Ubern Planner - National Gender Consultant

Result of Service The main goal of the project is to adopt a responsive Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design that will be used as a reference for sustainable and resilient urban planning and promote gender inclusive cities in Egypt.

Work Location Cairo, Egypt

Expected duration Part-time 5 months

Duties and Responsibilities Organizational Setting: 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.

Introduction: Urbanization is a key driver of development and cities are seen to be on the frontline of many of the global challenges the world is currently facing. In Egypt, 75% of the GDP is generated in urban areas and 80% of the jobs are in existing cities. However, unplanned, and imbalanced urbanization contributes strongly to inequalities and inefficient use of resources. 68 percent of the total population are living in three regions, Greater Cairo Region, Alexandria and Delta; representing 1.8 percent of Egypt’s total area, while 77 cities comprise 4 percent of the urban population.

In this context, the Greater Cairo Region (GCR) - being one of the world's largest and important metropolitan areas- play a vital role as Egypt's political and economic capital, apart from being one of the largest urban agglomerations in the Arab world, Africa and the world. Its population of 20 million people is distributed over three governorates, i.e. Cairo, Giza, al-Qalubiyya.

Considering the state policy for achieving sustainable development and in recognition of the urban, political, social and economic role GCR plays in Egypt, the General Organization of Physical Planning (GOPP), as the technical arm for the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities (MoHUUC) prepared a long-term Strategic Development Vision for GCR. Under a technical cooperation agreement between UN-Habitat and the General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), the vision aimed to achieve sustainable development through improving the quality of life for residents and increasing the competitiveness of the region. Following the created vision, the cooperation project ‘Strengthening Development Planning and Management in Greater Cairo’ was initiated in June 2016 in cooperation with the GOPP, and New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) as a representative of the MoHUUC and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt with UNDP and UN-Habitat; to ensure continued effective implementation of outcomes and results of the vision as well as, to contribute effectively to the realization of priority projects.

UNHabitat is committed to ensure the inclusiveness and integration of women and girls in the development of cities especially given rapid urbanization hinders gender mainstreaming in cities. This therefore prevents the full integration of women and girls in the economic, social, political and cultural life of cities . In order to empower women and girls and improve the well-being of all persons in the city, it is necessary to work towards promoting inclusive cities with spaces that welcome and engage women and girls.

The UN Policy brief “COVID-19 in an Urban World” emphasized that urban areas have become the epicenter of the pandemic with an estimated 90 percent of all reported COVID-19 cases . The pandemic has also increased the vulnerability of women and girls in urban areas, resulting in a significant need to develop a step-by-step planning and design guide to aid in the urban planning and design of gender inclusive and healthy cities. Noting that existing research shows that the COVID-19 pandemic provided a great opportunity for planners and policy makers to take transformative actions towards creating cities that are more just and resilient and that supports gender inclusion, healthy living and well-being.

In this context, this task builds on the identified vision for GCR to ensure mainstreaming of women and girls in urban planning tools and processes by developing a detailed “Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design” that can be piloted and showcased as a part of the GOPP mandate to promote gender inclusive cities in Egypt. It will also contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” and its targets, in particular target 11.2 and 11.7 as well as to SDG 5 “ Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.

The Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design will be developed using the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Guidelines developed in 2017 as a part of this project, to enhance responsiveness of the strategic urban development planning process to gender related needs. Women and girls face exclusions within the urban sphere limiting the following i) access to livelihoods and basic services, ii) right to own land, inherit property or have security of tenure iii) access to employment and equal wages iv) safety and security v) decision making vi) services related to child care, education and reproductive health. As a part of this assignment, the manual will be applied to a pilot study area in Greater Cairo and findings will be used to verify and update the manual to ensure adaptability and replicability to Egyptian cities.

Reporting Line: The Consultant will work under the supervision of the Urban Development Programme Officer UN Habitat – Egypt Office and in coordination with the Programme Manager at GOPP.

Duties and Responsibilities: The assignment will aim to develop a Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design to promote sustainable, inclusive, safe and healthy cities. The manual will aim to fill the gap between existing policies in urban planning and design, and practices to include women and girls.

The expert is required to conduct the following detailed tasks:

Task 1: Project Inception and kick-off This is a preparatory task to set the project workplan and deliverables with the project team from UN-Habitat, GOPP including detailed tasks and kick-off meeting to kick-start the project.

Task 2: Draft Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design This task will depend on secondary sources of information including the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and UN-Habitat tools in order to develop a manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design. The consultant will conduct the following:

• Extensive desktop review on secondary sources with a focus on the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Guidelines including the project gender strategy and reference to reports, manuals, and guidelines developed locally and internationally to aid in adopting a comprehensive and inclusive Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design.

• Develop a detailed draft manual to complement the GOPP National Spatial Development Plan and align with relevant national visions and strategies including: Egypt vision 2030, and the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 developed by the National Council for Women.

The output of this task will consist of a draft manual utilizing currently available resources and potentials, responding to gaps in gender inclusive urban planning and design in Egyptian cities.

Task 3: Pilot Application – Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design This task will pilot the guideline based on both primary and secondary research in a study area to identify priority needs to create integrated and inclusive gender responsive actions. The study area will be located in Greater Cairo. The area will be identified in a project “Development Plan and Healthy City Guidelines” that will be implemented in parallel with this project under the supervision of UNHabitat, therefore, this assignment will be implemented in close coordination with the “Development Plan and Healthy City Guidelines” project consultant as follows:

• Work closely with GOPP and UN-Habitat consultants in the project “Development Plan and Healthy City Guidelines” to understand the context and review the situational analysis conducted.
• Actively participate in Participatory Needs Assessment (PNA) activities including 1-2 workshops and meetings with stakeholders and development partners in the Study Area to identify Gender gaps and needs.
• Identify gaps and provide a gender responsive action plan and list of interventions (including description and cost estimates for both soft and hard gender interventions).
• Identify tools and the methodology used to mainstream gender in identified projects in the pilot study area as well as, propose projects based on the situational analysis and stakeholder workshops.

The output of this task includes the main findings with regards to gender integration in the Study Area, the existing gaps and a gender responsive action plan using the Manual to provide an inclusive urban plan and design.

Task 4: Final Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design This task will build-on the previous tasks as follows: - Review and update the draft Manual developed in Task 2 based on the findings from the pilot intervention. - Develop the final Gender Manual for Inclusive Urban Planning and Design.

The output of this task will include the final Manual for Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design and develop a presentation that includes all project activities and final manual in both English and Arabic languages.

Important Considerations a) A participatory approach should be adopted throughout all the project phases and activities with all stakeholders and consultants to allow them to participate in defining gender responsive urban planning and design approaches in Egyptian cities; b) The consultant will incorporate inputs from local and international relevant strategies, guidelines and publications; c) The consultant will work closely with other consultants working on the “Development Plan and Healthy City Guidelines” project to develop an inclusive gender responsive approach in the design ideas and interventions; d) The consultant will prepare and present all presentations for all stages of the project, as well as coordinate with all parties to obtain the approvals to move to the next stages of the project; e) Produce all outputs and reports in Arabic, while noting that English translation may be required.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in urban planning, urban design, architecture, social sciences or relevant field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience: Two (2) years of relevant experience in the field of research, urban planning, urban design or architecture with work experience in gender mainstreaming in urban planning and design projects is required. Previous experience in conducting Participatory Needs Assessments (PNA) with relevant stakeholders and communities is desirable. Experience working with international organizations and government counterparts is preferred.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written Arabic and English 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.