Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

  • Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
  • Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
  • Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
  • Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

Iraq is recognized as one of the most affected countries by the harmful effects of climate change. Iraq ratified the Paris Agreement on January 14, 2021. In October 2021, the Government of Iraq (GoI) signed their first National Determined Contribution (NDC), which has been presented at the COP26. The Government of Iraq has requested UNDP support in implementation of the NDC, including through capacity development, advisory for sectoral planning and formulation of related strategies, frameworks, and instruments. 

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP's Strategic Plan.

UNDP is an accredited Implementing Agency for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund and the family of funds such as the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBBF). As an Implementing Agency, UNDP offers countries highly specialized services for eligibility assessment, project formulation and due diligence, co-financing mobilization, implementation oversight, results management and evaluation, and knowledge management.

Iraq faces significant environmental and public health risks associated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), hazardous chemicals, obsolete pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), unintentional POPs (UPOPs), industrial POPs (IPOPs), and chemically contaminated sites. Previous assessments identified substantial quantities of obsolete pesticides and potentially PCB-contaminated electrical equipment and highlighted significant technical and institutional capacity gaps in chemicals and contaminated-sites management.

The Government of Iraq is a Party to major international chemicals and waste conventions, including the Stockholm, Basel, Rotterdam and Minamata Conventions. Iraq has previously developed a National Implementation Plan (NIP) under the Stockholm Convention; however, the existing NIP requires updating to reflect newly listed POPs, improved inventories, updated risk information, institutional developments and current national priorities.

The Integrated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Chemical Hotspots Management Project, therefore adopts an integrated approach combining:

  • strengthening the national framework for POPs and hazardous chemicals management;
  • updating the national POPs inventories and National Implementation Plan;
  • strengthening laboratory, inspection, monitoring and institutional capacities;
  • environmentally sound management and disposal of obsolete pesticides;
  • management and disposal/phase-out of PCB-contaminated equipment, oils and waste; and
  • assessment and remediation planning for priority chemical pollution hotspots

The project comprises three components. Component 1 focuses on improved management of POPs and hazardous chemicals; Component 2 focuses on high-risk POPs in the agriculture and power sectors; and Component 3 addresses chemical pollution hotspots and contaminated sites.

Implementation will require extensive technical assistance, consultancy services, procurement of laboratory and field equipment, hazardous waste management services, capacity building, site assessments, remediation planning and policy/regulatory development.

Scope of Work 

LEAD ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SAFEGUARDS COMPLIANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

  • Lead and coordinate implementation of the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), the project Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP), applicable Environmental and Social Standards, UNDP Social and Environmental Standards, and relevant national environmental, occupational health and safety, labour and stakeholder-engagement requirements.
  • Establish and maintain a project-level environmental and social safeguards compliance and assurance system covering technical studies, field investigations, sampling, laboratory activities, procurement, transport, temporary storage, treatment, disposal, contaminated-site work and contractor operations.
  • Review project activities and procurement packages for environmental and social risks and advise the Project Manager and UNDP on the safeguards instruments, mitigation measures, monitoring requirements and contractual provisions required before implementation.
  • Review and provide technical clearance/advice on Environmental and Social Management Plans, site-specific management plans, occupational health and safety plans, waste-management plans, emergency preparedness and response arrangements, stakeholder-engagement measures, labour-management measures and other safeguards instruments required under the ESCP/ESF.
  • Ensure that safeguards requirements are adequately incorporated into Terms of Reference, technical specifications, bidding documents, contracts, contractor method statements and implementation plans.
  • Undertake or coordinate safeguards monitoring of consultants, contractors, laboratories, hazardous-waste operators and field activities; identify non-compliance and recommend corrective and preventive actions, including escalation of material risks to UNDP management.
  • Provide safeguards oversight for handling, packaging, temporary storage, transport, treatment and disposal of obsolete pesticides, PCB-contaminated equipment/oils and other hazardous wastes, including worker and community health and safety and emergency-response considerations.
  • Ensure appropriate environmental and social due diligence for chemical hotspot investigations and remediation planning, including community exposure pathways, vulnerable groups, land/access implications, occupational risks and stakeholder consultation.
  • Support incident and accident reporting, root-cause review, corrective-action tracking and safeguards reporting to UNDP, the Ministry of Environment and the World Bank, as applicable.
  • Maintain safeguards records and prepare periodic safeguards compliance notes/reports, including status of ESCP commitments, material risks, corrective actions and outstanding issues.
  • Provide technical guidance and capacity development to the PMU, government counterparts, consultants and contractors on ESF/ESCP, UNDP safeguards, hazardous-chemicals risk management and good international industry practice.

