TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR URBAN FLOOD PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT – FEASIBILITY STUDY

 

Position Title: Economic Advisor

Duration: March 2023 – May 2024: Partial time as per the level of effort

Location: Islamabad, Pakistan

 

Programme Background 

South Asia Water Security Initiative (SAWASI) is a DFAT Funded programme. It is underpinned by a Water Sensitive Cities (WSC) approach, which aims to improve climate resilience in four disadvantaged communities in South Asia by 2025, to expand access to safe water and sanitation. Within SAWASI, ASI has been contracted under the Technical Advisory Panel for The Australia-Pakistan Water Security Initiative (APWASI) promoting the adoption of Water Sensitive Cities (WSCs) approach to build a resilient urban environment.  APWASI is a grant from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to support Pakistan to implement low-cost nature and technology based WSCs solutions.

Ultimately, success will require localised grant initiatives to be scaled up at a city-wide level and adapted for lessons learned. Technical assistance through APWASI aims to strengthen the capacity of institutions and improve the sustainability of new and existing initiatives in urban water management. 

APWASI sits under the MoU for cooperation on water management between DFAT and the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR). The purpose of the feasibility report is to conduct an analysis on urban flood prevention and management building on global, regional and Pakistan experiences, providing a range of options and solutions, and conduct a cost benefit analysis of the most suitable option.

 

Key Responsibilities and Tasks  

 

Summary 

• Conduct detailed cost-benefit analysis to rank and prioritize a range of technically validated structural and non-structural options produced by detailed hydrology work for protecting specific flood-affected areas.

 

Economic cost benefit analysis

• During the Workstream 1 Background Review, critically survey the economic appraisal methodologies used in previous work to identify the data and other technical constraints encountered, and facilitate comparisons with the findings of the feasibility study.
• Conduct economic cost-benefit analysis to enable technically validated structural and non-structural options to be ranked for the draft study, for a further round of stakeholder feedback with government, communities and donor agencies on the ‘opportunity cost’ of potential solutions in relation to one another, to facilitate consensus around a) reaching the maximum number of beneficiaries and b) optimizing the total value of benefits within different resource envelopes.
• Work in collaboration with the Community Engagement Advisor to draw extensively on the findings of the community engagement activities, in terms of estimating beneficiary numbers and individual, household and firm level benefit values for different options.

 

 

Work Planning and Progress Tracking 

• Preparation and implementation of workplan (workstream 3) ensuring it is in line with the strategic direction of the programme, the logframe and client and counterpart priorities, with support from the PM and team leader.
• Escalates risks of significant workplan deviations to the PD and team leader.
• Contribute to monthly, inception and six-monthly reports and ensure approval working with TL.
• Anticipate and accommodate tasks for suggested changes to workplan by primary stakeholder and at end of inception phase after client review of progress.
• The Economist will work according to a rolling work plan, with deliverables set every quarter. 

 

Risk and Issue Management 

• Contribute in regular discussions to identify and assess risks/issues, to assign risk ownership and to follow up on implementation of mitigating actions (at least monthly)  
• Liaising with PM ensures DFAT is informed of strategic risks.
• Reporting monthly risks and challenges for the project.

 

Reporting

The Economic Advisor is accountable for the timely and quality delivery of all programme deliverables (especially Workstream 3) against the workplan agreed with DFAT.

 

Deliverables

 

Deliverable	Activities	Timeline
Support background review (workstream 1), by critically surveying the economic appraisal methodologies used in the previous work	Support background review (workstream 1), by critically surveying the economic appraisal methodologies used in the previous work. Providing specific inputs (economic review etc.) across the project	Ongoing
Economic cost benefit analysis of options	Detailed cost benefit analysis of a range of technically validated structural and non-structural options for protecting specific flood-affected areas. Critically survey the economic appraisal methodologies used in previous work to identify the data and other technical constraints encountered and facilitate comparisons with the findings of the Feasibility Study. Conduct a SWOT analysis of options Identify service delivery benchmarks, profile impacted parties (affected households, agriculture, private sector etc)) Detailed cost benefit analysis presented to the client, i.e. DFAT Pakistan upon request Recommendations on strengthening the institutional framework for project planning, demonstration and influencing in other locations. Work with the Hydrologist to quantify and reconcile the Planning and Development Department’s provincial capital allocations to structural mitigation measures following extreme stormwater events, to refine understanding of the areas within WASA’s jurisdiction that are most affected. Provide critical information to stakeholders on the ‘opportunity cost’ of potential solutions in relation to one another. Draw extensively on the findings of the community engagement advisor in terms of estimating beneficiary numbers and individual, household, and firm level benefit values for different options.	Ongoing
Draft Feasibility Report	Support in giving input on the Feasibility Report (workstream 3). Quality Assurance of project outputs. Incorporate internal and client feedback into feasibility report.	January/February 2024
Final Report Presentation and Handover Ceremony	Support in giving input on the final report (workstream 3) and final presentation.	May 2024

