right order, as and when necessary.
Support the UNDP working group for debris management with active participation, technical inputs to SOPs and sharing debris management related information and lessons learned.
Actively attend cluster meetings of different assigned sectors to mainstream sustainable solution.

متطلبات الوظيفة

5- Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

Min. Education requirement

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Management, Business Administration, and/or Logistics or other related field is required. OR
Bachelor’s degree in the areas stated above, in combination of 2 years of relevant implementation experience will be given due consideration in lieu of master’s degree.

Min. years of relevant work experience

Minimum of 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in managing development infrastructure projects, including early recovery initiatives, environmental initiatives as well as financial, budget, risk, staff, and quality management is required.

Required skills

Proven experience in dealing with local governments, national authorities, NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral donors.
Experience in project management (including results- based management, finance, HR, and procurement).
Excellent use of project management software.
Professional experience in report writing.
At least 5 years of professional work experience in supply/logistics/warehouse management, operations, access control, security, including complex logistics and warehouse management of relief programs at national and international levels is required.
Previous experience of similar complex operations and prior exposure to crisis or humanitarian contexts is required.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

Knowledge of the UN system and familiarity with UNDP procedures would be an asset.
Knowledge of UN policies, procedures and operations relating to MOSS, Logistics etc. is an asset.
Previous experience with international (public or private sector) organizations is desirable.
Experience in implementing complex projects including debris management, solid waste management, large scale multisectoral projects including construction, solar energy, WASH is desirable.

Required Language(s)