The consultant will support the Planning Finance and Economy in three key areas of work; (A) The Block-by-Block Programme, (B) The nature base solutions initiatives and (C) The city-wide public space initiatives and associated areas of work in public space and urban planning.
Kenya
12 Months
ABOUT UN-HABITAT
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the United Nations agency for Human Settlements. It 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. The position is in the Planning, Finance & Economy Section of the Urban Practices Branch (UPB) with the Global Solutions Division in Nairobi.
The Global Solutions Division (GSD) is responsible for providing programmatic direction for UN-Habitat and is responsible and accountable for the programmatic delivery of the Strategic Plan. The Division leads the tools and methodology production and the integration of the various substantive competencies towards effective delivery of the Strategic Plan and the mandate of UN-Habitat. It provides substantive training to staff members and supports capacity development of Member States and partners.
The Urban Practices Branch (UPB) is the tools and methodology production and skills centre of the UN-Habitat, that develops normative guidance and cutting-edge tools through communities of urban practice. It provides technical and policy advice approaches and methodologies to MCOs/CO, government and partners and mainstreams them throughout the programme portfolio. It also ensures that the cross-cutting area of safety and the social inclusion issues of human rights; gender; children, youth and older persons; and disability are developed and mainstreamed across the Agency.
The Planning, Finance & Economy Section is responsible for coordinating the Agency’s substantive, normative and operational work on various dimensions of planning, finance and economy. The Planning, Finance & Economy Section aims to develop, document, pilot/test and disseminate planning policies, norms, standards, tools, methodologies, regulatory frameworks, operating procedures and practices at global, regional, national and sub-national levels in support of (a) urban and territorial planning at all scales including urban design and public space design; (b) urban finance (municipal finance and urban development/projects finance); and (c) local economic development.
THE GLOBAL PUBLIC SPACE PROGRAMME
In 2011, UN-Habitat’s Governing Council mandated UN-Habitat, through a specific resolution on public space, to consolidate agency-wide work on public space, to develop and promote public space policy, coordination, disseminate knowledge and directly assist cities in public space initiatives. Following this resolution, UN-Habitat in 2012 established the Global Programme on Public Space. The Programme is working in 90 cities worldwide. The Programme provides technical support in developing city-wide public space strategies, conducting participatory design/visioning workshops, setting up public space management frameworks, conducting city-wide public space assessments, developing indicators to monitor implementation and assess impact, amongst others.
Supervision
The consultant will be part of, and work with the Planning, Finance and Economy Section located in the Urban Practices Branch of UN-Habitat, reporting to the head of the Global Public Space Programme.
Responsibilities/Activities.
1. Develop technical and normative outputs, including spatial strategy, situational analyses reports, proposals, maps, plans, and designs for public spaces.
2. Develop clear design proposals, drawings and related reports for partner cities.
3. Review of public space design proposals prepared by local planners for various pilot cities.
4. Provide planning and design inputs to ongoing planning initiatives, including citywide and site-specific assessments.
5. Write policy briefs, concept notes and research papers on the work on Nature Based Solutions and sustainable urban design planning approaches.
6. Facilitate public space and Block by Block community participation workshops.
7. Write reports on workshops, meetings, charrettes, and other stakeholder engagements.
8. Provide inputs into PFES publications reports, proposals, concept notes, policy documents, guidelines, information materials, presentations, and other dissemination materials.
9. Attend meetings and conferences within and outside UN-Habitat on behalf of the Section.
10. Deliver trainings to partners on the Global Public Space Programme’s methodologies and approaches.
University degree in Landscape Architecture, Architecture or Urban Planning, or related field that is relevant for sustainable urban development and urban planning and design is required.
2 years’ experience in urban planning and design with direct proven experience in drawing and preparing plan graphical material using computer assisted design tools is required.
Strong graphic representation skills is required.
Good hand drawing / sketching is an added advantage
Experience of facilitating community participation processes related to urban planning, design and public space development is desirable
Experience of playing Minecraft, using Minecraft as a community participation tool and translating Minecraft sketches into actionable public space designs is desirable.
Fluency in one of the working languages of the UN Secretariat, English (oral and written) is required; knowledge of another UN official language is 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.