Associate Advisor – Water

Jerusalem Office – UNOPS Project Management and Infrastructure Centre of Excellence

Since the opening of the Jerusalem Office in 2006, UNOPS has significantly strengthened its operations in Palestine. Our expert knowledge, skills and management systems contribute to the sustainable development of public infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank, including Area C and East Jerusalem.

The Israeli – Palestinian conflict remains a protracted and complex conflict. While political efforts are pursued at various levels to bring the wider conflict to an end, it is essential that progress be made on the ground in a manner that will create a more conducive environment for final status negotiations.

The mandate of the Office of the Quartet is to increase Palestinian institutional and economic development and empowerment, as a support towards achieving a two-state solution. In the event of a resumption of final status negotiations, the OQ would support Quartet members in their efforts to realize a successful outcome. 

The OQ works to deliver its mandate by supporting sustainable policy change through working with the international community, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel. This allows the OQ to facilitate engagement between the parties, encouraging agreement and progress at the political level, while also drawing on its sectoral expertise to support the technical-level work. A key focus of working with the international community is to strengthen the engagement with the parties. This is achieved through facilitating and supporting international community discussions at various levels towards tangible action and ownership as well as providing technical expertise for a collective international community wide approach.

The OQ is a fast paced and dynamic office operating in the areas of energy, water, telecom, governance and economic development. The following strategic principles guide the OQ’s work to support the parties while also ensuring alignment with the strategic objectives of the Quartet members and donors to the OQ.

• Bridging between the parties and providing creative solutions that enable progress on the ground;

• Playing a catalytic role in working towards sectoral solutions in partnership with other actors, while taking on direct responsibility for specific elements of those solutions when the Office is well positioned and requested to do so;

• Focusing on policies and projects that have a multiplier effect – that is, an outcome that extends beyond the direct output of the policy or project;

• Focusing on the implementation of agreements reached and announcements made by the parties to ensure that they are translated as quickly as possible into results that have a positive impact on people’s lives;

• Maintaining the vertical depth of our work from the granular, technical level to the strategic and political level while engaging the broad array of actors required to make progress, including the parties, members of the international community and others;

• Ensuring complementarity of the OQ’s work with that of other key actors, including those which also play a convening role;

• Continuing support to Quartet members.
  

The Associate Advisor – Water (AA-W) is part of the Water & Telecom Team, reporting to the Director of Water & Telecom. 

The AA-W will be working closely with the members of the Water & Telecom Team, and members of the other OQ teams. S/he will be engaging with the stakeholders as described in the ToR, under the guidance of the line manager. The AA-W is responsible for delivering the ToR and additional tasks assigned by the line manager.

As part of the Water & Telecom Team, the AA-W is key and an integral part of implementing the Sector Strategy and Workplan, contributing towards the delivery of overall OQ Strategy

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, economics, law, international relations, development management or other development areas is the minimum requirement. Master’s degree is an advantage and may compensate for some years of experience.

PMP, Prince II or similar will be an asset

• 4 years of relevant work experience is the minimum requirement with a Bachelor With a Master degree 2 years of relevant work experience are required. 

• Demonstrates strong knowledge of renewable Water or at least one related field such as Water access, Water economics, Water efficiency, Water finance, hydropower, power systems, grid design, etc.

• Excellent communication skills, including a demonstrated ability to both write and present high-quality written documents/presentations in English is required.

• Experience in the public sector or non-profit environment is desirable. 

• Experience and understanding of the local political & economic context is desirable.

• Experience in external stakeholder engagement is desirable. 

• Experience in research, analytics and publications is an asset.

• Experience in spatial mapping using relevant tools is an asset.

• Experience in working in challenging environments is preferred.

• Stakeholder engagement: Ability to identify and prioritize key stakeholders; understand and align stakeholder expectations; assess stakeholders’ power, influence and interest; anticipate future problems and address potential concerns throughout the lifetime of the project. 

• Project management skills: Ability to develop and deliver on activities; ability to plan in a coordinated manner, manage priorities and meet deadlines; management experience (preferable delivery teams); ability to accurately monitor, evaluate and report on project progress; ability to manage and mitigate risks.

• Skilled in research and analysis: strong qualitative and analytic skills; keen attention to detail and data accuracy is highly recommended.

• Excellent communication skills: strong writing ability, skilled in creating knowledge products such as papers, guidance notes and other pieces directed at multiple audiences is highly recommended.

• Strong team player: strong interpersonal skills; ability to consistently is highly recommended demonstrate a professional manner in dealing with individuals at all levels, both internally and externally to the organization; team player and flexible as tasks and priorities shift; ability to work independently and in teams in a small office environment.

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

• Working knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic is an advantage.