Utilities Expert

VA No.: VA24-48
Position Title: Utilities Expert
Duty Station: Jeddah/Makkah and remotely, Saudi Arabia
Duration: Up to 80 days over 8 months with possibility for extension
VA Date of Issue: 2 April 2024
VA Closure Date: 20 April 2024

1.Project Description

Makkah City is one of the two holy cities of Islam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the other being Madinah City. The two holy sites attract millions of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims every year. Indeed, the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages are the backbone of Makkah’s economy. However, the total population of Makkah City over the Hajj period reaches over 4 million, almost doubling the population density and severely straining infrastructure and services. Nonetheless, a key goal of the Saudi Vision 2030 — the Kingdom’s long-term development blueprint launched in 2016 which aims to cut Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, while promoting new sectors, from manufacturing and financial services to culture and tourism — is to provide quality services to 30 million international Umrah visitors (in addition to ~15 million local visitors) every year by 2030, tripling the international Umrah capacity existing today.

The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC) was established by Royal Decree as a result of KSA’s commitment to improve the pilgrimage experience within Makkah and to transform the city. Its primary mandate is to improve services in Makkah City and the Holy Sites in a manner that is commensurate with their sanctity, with the overall aim of enhancing, strengthening, and evolving the city of Makkah for the benefit of all. The RCMC’s vision for the City of Makkah is of a polycentric, livable, cultural touristic, resilient, and sustainable city for 2040. The focus of this project is project is to update the Makkah City Strategy, and to develop its Spatial Development Framework & Masterplan for the whole city and the Detailed Masterplan for the central area for the target year of 2040 (Plan). This Plan is composed of three overlapping and cascading streams, A: Strategy, B: Spatial Development Framework and, C: Detailed Central Area Masterplan. Stream B covers the entire Plan boundary (approx. 2700 km2); while taking the entire Plan boundary into consideration, Stream B focuses on the urban envelope (approx. 560km2)Stream C focusing on the Central Area inside holy Makkah’s second ring road (approx. 6km2) only, including the Grand Mosque and its plazas. Work on this Plan via a selected international consortium of over 10 world-renowned companies is expected to commence in February 2024[1].

The RCMC seeks to be an effective contributor to the achievement of the ambitious objectives of KSA Vision 2030 and to providing quality services to 45 million Umrah visitors annually by 2030 as will be stipulated by the Plan. One of the main subject areas to be addressed in the Plan will be Utilities in a comprehensive manner with the aim of plugging any existing gaps and providing an adequate and integrated utilities network that is efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly towards 2040.

The RCMC is the main beneficiary of the Support to the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy SitesProject through which UNDP will provide technical assistance, quality control, advisory services, and capacity development support over a period of 24 months to strengthen the capacity of the RCMC to deliver on its mandate, fulfil its responsibilities and achieve its vision for Makkah City and the specific objectives of the Plan while also contributing to the realization of KSA Vision 2030.

2. Scope of Work

Broadly speaking, the scope of this assignment will cover the utilities subject area including, but not limited to, water, sewage, electricity, telecommunications, stormwater, and district cooling, specifically the tasks and outputs being undertaken and submitted by the consortium delivering on Stream B of the Plan for RCMC. This will entail support and assistance to RCMC in ensuring that the subject area of utilities is being addressed in the best, most efficient and most accurate way by the consortium delivering on Stream B of the Plan and that the outputs delivered by the consortium meet best international practice, local requirements, and RCMC expectations. The appointed expert will also ensure that the subject area of utilities is addressed in alignment with the relevant KSA Vision 2030 objectives and KPI’s as well as with relevant RCMC policies and projects. In addition, the appointed expert will provide general support to RCMC in any utilities related subject matter (district cooling being an important subject) related to the Plan. As such, the scope is a hybrid between advisory & quality control duties related to how and to what extent the utilities subject matter is being addressed in the preparation process and outputs of Stream B of the Plan, and technical support to the RCMC around the general domain of utilities by as much as it relates to the Plan.

