To improve the Programme’s global visibility and knowledge exchange among Programme partners to promote inclusive sustainable urbanisation.
Nairobi(initially home-based depending on international travel restrictions)
6 months with possibility of extension
About UN-Habitat
UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable and resilient towns and cities. It is the focal point agency for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed and efficient cities and towns, with adequate housing, infrastructure and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy, and sanitation.
UN-Habitat Urban Planning Lab
The Urban Planning and Design Lab (Urban Lab) is an initiative from UN-Habitat to promptly respond to the requests of national and local governments to support sustainable urban development. The Urban Lab is the integrative facility of the Agency where innovative processes and partnerships are translated into tangible and transformative solutions to complex urban challenges. Throughout, the Urban Lab acts as a neutral broker, managing knowledge in complex stakeholder settings to resolve multi-sectoral, multi-scalar and multi-stakeholder challenges.
The Lab brings together a multidisciplinary team of urban planners, environmental, data-science, mobility, legal and financial experts, providing a holistic and proactive approach to sustainable urbanization. Hence, the Lab captures the necessary thematic disciplines, experts, actors and stakeholders.
In this context, the Urban Lab applies an integrated approach to systemic and strategic planning to deliver transformative change for sustainable urbanization and to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda.
Global Future Cities Programme
The Global Future Cities Programme (GFCP) under the UK Foreign and Commonwealth’s Prosperity Fund (UK FCO) aims to deliver targeted interventions in 19 cities across 10 countries to encourage sustainable development, increase prosperity whilst alleviating high levels of urban poverty. The programme will also create significant short and long-term business opportunities in growing markets forecast to be regional growth hubs. In addition, the programme will make a significant contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The Global Future Cities Programme includes cities in Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey, Burma/Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The programme builds upon three integrated pillars, that collectively will address key barriers to prosperity, in selected cities:
• Urban planning – technical assistance for spatial restructuring (city strategies, urban renewal, regeneration, master planning and planning frameworks)
• Transportation – technical assistance to support cities to develop integrated multi-modal public transport systems
• Resilience – technical assistance to develop strategies to address the impact of climate change (e.g. flooding) and ensure development is sustainable
The programme is delivered in two phases: a Strategic Development Phase, followed by an Implementation Phase.
Strategic Development Phase
The Strategic Development Phase of the GFCP was implemented by UN-Habitat’s Urban Lab as a lead executive agency from April to December 2018. This phase aimed at supporting the UK FCO in the identification, further definition and validation of 30 urban interventions in the 19 cities part of the Programme. UN-Habitat’s contribution focused on supporting an improved definition of strategic and transformative projects that are implementable and which contribute to the city’s objectives, while at the same time ensuring an adequate level of city ownership and citizen engagement.
This resulted in the development of Terms of References (ToRs) for each of the 30 urban interventions, supported by 19 city context reports, eight thematic cluster papers, five policy papers and two normative reports, as input and basis for the Implementation Phase. The Strategic Development Phase contributed to demonstrating how each intervention could contribute to multiple SDGs and gave recommendations based on international practices, while aligning with city visions for development.
Implementation Phase
The Implementation Phase of the GFCP will occur from September 2019 to March 2022. During the Implementation Phase, the 30 urban interventions will be delivered also contributing to the positioning the GFCP in an international context and demonstrating the added value of bridging global and local development agendas through achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing the New Urban Agenda.
While the UK FCO is ultimately responsible for the delivery of the Global Future Cities Programme, the 30 urban interventions will be carried out in the form of Technical Assistance by private sector Delivery Partners with international and national presence, as well as expertise in cross-cutting issues, SDGs and the NUA.
Across the programme, the urban projects identified cover thematic areas such as: transport and mobility strategies, policies and plans; urban planning and urban renewal plans and policies; street design and public space; strategies, systems and policies to enhance resilience in an urban context; smart city development and sustainable systems for management and governance of urban data.
The UK FCO has requested UN-Habitat’s Urban Lab to support the Implementation Phase by providing strategic advice, knowledge management and quality recommendations on both Programme and local levels. A programme level capacity building component will be delivered with the support of an implementing partner, the United Kingdom Built Environment Advisory Group (UK BEAG). The Urban Lab’s main contribution will be to work as a neutral actor, facilitating processes to make sure that interventions adequately incorporate principles for sustainable urbanization, that cities are capacitated to sustain the interventions in the long-run and that knowledge will be shared on local and global level.