ESTABLISH AND LEAD THE PROJECT TECHNICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM.

  • Establish and maintain a systematic, risk-based technical quality assurance framework covering all project components, with defined review gates, technical acceptance criteria, peer-review requirements, corrective-action tracking and documentation of technical clearances.
  • Review and advise on the technical adequacy of major Terms of Reference, scopes of work, technical specifications, sampling and analytical protocols, technical designs, bidding documents and evaluation criteria before procurement or implementation.
  • Review consultants’ and contractors’ inception reports, methodologies, work plans, sampling plans, QA/QC plans, draft and final technical reports, feasibility studies, remediation designs, disposal/treatment proposals, laboratory methodologies, monitoring plans and technical training materials.
  • Validate the scientific and technical soundness, internal consistency, traceability and fitness-for-purpose of technical data, assumptions, findings, conclusions and recommendations against project requirements, international standards and relevant convention guidance.
  • Verify achievement of key technical milestones and advise the Project Manager on acceptance, conditional acceptance, revision or rejection of technical deliverables, without replacing the formal procurement/contract approval authorities.
  • Provide written technical review notes and recommendations for corrective action where technical gaps, methodological weaknesses, data-quality concerns, safeguards risks or implementation deficiencies are identified.
  • Support technical evaluation of specialized environmental procurement when requested, including assessment of technical methodologies, equipment specifications, laboratory capability, contractor qualifications and proposed treatment/disposal technologies.
  • Promote harmonized methodologies, sampling protocols, laboratory procedures, QA/QC systems and environmental assessment approaches so that Component 3 technical systems can support subsequent implementation of Components 1 and 2.

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE OF POPS, HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS,  PCBs AND OBSOLETE PESTICIDES 

  • Provide senior technical review of national inventories and assessments of industrial POPs (iPOPs), unintentionally produced POPs (uPOPs), POPs pesticides, obsolete pesticides, newly listed POPs and other priority hazardous chemicals.
  • Assess whether inventory methodologies, data sources, sampling strategies, analytical methods, laboratory QA/QC and data-management systems are consistent with Stockholm Convention guidance and internationally accepted practice.
  • Review characterization, classification and prioritization of POPs stocks, waste streams, contaminated materials and exposure pathways, and ensure that inventory findings are appropriately reflected in risk-reduction measures, management plans and the updated National Implementation Plan (NIP).
  • Provide technical quality assurance for the updated NIP, including validation of inventory findings, prioritization, action plans, resource requirements, risk-reduction measures and consistency with Iraq’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention.
  • Review uPOPs assessments and application of the UNEP Toolkit, including source identification, emission estimation, prioritization and proposed Best Available Techniques/Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP).
  • Provide technical oversight and independent review of the PCB inventory, including sampling and testing strategies for transformers, capacitors, oils and associated contaminated materials; classification and risk categorization; and prioritization for phase-out, treatment and disposal.
  • Review and validate PCB management and phase-out plans and provide technical advice on decontamination, treatment, destruction and disposal options, including proposed mobile or fixed treatment technologies where applicable.
  • Review technical arrangements for PCB collection, draining, packaging, labelling, temporary storage, transport, treatment and final disposal, ensuring cradle-to-grave tracking and adequate documentation.
  • Provide technical review of obsolete pesticide stockpile assessments, site characterization, sampling and analytical results, risk assessments and proposed management/disposal strategies.
  • Assess the technical and environmental suitability of packaging, containment, temporary storage, transportation, treatment and disposal options, including in-country and transboundary disposal arrangements.
  • Review qualifications, methodologies and performance of specialized hazardous-waste contractors from a technical and safeguards perspective and verify disposal/destruction documentation and certificates.
  • Ensure technical consistency with Stockholm Convention and Basel Convention requirements, applicable national requirements, the World Bank ESF and recognized international hazardous-waste management practices.

