Vacancies

Download PDF Version

CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Issued on: 03 March 2016

BACKGROUND

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. For close to forty years, UN-Habitat has been working in human settlements throughout the world, focusing on building a brighter future for villages, towns, and cities of all sizes. Because of these four decades of extensive experience, from the highest levels of policy to a range of specific technical issues, UN-Habitat has gained a unique and a universally acknowledged expertise in human settlements development. This has placed UN-Habitat in the best position to provide answers and achievable solutions to the current challenges faced by cities. UN-Habitat is capitalizing on its experience and position to work with partners in order to formulate human settlements for tomorrow. It works to ensure that cities become inclusive and affordable drivers of economic growth and social development. Turkana County is the largest county in Kenya and home to thousands of refugees fleeing from civil strife in the neighbouring republic of South Sudan. Since the end of August 2014, the current Kakuma camp has been unable to accommodate the 42,000 new arrivals that it has received. The project was developed in response to the continuous number of refugees in Kenya, Turkana County, where a significant fraction of the population has constantly been under the refugee status for the past 20 years. With long-term peace and reconciliation still not the current reality in South Sudan (and Somalia); Turkana County will likely record additional refugee arrivals. The County Government of Turkana with support of the National Government of Kenya and UNHCR is embarking on the resettlement of refugees. UN-Habitat will be able to contribute to the strengthening of the County urban planning function and the preparation of an integrated settlement plan for the Kalobeyei new site, aimed at demonstrating sustainable approaches to human settlement development and harmonious integration of refugee populations and host communities, as well as encouraging the participation of other partners.

UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa (ROAf), located in Nairobi is led by the Director and is responsible for identifying and supporting priorities of member states in collaboration with Branches/Units. ROAf consists of internationally and nationally recruited professional staff (Senior/Human Settlement Officers and National Officers) that operationalize UN-Habitat country specific activities on a day-to day basis. In Kenya, ROAf plays an important role in ensuring that respective project activities are in line with government of Kenya and UN-Habitat Country Programme Document objectives. The Urban Planning and Design Branch supports countries in developing urban planning methods and systems that address current urbanization challenges. It promotes urban planning approaches to address rapid urban growth and urban transformation processes in countries with rapid urbanization and where cities face a backlog of services and housing. The Branch consists of three units: The City Planning, Extension and Design Unit (CPEDU), the Regional and Metropolitan Planning Unit (RMPU) and the Climate Change Planning Unit (CCPU).

The Associate Urban Management Consultant will directly report to the Director, ROAf with technical backstopping from the Urban Planning and Design Branch.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Kalobeyei new site estimated to host over 60,000 people will be an important addition to the human settlement system of the County. The Consultant will contribute to a sound planning process for a new accessible urban center with sustainable integration for both refugees and local communities. Under close technical supervision of Urban Planning Branch in close collaboration with ROAf, the consultant will:

1. Support liaison between UN-Habitat and the county government of Turkana as well as local community leaders and relevant stakeholders in developing a sound and acceptable planning system for the Kalobeyei new site;
2. Ensure the integration of principles of equality and non-discrimination, inclusion and participation, accountability and the rule of law in the planning process;

iii. Ensure the donor visibility on the ground;

1. Facilitate linkage of resources required in the planning and design as well as in the provision of urban economy, legal and regulatory and basic urban services for Kalobeyei new site;
2. Collaborate with UNHCR in establishing a ‘one-stop-shop’ inter-agency and inter-government stakeholders forum;
3. Analyze the regional context of Kakuma-Kalobeyei area with a view to identifying patterns for profiling identified human settlements;

vii. Liaise with partners to conduct a Capacity Needs Assessment on Human Settlements Planning/Development in the county;

viii. Organize knowledge and information sharing sessions, capacity development workshops and trainings for stakeholders;

1. Identify potential areas of convergence in both public services, public space;
2. Develop strategies for providing skills and other opportunities for strengthening livelihood and technical skills training in the community
3. Support the establishment of Settlement Development Group (SDGs) by identification of communities from both refugee and host community

xii. Liaise with UN-Habitat`s Design Lab and technical team in formulating detailed integrated re-settlement plan with an implementation framework

xiii. Collaborate with ROAf in administration of the project

COMPETENCIES

Professionalism:

Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to urban planning and

design. Ability to manage a regional scale project involving multiple stakeholders and partners;

knowledge of urban development issues; ability to observe deadlines and achieve set goals

Communication: Excellent written and oral presentation skills in English

Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve agreed goals.

Planning and Organizing: Ability to prioritize activities and assignments.

Creativity: Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches, takes calculated risks on new and

unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”, and offers new and different options to solve problems or meet

client needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Urban/Regional Planning, Urban Environment or related field that is relevant in sustainable urban development. A first-level university degree with a combination of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of two years of experience in urban planning or sustainable urban development, of which at least one year should have been served at the international level with substantial recent work experience in developing countries, a significant part of which should be directly related to different aspects of urban planning such as settlements infrastructure, community development, or strategic planning.

Preferred: Experience in urban environment with an emphasis on urban planning is highly preferred; Good understanding of partnerships and multilevel knowledge management; Minimum experience in project development and coordination; Experience in activities of the United Nations, both in projects and policy dialogues with member states of developing countries are desirable.

Language

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required.

REMUNERATION

Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement.

Download PDF Version