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

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. In working directly with the Associate Urban Management Expert, the Assistant will perform the following functions;

1. Provide logistical support to the project in close collaboration with the administrative staff based in Nairobi.
2. Support project activities in the field in close collaboration with the Associate Urban Management Consultant

iii.        Prepare regular updates and periodic reports as per the agreed work plan

1. Facilitate recording of proceedings at meetings, workshops, conferences and other fora organised by UN-Habitat and stakeholders
2. Keep an inventory of and secure project assets in the field
3. In the absence of the Associate Urban Management Consultant, represent UN-Habitat in meetings

vii.       Perform any other duties as may be assigned by UN-Habitat

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

University degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in Urban/Regional Planning or related field that is relevant in sustainable urban development.

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 County level with substantial recent work experience in Kenya, a significant part of which should be directly related to different aspects of urban planning such as, county planning, regional development planning, rural planning, settlements infrastructure, community development, or strategic planning. 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

Required

Ability to work independently and as part of a team and to deliver on time under pressure.

Language

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. Spoken Kiswahili will be an added advantage.

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.

Source: unhabitat.org