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE OF CHEMICAL HOTSPOTS AND CONTAMINATED SITES 

  • Provide senior technical oversight and independent review of national hotspot identification and prioritization and detailed assessment of priority chemical contamination sites.
  • Review conceptual site models, investigation designs, sampling plans, laboratory analytical programmes, data-quality objectives, hydrogeological assessments and contaminant fate-and-transport analyses.
  • Review human health and ecological risk assessments, including exposure pathways, receptors, uncertainty analysis and risk-based prioritization.
  • Assess remediation feasibility studies and site-specific remediation plans for technical feasibility, environmental and social soundness, proportionality to risk, implementability and long-term monitoring requirements.
  • Advise on remediation objectives, cleanup criteria/standards, verification requirements, institutional controls and post-remediation monitoring.
  • Provide technical guidance for the National Programme on Contaminated Sites Management, including site screening, risk classification, investigation, remediation decision-making, technical standards, GIS/database requirements and long-term monitoring.
  • Ensure that contaminated-site assessments and remediation plans adequately address POPs and other hazardous chemical contamination and are consistent with the national information-management system being developed under Component 3.

LABORATORY, SAMPLING AND DATA QUALITY ASSURANCE

  • Review laboratory modernization plans, analytical equipment specifications, installation/commissioning arrangements, calibration requirements, certified reference materials, QA/QC procedures and operation and maintenance provisions.
  • Review and promote fit-for-purpose sampling, chain-of-custody, sample preservation, laboratory analytical and data-validation procedures for POPs, PCBs and chemical hotspot investigations.
  • Assess laboratory and field-monitoring performance, including detection limits, calibration, proficiency, blanks/duplicates, data validation and documentation, and recommend corrective measures where data quality is insufficient.
  • Ensure traceability of technical evidence from field sampling and laboratory analysis through risk assessment, inventory development, remediation/disposal decisions and reporting.

TECHNICAL MONITORING, VERIFICATION AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT, KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND STRATEGIC TECHNICAL ADVICE

  • Conduct periodic technical and safeguards implementation reviews across the project portfolio and provide concise assurance reports to UNDP management and the Project Manager on technical quality, compliance, emerging risks and required corrective actions.
  • Support verification of contractor and consultant performance against approved methodologies, technical specifications, safeguards obligations, deliverables and key milestones.
  • Contribute to technical review of project progress reports, Steering Committee documentation, World Bank missions and implementation-support reviews, focusing on technical quality and environmental/social compliance.
  • Maintain technical issues and corrective-actions register and follow up on closure of significant findings.
  • Apply adaptive management by identifying emerging technical, safeguards and implementation risks and recommending proportionate adjustments that preserve the approved project scope and contractual requirements.
  • Provide targeted technical mentoring and on-the-job support to the PMU, Ministry of Environment and relevant national institutions on safeguards, POPs/PCB management, contaminated-site assessment, remediation planning, hazardous-waste management, laboratory QA/QC and technical review.
  • Review technical manuals, standard operating procedures, guidance notes and training materials to ensure scientific accuracy, safeguards integration and consistency across project components.
  • Support technical consultations, validation workshops and coordination with the Ministry of Environment, relevant ministries, laboratories, academia, technical institutions, the World Bank, GEF and specialized service providers.
  • Document lessons learned and technical recommendations that strengthen sustainable national systems for POPs, hazardous chemicals and contaminated-site management beyond the project period.
  • Provide substantive advice and technical support to the development and implementation of a capacity development/ learning plan on thematic area of the project for Country Office and participate in global/regional learning initiatives.
  • Keep abreast of the developments in the thematic area of the project and provide guidance on how to incorporate them into UNDP’s current and future programming in the relevant sector. Provide technical guidance and quality assurance to content development for knowledge products.

BUILD STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND SUPPORT RESOURCE MOBILIZATION AND ACHIEVEMENT OF STRATEGIC RESULTS. 

