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Title	Chief Technical Specialist (EU-ERP)
Posted	4839 Day/s Ago.

Reference	(Please mention Stopdodo/Environment Jobs in your application)
Sectors
Location	Albania - Europe
Type	Temporary / Contract / Seasonal
Status	Full Time
Level	Senior Level
Deadline	04/03/2011
Company Name	United Nations Development Program
Contact Name	Human Resources
Website	Further Details / Applications

Directory Entry :	UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. For environmental jobs with UNDP visit their website. Or for more environmental jobs search environmentjobs.com
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Description

Albania is situated in the South-East of Europe. It has a population of 3.2 million and its surface area is 28,748 km2. 48.7% of the population live in urban areas, while 51.3% live in rural areas. The country is divided into 12 regions and has 65 municipalities and 309 communes. Albania is a full participant in the Stabilisation and Association Process and undertook the road of reform in late 1991. Initial steps were adversely affected by a severe socio-economic crisis in 1997, which led to the collapse of the institutional order and caused a serious setback to the reform process. The difficult regional situation, particularly the Kosovo crisis in 1999 which provoked a huge flow of refugees into Albania (almost 500,000), together with an extremely divisive political scene and relatively weak state institutions, have prevented Albania from achieving a greater degree of reform and development during the last decade. The main challenges facing the country over the medium-term include ensuring public order and efficiently combating organised crime, fraud and corruption, enhancing the implementation of the rule of law through an improved judiciary and state administration, improving the socio-economic situation and ensuring progressive approximation towards the EU acquis. The environmental administration was set up in the early ‘90s and now consists of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration (MoEFWA), the Regional Environmental Agencies, the Agency for Environment and Forestry, Environmental Inspectorate, which are environmental bodies under the main central and local authorities, as well as inter-ministerial bodies, approved by the Council of Ministers to address important environmental issues. In order to improve Albania’s capacity to ensure sustainable development and to register clear progress towards EU membership the capacity of the relevant institutions must be strengthened, including or especially for implementation and enforcement. The focus of the new Government (elected in June 2009) programme centres on the fight against corruption, strengthening the independence of powers and the EU integration agenda, with a special attention given to the social aspects, particularly health and education reforms. On environment, the focus of the Government is to improve the quality of life, create conditions for integrated sustainable development, and integrate the environmental strategy with other sector strategies. Presently, Albania is a potential candidate country for the European Union. In June 2006 it signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and in April 2009 the country applied for candidate country status. A number of commitments have been made by the Government within this context and all the efforts the country is currently undertaking are concentrated to achieve this ultimate goal - EU accession. Albania is the only country in Europe which is piloting Delivering as One UN. Under the One UN Programme (2007-2010), the environment component addresses the following topics, taking into consideration the priorities of the country: mainstreaming environment in other sectors’ policies, public awareness, information and participation, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment, waste management, hot spots, financial and economic instruments, nature protection, and climate change. Programme Description Within the One UN umbrella a programme has been designed to support the environmental administration in its efforts to comply with the EU acquis. It plans to provide assistance in the field of horizontal legislation (i.e. environmental impact assessment and public access to environmental information and awareness), in the field of financial and economic instruments for environment, and in the waste management field. Moreover it proposes to foster the integration of environment into sectorial policies. The programme has five components as described below: Component 1: Strengthening the capacity to tackle the Environment Impact Assessment and the Strategic Environmental Assessment The programme proposes to review the current legislation related to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) and to make recommendations and prepare drafts in order to fill in the identified gaps. The related necessary methodologies and guidelines/procedures will also be prepared. Special attention will be given to public participation, which is a key element in the EIA process, by supporting local authorities to facilitate and incorporate public comments on environmental management issues and to the impact on habitats/species while conducting the environmental assessment procedure. A needs assessment exercise will be conducted to identify the missing elements through developing the appropriate institutional framework and a functional administration capable of applying the EIA/SEA procedures flexibly and in a result-oriented manner, leading to the assessment of economic, social and environmental impacts of major public policies in a single integrated manner. Recommendations for the administrative units in order to execute the administrative and regulatory enforcement actions that are required by the legislation, including staff, equipment and training needs assessment will be provided. The implementation costs and related financial plan will also be prepared. Along all the above mentioned, intensive training sessions will be organised for a minimum of 15 staff, including “train of the trainers” modules. Component 2: Capacity building at national level for raising environment awareness The project proposes to organise targeted capacity building events aiming at raising the awareness level of various groups which can, afterwards, contribute significantly to introducing the necessary changes. Workshops and information dissemination on specific