Hydropower Risk Management and Mitigation Specialist

Mekong River Commission 

The role of MRC is to promote and coordinate sustainable management and development of water and related resources for the countries' mutual benefit and the people's well-being 

MRC Secretariat is now recruiting a highly qualified consultant for the following consultancy

Hydropower Risk Management and Mitigation Specialist (Re-announcement)

Consultant type Division/Section	: :	International Consultant (Individual) Initiative on Sustainable Hydropower, Planning Division
Work location	:	Office of MRC Secretariat in Vientiane, Lao PDR
Contract type/ Duration	:	12 months service contract

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with the ISH0306 Consultants Team to produce "Guidelines for Hydropower Impact Mitigation and Risk Management in the Lower Mekong Mainstream and Tributaries";
• Coordinate with the Team Leader of ISH0306 and the communication with MRC Programmes;
• Assist the Team Leader of ISH0306 in the preparatory work of the various reports in each implementation phase of ISH0306;
• Assist the ISH0306 Consultants Team in the process for Data and Information collection;
• Assist the ISH0306 Consultants Team in the completion of ISH0306 Development of Guidelines for Hydropower Impact Mitigation and Risk Management;
• Contribute input to an update of the "Preliminary Design Guidelines" on mainstream and significant tributary dams;
• Help Implement an awareness and capacity-building programme to disseminate an understanding of the mitigation options amongst key stakeholders in the region;
• Collaborate with ISH Team members to help the Mekong Countries to strengthen the capacities of their members/officers for a sound understanding and appreciation of socio-economic issues and ecological complexities as the basis for sustainable hydropower development aiming at (i) increasing awareness regarding SHD at all levels of decision making; (ii) enhance knowledge and skills at academic and research institutions and share experience on good practices from the region and worldwide with regard to planning, construction and operation of hydropower projects and associated reservoirs and dams and (iii) promote the application in academic and research institutions and to provide professional training for planners and managers to cope with the challenges of SHD;
• Additional related duties as requested by the ISH Programme Coordinator.

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Master's degree or higher in hydropower development, water/natural resources management and/or related environmental sciences;
• A minimum of ten years practical working experience in water/natural resources and environment management, and/or hydropower development/management;
• Good understanding of hydropower risks and opportunities in relation to environmental, economic and social aspects;
• Good understanding of basin wide integrative approaches for sustainable hydropower development – moving beyond project level approaches;
• Good analytical skills relating to hydropower (data collection, multi-criteria gap analysis, stakeholder identification etc.);
• Experiences with experiential learning in multi-stakeholder dialogue facilitation, conflict resolution and negotiation relating to hydropower development;
• Good understanding of the links between institutional, scientific, legal and technical solutions for sustainable hydropower development;
• Familiarity with and networking contacts in MRC member countries' national agencies and/or National Mekong Committee Secretariats related to the above tasks and studies is an advantage;
• Experiences with multi-disciplinary and integrative approaches within education institutions and government agencies for sustainable hydropower development;
• Work experience with international organizations and excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills particularly with the MRC Countries Members;
• Experience in field based monitoring and assessment in any MRC member country;
• Demonstrated ability to write clear technical reports which can be readily understood by decision makers and the general public;
• Good sense of initiative and sound judgment;
• Very good command of the English language is necessary;
• Knowledge of one or more riparian language (Khmer, Lao, Thai, Vietnamese) would be an advantage;
• Ability to work in an international.

The Terms of Reference and other information can be obtained from the MRC websitehttp://www.mrcmekong.org/working-with-mrc/employment. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

Application procedures:

The application should include (i) a cover letter outlining clearly how the candidate meets the requirements of the position, (ii) a detailed CV, and (iii) MRC Personal History Form. The position title and section/division must be indicated in the cover letter.

The application should be sent to:

Mekong River Commission Office of the Secretariat in Vientiane (OSV)
P.O. Box 6101, 184 Fa Ngoum Road
Vientiane 01000, Lao PDR
Email: mrcs@mrcmekong.org

Closing date for applications: 21 November 2014