3. Duties and Responsibilities (Tasks):

The expert shall ensure the following are accurately captured and addressed with respect to the process and outputs of the Plan prepared by the selected consortium:

1. The current state of the utilities sector, including any necessary benchmarking.
2. The gaps and challenges facing the utilities sector.
3. Utility sector needs forecasts and growth targets for the years 2030 and 2040.
4. The accurate and sufficient interpretation and incorporation of all the above in the process and outputs of Stream B of the Plan.

As for general technical support to RCMC, the expert shall:

1. Support the RCMC planning and development departments and liaise with UNDP, stakeholders, and other consultants by as much as required to successfully undertake the above tasks within the Plan and other supporting projects within the RCMC.

4. Deliverables

a. Executive inception on the mission execution plan and profiling the highlights of the utilities sector within the boundaries of the Plan

• Estimated Working Days to Complete: 10
• Target Date: TBD
• Approved By: RCMC PM and UNDP TL

b. Executive report profiling the current utilities issues, challenges, opportunities and growth targets and milestones until the year 2040.

• Estimated Working Days to Complete: 10
• Target Date: 01.05.2024
• Approved By: RCMC PM

c. Report on the degree and quality of interpretation and incorporation of the above in the process and outputs of Stream B including any mitigation measures.

• Estimated Working Days to Complete: 15
• Target Date: 01.08.2024
• Approved By: RCMC PM

d .General Support to the RCMC as/when needed within the scope of this mission.

• Estimated Working Days to Complete: Up to 40 days work
• Target Date: 01.11.2024
• Approved By: RCMC PM

5.Final report submitted within two weeks of completing the mission. The report should highlight lessons learned, key mitigation measures required and recommendations.

• Estimated Working Days to Complete: 5
• Target Date: 15.11.2024
• Approved By: UNDP TL

5. Institutional Arrangement

Overall, the Utilities expert will work under the guidance of the Urban and Local Development Portfolio Management at UNDP Saudi Arabia Office. Technically, he/she will work under the guidance of the UNDP Project Team Leader (TL), coordinate with the RCMC PM and team, relevant stakeholders in addition to the UNDP appointed team of consultants throughout the duration of this mission.

1. Duty Station: This assignment will be run on a hybrid basis with the selected expert expected to spend a minimum of 30 working days in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Adjustment to this modality can be agreed in discussion with UNDP and RCMC
2. Travel
   • UNDP will cover up to three round tickets to/from the duty station.
   • If unforeseen travel outside the consultant’s duty station city is requested by UNDP and not required by the Terms of References (ToR), such travel shall be covered by UNDP in line with applicable rules and regulations and upon prior written agreement. In such cases, the consultant shall receive living allowances not exceeding the United Nations (UN) Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate for such other location(s).

Note: A written approval from UNDP and relevant authorities will be required to facilitate the consultant’s travel to any locations than stated on this TOR on official missions where necessary.

Min. Education requirements

• BSc in Civil Engineering or equivalent, plus:
• MSc in water, sewage, electrical, telecommunication networks engineering or related field.
• PhD in any of the above fields or related fields would be a strong advantage.

Min. years of relevant work experience: 15

Required skills

• Technical report writing.
• Ability to conduct and/or moderate meetings.
• Full grasp of urban utility network systems, planning and design.
• District cooling planning and operation.
• Full grasp of quantifying (qualitatively and quantitatively) the different land-use utility needs at the local and city wide levels.
• Utility needs forecasting.
• Environmentally sustainable provision of city-wide utility networks.
• General knowledge of soil mechanics.

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

• Interpersonal and communication
• GIS skills

Required Language(s)

Full proficiency in the English is required. Ability to read/write/speak Arabic will be an advantage.

Professional Certificates

An asset if acquired in relevant fields

Core Competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 4: Prioritize team workflow, mobilize resources, drive scalable results/strategic impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 4: Easily navigate complexity, encourage/enable radical innovation, has foresight

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 4: Create systems and processes that enable learning and development for all

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 4: Proactively initiate/lead organizational change, champion new systems/processes

Act with Determination: LEVEL 4: Able to make difficult decisions in challenging situations, inspire confidence

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 4: Construct strategic multi-partner alliances in high stake situations, foster co-creation

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 4: Create ethical culture, identify/address barriers to inclusion