 

 

Reports To 

The Economic Advisor will report to and work under the supervision of the Project Director and Team Leader.

 

Skills & Expertise

• 10 years of post-Master’s relevant experience at the national  or  international level in economics or public sector governance;
• Substantial experience with water governance and management, urban planning and economic development strategy processes in developing country contexts, especially in flood management and prevention;
• Knowledge and experience of the flood and disaster risk management sector context would be an advantage;
• Substantive knowledge of national and global issues on flood and water governance and their impact on sustainable development (including environmental, natural resources and social impacts);
• Knowledge on
• Experience working with national and international development organizations and knowledge of public sector organizations;
• Strong strategy development track record, analytical ability, organizational, and communication skills;
• Ability to work independently to tight deadlines. Excellent written and oral skills in English. 

 

 

Values and Obligations 

All members of the APWASI team are expected to adhere to the following values and obligations: 

• At all times working collaboratively and openly with other members of the APWASI team, proactively providing guidance, advice and sharing experiences in order to solve problems, overcome challenges and manage risks together. 
• Free and open sharing of information gained from government counterparts, DFAT or other international projects with other members of the team. 
• Respect for the confidentiality of the APWASI team’s discussions, assessments, decisions and plans or agreements with DFAT; sharing information with external parties only when authorised to do so by the Team Leader or Programme Manager
• Adhering to decisions taken by the programme’s leadership, and taking collective responsibility for implementing those decisions and communicating them to counterparts or other external parties. 
• Ensuring they have an accurate understanding of policies and decisions made by DFAT that relate to APWASI, and respecting and adhering to those policies. 
• Complying with the channels set out by ASI for all communications with DFAT through the APWASI leadership structure. 
• Careful coordination with other team members of communications and meetings with government counterparts to ensure coherence of technical advice and as efficient use of counterparts’ time as possible. 
• Constant monitoring of risks to the delivery of APWASI activities and achievement of objectives, as well as the reputation of APWASI and DFAT, and swift referral of those risks to the Team Leader and Programme Manager.
• Advisers are obliged to look out for and report human rights abuses known and rumoured to have taken place connected with or undertaken by our counterparts. In the event that advisors gain information about any such abuses they should report the matter in line with the procedure contained in the Project Human Rights Assessment and Framework document. 
• Professional coordination with other internationally funded programmes supporting APWASI, including briefing those programmes when requested by the Team Leader or Programme Manager.
• Contribute constructively to team meetings, development of workplans, risk assessment, progress reviews and report writing, as well as external evaluations by DFAT or its independent evaluation advisers.  
• Complying with APWASI’s media policy of referring all inquiries from the media to the Team Leader and Programme Manager before responding in any way to those inquiries. 
• All meetings with officials from DFAT should be minute and those minutes shared with the Team Leader and Programme Manager at the earliest opportunity.  
• Maximising the impact of the programme’s limited resources by ensuring expenditure on travel, accommodation or other costs is as efficient as possible.  
• Complying with financial procedures designed to protect the financial integrity of the programme and notifying the Deputy Team Leader and Project Manager of any incidents that threaten that integrity.  
• Complying with ASI’s Duty of Care and security procedures designed to ensure safety of personnel and notifying the Deputy Team Leader and Project Manager of any incidence that threaten the security of personnel or assets of the programme.  
• Complying with ASI’s operational and logistical procedures designed to ensure efficient use of resources across multiple projects in Pakistan.