Title: Senior Water Supply Engineer – Tigray RWEB

Purpose: Provision of technical and administrative support for the management and supervision of WASH design and construction contracts

Location: The consultant is expected to undertake her/his assignment in Mekelle

Duration:12 months (  August 2023 - July 2024)

Start Date: asap                    

Reporting to:   Tigray Region WERDB PMU and Field Office WASH Specialist/Officer in UNICEF  

Acronyms

CR                     Climate Resilient

CWA                  Consolidated WASH Account

FA                      Financial Aid

GoE                   Government of Ethiopia

O&M                 Operation and Maintenance

OWNP               One WaSH National Programme

PAD                   Programme Appraisal Document

PMU                  Programme Management Unit

POM                 Programme Operation Manual

SCRS                  Strengthening Climate Resilient Systems

RWB                  Regional Water Bureau

TWU                  Town Water Utility

WASH                Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

WWT                 Waste Water Treatment

Background

 Ethiopia has made impressive progress in expanding access to water and sanitation from a very low base. In the 1990s, only 14% of the population had access to water and 3% to sanitation coverage. In 2017, this had increased to 65% and 32% respectively. In 20 years, 45 million people gained access to water. Ethiopia has made rapid progress in reducing open defecation (92% of the population in 1992 to 28% in 2015).

 Despite the good progress that Ethiopia has made in improving access to WaSH, frequent climate variability that led to successive droughts affecting large geographical areas, huge existing unmet needs, and geographical and social disparities have remained key challenges. To address these challenges, particularly the threat of frequent drought, in a sustainable manner, GoE through its flagship program, the One WaSH National Programme (OWNP) is championing Climate Resilient WaSH service provision. Accordingly, GoE has developed a Climate Resilient WaSH sub-program under the One WaSH National Programme.

 As a lead and trusted donor in the sector, the UK provided a grant to GoE over five years (October 2019 — September 2024), to support sustainable access to climate-resilient clean water and improved sanitation services and good hygiene practices. The program that the UK Government is supporting via the CWA is called “Strengthening Climate Resilient Systems for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services in Ethiopia (SCRS — WaSH)” and is being implemented in 41 priority I woredas in seven (Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, SNNP, Somali and Tigray) regions of Ethiopia. This program prioritizes the drought-affected and drought-prone areas of Ethiopia through strengthened climate-resilient systems of WaSH delivery whilst supporting sustainable financing systems for WaSH in Ethiopia.

 The SCRS WaSH program has 2 components; Component 1 (£80m): Financial Aid (FA) to the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE’s) One WaSH National Programme (OWNP) through a pooled account but largely ring- fenced for the provision of climate resilient WaSH services, but also supporting WaSH in schools and health facilities and building the capacity of OWNP institutions. The FA supports both construction of new facilities and the rehabilitation of non-functional schemes in the intervention areas. Similarly, the government is also financing CR-WaSH projects in different regions.

 Justification

 Since the CR-WaSH projects are implemented in water source-scarce areas serving multiple villages, they are more complex in system design, implementation and operation and maintenance management. Moreover, water sources of the project areas are more vulnerable to climate change requiring due attention for climate risks in the planning, design, implementation, and operation phases of the projects. Thus, CR-WaSH projects need proper expertise follow-up at each phase of project implementation, including planning, project feasibility study and design development, drilling, tendering and tender evaluation, construction supervision and contract administration, monitoring and reporting, O&M management and staff capacity building, and project commissioning. This gap shall be filled by deploying experienced sector experts that provide specialized support to the regions and MOWE in implementing the CR-WaSH programme financed by Government and CWA (the British Government/UK Embassy) and implemented by UNICEF.

 Specific Tasks

 The role of the “Senior Water Supply Engineer” working under the OWNP is to support and facilitate the effective implementation of particularly the “Climate Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (CR-WaSH)” programme in Ethiopia including facilitating and strengthening communications between the different tiers.  As such, under the CR-WASH program, the role of the senior water supply engineer will be to support the Regional PMU in communicating with Woreda WASH Team and Town Water Utilities and providing them with directions, information, systems and technical skills. 

 The senior water supply engineer will work within the Tigray regional water supply and sanitation program management unit (regional PMU) that is responsible for managing and coordinating the CWA and Government supported CR-WaSH projects at the regional level. The water supply and sanitation program management unit coordinator would affirm that work plans developed by the senior water supply engineer to discharge his/her assigned duties are logically compatible with his/her respective job descriptions and would monitor that the planned services are delivered by the expert in a manner and in line with the objective of the project/program. 