policies, such as waste management, biodiversity, climate change for selected target groups will be held with the intention of increasing the level of technical and/or general knowledge where appropriate. The interventions will be clustered and adjusted as per interest groups (i.e. Government, industry, NGOs, civil society, public at large) in order to make sure that the right message reaches the right audience for achieving a critical mass to support the build up of the cells that will initiate the change. Workshops and round tables aiming at assessing the implications of other sectorial policies on environment from a participatory point of view as a bottom-up approach will be organised. This activity will be performed in close cooperation with the project “Institutional strengthening to mainstream environment in other sectors’ policies” which proposes a top-down approach targeting a high level. Training sessions for journalists and students of the Academy for Journalism in analysing and using information and in standing for environment will be delivered. A PR strategy for the MoEFWA will be drafted and a mechanism for the MoEFWA to handle the requests for information (receiving requests for information, directing these requests and answering to them) will be prepared. Also, the “active dissemination” measures providing for public access to environmental information will be developed. The capacity of the existing Aarhus Information Centres will be improved. Component 3: Establishment of mechanisms to enable the financial self-sustainability of environmental activities The activities under this component propose to support the development of the mechanisms for co-financing environmental investments in Albania, to investigate more alternatives and to support the development and adoption of economic instruments to promote prevention and reduction of pollution, energy efficiency and investments in cleaner production technologies and to prepare a mechanism for fiscal incentives including collection and recovery of fines. Consequently, draft legal acts will be prepared together with the necessary feasibility studies. Recommendations for the development of economic instruments and for the mechanisms for fiscal incentives will be provided. Component 4: Grants for small scale waste management infrastructure The main objective of the small-scale waste management scheme is to provide both technical and financial assistance to local public authorities responsible for waste management. The programme aims to enhance waste management systems in small localities and providing an alternative to the limited public investment in this sector. The measure is targeted at local public authorities, and is based on a series of initiatives at local level, including the establishment of consortia between public authorities for the collection and transport of waste and the dissemination of low scale waste management techniques such as compost platforms. UNDP and MoEFWA will manage the grant scheme and take the necessary measures to make it operational, by preparing, launching, evaluating the call for proposals and monitor the investments development and implementation. Component 5: Institutional strengthening to mainstream environment in other sectors’ policies There is a need for enhanced inter-ministerial and inter-institutional cooperation in the achievement of two key objectives in the environmental field, i.e. sustainable development and accession to the European Union. In March 2008, guidelines for inter-institutional coordination on European integration were adopted by the government. By its nature, environment is a cross-cutting issue and presumes an inter-sectoral approach. This coordination and cooperation needs to take place at both the working level and at the most senior level. At present inter-institutional cooperation is organized through ad-hoc working groups (with representatives of different institutions) for the preparation of draft laws or strategies, steering committees of projects and inter-ministerial committees. This new Environment Inter-Ministerial Council will be created to be the main engine related to the EU integration process in the environmental field. The Council will address coordination at the most senior decision-making level. However, operational cooperation at the working level also needs to be enhanced. It will be established by statute and will have its own set of procedural rules set down in secondary legislation. The Council will be the driving force behind the implementation of the environment strategy and of approximation of EU law (all the actions related to transposition, implementation and enforcement of the environmental acquis). It will be established as a proactive forum for high-level co-ordination of Albanian environmental policy.
Duties and Responsibilities
Functions / Key Results Expected The International Programme Manager will report to the Deputy Country Director and will be responsible for the implementation of programme activities. The International Programme Manager ensures that outputs are delivered in accordance with the relevant implementation agreements and contracts and provides overall supervision and/or coordination of work to ensure the timely production of programme outputs. The International Programme Manager will be required to provide timely financial and technical reports to the Project Board for review and recommendations. The International Programme Manager will be required to prepare progress and ad-hoc reports as and when required. The International Programme Manager will be supported in his work by a full time National Project Associate to assist with both technical and administrative tasks. The International Programme Manager will liaise closely with UNDP’s Cluster on Environment and Participation for day-to-day implementation issues. The Country Office cluster team will also play the role of Quality Assurance for the implementation of the programme. The International Programme Manager will be based full time in Tirana for the implementation of the project. The International Programme Manager will have four areas of responsibility – (i) Strategic Direction, (ii) Management responsibility, (iii) Technical responsibility and (iv) Advisory role. 1. Function / Expected Results: Strategic direction Being responsible for ensuring the sustainability of programme interventions through partnerships established with the Central, Regional and Local Government, the EU Delegation, bilateral donors (especially SIDA) and non-governmental organizations. 