Technical Assistant for Nature4Cities in Cuba

Result of Service The main objective of the position is to provide technical support to the National Coordinator of Nature4Cities in Cuba and to ensure operational effectiveness during the planning and implementation of the project.

The Technical Assistant for Nature4Cities consultant in Cuba will report directly to the Adaptation to Climate Change Programme Officer and will work in closed collaboration with the project’s national coordinator in Cuba.

The Technical Assistant for Nature4Cities consultant in Cuba main duties and responsibilities will include:

a. Assist in the administrative process on preparation and organization of travel itineraries for national and local events, trainings, meetings, or related. b. Organize multiple-stakeholders’ workshops to obtain feedback on the Nature Based Urban adaptation and mitigation Plans for Manzanillo and Camagüey. c. Provide input to develop financial guidelines to support investment in climate action developed (Deliverable 2.4.1.3). d. Provide input to develop reports containing prioritized national pipelines of transformative investments on NbS for urban areas in Manzanillo and Camagüey (Deliverable .4.1.1.1). e. Gather and summarize agreements and recommendations for the elaboration of concept notes to international funds (Deliverables 4.1.1.3 and 4.1.1.4). f. Identify sources of data and provide input for the development of M&E frameworks for urban NbS in Manzanillo and Camagüey (Deliverable 5.2.2.1). g. Participate in training activities, report writing and facilitation of expert activities. h. Inform the National Coordinator immediately of any issue or risk which might jeopardise the success in logistical and administrative terms the performance of any activity that is being coordinated and that may affect the achievement of the project's objectives. i. Support to the National Coordinator regarding outputs progress, and information for progress reports. j. Provide input to technical and financial reports and other documents as described in the project document. k. Perform other duties as requested. l. Drafting technical reports. m. Liaise with different experts involved in the project and local stakeholders. n. Support drafting of communication material. o. Support the National Coordinator in the coordination of meetings and workshops among other activities.

Work Location Instituto Nacional de Ordenamiento Territorial y Urbanismo, La Habana, Cuba

Expected duration 12 months

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.¿

The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LAC Office), located in Panama City, works closely with the 33 countries of the region - including 16 small island developing States - with a population of about 588 million people. The office works to serve the needs of the region and its activities are integrated into the work programs approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly of UNEP (UNEA).¿

UNEP seeks to support countries in Latin America to implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new Paris Agreement and the priority actions defined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Latin American countries.¿

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is the second most urbanized region in the world, with ~80% of its population living in cities. Rapid urbanization, coupled with limited urban planning and the associated expansion of cities, is degrading urban and peri-urban ecosystems that provide vital ecosystem services for urban communities. Ecosystem degradation poses a threat to urban communities and increases their vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change related impacts.¿ ¿ To address the vulnerability of urban communities, governments in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region need to develop and implement cost-effective, low-risk solutions, such as Nature-based Solutions (NbS) by protecting, maintaining and rehabilitating priority ecosystems in urban areas. As a result, UNEP is working with the governments of, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Cuba, Panama, Guatemala and Uruguay to execute a two-years, Readiness project “Nature4Cities - Increasing resilience through Nature- based Solutions in Latin-American cities” funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). ¿ The aim of the project is to increase the capacity of participating countries to design and implement Nature- based urban development strategies that ensure urban resilience to climate change through five main areas of work: (1) Strengthening the knowledge base of national and local governments to assess the potential for Nature- based Adaptation and Mitigation Solutions in urban areas in the context of broader climate change strategies; (2) Reinforcing enabling policies and institutional frameworks to increase adoption of NbS in urban planning; (3) Strengthening partnerships between key actors to accelerate the adoption of NbS solutions; (4) Defining climate finance strategies through innovative public, private and blended financial mechanisms and facilitating access to climate finance for the sustained implementation of NbS; (5) Accelerating upscaling and replication through a regional Urban NBS platform.¿

The Technical Assistant for Nature4Cities consultant in Cuba will be responsible to assist in the administrative process, organization and preparation of travel, itineraries for events, trainings, meetings, or related, participate in trainings activities, provide information for progress report, drafting technical reports, support the National Coordinator in Cuba in the coordination of meetings and workshops in other activities and products of the project. He/She will be supervised by the Adaptation to Climate Change Programme Officer, working on a schedule of 25 hours per week and to be located in Instituto Nacional de Ordenamiento Territorial y Urbanismo, La Habana, Cuba. The incumbent will also be required to travel on a regular basis to the project’s targeted cities, as required by the project’s implementation.

Qualifications/special skills Academic

- Bachelor’s Degree in architecture, urbanism, sociology, local development, economy, administration, environmental engineering or closely related field is required. - Master's degree in environmental studies, architecture, urbanism, sociology, environmental economy, local development, accounting, administration or closely related field is desirable

Professional

- A minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience in environment, local development, project management, urban planning or similar, is required. - Experience in areas of work related to environmental topics, climate change adaptation and mitigation is desirable. - Experience in public participatory development processes involving multiple stakeholders is an asset. - Proven experience in working and collaborating within governments is desirable. - Experience in developing concept notes to international fundings in Cuba is desirable. - Proven experience in M&E is an asset.

Languages

- Fluent in Spanish with excellent writing and verbal skills is required. - Confident level of English in writing and verbal skills is desirable.

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.