 On the basis of the roles described above, the specific areas of responsibility of the senior water supply engineer include, but are not limited to:

 a.    Technical aspects

• Contribute to the overall technical aspects of the CR-WASH project including planning, implementation, follow up and monitoring of the contract effectiveness,

• Support in study and design of CR-WaSH projects as well as review of civil works and hydraulic design reports,

•  Support woredas and towns in the study and design of water supply projects,

• Proactively contribute to the preparation of specifications, BOQs, drawings and bid documents, 

• Effectively support in construction supervision, contract administration of civil works construction and inspection of the construction of CR-WaSH facilities,

• Involve in technical reviews and appraisal of CR-WaSH projects, program guidelines, manuals and standards,

• Undertake regular field missions and follow up the program activities at all stages: pre-design stage, design stage, tendering phase, construction period, completion, inspection and handover phases and defect liability period,

•   Assist in the production of contract management and supervision manuals for the use of regions, particularly for contract administrators and construction supervisors;

• Assist the regional WaSH teams, town water boards and town water utilities in the tender advertisement, analysis, evaluation, award, contract negotiations and contract signing as well as implementation;

• Conduct quality assurance, when needed, of construction works, installation of electromechanical equipment, and materials.

• Produce and submit monthly, annual and end-of-assignment reports to the PMU and ABH.

 b.    Program Planning and Management

•  Support the preparation of regional PMUs' annual work plans and budget for the Regional CR-WaSH projects supported by CWA and the Government Phase II program

• Promote learning between woredas and between towns by sharing information, progress reports and best practices;

•  Foster integration under the sanitation projects by supporting efforts to integrate water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions and coordinate planning across sectors; 

•   Update data on CR-WaSH physical and financial performance, including the number of user communities and beneficiaries vs planned activities considering integration of sanitation performance.

•  Timely track allocated, received, used, and liquidated budgets in a timely manner.

 c.    Sector Support

•  Guide, capacitate, and support technically the RWB experts through related skill transfer and coaching,

•  Work collaboratively with regional, zonal, woreda, and town implementing agencies to ensure they have the necessary skills and training to perform their duties;

•   Follow up and assist the Woredas/towns on overall program management starting from ToR and RFP preparation, negotiation and agreement up to the end of contract implementation and final acceptance of the project including follow-up of payment modality and review of payment certificates, etc.;

•   Produce or update the necessary technical training materials and manuals (e.g. cost-effective designs, operation and maintenance, etc.) and program management training materials and manuals (e.g. procurement process, contract management, etc.) for use by implementing agencies,

•  Provide technical backup support and training to WWT/Town Water Boards/Utilities (urban) during the early phase of project support (up to the first phase of construction);

•  Assist woredas and towns to identify their program and management gaps and provide/facilitate technical assistance they require.

 Methodology

 The Consultant will support Tigray regional water bureau and local authorities (woreda WaSH sector offices and TWUs) in the implementation of the tasks outlined in this TOR. Coordination with different partners and actors is of utmost importance to ensure the smooth implementation of the CWA and Government supported CR-WaSH project activities in the region.

 Duration of the Assignment: The assignment will be for one year with the possibility of extension if the grant is granted an extension beyond June 2024 and based on the evaluation of performance. Under-or non-performance will result in immediate termination of the contract.

 Expected Deliverables

 1.       TA support work plan to be updated quarterly — two weeks after deployment,

2.        Monthly report every 1st week of the month,

3.        Biannual consolidated reports,

4.        End of contract report - upon conclusion of the assignment.

 Payment Terms

 The agreed consultancy fee will be paid in monthly installments, upon presentation of satisfactory reports and good performance.

 Reporting

 The TA will be housed in Tigray Region Water and Energy Resources Development Bureau and will work within the team of the Water Supply Study, Design and Construction Supervision Directorate and Regional PMU. The specialist will have full responsibility for the CWA and Government supported CR-WaSH project activities in the region and will be supervised by the Regional PMU. 

 The reporting requirements will be as per the deliverables plan indicated above and shall be submitted to the regional PMU and to ABH. ABH will forward each report to the WASH section of UNICEF as per the above deliverables plan.

Job Requirements

Expected background and Experience

• M.Sc. or above in water supply and sanitary engineering, hydraulic engineering, water resources engineering with minimum 8 years of experience or above, or

• B.Sc. with 10 years and above of progressively responsible professional work experience in water infrastructure and WASH management programs,

• Strong experience in study, design, construction, works supervision, contract administration, tender document preparation and evaluation, programme planning and management as well as sector support,

•   Experience with quality assurance and site monitoring for civil engineering projects, including review of change orders, inspection of works, and reporting discrepancies,

•  Professional fluency (writing and oral) in English,

•  Strong communication skills and flexibility working with various stakeholders,

•  Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook)

 General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics

 1.       The consultant will be responsible for identifying and securing their own accommodation.

2.      DSA will be provided by the regional Water and Energy Resources Development Bureau of Tigray for travel to the project sites (outside of duty station).

3.      he consultant should have their own laptop with internet capability and Microsoft Office applications.

4.       he regional water and energy resources development bureau will arrange transport services for project supervision field missions to the project sites.

5.      Payments for consultancy works are submitted on a monthly basis with approval of deliverables and monthly reports based on the rates stipulated in the contract.

 Policy both parties should be aware of:

 Under the consultancy agreement, a month is defined as 21 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays.

 Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply through THIS LINK