Project Associate − Engineer

UNDP's mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change, and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with Bangladesh ever since its birth and through its remarkable journey from a war-ravaged economy to a middle-income country. It remains a catalyst in Bangladesh’s journey from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. UNDP assists in building institutions and helps strengthen institutional capacities through people-centric, pro-poor, inclusive and sustainable policy making and development governance.

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Bangladesh is ranked as a "very high risk" country on the 2024 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) with a score of 27.73 out of 100. This is a slight increase from 2023 when Bangladesh’s score was 27.29. For the third consecutive year, Bangladesh has been identified as the ninth most natural disaster risk country in the world, owing to a combination of diverse exposures, high intensities, and higher vulnerabilities according to the ``World Risk Report 2024.’’1.
Cox’s Bazar remains one of the most disaster-prone districts in the country and is highly exposed to natural hazards and extreme weather impacts including cyclones, torrential rains, landslides, flash floods, storm surges, and extreme temperatures. Cox’s Bazar is also home to around one million Rohingya refugees since 2017. The Rohingya crisis has significantly increased the size of the population at risk, as well as added pressures on the environment, which undermines resilience.

Landslides remain one of the most substantial damaging and recurrent hazards in Cox’s Bazar district and other Chittagong hill districts. The hilly terrain of Cox’s Bazar consists of poorly consolidated sand and silt deposits that are highly vulnerable to erosion processes, slope failure, and landslides during monsoon season.

According to the ISCG incident report, from May 10, 2018, to December 19, 2024, a total of 2,851 landslide incidents have occurred in the camps area. These landslides have resulted in significant damage, affecting 7,711 shelters and impacting 13,574 households. Tragically, 31 individuals have lost their lives, and 145 have sustained injuries. Additionally, nearly 10,338 individuals have been displaced due to these incidents (ISCG incident report May 2018- Dec 2024). The ongoing challenges posed by landslides highlight the urgent need for improved safety measures and support for affected communities in the region.

In the last decades, devastating landslides have repeatedly hit the hilly regions, typically due to excessive and prolonged rainfall in a short period, high population density, unplanned land use, and rampant hill cutting. Landslides caused over 500 deaths in the region in the past decade, while the highest number of 162 fatalities were recorded in June 2017 due to extreme rainfall2.

Under the strategic and technical guidance of the Project Manager - DRM, the DRR Expert (Engineer) will provide technical support to partner NGOs to implement disaster risk mitigation activities, including assessment, design, monitoring and implementation of mitigation schemes following nature-based solutions and cash-for-work modalities and site assessments with Optical Rain Gauge Installation, Repair, and Maintenance. The DRR Expert (Engineer) of UNDP Cox’s Bazar (CXB), DRM Project, will have the following scope of work:

a. Support Disaster Risk Mitigation & Reduction Activities

 Provide technical support to NGOs/partners for disaster risk mitigation in Rohingya and host communities.

 Oversee and implement disaster risk reduction (DRR) interventions, including landslide risk mitigation using nature-based solutions and cash-for-work programs.

 Conduct disaster risk mitigation assessments, design schemes, prepare Bills of Quantities (BoQs), and monitor implementation quality.

 Provide technical advice on innovative, contextualized nature-based solutions for DRR.  Coordinate with stakeholders working in camps and host communities on disaster risk mitigation activities.

 Assess sites before constructing physical DRR infrastructure (e.g., retaining walls, drainage systems, roads).

b. Optical Rain Gauge Installation & Maintenance

 Support installation of optical rain gauges at strategic locations in Rohingya camps and host community areas.

 Conduct regular maintenance, calibration, and troubleshooting of optical rain gauges.

 Train local staff and community members in the operation and maintenance of the equipment.

 Organize meeting with Upazila administration, Camp in Charge (CiC), Site Management Support Agency (SMSA) and relevant agencies to prepare the contact list (mobile number, email addresses) to add in the SIM card of optical rain gauges.

c. Monitoring, Reporting, & Database Management

 Track and monitor progress of the project and reporting.

 Prepare DMC and volunteer database who are trained on rainfall monitoring and landslide early warning system and overall landslide risk management.

 Prepare a media database based on the social media, news portals, UNDP internal publications which are related to the DRM interventions.

d. Coordination with Upazila, Union Parishad, SMSA, CiC office and other Humanitarian Stakeholders

 Represent UNDP in different coordination forum, groups and networks, technical task forces for sharing updates and ensure UNDPs ongoing interventions well represented and added value to development.

 Facilitate coordination and information exchange among UNDP, NGOs, and relevant stakeholders in DRM activities.