Office/Unit/Project Description:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN’s lead development agency, works in more than 170 countries and territories to support poverty eradication, reduce inequalities, and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP’s Strategic Plan refers to six signature solutions: poverty & inequality, governance, resilience; environment, energy, and gender equality.

UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”.

UNDP/PAPP’s programming focuses on democratic governance, the rule of law, public service delivery, environmental sustainability, inclusive economic growth, and gender equality across East Jerusalem, Gaza, and Area C. This work is implemented through strategic partnerships with the Palestinian Authority, donor governments, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector, international organizations, academia, and foundations.

The destruction resulting from the 2023 war has severely impacted Gaza’s water and wastewater systems, leading to widespread service collapse, heightened public health risks, and acute humanitarian needs. In response, UNDP has scaled up emergency and recovery interventions across the WASH sector. These include water trucking operations; restoration of water supply systems; rehabilitation of groundwater wells; deployment of small-scale mobile desalination units; the deployment of innovative technologies such as floating desalination plant, and solar-powered atmospheric water generation to reach highly vulnerable displaced populations, recovery of storm water and wastewater networks, pumping and treatment facilities.

UNDP’s planned interventions aim to restore and expand access to safe water for people, particularly internally displaced persons, through a combination of emergency and sustainable solutions. Simultaneously, critical wastewater systems will be rehabilitated, with priority attention to the Khan Younis Wastewater Treatment Plant, essential for protecting the health and wellbeing of residents and displaced communities.

Strengthening the institutional and operational capacities of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) is also a core objective, ensuring efficient, resilient, and sustainable service delivery.

Collectively, these efforts will contribute to safeguarding public health, improving environmental conditions, and enhancing the resilience of more than one million Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, with special focus on the most vulnerable groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities. Within this context, the water and wastewater sector constitutes a central pillar of Gaza’s recovery and long-term resilience. Effective transition from emergency and recovery responses to sustainable reconstruction requires strong leadership, rigorous technical oversight, and coordinated implementation.

Scope of Work:

The incumbent will undertake the following key functions:

Ensure Project Planning and Project Management:

• In close cooperation with the Programme Specialist, develop project plans, concept notes, and proposals, including budgets and timelines, to support scale-up interventions and resource mobilization.
• Provide day-to-day management of water and wastewater project activities, ensuring effective coordination with implementing partners, national counterparts, and key stakeholders.
• Lead project initiation processes, including site assessments, needs identification, damage and feasibility assessments, and prioritization of interventions based on technical, operational, and humanitarian considerations.
• Prepare comprehensive project implementation plans, resource schedules, annual work plans, procurement plans, and detailed activity timelines to ensure coherent and timely delivery.
• Ensure all project interventions adhere to UNDP strategic frameworks and plans, national strategies, technical standards, and regulatory frameworks of PWA and CMWU, as well as international best practices.
• Contribute, in close cooperation with the Programme Specialist, to supervise and coordinate project staff, consultants, experts, contractors, and sub-grantees, providing guidance and ensuring alignment with project objectives.
• Contribute to overseeing performance management of project staff, experts, and consultants, ensuring efficient functioning of the project team.

Provision of Technical Management, Engineering Oversight, and Quality Assurance:

• Review or develop tender documents and engineering designs, technical specifications, BOQs, drawings, and cost estimates, material lists for access coordination for all water and wastewater projects.
• Conduct regular field visits to verify implementation progress, assess quality of works, and ensure compliance with designs, safety protocols, environmental and social safeguards, and Q/A and Q/C standards.
• Review contractors’ work plans, method statements, shop drawings, and material submissions to ensure technical accuracy and compliance.
• Identify operational challenges and issue timely site instructions; document deviations and ensure corrective measures are effectively implemented.
• Verify and certify work completion, quantities, variation orders, interim payment certificates, and contractor claims, ensuring fairness and value for money.
• Oversee adherence to environmental, social, and occupational health and safety requirements across all project sites.

Financial, Procurement, and Administrative Oversight:

• Ensure effective financial management, including monitoring expenditures, commitments, cash flow, and budget utilization in accordance with UNDP rules and donor requirements.
• Provide first-level services for all project transactions under the Internal Control Framework, ensuring compliance with financial, administrative, and procurement procedures.
• Carry out market surveys to establish cost estimates and projects budgets and verify variation orders.
• Verify and certify interim payment certificates, ensuring financial accuracy, variation orders, and contractor claims, ensuring fairness and value for money.
• Oversee procurement processes including preparation of TORs, RFPs, RFQs, specifications, review of procurement packages, and participation in evaluation processes.
• Coordinate timely mobilization of goods, equipment, services, and technical assistance required for successful project implementation.
• Ensure integrity and transparency in procurement, contracting, and financial reporting processes.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Risk Management:

• Monitor project performance against approved plans, key performance indicates, milestones, and results frameworks, ensuring timely identification and resolution of delays or bottlenecks.
• Prepare high-quality analytical progress reports, briefs, and ad hoc updates that include progress, challenges, risks, financial status, and proposed corrective measures for the Project Board, management, and donors.
• Maintain and regularly update the project risk log; identify emerging risks; propose mitigation strategies; and report to UNDP management and relevant governance structures.
• Support corporate reporting requirements, including Quantum quarterly progress updates, ROAR, and donor-specific reports.
• Develop and maintain project monitoring tools, dashboards, and documentation systems to ensure accurate and audit-ready project records.
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of all required technical, financial, and narrative reports by project teams, partners, and contractors.
• Develop, implement, and continuously monitor risks and all required security and safety measures to ensure that project implementation and commissioning are carried out safely, in full compliance with UN security protocols, and without incidents.