2. Function / Expected Results: Management Responsibility Planning of the Inception Phase and preparation of the updated work-plan for the additional expertise and staffing needs; Preparation and presentation of the updated work-plan to Programme Board, including a detailed annual work plan; Ongoing review and revision of annual and six-months programme work-plans; Planning and monitoring of programme delivery; Developing monitoring indicators and monitoring the progress in programme implementation; Annual budget forecasting and revisions; Annual, six-monthly/quarterly and final technical and financial reporting; Establishment of project office and recruitment of staff and consultants as per the programme document; Supervision of all other administrative requirements of programme implementation, including personnel contracts, payments, office management, staff evaluations, and leave plans; Establishment of monitoring mechanisms to ensure efficient and effective implementation of the projects, in compliance with UNDP rules and regulations, including the regular use of the Atlas project management tool for provision of quarterly progress reports, annual reviews and final report, recording and monitoring of risks and issues, reporting on monitoring schedule, and financial resources planning and reporting; Providing regular professional guidance and advise to the supervised programme staff and the national counterparts including on-the-job training to increase capacities of the team for greater efficiency and effectiveness in programme implementation Ensuring that procurement processes and all documentation for CAP/ACP are prepared in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures Liaising continuously with Government counterpart and other relevant stakeholders to ensure national ownership of and involvement in the programme; Ensuring effective dissemination of and access to information on programme activities and results. 3. Function / Expected Results: Technical Responsibility Preparation of Terms of Reference for national and international experts; Management, supervision, and coordination of the technical work of international and national staff across all programme components, activities, and outputs; Regular outreach and liaison with all programme stakeholders, including UNDP, EU Delegation and members of the Programme Board, and other national and international partners; Analysis of economic, social and political factors which may impact on the implementation of the programme; Technical, managerial, and administrative closure of the programme. 4. Function / Expected Results: Advisory function to the Deputy Country Director Coordinator The International Programme Manager provides professional advice to Deputy Country Director on issues relevant to the programme’s goals and objectives, on broader issues of environment and EU integration process and on the development of the Environment Outcome of the One UN Programme. Impact of Results The key results have an impact on the success of the country programme within environment and participation area, as well as One UN Programme. In particular, the key results have an impact on the design, operation and programming of activities, creation of strategic partnerships as well as reaching resource mobilization targets.
Competencies
Corporate competencies Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards Advocates and promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP Displays cultural, gender, religion ethnic and age sensitivity and adaptability Treats people fairly and without favouritism Functional competencies Proven analytical capacity Ability for planning and establishing priorities; coordinating and monitoring the work of others, and delegating responsibility where appropriate Excellent interpersonal and supervisory skills Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgment Excellent communications, organizational and management skills Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising quality, team spirit and positive working relationships Excellent computer/information systems skills Management and leadership Strong results orientation Effective problem-solver; demonstrated capacity-building and facilitation skills Consistently approaches work with energy and positive-constructive attitude Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment Effectively manages teams and creates an enabling work environment Flexible and responsive with a client-oriented approach
Required Skills and Experience
Education Masters degree or equivalent in Environment, Economics, Engineering, Development Studies, Social and/or Administrative Sciences or equivalent Experience Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience Minimum 3 years of experience in projects of approximation and implementation of EU environmental policies and law in Eastern Europe; Minimum 3 years of experience in development programming with increasing levels of responsibility, part of which is required in UNDP and/or other international organizations; Specific Special knowledge of EU environmental law (especially horizontal legislation and waste management) as well as in EU enlargement processes in Eastern Europe Special knowledge in environmental institution-building Practical experience in management of complex projects Practical experience in working with Governmental authorities at central level as well as at local and regional levels Experience in establishment and management of grant schemes Knowledge and experience with UNDP programme implementation modalities is desirable Knowledge of UNDP/UN regulations, rules, policies, procedures and practices is an asset Experience with countries of the region is desirable Other Leadership and supervisory skills, and ability to coach, mentor and develop staff; manage a team of international and local experts; supervise and co-ordinate all technical aspects of contracts; overseeing administrative and logistical support Good communication and interpersonal skills, and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity, and respect for diversity, including gender balance Fully proficient computer skills; knowledge of UNDP management software is an asset Language Requirements Fluency in English, both verbally and in writing, is essential

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Chief Technical Specialist (EU-ERP)

Duties and Responsibilities

Competencies

Required Skills and Experience