Vacancies

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TERMS OF REFERENCE 

CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT 

Issued on: 23rd February, 2016 

Background

Urbanization is strongly correlated with economic growth and development. Urbanization underpins one of the key drivers of national economic transformations. This however does not happen spontaneously. Cities and urban centres should be well planned and managed so that they become economic power houses that drive national economic development and offer growing opportunities to all citizens, especially young people and women.  Economic growth should be steered in a manner that is inclusive and sustainable. Further, innovative revenue sources and financing mechanisms should be developed and applied to support investment in infrastructure and improvement in service delivery.

In many cases, local governments in the rapidly urbanizing world lack the technical capacity to respond to the economic development and financing challenges they face. They lack access to tools, information and knowledge network that would allow them to better understand complex urban systems, innovate and exploit opportunities that urbanization offers them. As the result, in many situation, opportunities of agglomeration economies are missed, local assets are underutilized, enclave economies are created, pushing the e majority to informality,  potential revenue sources, such as land value sharing remain untapped.

UN-Habitat through its Urban Economy Branch seeks to support the effort of local and national governments and their partners in tackling the complex challenges and opportunities of urban economy and municipal finance through a range of ways including advisory services, research and tools development, training and capacity building. These activities constitute Subprogramme 3 of UN-HABITAT's six-year strategic plan 2014-2019, and the Urban Economy Branch is responsible to deliver them. The aim is to strengthen the capacities of cities to realise their full potential as drivers of economic development and wealth and employment creation, with an emphasis on promoting increased participation of both women and men, and enhancing municipal finance and capacity to support sustainable urban development. The branch is seeking the services of an expert on urban economy and finance to support its initial phase of tools and project development work.  

Tasks and responsibilities 

Under the direct supervision of the Coordinator of the Urban Economy Branch, the tasks and responsibilities of the expert are as follows: 

1. Further the capacity of local government to finance development projects and generate revenues. 

2. Conceptualizing and formulating the model for a municipal development fund which will

1. Assess the needs and obstacles facing local government in financing development
2. Identify potential investors and preconditions
3. Analyze the critical success factors

3. Identify innovative urban economy development approaches and practices and municipal financing mechanisms, assess their efficacy and relevance to the context of different developing countries and cities and develop them into practical application packages and projects.

4. Assist in the formulation of specific programmes, projects and initiatives to implement the urban economy and municipal finance component of the work programme of the Urban Economy Branch

5. Support the work of the Urban Economy Branch in promoting and advising governments on innovative pro-poor public financing tools

6. Support in managing and backstopping consultancies initiated to support the urban and municipal finance activities of the work programme, including those related to land value sharing.

7. Provide technical advice and support to cities and national governments with respect to urban economy and municipal financing issues including modelling and spatial planning, which may involve taking joint missions with other Branches and regional offices.

8. Support the Achieving Sustainable Urban Development Programme’s economy and finance components, including delivering workshops and providing input to the work of national consultants.

9. Assist in the formulation and implementation of pilot trainings on land based finance.

10. Support other relevant activities related to the overall goal of this consultancy

Expected outputs

The consultant is expected to produce technical notes and papers, project concept notes and proposals, partnership agreements and reports.

Reporting

The consultant will report to Mr. Marco Kamiya, Coordinator (a.i), Urban Economy Branch.

Duration

10 months.

 Academic qualifications and experience 

The consultant should have the following competencies and experiences:

• Theoretical background, training and experience related to municipal finance, innovation policies, local economic development and institutional issues related to land and urban planning in Kenya.
• Experience with UN-Habitat’s principles, particularly on the integrated approach within the New Urban Agenda is a significant asset.
• Extensive practical experience in the area of urban planning, an experience in Kenya.
• At least 10 years of global professional experience.

Additional skills

• Excellent analytical and conceptual writing skills
• Excellent drafting and editing skills
• Excellent communication skills

  Languages 

English and French are the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.  For this post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required; knowledge of French is an advantage.

Applications should include:

• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
• CV in the PHP format, accessible through the INSPIRA website (inspira.un.org) Please note, if using INSPIRA for the first time, you need to register in order to activate your account, which will allow you to log in and create a personal History Profile.
• The PHP should be attached to the application as a PDF file.
• Summary CV (maximum 2 pages), indicating the following information:

1. Educational Background (incl. dates)
2. Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months)
3. Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)
4. Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments
5. Expectations regarding remuneration

• Cover memo (maximum 1 page) 

All applications should be submitted to:

Mr. Anne Kuria

UN-HABITAT

P.O. Box 30030, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya

Email: anne.kuria@unhabitat.org

 Please be advised that since April 15th 2010, applicants for consultancies must be part of the

UN-HABITAT e-Roster in order for their application to be considered. You can reach the e-Roster through the following link: http://e-roster.unhabitat.org

 Deadline for applications: 11 March 2016

UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be

recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: recruitment@unon.org

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