Organization: UN Human Settlements Program
Country: Spain
Closing date: 15 Feb 2017
i. Project:
Making Cities Sustainable and Resilient
ii. Duty station of assignment
Barcelona (Spain)
iii. Functional Title:
Urban Economic Specialist
iv. Contract type:
Individual Contract (Consultancy Assignment)
v. Duration:
Three months
vi. Closing date for applications:
15th February 2017
BACKGROUND
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 fast population expansion in urban areas, also increases disaster vulnerability and exposure. The level of urbanization is far higher in the developed world; however, the annual ‘urbanization rate’ 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 UNISDR, 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 2015-2030 at the local level. 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, as local level stakeholders, 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 sustainable and resilient cities, by strengthening the capacity of key public, private and civil society stakeholders to measure, plan and act in 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. 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:
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Increased commitments to build local-level resilience,
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Local Resilience and investments measured,
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Key issues and challenges identified in linking early interventions in crisis-prone cities to long-term sustainable development inputs,
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Capacity is built in cities and local governments to develop and implement integrated local climate and disaster resilience action plans and
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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.
MAIN TASKS OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor of the Programme, the candidate will provide substantive professional support to the Programme and will undertake the following tasks:
• Support the creation, development and calibration of diagnostic tools – including the City
Resilience Profiling Tool (CRPT) and Resilience Action Plan (RAP).
• Examine the economy element of the CRPT to ensure it considers the direct study of urban areas and is representative of micro-economic structures and informal economies.
• Examine the urban economy within the CRPT at national, inter-urban and intra-urban scales.
• Ensure the CPRT include for the examination of economic policy and taxation at the urban scale.
• Determine how urban economic structures can be linked to the spatial elements within the CRPT.
• Analyze the inter-connected relationships of the social, public service, governance, and economy elements of the CRPT to provide holistic comprehensive assessments with a focus in intrinsic markets that drive the local economy. Special account should be taken of informal city structures, gender and land tenure issues.
• Determine if principles such as the circular economy and green growth can be applied within the CRPT analysis.
• Support the CRPP Team in facilitating communications with the programme pilot cities and partner organisation to inform the development of the CRPT.
• Assist in development of urban economic capacity indicators, results and action plans for cities.
• Advise on resilience action planning for sustainable urban growth such as competitiveness, local economic development, city creditworthiness, public private partnerships, funding and private investment for urban resilience.
• Report on progress, problems and proposed solutions contributing to the production of global reports, information and communication tools in the areas of intervention.
• Assist in the production of guidelines, focusing on economic capacity and resilience, to be used by the programme and partner organisations.
• Undertake any other tasks for the Programme, which are in line with the experience of the consultant.
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.
DUTY STATION
The work shall be performed from the CRPP Barcelona office.
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
If UN-Habitat determines that the individual contractor needs to travel outside the UN-Habitat CRPP Barcelona office in order to perform his/her assignment, that travel is provided by the organisation. When travel is authorized for the individual contractor, economy class shall be the standard of accommodation for air travel in all cases and irrespective of the duration of the journey. Individual contractors are responsible for all necessary visas and work permits required by local authorities before commencing their assignment with UN-Habitat.
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.
EDUCATION
• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree) in Economics with specialisation in Urban Economics, or similar fields deemed relevant to the subject areas covered by the CRPP Terms of Reference.
• A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
WORK EXPERIENCE
A minimum of 5 years of experience in
• Demonstrated experience in the development area, participation, good governance and liaising with governmental authorities, other national/international institutions and NGOs.
• Demonstrated experience in the development of guidelines, toolkits or policies in relation to urban economics.
• Knowledge of the urban environment in fragile cities, gender mainstreaming, and monitoring
and evaluation techniques.
• Knowledge of environment, climate change, disaster risk reduction, recovery and reconstruction.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and with good sense of initiative to keep the supervisor regularly informed of progress.
• Good communications, reporting and representation skills
• Good team-work and drive for results.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of Spanish and French will be considered an asset.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The candidate should be:
• Familiar with, and committed to the goals of UN-Habitat
• Willing to take responsibility, act professionally at all times, and make sure tasks are fully completed
• Able to work under pressure in diverse environments with minimum supervision
• 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.
CV Review:
• Educational qualifications as defined in the ToR (15 points);
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience as defined in the ToR (25 points);
• Language proficiency in spoken and written English (10 points)
Competency based interview max points (20 points)
Maximum available technical score points: 70.
Incomplete proposals may not be considered. The fees might be subject for changes and negotiations starting from the proposed fee of the consultant. All consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.
How to apply:
Interested candidates must submit an email quoting the post title and the duty station to the following email address: office@cityresilience.org
with the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:
• Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable for the work
• Completion of a CV in P11 Form which can be downloaded at
http://mirror.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=24&catid=435&id=3867 · Financial Proposal. The offeror’s letter including form for the financial proposal can be downloaded at
http://unhabitat-kosovo.org/repository/docs/Financial_proposal_IC_6631.docx
The CV shall include information on the past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.
Please be advised that since April 15th 2010, applicants for consultancies must be part of the UN-Habitat e-Roster in order for their application to be considered. You can reach the e-Roster through the following link: http://e-roster.unhabitat.org
All applications should be submitted to:
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
City Resilience Profiling Programme
Email: office@cityresilience.org
Deadline for applications: 15th February 2017*UN-Habitat does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact:* recruitment@unon.org
For further information please check https://cityresilience.org/new-vacancies-2
