1. Inception Report and work programme
2. UNITAC Hamburg website and content
3. People-centered smart cities website and content
4. Smart city toolbox website and content
5. Digital helpdesk website and content
6. A report on the events organised in collaboration with the UNITAC team
7. A report on media outreach
8. A communications plan for the Urban Academy
9. Urban Academy online presence, including website and social media
10. A selection of multimedia assets
11. An updated UNITAC communications strategy
12. At least 12 blog posts and articles
Homebased
12 months
1. About UN-Habitat
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the lead United Nations agency for cities and human settlements. The agency is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all and sustainable development. The main documents outlining the mandate of the organization are the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, the Habitat Agenda, the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, and UN General Assembly Resolution A/56/206.
UN-Habitat, being the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system, has a role in delivering the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by Member States in 2015, specifically goal 11: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
As our cities and towns grow at unprecedented rates, setting the social, political, cultural and environmental trends of the world, sustainable urbanization is one of the most pressing challenges for the global community in the 21st century. In 1950, one-third of the world’s population lived in cities. Just 50 years later, this proportion has risen to one-half and will continue to grow to two-thirds, or six billion people, by 2050. Cities are now home to half of humankind. They are the hub for national production and consumption - economic processes that generate wealth and opportunity. But they also create disease, crime, pollution and poverty. In many cities, especially in developing countries, slum dwellers number more than 50% of the population and have little or no access to shelter, water and sanitation.
2. UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2020 - 2025
Outcome 2.3 of the Strategic Plan is “expanded deployment of frontier technologies and innovations for urban development”. Frontier technologies are influencing the emergence of smart cities, how we build and manage our cities and human settlements, and how urban managers take more informed decisions. The New Urban Agenda calls for technology and communication networks to be strengthened and for smart-city approaches that use digitalization, clean energy, and technologies to boost economic growth and improve service delivery, while promoting broad-based inclusion, including of persons with disabilities.
3. United Nations Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities (UNITAC Hamburg)
The United Nations Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities is an innovation lab in Hamburg, established in March 2021 by UN-Habitat in collaboration with UN Office for Information and Communications Technology (UN-OICT) and HafenCity University. The Accelerator promotes open and participatory governance of data and digital platforms, innovations related to mapping, spatial analysis and data visualization and people-centered smart cities. UNITAC Hamburg is funded by the Government of Germany for four years.
The Accelerator is creating a team of urban, technology and innovation experts which will develop technologies to solve the world’s most pressing urban challenges and ensure that we speed up progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities.
Under the direct supervision of the UNITAC-Hamburg Manager, the consultant will coordinate the development of the following outputs contributing to shaping UN-Habitat’s communication and advocacy engagement for the UNITAC initiative.
1. UNITAC Communication Strategy. Lead the continued implementation and monitoring of the UNITAC Communication Strategy and advice on improvements; identify opportunities to build the visibility of both UNITAC through strategic partnerships, whether through campaigns, events or other initiatives, in line with UN-Habitat’s corporate brand.
2. Communication outreach and media activities. Function as media contact point and handle media queries and requests; Draft various communication products (including press releases, media messages, media packs and reports, briefings, ect.); Draft and disseminate newsletters and email campaigns to promote UNITAC projects to increase programme visibility and knowledge sharing. Strategically engage media and other partners to amplify the voice, results, leadership and messages of UNITAC among target audiences.
3. Events organising. Organise or participate in the organisation of conferences, forums, press briefings, interviews, etc.; prepare briefing materials for senior officials for to their participation in such events.
4. UNITAC online presence. Oversee the content of UNITAC website and its social media accounts; developing websites for specific initiatives, producing content, commissioning articles and blog posts and managing social media accounts. Ensure alignment with UN-Habitat’s people-centered flagship programme.
5. Communication liaison: Act as the UNITAC communication focal point for liaising with UN-Habitat’s communication focal point network, HQ, regional offices and country offices; liaise with the UN Department for Global Communications, UN-OICT and HafenCity University communications teams.
6. Challenge driven innovation. Lead the communication and outreach activities of the Climate Smart Cities Challenge and other challenge-driven innovation initiatives. Manage and edit the website content and social media platforms. Support in the organisation of events and webinars.
7. Communicating the Urban Academy. Develop a communications plan for the urban academy. Lead the development of site architecture, content and UI design for its website. Support in the organisation of events, webinars and online activities. Draft content for the website including stories and reports. Design graphic material for workshops and webinars.
8. Multimedia content creation and design. Production and dissemination of information material; photo and graphic research; editorial content (stories, photo galleries, advocacy images, campaigns, quote cards, video, graphics, etc.) and adaptation for digital platforms; development and coordination of the visual design of reports, websites, templates and general communication products to ensure a common identity for all meeting the institutional guidelines;
9. People-centered smart cities communications. Contribute to communication of the people-centered smart cities programme, including communications outreach, design and online presence.
10. Digital platforms. Support the development of the identity design, UI and web architecture for the Digital Transformation Toolbox website. Design the UI of the People-Centered Smart City Helpdesk website and act as liaison with website developers for implementation. Identify further development needs and implements as well as required changes on the different Flagship 2 web platforms
Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in communication, journalism, international relations, social sciences, political science, international development, urban planning, architecture, innovation or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) years’ experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
Experience: • A minimum of five years’ experience in communications, journalism or media is required.
• Experience in media outreach, engaging with journalists, facilitating interviews. Media/journalist network is desirable.
• Strong skills in writing, including writing web copy, press releases, news articles and publications is desirable.
• Experience in working with digital platforms and websites, including social media is desirable.
• Experience in developing communications strategies and policies is desirable.
• Experience in project management desirable.
• Experience in graphic design desirable.
Language: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of German is highly desirable
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.