Waste and Sustainable Construction Expert at UN-Habitat

Reporting to the Programme Management Officer, Urban Mobility and Solid Waste Management and in consultation with Associate Officer, Solid Waste, the Waste and Sustainable Construction Expert will be responsible for the following duties:

Finalization of the following sections of CiCoSA online action kit including:

• Waste management challenges (including MSW, Construction and Demolition waste and agricultural waste) in Sub-Saharan Africa and opportunities for material circularity.
• Opportunities (job creation through creation of circularity, environmental benefits of recycling) and risks of recycled materials (e.g. environmental  pollution during and after the recycling processes)
• How waste wise approach could be guiding principle for Sustainable Building and Construction in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Why decision makers should look into solutions (waste reduction, job creation and access to adequate housing)
• Good practices and case studies 
• Policy recommendations based on the above
• Develop CiCoSA implementation guide on waste wise approaches to sustainable building and construction in Sub-Saharan Africa focusing on:
• Challenges and opportunities in housing and waste sector in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Step by step guide on how to implement and apply waste wise approaches to sustainable building and construction in the region
• Align the online action kit and implementation guide with the UNEP Construction Project and sub- working group called Circular Built  Environment
• Present above deliverables at Reference Group Meeting and summarise feedback as a report
• Finalize CiCoSA online action kit and implementation guide reflecting the Reference  Group Meeting feedback
• Prepare, organize and conduct two trainings on CiCoSA online action kit (one for Kenya – in person; one for Namibia - online)

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Statistics, Chemistry, Environmental Management, or in a closely related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in solid waste management or a related field with extensive knowledge and experience in waste data collection is required.
• Excellent writing and communication skills and ability to analyze data is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) is required.
• Experience in the United Nations or other international development agencies is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required.  Knowledge of French would be an asset. Working knowledge of other UN official languages is desira

Deadline : Feb 14, 2024