The ultimate result of the consultancy services includes: guide activities conducted by the UPIMC Cameroon project team to deliver the technical outputs as required to support Douala IV and III to: 1) have a comprehensive spatial understanding of the existing situation in their city and in urban settlements hosting displaced populations to inform decision making, 2) agree on detailed strategic visioning and scenario building for urban development in selected neighbourhoods, 3) identify investment opportunities to support linking displaced and hosting communities to infrastructure financing; and 4) have increased capacity to collect and analyze data and information and use it to prioritize interventions.
Douala Cameroon
9 months
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.
Urban Planning and Infrastructure for Migration Contexts Programme
UN-Habitat is partnering with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to improve access to reliable services and socio-economic opportunities for migrants and refugees in urban settlements. The Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts (UPIMC) programme will focus on activities that develop a common understanding of the issues affecting cities, towns and neighbourhoods, mapping provisions and gaps in public infrastructure services in coordination with humanitarian interventions.
The preparation of urban profiles for the selected vulnerable neighbourhoods will enable the development of shared visions and prioritised interventions that improve living conditions to be identified, agreed upon and potentially funded. The programme will support municipalities hosting displaced populations in Jordan, Egypt and Cameroon. Cities in these three countries have been selected through full consultation with both SECO and UN-Habitat country representatives. In the selected cities, the programme will foster multi-sectoral collaboration between UN-Habitat, national and local governments, humanitarian actors, development banks and local communities including displaced populations. The scope of work will also ensure significant contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by supporting the selected cities and neighbourhoods to become increasingly inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
This Programme will address the critical challenges in supporting displaced populations in urban areas, through integrating them into overall urban development processes, considering the Humanitarian- Development and Peace/Triple Nexus. The Overall Programme aims include:
1. Support municipalities to mainstream migration challenges into spatial urban analytics and urban infrastructure investment planning.
2. Conduct activities that will go beyond a pure planning stage, by supporting the prioritization of infrastructure investments and their linkage to financing.
3. Benefit migrant communities and urban dwellers in general with better quality of life and better access to economic opportunities.
CAMEROON – Douala
Cameroon has been hosting IDPs and refugees for more than a decade, whose numbers have increased in the last five years due to internal (Anglophone crisis, Boko Haram) and external (instability in Central African Republic) conflicts fuelled by religious and political grievances. Cameroon currently hosts 1,787,420 people of concern, including 274,520 Central African Republic refugees, 113,861 Nigerian refugees, 36,357 urban refugees and asylum seekers of various nationalities, 1,001,279 IDPs and 360,838 returnees (former IDPs). In order to support local municipalities in alleviating the pressure that population influxes can create on the provision of basic services and infrastructure and socio- economic conditions, the first phase of the UPIMC project in Cameroon has been launched in Douala.
UN-Habitat's UPIMC team now seeks to strengthen its capability in the delivery of the programme by engaging an urban planner with experience in contexts where spatial data is limited and urban field wok is required. The contract period is for 9 months.
REPORTING AND COMMUNICATION
The consultant will be hired and work under the overall supervision of Programme Management Officer at the UN-Habitat HQ. The consultant will work closely with the Technical Backstopping Team in UN-Habitat HQ and the UPIMC Cameroon team, and in partnership with the UN- Habitat Cameroon Team in Yaoundé. The entire UPIMC Programme Team also includes a network of Country Project Teams spread across the three countries of the Programme.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:
1. Work with UPIMC Programme Management Team (UN-Habitat HQ) and UPIMC Cameroon Project Team
a. Work with UPIMC Global Programme Coordinator at UN-Habitat HQ to align UPIMC team activities and outputs in Cameroon with programme standards
b. Remain abreast of projects conducted by the UN-Habitat Cameroon Country Programme, seeking opportunities to align UPIMC with other UN-Habitat activities in Cameroon
c. Remain abreast of migration-related projects and programming in Cameroon, participating in UN Migration Network in Cameroon meetings and Inter-Agency Coordination meetings on Cameroon;
d. Participation in meetings with SECO and Swiss Representatives in Cameroon and Switzerland
e. Ensure project management and organisation in Cameroon is consistent with UN-Habitat and UPIMC standards
2. Provide technical advice and coordinate with activities conducted by the UPIMC Cameroon Project team in the preparation of multi-sectoral spatial profiles providing a city/neighbourhood-wide overview and multi-scalar assessment of displaced communities
a. Desk review and socio-economic data collection
b. Planning & Migration policy analysis & Institutional framework assessment
c. Stakeholder mapping and assessment
d. Stakeholder Engagement and Visioning workshops
e. Spatial data collection, asset and infrastructure mapping
f. Mapping of proposed infrastructure investments
g. Cross-sectoral spatial analysis and key trend identification
h. Profile Preparation, including illustrating maps, drafting text and laying out information
i. Proofread and edit outputs, ensuring Spatial Settlement Profiling and UN-Habitat standards are met
3. Identification of suitable pilot areas within the supported cities with all relevant stakeholders and priorities agreed in line with Sustainable Development Goals
a. Pilot Area Identification
b. Development of technical conclusions and strategic spatial recommendations
c. Utilization of tools to refine local priorities with key stakeholders
d. Stakeholder validation of conclusions and recommendations for pilot areas
4. Carry out preparation and facilitation of trainings, events, exchanges for local authorities and other stakeholders
a. Coordinate engagement of local authorities in global forums
b. Capacity Building Sessions with local authorities to continue to monitor and guide infrastructure implementation
5. Work with UN-Habitat HQ to roll out of Data management systems, knowledge, and lessons learnt reports as well as assistance with project evaluation and reporting.
Academic Qualifications:
Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Architecture, Urban Development and Planning, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with (4) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience:
• At least 2 years of relevant work experience in the field of urban development and planning (and/or related fields) is required;
• Experience working on issues related to migration and displacement is desirable;
• Working knowledge and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (and their monitoring/evaluation) and of the New Urban Agenda is desirable;
• Direct proven experience of urban infrastructure development projects/processes is considered an asset;
• Experience working in the public sector, e.g. local governments is an asset;
• Knowledge in GIS is an asset.
Fluency in English and French, written and verbal, is required. Knowledge of any other language of the Programme is an asset.
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.