CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Issued on: 25 September 2018
ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION:
UN-Habitat, Research and Capacity Development Branch in Nairobi, Global Urban Observatory, Kenya
DUTY STATION:
Nairobi, Kenya
FUNCTIONAL TITLE:
Consultant to review and analyse Voluntary National Reviews and extract SDG 11 related information
DURATION:
3 months
CLOSING DATE:
2 October 2018
BACKGROUND
UN- Habitat established the Global Urban Observatory (GUO) unit under the Research, Capacity Building and Development branch of UN-Habitat as a specialized statistical unit in charge of global monitoring of the Habitat Agenda and other agendas with an urban linkage. GUO is already responding with efficiency to the challenges that the monitoring and reporting of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) requires. GUO has more than 20 years’ experience in the collection, analysis and production of urban data at the world level and in specific cities. GUO is working to a) Improve the capacity of countries and cities to access relevant information, setting global standards in the design analysis and collection of urban data, and supports the translation of data/information into policy formulation; b) Guide methodological developments of the urban related indicators and targets used by the international development community to monitor global progress towards implementation of the NUA and the SDG on human settlements; c) Improve worldwide urban knowledge base by supporting governments, local authorities and civil societies in the development and application of policy-oriented urban indicators, statistics and other urban information.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators which were adopted by UN member states in 2015 to guide collective action and track progress towards shared global development, where no one and no place is left behind. UN-Habitat, through its Global Urban Observatory is supporting the implementation of 19 of the 230 SDG indicators (15 indicators under SDG 11 and 4 urban related indicators in other goals). The agency’s support includes such aspects as methodological developments, guiding data collection at the global level, capacity building countries to effectively and efficiently collect relevant and accurate data, analysis of progress towards sustainability and reporting at the regional and global level, and making policy recommendations to support attainment of sustainable urbanization.
Within the SDGs framework, countries are responsible for collecting data on each indicator at the local level and producing national level reports detailing progress or lack of it. These country level reports are reviewed during the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which is organized every year under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council to provide a global space for all stakeholders (e.g. governments, local authorities, civil society, private sector, academia, the scientific and technological community, etc.) to share and exchange their experiences on implementing the 2030 Agenda and national and global levels, identifying gaps and in fostering action.
RESPONSIBILITES:**
The Global Urban Observatory unit maintains continuous communication with National Statistical Offices in most countries across the world and collects urban related data through an information flow system established and developed for more than 20 years. With the onset of the SDGs, most countries created multi-agency working groups, which are tasked with overseeing SDG related activities at the national level, fast-tracking localization of the goals, monitoring of progress against each indicator and reporting on the overall national performance against each indicator/ goal. While GUO is currently building a network of stakeholders at the country level which includes these working groups/ agencies, to create an information flow system, these working groups are reporting country level progress through the national voluntary reviews, which are presented to the HLPF every year. In 2018, SDG 11 was one of five goals for which reporting in the VNRs was conducted. Several countries have also reported on the goal since 2016.
To support UN-Habitat understand ongoing efforts towards SDG 11 monitoring and reporting, as well as emerging urban growth trends at the country level, a consultant is required to review all the VNRs submitted to HLPF since 2016, and to compile a fact sheet based on the information therein. Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Global Urban Observatory Unit (GUO), the consultant will be tasked with the following responsibilities;
- Download all VNRs submitted to HLPF between 2016 and 2018
- Review all reports and identify which countries have reported on SDG 11 and other urban related SDGs, and for how many cities the reported national level data is based on
- Critically analyze the SDG 11 and other urban indicators specific information from the reports and compile a detailed report depicting inter and intra country trends, patterns and approaches towards collecting data, monitoring, reporting and using data to make informed decisions
- Extract all data reported at the country level and compile it into an indicator specific database
- Identify areas of follow up with countries for more information, and initiate the necessary communication towards this goal
- Identify areas where UN-Habitat can support countries on VNR specific reporting to create more impact in future reporting cycles
- Any other task as may be allocated by the Chief of GUO
The following deliverables will be required from the consultant:
- Database containing all countries which have reported on SDG 11 and other urban related indicators, and where possible the number of cities for which country level data has been produced
- Analytical and detailed report detailing key findings from each country where reporting has been done
- Database containing an extract of indicator specific data. This should be accompanied by an analysis on the number and names of urban indicators which countries are reporting on
- Summary report detailing the key emerging issues from the VNRs
- Recommendations on areas in which UN-Habitat can support countries
- Follow up with countries where more information is deemed necessary
- Detailed analysis on the relevance of country specific reports to the SDG 11 and NUA monitoring frameworks
COMPETENCIES
- Strong analytical and writing skills. Past publications in an urban related field is not mandatory but will be an added advantage
- Ability to package information for a variety of audiences such as researchers, policy makers and members of the public will be a plus
- Fluency in oral and written English is required.
EDUCATION
- Master’s degree in Social Science, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, urban studies, urban planning, urban management and any related field that is relevant for sustainable urban development.
WORK EXPERIENCE
A minimum of 5 years of experience in an urban research related position
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Fluency in oral and written English is required. Although not a requirement, knowledge of any other UN language will be an advantage.
OTHER SKILLS
- Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of theories, knowledge of concepts and approaches relevant to the understanding of urbanization process, as well as ability to develop and deploy of training strategies, and the ability to conduct an independent analysis, identify problems, formulate options, conclusions, and recommendations. Knowledge of urban development issues. Ability to observe deadlines and achieve set goals.
- Planning and organization: Ability to work and deliver under pressure, prioritize and plan, coordinate own work plan, use time efficiently and apply common sense in the context of the terms of competition. Ability to observe deadlines and achieve set goals.
- Communication: Excellent skills in oral and written communication, ability to articulate ideas clearly and precisely, including the ability to prepare and edit a variety of written documents, reports and summaries. It is required to have experience in publishing documents.
- Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills, ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
- Creativity: Strong conceptual thinking. Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches, takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”, and offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs.
- Basic data management skills.
RENUMERATION
The total fees for this consultancy are US$10,000 (inclusive of all expenses, taxes etc.) These will be paid in two installments as follows:
- US$5,000 upon submission of the first draft reports and databases
- US$5,000 upon submission of the final draft of the reports, which must fully address all observations made by UN-Habitat on the first draft, and subject to certification of this by the Head, Global Urban Observatory Unit, UN-Habitat. **
Applications should include:
- Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
- Summary CV (maximum 2 pages), indicating the following information:
- Educational Background (incl. dates)
- Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months)
- Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)
- Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments
- Expectations regarding remuneration
All applications should be submitted to:
(1) Mr. Dennis Mwaniki: email address: [email protected] and
(2) Ms. Anne Idukitta: email address: [email protected]
Deadline for applications: 2 October 2018
UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: [email protected]
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