Urban Resilience Consultant

Consultant

Overview

Provide support to develop urban resilience strategies and e-learning materials.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in Urban or Regional Planning, Architecture, Development Studies, Engineering or similar fields is required.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in developing strategies, guidelines, toolkits or policies for effective urban environments, and in liaising with authorities and NGOs.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.
• Knowledge of other languages (Spanish and/or French) would be an additional asset.
• Good computer skills in Microsoft Office, spreadsheets and other software packages required.
• Ability to work cooperatively with other staff and share experience.

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the agency for human settlements mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. UN-Habitat helps the urban poor by transforming cities into safer and healthier places with better opportunities. It works with organizations at every level, including all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector.

As the main UN Agency responsible for ensuring the sustainable development of cities, towns, and other human settlements, UN-Habitat is strategically placed to coordinate the humanitarian and development efforts of multiple actors and policy makers at all levels in the common pursuit of urban resilience. UN- Habitat’s approach to strengthening urban resilience as a key determinant for ensuring the effectiveness of response interventions during times of crises, and subsequent sustainable development, is embodied in its City Resilience Global Programme (CRGP).

The CRGP goes beyond conventional approaches to ‘risk reduction’, delivering a forward-looking, multi- sectoral, multihazard, multi-stakeholder model for building resilience that recognizes the complexities and unique value of cities, and the inherent interdependencies of each part of an urban system.

Fast growing cities and urban areas of the world are engines of growth and wealth accumulation. This growth can have positive social, cultural and educational impacts. On the other hand, evidence demonstrates that fast economic growth, combined with rapid sprawling population expansion in urban areas, also increases disaster vulnerability and exposure. The level of urbanization[1] is far higher in the developed world; however, the annual ‘urbanization rate[2]’ is much faster in the developing world. The primary urban agglomerations with the highest concentrations of people and economic activity mostly overlap with the areas of extreme or high risk related to disasters such as coastal areas, along rivers and in flood plains.

This joint initiative with UNDRR (UN Office on Disaster Risk Reduction), UN-Habitat and the European Commission aims at improving understanding of, and capacity to, address disaster risk at the local level in crisis-prone cities. UN-Habitat will focus on supporting local capacities from crisis-prone cities, and humanitarian partners, in measuring their resilience status and have an action plan in order to build resilience.

The action builds on the achievements of the Hyogo Framework for Action – Building the Resilience of Nations 2005-2015 and paves the way toward the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) 2015-2030 at the local level and the New Urban Agenda adopted at Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador October 2016. The Action will also contribute to the European Commission’s Action Plan for Resilience in Crisis Prone Countries 2013-2020 and The EU Approach to Resilience: Learning from Food Security Crises.

The project will work with local government institutions, to plan, coordinate, implement and support the various outlined activities. The primary and most direct beneficiaries will be local stakeholders, city authorities and civil society. Women, children and other at-risk groups, often disproportionately affected by crises situations, will be engaged and receive additional attention.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

The overall objective of this project is to build more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient cities, by strengthening the capacity of key public, private and civil society stakeholders to measure, make decisions, plan and develop actions for building resilience to ensure that public and private investments are risk-informed and that early interventions in crisis-prone cities are linked to longer-term development goals in line with the actions of the New Urban Agenda. This joint initiative aims at improving local government and stakeholder understanding of, and capacity for, developing and implementing resilience action plans.

The expected results are:

1. Increased commitments to build local-level resilience.
2. Local Resilience and investments measured.
3. Key issues and challenges identified in linking early interventions in crisis-prone cities to long-term sustainable development inputs.
4. Capacity is built in cities and local governments to develop and implement integrated local climate and disaster resilience action plans.
5. Crisis-prone cities have enhanced capacity to develop and implement plans to increase their resiliency.

UN-Habitat will work in coordination with the Commission and EU Delegations in each city to ensure consistency with the EC programming documents and complementarity between thematic and geographic actions; this will also ensure complementarities of activities funded by other programmes and initiatives undertaken by other partners operating at the local level and globally.

[1] Percentage of population living in cities

[2] Percentage of population moving to cities on a yearly basis

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the City Resilience Global Programme (CRGP), the consultant will provide substantive professional support to the Programme and will undertake the following tasks:

TASK 1: PREPARE AN INCEPTION REPORT ON THE KNOWLEDGE SHARING DELIVERABLES FOR PHASE 3 OF THE "BUILDING URBAN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE DURING AND AFTER COVID-19" PROJECT.

