Junior Urban Planner

Result of Service Support the project team to deliver the technical outputs as required to support the selected municipalities to - 1) have a comprehensive spatial understanding of the existing situation in their city and in urban settlements hosting displaced populations to inform decision making, - 2) agree on detailed strategic visioning and scenario building for urban development in selected neighbourhoods, - 3) identify bankable investment opportunities to support linking displaced and hosting communities to infrastructure financing; and - 4) have increased capacity to collect and analyse data and information and use it to prioritize interventions.

Work Location Amman

Expected duration 6 months

Duties and Responsibilities Org. Setting and Reporting Relationships: UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed and efficient cities and towns, with adequate housing, infrastructure and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy, and sanitation.

Background: Urban Planning and Infrastructure for Migration Contexts Programme UN-Habitat is partnering with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to improve access to reliable services and socio-economic opportunities for migrants and refugees in urban settlements. The Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts (UPIMC) programme will focus on activities that develop a common understanding of the issues affecting cities, towns and neighbourhoods, mapping provisions and gaps in public infrastructure services in coordination with humanitarian interventions.

The preparation of urban profiles for the selected vulnerable neighbourhoods will enable the development of shared visions and prioritised interventions that improve living conditions to be identified, agreed upon and potentially funded. The programme will support municipalities hosting displaced populations in Jordan, Egypt and Cameroon. Cities in these 3 countries have been selected through full consultation with both SECO and UN-Habitat country representatives. In the selected cities, the programme will foster multi-sectoral collaboration between UN-Habitat, national and local governments, humanitarian actors, development banks and local communities including displaced populations. The scope of work will also ensure significant contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by supporting the selected cities and neighbourhoods to become increasingly inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

This Programme will address the critical challenges in supporting refugees in urban areas, through integrating them into overall urban development processes, considering the Humanitarian-Development and Peace/Triple Nexus. The Overall Programme aims include:

• Support municipalities to mainstream migration challenges into spatial urban analytics and urban infrastructure investment planning.

• Conduct activities that will go beyond a pure planning stage, by supporting the prioritization of infrastructure investments and their linkage to financing.

• Benefit migrant communities and urban dwellers in general with better quality of life and better access to economic opportunities.

The programme will achieve this through 4 main components: 1. Spatial analytics and urban profiling; 2. Develop strategic vision and scenario building; 3. Define prioritized infrastructure investments and linkage to financing; 4. Knowledge exchange and capacity sharing. The project will be delivered across two phases. Phase 1 includes components 1 and 2, where component 1 has been completed.

UN-Habitat’s Project Team in Jordan now seeks to strengthen its team in the delivery of component 2 of the programme by engaging a Junior Urban Planner with experience in the local context.

Phase 1 – JORDAN Jordan is amongst the top hosting countries of displaced people and has the second highest refugee-to-population ratio, with 89 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants (UNHCR Global Focus). As of August 2020, Jordan hosts more than 2.9 million refugees, of whom 2,206,736 are from Palestinian descent and are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who have lived in the country for decades; and 747,080 registered under UNHCR are predominantly Syrians with 67,286 Iraqis. It is estimated however that approximately 1.4 million Syrians have sought refuge in Jordan since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, which resembles nearly 15% of Jordan’s total population now. Although some reside in camps, 83.5% of refugees reside in cities, often in informal settlements.

Physical planning in Jordan is exercised in a highly centralized manner, undertaken according to the 1966 articles of the Law of Planning of Cities, Villages, and Buildings No. 79, and its various amendments. Little reform or empowerment is reflected in the 2015 decentralization law. Municipalities other than Amman lack administrative autonomy from the Ministry of Local Administration (MoLA), and have low capacity, financial autonomy or resources to introduce policies and manage urban development. However, with the new Local Administration law, it is expected that municipalities will gain further financial autonomy, with many UN agencies and international organizations working directly with municipalities to build their capacities and empower them technically and financially, through developing municipal urban development plans.

The UN-Habitat Country Office of Jordan has been working on several projects which target refugees and migrants in the country. At the national level, the office has been working on the development and application of a roadmap for a National Urban Policy to promote a participatory and inclusive approach to define a common urban vision for the country. This is through enhancing and ensuring the inclusion of all stakeholders, and the vulnerable populations in particular, which includes refugees.

Amman and Irbid have been selected for the first phase of the UPIMC programme in collaboration with the Greater Amman Authority (GAM) and Greater Irbid Municipality (GIM). Under the first component, Spatial profiles for both Amman and Irbid Cities have been developed and needs to be updated based on the validation session(s).

Reporting Line: The consultant will be hired and work under the overall supervision of the Head of the UN-Habitat Jordan Country Programme, work in coordination with the UPIMC Jordan Project Coordinator and Project Urban Planner. Due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19, any remote working will be explored and require specific arrangements on reporting and communication.

II. Overall Objective of the Consultancy Provide technical outputs as required to support the selected municipalities to: 1) have a comprehensive spatial understanding of the existing situation in their city and in urban settlements hosting displaced populations to inform decision making. 2) agree on detailed strategic visioning and scenario building for urban development in selected neighbourhoods. 3) identify bankable investment opportunities to support linking displaced and hosting communities to infrastructure financing. 4) have increased capacity to collect and analyze data and information and use it to prioritize interventions.

III. Duties and Responsibilities: As per the ToR, the Consultant will support the Project Coordinator and Urban Planner for the duration of the project. They will interact with certain stakeholders of the Programme on behalf of UN-Habitat and therefore he/she will be appointed on the basis of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. As a UN representative, he/she is expected to exhibit and adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct.

The consultant will be responsible for providing technical advice for effective coordination and implementation of UPIMC project activities during Phase 1b (component 2) including: - Provide technical support in updating the spatial profiles for both Amman and Irbid Cities based on the received feedback during the validation session(s) and the updated evidence received. - Mobilise relevant community members for stakeholder workshops and bilateral meetings. - Prepare reports and minutes for dissemination of project information to the network of stakeholders involved in project-related meetings and workshops. - Provide technical input during community events and workshops and including, to prepare agenda and invitations, presentations, and workshop reports. - Provide technical support for the preparation of problem-framing, scenario-building, and visioning activities for the selected areas. - Provide technical support as needed to project team on assessments to be carried out with public and private sector actors and government authorities. - Prepare technical information for the development of the action plan and localized criteria to prioritize investments. - Facilitate the work of the financial expert in collecting relevant data from GAM/GIM/ other relevant entities and review the action plan, infrastructure priorities, and prioritized investments.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: - Advanced degree in Architecture, Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Sustainable Urban Development, Geography, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience will be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience: - At least 2 years of relevant work experience in the field of urban development and planning (and/or related fields) in the local context with direct proven experience is required. - Direct proven experience of urban infrastructure development projects/processes is desirable. - Experience of working on migration and displacement issues is desirable. - Understanding of and experience from managing urban data is desirable. - Experience working in the public sector, e.g. local governments is desirable. - Experience organizing local workshops and community engagement processes is desirable. - Experience working on social change projects is desirable. - Facilitating, designing, and managing capacity building processes is desirable. - Working knowledge and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (and their monitoring/evaluation) and of the New Urban Agenda is desirable. - Working experience with international development organizations is desirable.

Language: - English and French are the working languages of the United Nation Secretariat, for this position fluency in English and Arabic (both oral and written) is required.

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.