Job Description

Post of duty: Washington D.C

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.

About this position

The INE/WSA Division is looking for a Consultant in Water Security with a background in water engineering, environmental science, or natural resource management, a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience. Fluent in both English and Spanish is required. Fluency in Portuguese will be a plus.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provides financial and technical support for infrastructure projects in water and sanitation, irrigation, flood control, transportation, and energy. Many of these projects depend on water resources and can be negatively affected by local and regional changes in development variables that alter water availability, such as climate, population growth, and changes in associated land use to urbanization, industrial growth, and agriculture.

In this context, the Bank is supporting Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay through the Technical Cooperation (TC) Project for the Transboundary Cooperation for the Conservation, Sustainable Development and Integrated Management of the Pantanal - Upper Paraguay River Basin (RGT3641). The objective of this project is to promote water security through strengthening transboundary water governance, sustainable development, balancing multiple use and promoting integrated management of the Pantanal - Upper Paraguay River Basin for the social and economic well-being of the population and for the conservation of the freshwater ecosystem, its services, its biodiversity, and connectivity. Activities include: i) consolidating and sharing knowledge and developing a common understanding of the Pantanal-Upper Paraguay Basin; ii) advance in the trinational planning for sustainable management of the basin and iii) on-the-ground interventions promoting integrated water resources management and sustainable finance.

Moreover, among others, the consultant will support the active portfolio of current projects and internationally-funded proposals under design (GEF, GCF) in the Amazon Basin, including project management responsibilities and technical assistance. For example, for the development of the Regional Action Plan on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management (RG-T3776), or the Regional Water-Energy-Food Nexus Assessment for the Amazon Basin (RG-T3489).

The Consultant will be participating in the water resources team of the Division, supporting the agendas of Water Security, Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and Nature-Based Solutions, transboundary basins (La Plata Basin, Trifinio Region, among others), integrated basin management, Water-Energy-Food Nexus, and Water Funds. These agendas aim at improving the sustainability of the water management of the region by mainstreaming principles of circular economy in the water sector in the LAC region, promoting efficient use of water resources, strengthening ecosystems and biodiversity, increasing resilience to climate change of vulnerable communities and value chains under a regional integrated perspective, and fostering effective governance by promoting integrated basin management across water users and sectors. These agendas rely on different state-of-the-art analytical and operational tools, including for example water system modeling, and basin governance based on payments for ecosystem services.

What you’ll do :

The consultant will support the WSA’s Water Resources team, with a focus on Water Security, Nexus and International Waters agendas by:

• Provide technical support to WSA in its operational and analytic activities.
• Provide assistance in the implementation and management of projects during all the project-cycle, guaranteeing quality and ensuring both technical and financial progress are closely monitored. This task includes working in a coordinated fashion with other IDB’s country offices and areas of the Bank (financial, legal, safeguards, etc.), also supporting executing agencies and multi-disciplinary project teams in the execution of projects and related proposals.
• Participate in identification, preparation, and analysis of financing requests for projects (loans and technical assistance).
• Assist in the organization and development of supervision missions and participate in Bank-led missions for project design or implementation, offering support to executing agencies and project teams during project execution; and engage in sectorial, regional, and global events.
• Supporting in coordinating relationships with donors and regional and global strategic partnerships, including supporting on the preparation of seminars, workshops and events as needed.
• Build and sustain strong relationships with executing and implementing agencies, authorities, donors, public and private entities and other stakeholders, in client countries, offering advice and providing guidance on Bank’s policies and procedures.
• Participate in the identification, preparation, and assessment of sector studies, guidelines/notes, tools, and strategies addressing engineering and environmental aspects.
• Preparation of TORs, technical notes, progress reports, presentations and any other required technical documentation.
• Technical quality control of technical cooperation products and studies.

  What you'll need

  • Education: Master’s or equivalent degree from an accredited university in a subject relevant to the outlines activities (engineer, natural resource management; environmental sciences; economics, geosciences). Ph.D. will not be required but will be highly valued for this position. .
  • Experience: You have eight years of relevant professional experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience, preferably (but not limited to) with demonstrated technical experience working in the area of water management, climate change adaptation and sustainability within the IDB, other IFIs or similar development institution . In addition, demonstrated practical and operational experience in preparing and execution GEF and GCF funded projects, preferably in the LAC region and proven experience in applied research in the area of water security and climate change adaptation will be considered as an asset.
  • Languages: You are fluent in English and Spanish. Fluency in Portuguese will be a plus.

    Key skills :

    • You are familiar with water modelling tools, and the concepts of water security, food water land nexus, integrated basin management, circular economy in water.

      Requirements:

      • Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries.
      • Consanguinity : You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.

        Type of contract and duration:

        • Type of contract: International Consultant Full-Time.
        • Length of contract: 12 months.
        • Work Location: On site, Washington D.C .
        • Responsible person: Raul Muñoz Castillo, Water and Sanitation Sr. Specialist (INE/WSA).

          What we offer

          The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:

          • A competitive compensation packages.
          • Leaves and vacations : 2 days per month of contract + gender- neutral parental leave.
          • Health Insurance : the IDB Group provides a monthly allowance for the purchase of health insurance.
          • Savings plan :The IDB Group cares about your future, depending on the length of the contract, you will receive a monthly savings plan allowance.
          • We offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your family when it applies.
          • Hybrid and flexible work schedules.
          • Development support: We offer learning opportunities to boost your professional profile such as seminars, 1:1 professional counseling, and much more.
          • Health and wellbeing: Access to our Health Services Center which provides preventive care and health education for all employees.
          • Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, and others.

            
            Our culture

            At the IDB Group we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work, willing to try new approaches without fear, and where they are accountable and rewarded for their actions.

            Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our organization. We celebrate all dimensions of diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply.

            We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job interview process. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at diversity@iadb.org to request reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

            Our Human Resources Team reviews carefully every application.

            About the IDB Group

            The IDB Group, composed of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the IDB Lab offers flexible financing solutions to its member countries to finance economic and social development through lending and grants to public and private entities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

            About IDB

            We work to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through financial and technical support for countries working to reduce poverty and inequality, we help improve health and education and advance infrastructure. Our aim is to achieve development in a sustainable, climate-friendly way. With a history dating back to 1959, today we are the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. We provide loans, grants, and technical assistance; and we conduct extensive research. We maintain a strong commitment to achieving measurable results and the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability.

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            Additional Information
            • External Opening Date: Feb 16, 2024
            • External Closing Date: Mar 8, 2024
            • External Contact Email: hrsc@iadb.org
            • External Contact Name: HR Service Center
            • Job Field: Technical Support

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