Waste Smart Fellowships for Greenshift Nepal Project

It provides opportunities for young, qualified people who are enthusiastic about environmental issues to work closely with the municipal governments wherein they will gain an in-depth experience in solid waste management and environmental sustainability. The fellows placed in the municipalities will work closely with environment/sanitation/solid waste management focal person and IT officer, elected municipal and ward representatives. Fellows will first assess the existing capacity of the local governments, existing policies/guidelines, availability of baseline studies, current scenario, and major stakeholders in waste management. The initial assessment will support in identifying the gaps and needs, which the fellows will coordinate with the municipal focal person and project team for development of a guideline/strategy for waste management. Through this, they will help sensitize the elected representatives and municipal officials about plastic waste and its environmental impacts.

Through the Waste Smart Fellowship Grant, young people will work with the local government to capacitate youths in supporting local governments in collecting waste data and inform policy making and strengthening their waste related plans and policies.

Benefits

• Training on Plastic Waste Management, Circular/Green Economy, Climate Change and Emissions.
• Capacity building training and orientations.
• Opportunity to work closely with the Mayor, CAO, elected representatives, environment and sanitation officers, and IT professionals.
• Opportunity to participate in workshops/trainings/seminars organized by The Nepal Government, and respective municipality.
• Graduation Certificate of the Waste Smart Fellowship,
• Potential job placement within YI-Lab, consortium partners, and other related organizations.

Funding Information

• Waste Smart Fellowship Grant equivalent to NPR 350,000.00 (Equivalent to Three Lakhs Fifty Thousand Nepalese Rupees)

Role and Responsibilities

• Waste Smart Fellows will be responsible for:
  • Assessing the existing solid waste management capacity of the municipality (including financial, infrastructure, technical, and technological) and conduct detailed stakeholders’ analysis in an inclusive and participatory manner.
  • Engage youth groups on waste-related data collection and advocacy through Mobile App.
  • Conduct mapping study that includes mapping of waste hot spot areas, waste leakage areas, scrap centers, landfill sites, transfer stations, plastic industries, recycling industries.
  • Analyze data to prepare a waste action plan report.
  • Support the local government for solid waste management.
  • Closely monitor the activities of Climate Smart Schools and youth groups supported by the project.
  • Facilitate regular dialogue and communication between the local governments and youth groups.
  • Ensure the active participation and representation of women and marginalized groups in these activities.
  • Report and document the progress/challenges and share the lesson learnt: Assess and report on the impact of the activities on gender equality and social inclusion within municipal waste management.

Geographical Focus

• Chitwan: Bharatpur Metropolitan City
• Dhanusha: Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City
• Banke: Kohalpur Municipality

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible as Waste Smart Fellows, the individual must:
  • Be 29 years old or younger Nepali citizen.
  • Have a bachelor’s degree in Climate Change studies, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sustainability and Management, Development Studies, or related field.
  • Preferably local from the project municipalities or anyone willing to relocate to the project municipality
  • Prior knowledge in solid waste management, circular/green economy, environmental sustainability, climate change and related discipline
  • Interested to work with the local government officials
  • Keen interest in learning technology and open data
  • Have a strong knowledge of technology that includes mobile applications, web applications, MS office packages, GIS, Open Street Mapping (OSM)
  • Have excellent communication skills with fluency in Nepali and English language. Knowledge of local languages will be an added asset
  • Passionate to learn about Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) through Waste Management and Circular Economy transition
  • Have outstanding personal character, integrity, good teamwork, and collaborative skills
  • Have excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to work in a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary team
  • Flexible to adapt to challenging working environments.

Application Requirements

• Application must be completed online and consist of the following components:
  • Personal Information
  • Motivation Letter (Max. 300 words)
  • CV/Resume (CV no longer than 2 pages)
  • One Reference letter (Academic Recommended)
• While preparing for the application process, please ensure the following:
  • A motivation letter stating your interest and qualification for the Waste Smart Fellowship Grant.
  • Your CV/Resume in a PDF format.
  • A recommendation letter from your academic institution or workplace.

For more information, visit Youth Innovation Lab.