Landell Mills is one of the world's leading international development consulting firms.We have been in business for over 35 years and have been active in all continents. Our mission is to assist our clients to participate actively in the global economy whilst protecting their fragile environments and vulnerable communities in the process. We work with private and public sector clients on assignments lasting from a few days to several years. Our work is financed by international development agencies.
The Position
Landell Mills invites candidates to apply for the position of River Basin Planning Co-ordinator within the Asia/Pacific Division. The Co-ordinator will report to the Asia/Pacific Director and will be based in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Duties and Responsibilities
Duties will be as follows (non-exhaustive):
1. To provide assistance to water resource projects in the Asia/Pacific region, undertaken by LML, as required. This may include assisting with GIS, modelling, river basin planning and hydraulic structure design tasks, depending on previous experience and qualifications.
2. To provide on-going assistance and technical advise to the World Bank Afghanistan Water Resources Development Project. This will entail supporting and advising the Afghan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) in implementing the project (in particular, component 1 which is focused on river basin planning), ensuring that work plans are followed. Specifically, support and technical advise will be provided to the Water Resources Planning Unit (WRPU) in the Ministry:
- to co-ordinate its activities for collating baseline data for each of the five river basins in Afghanistan, according to a checklist of data needs. Such data needs will include hydrological data, meteorological data, groundwater data, and water use data. Assistance will be provided in obtaining data where needed (e.g. from other Ministries and other donor-funded projects);
- to check that WRPU staff are inputting the data into a database (knowledge base). The database may be in excel, Access or another program.
- to file reports in a logical manner (i.e. so that a digital library of data is available). This will allow easy access to information for future studies. Ultimately this library should be on-line, and password protected, as some data may be of a sensitive nature.
- to set up a Geographical Information System (GIS) of water resources. A separate detailed GIS will be needed for each river basin, and should be set up in collaboration with on-going projects.
- to prepare water resources maps. These need to be at a national scale, a basin scale and a sub-basin scale for the highest detail. The maps could be published using paper, in digital format (PDF) and/or web-based (Google Maps & Google Earth).
- to prepare Basin Schematics. Note that this step should only be attempted after the GIS has been set up.
- to set up a water balance mathematical model for each basin. The framework for the model is the GIS. This will determine the location of relevant nodes in the model. The data on which the model is based comes from the knowledge base, and the accuracy of the model is limited by the availability and reliability of the input data.
- to prepare/ update the River Basin Profiles.
- to set up a Decision Support System (DSS) for each basin. This could be along the lines of the Kabul DSS, if enhancements are addressed, as discussed in this report can be readily incorporated.
- to identify potential projects. This would be derived, after consultations, froma currently known'list of 30' priority projects, being the list of projects identified in the 2004 Water Atlas and available consultants preparation reports. Assistance will also be provided in helping to prepare for stakeholder meetings to identify any additional projects.
- to analyse different scenarios using a range of possible development prospects/ interventions.
- to prioritise projects. Using the Kabul DSS or equivalent, the projects will be prioritised in terms of their economic benefits/viability and it will not be necessary to set up separate ranking software.
- to develop an outline strategy for water resources development prospects/interventions in the basin. Further stakeholder interactions will be required at this stage, as the prioritisation of the projects based on economic indicators alone may be insufficiently addressing local conditions. For example, certain projects may be more expensive, but could have greater social impacts for marginalised groups.
- To present results of the above work at a conference attended by MEW and other stakeholders outlining the methodology used in the analysis and the list of prioritisations shown in the outline strategy.
- to finalise the Outline Strategy for Water Resources Interventions (the Investment Plan) in the basin. This should be a short, concise document identifying the priority projects.
Guidance will be provided to the Co-ordinator for each of these tasks by a number of short-term international consultants.
3. To assist in project management of water resource projects in the division, particularly in Afghanistan, such as:
- Ensuring that project documentation (research reports, financial information…) is complete. This may require extensive editing of reports at times including ensuring that recommendations in the report are clear and succinct and backed up by appropriate analysis;
- Ensuring that workshops, conferences and seminars are undertaken in a professional manner.
This description is a brief synopsis of the role and is not designed to be restrictive. This description can be updated and/or expanded if considered appropriate.
The Candidate
We are looking for candidates that meet the following profile:
- A degree (preferably post-graduate) in one of the following areas: GIS, hydrology, hydroinformatics, river basin management.
- Preferably some working experience with a company, institute or government agency in one of the above areas.
- Ability to work independently and take own initiative with minimal guidance.
- An interest in IWRM / River Basin Management issues.
- Excellent attention to detail and capacity to present high quality work;
- Fluency in written and spoken English;
- Computer literacy (especially Excel and Word);
The Salary Package
We offer:
- A challenging job in an international environment and within a company with highly-developed expertise and experience;
- The possibility of developing your skills as a professional consultant and of applying them in the field.
- An annual salary of £25,000
- Full-time position.
To Apply
Please send your updated CV and a short covering e-mail to the following address:jobsasia@landell-mills.comaddressing it to Mr Simon Foxwell, Director of the Asia/Pacific Division, specifying in the subject of the mail: RB Planning Co-ordinator.
Deadline for applications: 26th September 2011