UN-Habitat’s Urban Lab now seeks to strengthen its team in the delivery of the programme by engaging a consultant to lead the global visibility, communications and engagement work.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant will be hired and work under the overall supervision of the Head of the Urban Lab with the direct supervision of the Programme Manager of the Global Future Cities Programme. He/she will perform the following duties:
1. Develop the Programme’s Global Visibility and Communication Strategy
• Developing a detailed action plan for the implementation of the Global Visibility and Communication Strategy
• Guiding the implementation of the strategy by overseeing, approving and sharing all communications materials for the Programme
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the Global Visibility and Communication Strategy
• Proposing updates and new initiatives to improve the effectiveness of the Global Visibility and Communication Strategy
• Provide technical advice, templates to colleagues and other contributors to facilitate the development/posting of content to ensure compliance with and consistency in style, structure, visual attributes and platform standards
2. Develop a cohesive communication and visibility approach
• Coordinating communication and visibility work with the FCO Country Managers, Delivery Partners and Local Strategic Advisers
• Aligning the Programmes Global Visibility and Communication Strategy with those of the Delivery Partners
• Collaborating with the UK FCO Country Managers, Delivery Partners and Local Strategic Advisers to identify local channels and tools for communication and engagement, including but not limited to mapping key events and important local media outlets
• Acting as the focal point for collating communication materials among all Programme partners, including the donor from the UK Government, the Delivery Partners, the City Authorities and the UN-Habitat team (including the UK Built Environment Advisory Group)
3. Coordinating the content and promoting the use of the Global Future Cities Knowledge Platform
• Sharing best practices and facilitating knowledge exchange
• Identifying and collating existing best practices of UN-Habitat to share among the Programme partners
• Promoting the (recurrent) use by the target audience of the Global Future Cities Knowledge Platform
• Update and maintain the GFC Knowledge Platform ensuring well-curated and well-structured visual content that caters to a wide range of stakeholders of the Programme
• Update web pages and sections to ensure content is up-to-date
• Identify, evaluate and recommend new web-based tools and technology to increase and monitor engagement on the platform
• Provide real-time support, review and approval to posts shared on the platform by external users
• Improve search engine optimization, monitor usage statistics and produce reports on user and platform behaviour and make recommendations on how to improve
4. Coordinating the work of the Local Engagement Champions
• Developing Terms of Reference for the engagement of Local Engagement Champions in the 19 cities of the Programme
• Identifying and training Local Engagement Champions
• Guiding the ongoing work of Local Engagement Champions
5. Developing a calendar of events
• Identifying key events related to sustainable urban development, urban planning, mobility, resilience, smart solutions, economy and finance of interest for the Programme
• Mapping key activities and events organized by UN-Habitat and other Programme partners, including but not limited to the capacity building events led by the UK Built Environment Advisory Group
• Developing an event template and checklist to facilitate effective communication about key events on social media, through press releases and other tools
• Set up and oversee the use of events and webinars as platforms to promote peer-to-peer exchange and circulation of innovations and new approaches
6. Provide technical advice on knowledge management and producing communication and engagement materials
• Developing the content and graphic layout for all communication materials
• Producing bi-monthly newsletters with engagement features to encourage Programme partners and other interested parties to engage on the Global Future Cities Knowledge Platform
• Maintain a database of newsletter subscribers, edit and updating based on subscription/unsubscription requests
• Leading the development of Human Impact Stories with the support of in-country teams
• Leading the development of City Impact Stories with the support of a videographer/ photographer/ storyteller
• Maintain a database of programme stakeholder social media handles at the global, national and city level
• Identify and design new opportunities for social media engagement
7. Other activities:
• Provide strategic inputs to improve communications and visibility for the Programme team, the Urban Lab and the Planning, Finance and Economy Section with strategic input to
Competency: • Technological Awareness. Keeps abreast of available technology, understands applicability and limitations of technology to the work of the office, actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks, shows willingness to learn new technology.
• 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; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed, Excellent drafting ability and communications skills, both oral and written; proven ability to communicate complex concepts orally; ability to prepare written reports that are clear, concise and meaningful.
• Teamwork. Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• 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
Skills: • Strong communications skills, including writing and graphic presentation;
• Ability to develop strong substantive articles and human interest stories;
• Ability to develop strong and innovative creative concepts to communicate Programme impact;
• Conceptual understanding of urban planning and development projects in order to communicate their impact;
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritize and meet deadlines; work well under time constraints while retaining attention to detail; and
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
Academic Qualifications: • Advanced University degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Advocacy, Graphic Design, International Development or related field is required. A first‐level university degree in combination with two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience: • A minimum of 2 year of relevant work experience in the field of communication, journalism, public relations, knowledge management, or advocacy is required;
• Experience in developing communication materials to report on the impact of development projects is desirable;
• Experience in graphic design software, visualisation of communication materials,social media platforms is an asset.
• Experience in the field of inclusive sustainable urbanisation is an asset;
• Experience in any of the countries or cities of the programme and working on social change projects is an asset;
• Experience working for international development agencies and in particular the United Nations is an asset.
• Working knowledge and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals and of the New Urban Agenda;
• Experience with website management is an asset.
Language: • Fluency in English, written and verbal, is required. Knowledge in any other language of the Programme is an asset.
Application
Interested candidates are invited to submit (i) their Personal History Profile, (ii) a cover letter, outlining their interest and relevant skills and experiences for the position, and (iii) a portfolio or selection of relevant work samples.
Tentative recruitment timeline
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted within one month of the application deadline. Candidates will be invited to take part in a short technical assignment and a competency-based interview. Successful candidates will be contacted within two weeks of the interview.
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.