Urban Recovery & Renewal Junior Designer

Contract

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

The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG), is a regional joint initiative of the EU & UNDP to support Local Authorities in the Eastern Partnership become active facilitators for sustainable economic growth and job creation. The initiative was launched by the EU in 2017, and a second phase with UNDP as implementer began in 2021. The initiative was launched in the summer of 2021 in Ukraine and more than 140 Local Authorities across the country re-confirmed their participation in the Mayors/M4EG network. In Moldova, the network has 45 member cities. Going forward, the M4EG intends to best support these three different realities of ‘frontline re-gions’, ‘relatively safe regions’ and ‘deep behind the lines’ - Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. In the case of Ukraine and Moldova, a new emergency component is designed to strengthen capabilities of local authorities to provide effective crisis management and coordination in order to address the emergency needs and ensure timely and quality provision of public services for both the host population and the internally displaced and refugees. Simultaneously, building on the existing M4EG network and local level partnerships, UNDP will strengthen the capacity of civil society to absorb and distribute early recovery assistance to IDPs, war affected communities and host communities, in particular targeting women, PWDs to alleviate the impact of displacement and sustain host communities in the provision of support and services. The emergency component will also support the ongoing innovative approaches to create smart solutions for new community housing in urban and rural territories, seen through interdisciplinary teams such as Promprylad and Metalab in Ukraine. In addition to the M4EG initiative, the Innovation and Knowledge Team at IRH, is working alongside partners such as Ove Arup (designers of the City Resilience Index), Climate-KIC, Tallinn University of Technology, Chora Foundation, among others to bring a system lens to recovery and renewal for city governments, including through the forthcoming Urban Learning Center. This ongoing work is inspired by the existing ‘system immunities’ for fast response actions at the local level, and the drive to ‘break with the past’, as well as assessments and thought pieces just launched, such as A Blueprint for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, by the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

The Urban Recovery & Renewal Junior Designer will be an integrated team member of the regional Innovation & Knowledge Team at IRH, and will help coordinate and provide substantive inputs to the response, recovery and renewal themed support to the UNDP Ukraine (& if relevant the Moldova) team. Hence, the Junior Designer will work alongside and get exposure to both regional support as well as country implementation within a crisis and recovery frame, including direct support to local authorities/cities in Ukraine.

She/he/they will support the strengthening of the system lens in recovery and resilience focus in the work with the municipalities in the M4EG network and beyond.

For additional exposure and learning, the Junior Designer will work under a well-coordinated matrix supervision of two regional Project Managers based in Istanbul, and will undertake the following tasks: o Supporting the development of a ‘response, recovery and renewal’ offer to the municipalities in Ukraine and Moldova, including: o Help devise draft background notes and concepts on a system lens to recovery in urban spaces with relevant partners inside and outside UNDP, and help conduct stakeholder and feedback consultations to this end; o Support the planning and organization of misc. learning sessions at regional and country levels on recovery related areas, including moving toward a zero-carbon economy and innovate and green financing mechanisms; o Support the development of a communication package and stand alone pieces on response and renewal to the members of the M4EG network and beyond, in close cooperation with the Country Office project colleagues. o Support the capturing and curating of learning and lessons learned within this work stream, and help disseminate within UNDP and partners. o Helping to ensure that the aim of a transformation shift to a net zero economy is up front and center as part of the new recovery offer: o Support the repurposing of the local economic development plans and other work streams in the team (City Portfolio Journey & Urban Imaginaries) to be fit for purpose for recovery and building forward better for the municipalities in Ukraine, Moldova and beyond, and work alongside and learn from UNDP’s external partners to this end; o Support data gathering and analysis around economic recovery and the green transition relevant to the municipalities UNDP is working with, and provide recommendations if relevant; o Ad hoc support as needs emerge, including requests from Country Office leads and participating municipalities around research, data and learning; o Capture learning lessons and data on the shift to a zero-carbon economy and climate change related areas; o Actively engage in, and exposure to, in internal and external networks as relevant.

☐ Adaptability and Flexibility ☐ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☐ Communication ☐ Planning and Organizing ☐ Respect for Diversity ☐ Self-Management ☐ Working in Teams

/or demonstrated interest in Crisis/emergency response and recovery, including possibly economic recovery; and/or disaster engineering/infrastructure; and/or urban studies Some experience/exposure to international development work is an asset • Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded

The UN Volunteer will be based in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey where everything is available including education, health services, accommodation and entertainment. There is a lively and large group of international community. Istanbul airport has direct connections with all European and global cities. Istanbul is a Security level 3 (Moderate) duty station.

Living Conditions for Istanbul: Turkey is an upper middle-income country, with highly-urbanized cities and well developed infrastructure systems. Most of Turkey is assessed to be at security level 1-Minimal. Security level 2 Low applies to Ankara and Istanbul. Seismic activity remains one of the primary hazards in Turkey. Turkey’s population of nearly 81 million is almost entirely Muslim. Turkish is the official language. English predominates as the second language. The post will be located in Istanbul, which has a population of around 15M people, and straddles the European and Asian continents. Istanbul is a UN Hub for the Europe and Central Asia Regional Offices of several UN agencies, including UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women among others. There is a lively and large group of international community. Istanbul International Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport have direct connections with all European, Central Asian and global cities. Istanbul provides modern services and entertainment opportunities and an elaborate medical services system. Healthcare is exceptionally good with various public and private hospitals with experienced doctors and medical staff, some of whom speak English. No specific vaccination is required to enter Turkey. Considering the rapidly changing pandemic situation in Istanbul, travelers should consult the receiving entity or the partner UN Agency, or UNDSS about the latest travel requirements/restrictions.