Greener Cities Specialist

Volunteering

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

UNEP’s Climate Change Division provides evidence-based data to inform policy decisions, collaborates with sectors for low-carbon transitions, provides climate finance mechanisms and aids countries in adaptation and mitigation efforts. The Cities Unit is part of UNEP’s Climate Change Division’s Mitigation Branch, with substantial collaboration with the Adaptation and Resilience Branch, as well as the Ecosystems Division. The Cities Unit acts as a hub for UNEP’s work on sustainable urban development.

The Unit coordinates the Generation Restoration project (2023-2025), which aims to implement a package of measures to address selected political, technical, financial challenges to promote restoration at scale, particularly in urban areas, within the framework of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the UNEA resolution on nature-based solutions and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. As part of the project, UNEP is seeking to increase work at the nexus between water risks reduction in cities and nature-based solutions.

Under the direction of and reporting to the Cities Lead within the Cities Unit of the Climate Change Division, the Greener Cities Specialist will undertake the following activities:

· Support the development of tools, methodologies, and knowledge products to help cities increase knowledge and capacity of local and national governments on existing NbS solutions, urban cooling, and best practices in urban contexts. · Assists in capacity building of cities in the design and implementation of NbS interventions to reduce water risks in urban areas. · Supports UNEP’s work on nature and climate with research and fundraising tasks in the context of green cities. · Contributes to the development of a training package for the use of the NbS tool under development in partnership with UNEP-DHI.

In undertaking these duties, the Greener Cities Specialist will establish and maintain relationships to support collaboration with biodiversity, urban planning, and water management, experts, as well as technical staff across UNEP and in UN as well as representatives in national governments, international organizations, consultants, and NGOs.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

· Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). · Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. · Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities. · Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. · Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. · Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected Outputs

The Greener Cities Specialist will build on UNEP’s Generation Restoration efforts to support cities in the design and implementation Nature-based Solutions (NbS) strategies and interventions in urban environments. Additionally, they will play a crucial role in fundraising efforts to support the development of new NbS projects focused on implementing NbS in urban areas to increase resilience to climate and water risks. Furthermore, the analyst will engage in capacity-building activities to empower cities in the strategic application of NbS techniques.

· Professionalism: Ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, make conclusions and rec-ommendations; shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations; takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

· Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

· Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly inter-prets messages from others and responds appropriately; proven interpersonal skills; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors lan-guage, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing infor-mation and keeping people informed; good spoken and written communication skills, in-cluding ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, artic-ulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, vol-unteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of differ-ent target groups.

· Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

statistical information management and applied statistical analytics is required. With at least two years of progressively responsible experience

· Proven experience in urban planning, water, and/or biodiversity management is required. · Candidates must be able to demonstrate they are organized, reliable, and efficient. An understanding of how to work effectively as part of a team, and a willingness to learn and grow professionally by taking on new competencies and remaining abreast of developments in the statistical analytics field is essential. · Proven ability to work effectively with a wide range of various actors is also required. As well, UNEP highly values creativity and innovative thinking, coupled with a problem-solving mindset

The Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; National Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP) is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Ken-ya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services, and educational facilities are readily available. The city is widely connected through its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and the smaller Wilson Airport. Air transport is also available to many up-country destinations. The city is home to some 3,000 UN personnel mainly attributed to the fact that it serves as the headquarters for both the UN-HABITAT and UNEP. The socio-economic and cultural background of the immediate society the UNV would be living and working in is diverse and prevailing security conditions at the place of assignment is modest. The topographic and climatic features of the assignment location is highland cool and warm tropical climate.

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Added 1 month ago - Updated 4 hours ago - Source: unv.org