• Determine objectives and targets for Phase 3 deliverables
• Produce work plan together with CRGP project team for delivery of requirements
• Design internal coordination and communication plan with CRGP team and project partners
• Develop a schedule for monitoring project deliverables and events aligned with project partners

TASK 2: PREPARE A MODULE DEVELOPMENT PLAN ADAPTING PROJECT ACTIVITY INTO E-LEARNING COURSE MATERIALS

• Report on UN-Habitat online training workshop materials and other previous project deliverables for module development
• Report on in workshops and other sessions of project partners for module development

TASK 3: DESIGN AN EXPLORATION STRATEGY WITH UN-HABITAT E-LEARNING PLATFORM FOR INTEGRATION

OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES

• Output 1: Inception report and work plan for Phase 3 deliverables
• Output 2: Report on workshops adaptation into e-learning resources
• Output 3: Report on exploration strategy with UN-Habitat e-learning platform for integration

TIME FRAME

Initial contract for two (3) months

DELIVARABLES AND TIMELINE

Monthly progress report to be submitted at the end of each working month, detailing the outputs, key observations, and work plan for the following months. Work plans will be agreed with the Chief Technical Advisor in advance on a monthly basis subject to the main tasks of the assignment (above) and in consideration of the workload priorities at that time. All documents will be prepared in English.

DUTY STATION

The consultant shall work home-based.

PROGRESS CONTROLS AND PAYMENT INSTALLMENTS

Payment will be done in installments on a monthly basis upon completion and acceptance of monthly progress report. A time sheet must be submitted by the individual contractor, duly approved by the Chief Technical Advisor, which shall serve as the basis for the payment of fees. Final payment amount will be based on actual man-days worked for that month.

TRAVEL

Not Applicable

Competencies

Professional: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to donor relations, public-private partnerships and private sector fundraising. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods. Conceptual, analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and the use of a variety of research sources. Ability to organize seminars, consultations, training workshops and special events. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. 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.

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

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.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Required Skills and Experience

EDUCATION

• Advanced university degree is required in Urban or Regional Planning, Architecture, Development Studies, Engineering, or similar fields.
• A 1st level university degree with two qualified year of experience will be accepted in lieu of the advance degree.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of 2 years of experience is required in developing strategies, guidelines, toolkits or policies for effective urban environments, and in liaising with private and governmental authorities, other national/international institutions and NGOs and in working within fragile urban environments.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.
• Knowledge of other languages (Spanish and/or French) would be an additional asset.

OTHER SKILLS

• Ability to work co-operatively with other staff and share experience.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and with good sense of initiative to keep the supervisor regularly informed of progress.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Good communications, reporting and representation skills
• Good teamwork and drive for results.
• Excellent computer skills in Microsoft Office, spreadsheets and other software packages required.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The candidate should be:

• Familiar with and committed to the goals of international organizations.
• Willing to take responsibility, act professionally at all times, and make sure tasks are fully completed
• Sensitive to gender issues and issues of concern to vulnerable groups
• Able to meet deadlines for reporting and all project work
• Express enthusiasm and willingness to continue learning new skills and share experiences with other members of the team

Evaluation criteria

Applicants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications, work experience and financial proposal. The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: responsive/compliant/acceptable having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial criteria (30%) specific to the solicitation. The contract will be awarded to the candidate whose offer:

• Is deemed technically responsive / compliant / acceptable (only technically responsive applications / candidates will be considered for the financial evaluation)
• and has obtained the highest combined technical and financial scores.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max points: 70

Criteria A: Proven experience in data-collection, management and analysis – max points: 30

Criteria B: Knowledge of social services policies and programmes – max points: 25

Criteria C: Educational background– max points: 15

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max points: 30

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UN-Habitat.

Application Procedure

Interested applicants are advised to carefully study all sections of this ToRs and ensure that they meet the general requirements as well as specific qualifications described. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
• Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability & Financial Proposal Form - please fill in the attached form. Download Here (kindly use FireFox Browser)

• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download Here (kindly use FireFox Browser)

• Financial Proposal in USD*- specifying a Total Lump Sum in the United States Dollar for the tasks specified in this announcement. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).

• Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport.

• Technical proposal – specifying the methodology which the consultant will employ to conduct this assignment.

*Kindly note that Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal are two separate documents and should be both part of your application.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs);
• Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs), Financial Proposal Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”

• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);

• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org