CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Issued on: 08 May 2017
ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION:
UN-Habitat
DUTY STATION:
Nairobi
FUNCTIONAL TITLE:
Consultant – Urban Climate Change Planning Consultant
DURATION:
12 months
CLOSING DATE:
12 May 2017
Result of Service
Main Outputs
- A substantive input into a normative knowledge product
- Two sets of inputs to a technical working group of the Global Compact of Mayors
- Six reports related to to the below projects:
- Pro Poor Planning of Climate Resilience in Marginalized Neighborhoods.
- Planning for Improved Air Quality in Urban Areas
- Developing and Financing City Climate Action Plans
- Cities and Climate Change Initiative
- Edition of Cities and Climate Change Initiative Bulleting
- Three sets of minutes from meetings of the steering committee of the Urban-LEDS II Project
Reporting
Outputs production will be documented through interim reports and one final report as follows:
- Interim reports on progress produced for every task and submitted every month ( for interim payments)
-Backstopping and mission reports will be produced timely upon conclusion of the mission ( i week after)
-Final report to be submitted at the end of consultancy comprising period and summarizing the work done, presenting all outputs in electronic and hard copy format.
Work Location
NAIROBI
Expected duration
12 months
Duties and Responsibilities
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.
UN-Habitat’s Urban Planning and Design Branch supports countries in developing urban planning methods and promotes urban planning approaches to address urban growth and urban transformation processes in countries with rapid urbanization and where cities face urban challenges. 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 Climate Change Planning Unit is leading and coordinating UN-Habitat’s work on urban climate Change mitigation and adaptation, as well as planning for improved urban air quality. In addition to coordinating UN-Habitat’s work in this area, the Unit is currently directly implementing several multi-year projects:
I) The Cities and Climate Change Initiative (CCCI), launched in August 2008, supports small- and medium-sized cities in developing countries to address the climate challenge, and become more resilient to climate change and embrace low-carbon strategies.
This flagship initiative also supports UN-Habitat’s engagement in several global level multi-stakeholder initiatives (i.e., the Founders’ Council of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, the Organizing Committee of a Scientific Conference on Cities and Climate Change co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Steering Committee of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, the World Bank-led City Climate Planning Certification Program, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and so on).
CCCI also supports engagement with multi-lateral climate and environmental funds, particularly the Adaptation Fund (to which we were accredited in August 2015) and the Green Climate Fund (to which we are currently applying for accreditation). Finally CCCI also releases normative publications including CCCI’s Policy Note series.
II) Developing and Financing City Climate Action Plans. This project is helping a small number of cities in Least Developed Countries that have committed to the Compact of Mayors (and the newly formed Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy) to comply with its commitments. It is also supporting the further development and eventual financing of project concepts identified via city climate action planning processes.
III) Pro-poor planning of Climate Resilience in Marginalized Neighborhoods. This project is helping to mainstream climate considerations into participatory slum upgrading, and also the integration of community-based adaptation into city-wide processes.
IV) Planning for Improved Air Quality in Urban Areas. This project is helping a limited number of pilot cities undertake clean air action planning, and develop related knowledge products.
Additionally UN-Habitat expects to sign in the near future a Phase 2 of its Promoting Urban Low Emission Development Strategies (Urban LEDS) Project, which supports the development of city-level urban mitigation strategies in developing and emerging countries. CCPU also oversees the mainstreaming of climate change (one of UN-Habitat’s four cross-cutting topics) into the agency’s operational work.
The Urban Climate Change Planning Consultant will be located in the Climate Change Planning Unit and will directly report to the Unit Leader, with selected technical and administrative backstopping to the Urban Planning and Design Branch.
Duties and Responsibilities
Support project implementation
Under the overall guidance of the Coordinator of Climate Change Planning Unit, the consultant will be responsible for the following main duties:
• Support implementation of the Cities and Climate Change Initiative. CCCI is currently active in over 40 cities in more than 25 countries. In the 2017-2018 Biennium, several local and national activities are programmed in order to consolidate city level work in existing ccci cities, and move from vulnerability assessments to planning (ensuring a link with the ‘Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning”), and expanding CCCI to new regions, in particular Latin America and the Caribbean and Arab States. Further, ensuring linkages between the normative and operational work through the production of case studies, inputs to policy recommendations and papers (and so on) remains a priority under CCCI.
• Support Implementation of Urban LEDS (Project phase 2), including the coordination with regional and country staff and consultants from UN-Habitat and implementing partner ICLEI. This includes review of national and local policies, plans and strategies and relevant
• Support roll-out of new projects. New CCPU projects include: (i) Developing and Financing City Climate Action Plans, (ii) Pro-poor Planning of Climate Resilience in Marginalized Neighborhoods, and (iii) potentially others as they are confirmed.
• Represent UN-Habitat and CCPU on the governance bodies of particular multi-stakeholder initiatives, e.g., the Regional-Global Cohesion Technical Working Group of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.
• Support CCPU’s backstopping role on Environmental and Social Safeguards System (ESSS), potentially supporting in-house training, capacity building and review of projects going through the PAG process from an ESSS stand-point.
• Support the mainstreaming of climate change considerations at UN-Habitat.
Within the Unit’s portfolio the CCPU Unit Leader will endeavor to identify particular streams of work where under delegation the Consultant can take the lead (e.g., in developing a particular knowledge product, in engagement with particular cities, in engagement with a particular multi-stakeholder initiative), with general quality control and backstopping by the Unit Leader and other colleagues. To the extent possible these areas of lead responsibility will correspond to the consultant’s professional interests. At the same time the consultant can expect to provide some degree of managerial support to larger projects.
Support project development
• Support development of proposals urban mitigation and adaptation projects worldwide, with a priority of proposal efforts for follow up to existing engagements of CCPU.
• Support CCPU’s accreditation efforts to the international Climate Finance Institutions, particularly the GCF, and coordinate CCPU’s in-house clearing house function for the institutions to which UN-habitat is already accredited, namely the Adaptation Fund.
Qualifications/special skills
Competency:
• Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to urban planning and design or sustainable development particularly to the Urban Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Sustainable Urban development, Urban Climate Change Action and Clean Air Action Planning
• Communication: Excellent written and oral presentation skills in English. Excellent capacity to produce and manipulate graphic documents and drawings. Good presentation skills. Ability to communicate complex interventions in a clear language and convincing narratives. Sketching capabilities to effectively communicate in workshop settings and teams.
• Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve agreed goals.
• Planning and Organizing: Ability to prioritize activities and assignments and to easily switch between different projects.
• Management: Ability to manage smaller project teams, divide workload and sustain efficiency
Academic Qualifications:
Minimum advanced university degree (M.Sc. or equivalent) in Urban/Regional Planning or related field that is relevant in sustainable urban development.A first level degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
Experience:
• A minimum of five years of experience in urban planning or sustainable urban development, a significant part of which should be directly related to one or more of the different focus areas of this consultancy, Urban Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Sustainable Urban Development, Urban Climate Change Action, Clean Air Action Planning.
• At least two years of that professional experience should be in developing countries. Resident experience would be considered an advantage. Experience in more than one region would be considered an advantage.
• Good understanding of partnerships and multilevel knowledge management.
• A minimum experience in project development and coordination.
• Experience in activities of the United Nations, in Results Based Management and reporting, and proposal development all would be considered as advantages.
Language:
For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. Although not a requirement, knowledge of French, Spanish, or Arabic will be an advantage.
Additional Information
1 Post, Consultancy Level C. 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 fee will be paid as per agreement.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.