Urban Risk Management and Resilience Expert - IPSA10

Contract

This is a IPSA-10 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-10 contracts.

Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP Strategic Plan (2022-2025) focuses on three key development outcomes viz. structural transformation, leaving no one behind and resilience. Working in line with these development outcomes, the Crisis Bureau (CB) guides UNDP’s crisis management and risk reduction/prevnetion-related strategies. The Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience Team (DRT) provides integrated policy and programme support on DRR and recovery to implement the Sendai Framework.

One of the key focus areas of DRT relates to urban risk management and resilience. Given the rapidly urbanizing world, concentration of socio-economic development assets and increasing evidence of accumulation of disaster and climate risks in urban areas, the primacy of addressing urban risk management and fostering resilience has become a sine qua non for achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.

Over the past decade, UNDP has implemented a number of urban risk management projects at regional, country and city level to support local and municipal authorities on different facets of urban risk management and resilience. Recognizing the convergence of development challenges and risks of all typologies in urban contexts and the need to advance an integrated risk reduction and resilience building approach, DRT analyzed the past decade of policy and programmatic work on urban risks and resilience identifying existing demands and emerging needs in ‘A Decade of Urban Resilience: An Analytical Review’ and informed thereby has developed an ‘Urban Risk Management and Resilience Strategy’ to advance policy and programmatic action.

It has underscored the need for strengthening UNDP’s urban risk management and resilience practice and augmenting partnerships to implement global, regional, national and city-level urban resilience programs to provide empirical risk and resilience information, augment urban governance and risk management, address resilience of all segments of society to ensure no one is left behind and to harness the potential of digital technologies.

Institutional Arrangement

The assignment will be implemented under a short-term Consultancy arrangement with clearly identified work plan, tasks, responsibilities and deliverables. The Expert will work under the direct supervision of the Policy Specialist, Disaster/Climate Risk Governance and Thematic Lead for Urban Resilience and overall guidance of the Head, DRT and Team Leader, DRR.

The Expert will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop. The payments will be processed on a monthly basis subject to the completion of monthly progress report, time sheet or other procedural requirements and documentation. The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost of components.

While the assignment does not entail or envisage any travel, depending on the need, travel may be required. This travel would be paid for separately and should not be included in the expert’s’s fees.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

Against the above background and with a view to strengthen the DRT’s policy research and advisory support, programme delivery, and knowledge management functions in the area of urban risk management and resilience as part of its overall disaster/climate risk governance and resilience building approach, the DRT is seeking an expert practitioner to:

• Support the policy and programmatic work on urban risk management and resilience and provide technical support to UNDP regional and country teams while supporting research and analysis, knowledge management, partnership building and resource mobilization efforts and close collaboration with UNDP teams and thematic workstreams to advance an integrated approach.

Under the overall supervision of the Head, DRT, day-to-day guidance of the Policy Specialist, Disaster and Climate Risk Governance and Thematic Lead for Urban Resilience and Team Leader, DRR as well as in close collaboration with other relevant GPN teams and partners, the Urban Risk Management and Resilience Expert will contribute to:

1. Policy research and analysis
2. Programme management and implementation
3. Partnership building and resource mobilization
4. Communications, advocacy, documentation and knowledge management
5. Support engagement in and contribution to interagency processes, corporate initiative and global meetings/conferences.

The Urban Risk Management and Resilience Expert will entail coordination with risk governance, EWS and Preparedness, Recovery and other DRT practice areas while also fostering close collaboration with NCE, Governance and other Teams of CB/BPPS as required and collaborate with DRT Regional Teams and program country offices (COs). The Expert will be required to contribute to any other task in accordance with the requirements of DRT, CB and UNDP corporate priorities.

Competencies

Required skills

• Urban risk management and resilience: Policy and programmatic experience of policy and research work on urban risks and resilience related issues including support to program formulation and implementation at global, regional, national or city-level initiatives.
• Disaster/Climate Risk Management and Governance: Experience with application of DRR, disaster/climate risk management concepts and programs in challenging development contexts.
• Resilience Building: Knowledge of resilience building concepts, frameworks and principles and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations
• Knowledge Management & Research: Ability to research, and capture, develop, organize, share and effectively use information and knowledge to provide recommendation and guidance to management.
• Project and Programme Management: Ability to design projects, plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• Report and Brief Writing: Ability to prepare quality reports and briefs
• United Nations: Experience working with UN in support of implementation of the 2030 Agenda with particular reference to urban risks, resilience, integration of risks into development, climate adaptation, disaster/climate risk management and risk governance.

Desired skills

• Integrity and fairness: ability to embody UN values and promote the well-being of all individuals regardless of gender, religion, race, nationality, or age.
• Innovation: Ability to make new and useful ideas work.
• Leadership: Ability to persuade others to follow; generate commitment, excitement and excellence in others.
• Communication: Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform; strong writing skills.
• Delivery: Ability to get things done.
• UNDP: Knowledge of UNDP’s roles and functions in disaster and climate risk management and risk governance and organizational policies and procedures.
• Engagement and contribution to the global policy discourse with relevant strands of the 2030 Agenda viz. the Sendai Framework, the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the SDGs will be relevant and preferred.
• Experience working in developing country settings is required and experience in crisis contexts is an asset.

Required Language(s)

Fluency in English both oral and written, is required. Working knowledge of other official UN languages is an asset

Professional Certificates

NA

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Education requirements

Minimum of a Master’s degree in development/environmental studies, disaster risk management, climate change, urban planning and development, public policy and administration, international relations or a discipline relevant to urban resilience building, risk management, governance and sustainable development

Min. years of relevant work experience

Minimum of 5 years of professional work experience at regional and/or international level providing policy advice, programme support, research and analysis in urban risk management and resilience, disaster/climate risk management, DRR-CCA integration, climate adaptation and related areas in different development contexts.