Partnership Building and Stakeholder Coordination:

• Share in sectoral coordination and inter-agency meetings, ensuring strong visibility and effective communication of project achievements and needs.
• Ensure meaningful community engagement, conflict sensitivity, and participatory decision-making in all interventions.
• Coordinate the preparation of work plans, HR plans, procurement plans, and contribute to Project Board and Steering Committee meetings, ensuring timely follow-up on decisions and recommendations.

Facilitate Knowledge Management, Capacity Building, and Institutional Strengthening:

• Develop and disseminate knowledge products, technical notes, SOPs, case studies, and lessons learned to support institutional learning and future programming.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training to UNDP staff, partners engineers, contractors, and partner institutions.
• Support capacity strengthening of CMWU, PWA, and implementing partners to improve operational efficiency and sustainability of water and wastewater services.
• Contribute to UNDP knowledge networks and communities of practice, ensuring cross-fertilization of best practices across the region and globally.

Compliance, Safeguards, Gender, and Social Inclusion:

• Ensure all project activities comply with UNDP environmental and social safeguards, national regulations, and donor requirements.
• Integrate gender equality, social inclusion, and disability-responsive approaches throughout project planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Ensure accessibility considerations are embedded in all infrastructure works and community-based interventions.

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 guidance of the Head of Gaza Sub Office and the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist of the Public and Social Portfolio (Gaza), the Project Manager will undertake the above functions and supervise the Project Team to ensure the success of the project and accomplishment of its objectives.

Competencies:

Core competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplify processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations,involve others in change process

Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, consider in decision making

People Management:

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Thematic Area: Business Direction and Strategy (Negotiation and Influence)

Reach a common understanding/agreement, persuade others, resolve points of difference through a dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions and create ‘win-win’ situations.

Thematic Area: Business Development (Knowledge Facilitation)

Ability to animate individuals and groups, internally and externally, and to design and facilitate activities, to share and exchange knowledge, information and ideas. Knowledge of tools and approaches to stimulate active participation, contribution, and exchange.

Thematic Area: Business Management (Project Management)

Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Thematic Area: Business Management (Resource Management)

Allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with business needs and priorities and principles of accountability and integrity.

Thematic Area: Partnership management (Relationship Management)

Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding

Thematic Area: Business Management (Results-based Management)
Ability to manage the implementation of strategies, programmes, and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results. Knowledge and understanding relevant theories, concepts methodologies, instruments, and tools.

Thematic Area: Business Management (Monitoring & Evaluation)

Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results.

Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmark, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of client, current and upcoming.

Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies, systems, processes, and tools. Ability to make independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA:

Min. Education requirements:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Water Engineering, Water Supply and Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field is required. OR
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min. years of relevant work experience:

• Applicants with a master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. 
• Applicants with a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in implementing and supervising water and wastewater infrastructure projects

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

• Demonstrated experience in project planning, management and execution including results-based management, finance and procurement, as well as monitoring and evaluation of projects.
• Strong technical and engineering expertise in water supply, wastewater, stormwater systems, and environmental sanitation with ability to develop new, practical, and innovative solutions.
• Advanced proficiency in engineering and project management software, including AutoCAD, GIS, MS Project, and relevant engineering calculation tools.
• Proven track record of excellent technical writing and reporting skills, with the ability to prepare high-quality analyses, reports, briefs, and documentation.
• High level of computer literacy, including MS Office applications, spreadsheets, databases, and web-based management systems.
• Proven experience in preparing proposals, designs and tender documents including drawings, BOQs, TORs, RFPs, construction supervision and quality assurance manuals.
• Excellent stakeholder management and engagement, partnership-building, and coordination skills.
• Experience with design and implementation of ground water wells, desalination units, pumping stations, treatment plants, wastewater networks, stormwater, and related fields.
• Demonstrated experience and exposure in the UN system 
• Previous experience with international (public or private sector) organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to establish, build, and sustain effective relationships, partnerships, and alliances, advocate effectively and communicate sensitively
• Experience working in post-conflict, emergency, or fragile contexts Familiarity with Palestinian water sector institutions (PWA, CMWU)

Required Language(s):

Fluency in both English and Arabic is required. 

Professional Certificates: Project management certification will be an asset

ONLY CURRENT PALESTINIAN NATIONALS AVAILABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT IN GAZA STRIP AND WILLING TO WORK AND TRAVEL THROUGHOUT VARIOUS CITIES IN THE STRIP ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION. ALL OTHER APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

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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