  • Maintain strategic relationships with UNDP partners, Government institutions, donors, development partners, civil society, academia, private-sector stakeholders and specialized technical organizations.
  • Build and maintain partnerships with donor agencies and development partners working on climate change, environment, chemicals and waste management.
  • Identify and follow up on strategic opportunities for resource mobilization from traditional and non-traditional donors.
  • Support the conceptualization of technically robust interventions that respond to national priorities and emerging environmental challenges.
  • Work closely with the Partnerships and Planning Unit and relevant UNDP teams on resource mobilization, donor engagement, reporting and corporate compliance.
  • Engage with GEF and other relevant funding mechanisms and technical networks.
  • Strengthen collaboration with relevant UN agencies contributing to UNSDCF priority working groups to promote complementarity and avoid duplication.
  • Maintain effective relationships with the GEF Secretariat and relevant technical networks.
  • Strengthen cooperation with the mechanisms and technical networks associated with the Stockholm, Basel, Rotterdam and other relevant environmental conventions.
  • Promote engagement with laboratories, universities, research institutions, private-sector stakeholders, waste management companies and specialized disposal contractors.
  • Identify opportunities for technical cooperation, knowledge exchange and joint programming.
  • Identify emerging national priorities and technical gaps that could provide opportunities for new programming and resource mobilization.
  • Lead or contribute to the technical conceptualization of new project ideas, programmes and funding proposals.
  • Provide substantive technical inputs to concept notes, project documents, funding proposals and donor submissions.
  • Identify opportunities for scaling up successful approaches and replicating technical solutions.
  • Engage with traditional and non-traditional donors and development partners to communicate the strategic relevance and technical value of proposed interventions.
  • Ensure that proposed interventions are evidence-based, technically feasible and aligned with national priorities and UNDP strategic frameworks.
  • Contribute to monitoring and reporting on relevant CPD and portfolio results.
  • Monitor implementation of targets and indicators linked to the portfolio and identify corrective actions where required.
  • Support preparation and review of annual reports, donor reports and other substantive reporting requirements.
  • Provide technical inputs for donor briefings, missions, steering committee meetings and strategic portfolio reviews.
  • Maintain a pipeline of technically sound opportunities for future resource mobilization.
  • Strengthen the positioning of UNDP as a strategic technical partner in climate change, environment, chemicals and waste management.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the overall and direct supervision of the DRR, and with matrix reporting to the EECC Programme Specialist, the Chief Technical Specialist (CTS) will serve as the Project’s senior technical assurance function. The position will have two principal areas of responsibility: (i) Environmental and Social Safeguards; and (ii) Technical Quality Assurance and independent technical assessment of POPs, PCBs, obsolete pesticides, hazardous chemicals and chemical pollution hotspots. The CTS will provide technical advice and assurance across Components 1, 2 and 3, while the Project Manager retains responsibility for day-to-day project management, delivery, coordination, budget, procurement administration and reporting. 

The Chief Technical Specialist (CTS) will work closely with the national head of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (EECC), pillar UNDP Iraq. The CTS will work closely with Government counterparts, national authorities, project experts, donors, development partners, UNDP programmes and projects, and other relevant national and international stakeholders. 

The CTS will be part of a multidisciplinary team of national and international experts supporting policy advocacy, technical oversight, capacity building, innovation and knowledge sharing in the areas of climate change, environmental management, POPs, hazardous chemicals and chemical pollution hotspots management.

Competencies

Core Competencies 

  • Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
  • Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
  • Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
  • Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
  • Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
  • Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
  • Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Technical and Cross-functional Competencies 

Business Direction & Strategy

  • System Thinking
    • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
  • Effective Decision Making
    • Take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
  • Negotiation and influence
    • Reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions through compromise, and create win-win situations.

2030 Agenda: Planet

  • Nature
    • Environmental Governance: Global Environmental Governance

Business Management

  • Project management
    • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals.
  • Risk management
    • Identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks

Partnership Management

  • Strategic Engagement
    • Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Education requirements

  • Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Climate Change, Toxicology, Hazardous Waste Management, Environmental Management, or a closely related discipline is required, or
  • A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant work experience

  • Minimum 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible relevant experience at the national or international level in providing technical advice, conducting research, formulating policies, and/or developing and managing complex projects in sectors applicable to thematic area(s).

Required skills

  • Experience definyning priorities, designing projects, managing budgets, preparing plans and monitoring to achieve quality results.
  • Demonstrated experience with one or more of; POPs inventories, Stockholm Convention NIPs, PCB management and phase-out, obsolete pesticide management, UPOPs/BAT/BEP, hazardous waste treatment/disposal, contaminated-site assessment and remediation, environmental risk assessment, chemicals policy and regulatory development.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

  • Experience with project planning and consulting, including the effective provision of substantive leadership and guidance, oversight, monitoring, and reporting for projects/programmes with similar scale, scope, and complexity.
  • Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.
  • Demonstrated experience in advocating for development or climate agenda in international, multi-cultural settings with problem solving capacities;
  • Experience with UN operational and management common tools such as Results Based Management;
  • Demonstrated experience in coordinating with multidisciplinary stakeholders; i.e. governments, academia, civil society, media and donors
  • Prior experiences of working in Iraq or the Arab region, with in depth knowledge of Iraq’s social/cultural and political context;

Required Language(s)

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Professional Certificates

N/A

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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