Urban Resilience Specialist

Result of Service

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.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

Four (4) month

Duties and Responsibilities

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, multi-hazard, 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 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. UN-Habitat’s City Resilience Global Programme aims at improving understanding of, and capacity to, address disaster risk and build resilience at the local level. UN-Habitat focuses 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 Programme works along three complimentary streams: technical cooperation, knowledge, and advocacy and partnerships. The Programme works 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 RESPONSIBILITIES Under the direct supervision of 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. Provide knowledge generation, capacity building and learning activities in the areas of urban resilience, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation. • Collaborate in the development, design, delivery and administration of e-learning content and materials on urban economic resilience for inclusive responses and recovery from crisis. • Conduct research on urban resilience and related fields to support the production of articles, reports and publications. • Prepare training materials and programmes on urban resilience for a wide range of participants including partner institutions, civil servants and urban practitioners. Task 2: Review, reshape, and calibrate CRGP methodology and analytical framework to the context of CRGP partner cities and territories • Elaborate context-tailored implementation methodology, data collection strategies, and analytical frameworks for each partner city and territory. • Development of work plans and implementation strategy of the CRGP methodology with the partner local and regional governments. Task 3: Provide technical expertise on urban resilience in CRGP partner cities and territories, including: • Training and continuous support in cities’ implementation of the Programme as well as implementation and monitoring mechanisms. • Support and collaborate with project focal points and working groups/teams in the production of reports and planning of local activities. • Provide expertise and technical capacities for carrying out resilience diagnostics on priority issues, including disaster and climate resilience, and building logical intervention frameworks to set up strategic actions for urban resilience towards sustainability. Task 4. Support the head of CRGP in proposal development, project formulation, and fundraising.

Qualifications/special skills

- Advanced university degree or equivalent professional qualification in urban and regional planning, urban studies, urban geography, development studies, or public policy for the consultancy is required. - A 1st level university degree with two qualified year of experience will be accepted in lieu of the advance degree. A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in urban planning, urban and climate resilience, development policies, or related fields is required; Ability to work with minimal supervision and with good sense of initiative to keep the supervisor regularly informed of progress is required; Good communications, reporting and representation skills Good teamwork and drive for results is desired. Sensitivity to gender issues and issues of concern to vulnerable groups is desired. Adaptable to rapidly changing priorities and able to manage multiple deadlines and deliver high quality work products is required. Familiar with, and committed to the goals of International Organization is required. Proven ability to lead complex projects involving international, cross-sectoral, and/or multi-stakeholder partnerships is required; Able to meet deadlines for reporting and all project work is required.

Languages

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

Additional Information

Not available.

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.