Work LocationHome based and Nairobi, Kenya as needed
Expected duration6 months
Duties andResponsibilities
Background and Justification The Southern African region and South-West Indian Ocean are highly exposed to transboundary extreme climate-related events, floods, drought and cyclones. More threats exist in this region that compound the effects of these natural hazards, some of natural origin (such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, among others) and others induced by anthropogenic interventions, such as land and environmental degradation and uncontrolled urbanisation. These events have resulted in loss of lives and livelihoods and displacement of millions of people. The unprecedented urban growth witnessed in the region has resulted in the progressive accumulation of risk in cities and towns, largely due to weak urban governance capacity to manage rapid expansion. Much of the population expansion has been taking place outside, or in the absence of, official planning frameworks. As a result, large numbers of people satisfy their housing needs in informal settlements, often located in high-risk areas exposed to a range of natural and man-made hazards. Urban risks are exacerbated by the increasing severity and unpredictability of climate change effects. The African continent is also host for six Small Island Developing States (SIDS), three in the Indian Ocean (Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles) and three in the Atlantic Ocean (Cabo Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and Guinea Bissau which, despite being located on the continent, has the longest coastline among the six). Despite differing in their geographic location, economic development and social context, African SIDS share key characteristics that contribute to their level of vulnerability to adverse climate events. Due to their unique features such as their small size, remoteness, narrow resource and export bases, exposure to global environmental challenges and external economic shocks, SIDS are particularly exposed to high levels of disaster risk which are exacerbated by climate change. Sea level rise, associated flooding, and increasing cyclonic activity in the Indian Ocean are the main risks. Since SIDS primarily rely on natural resources for their economic activities such as agriculture, fishing and tourism, these climate change-induced phenomena affect them disproportionally. This is also important when it comes to the urban areas of SIDS because many settlements, infrastructure and other assets are located in low-lying coastal zones. Every natural hazardous event would therefore jeopardize the lives and livelihoods of the inhabitants. UN-Habitat has developed an extensive portfolio of work on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and urban resilience in Africa, including normative, policy-level and practical infrastructure interventions at the regional, national and city-levels. At the request of Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and the Union of Comoros, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has facilitated since 2010 the establishment of the Technical Centre for Disaster Risk Management, Sustainability and Urban Resilience (DiMSUR), which was launched in 2013 and is based in Maputo, Mozambique. UN-Habitat and DiMSUR have developed the City Resilience Action Planning (CityRAP) Tool. The main objective of the tool is to enable local governments of small to intermediate sized cities (or urban districts of bigger cities) to understand risks and plan practical actions to progressively build urban resilience. The CityRAP Tool targets local governments with no to limited experience in risk reduction and resilience planning. Its implementation helps prioritising key actions to build the city’s resilience. With the aim of scaling up the regional portfolio of work on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and urban resilience, ROAf is active on several fronts focusing on the expansion of activities for SIDS and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its Member States. In the SADC region, the UN-Habitat’s project funded by the Adaptation Fund (AF) entitled ‘Building urban climate resilience in south-eastern Africa’ – which is a four-year project covering the four countries of Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique – is at its third year of implementation. Concrete interventions are being implemented at the city level, while at the national level support to the development of policies and training needs are addressed, and regional activities are linked to cross-fertilisation and sharing of best practices. The specific proposed climate change adaptation interventions relate to early warning systems, safe heavens, solid waste management, roads and transportation, restoring mangroves forests, and restoring riverbanks. By the end of the third year of implementation at the end of June 2023, a full report on the status of all activities will have to be submitted to the donor. Additionally, several steps towards the scaling-up of the ongoing activities are being made, such as the implementation and drafting of new project proposal focusing on the SADC region and its Member States for the annual calls for proposals published by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) under its Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP), which will also serve as a basis for the further development of a regional strategy for Southern Africa to be presented to a diversified pool of donors for resource mobilisation. On the Small Island Developing States, ROAf is expanding its activities in the frameworks of several projects, one of them being the global project ‘Strengthened Capacities of African, Caribbean and Pacific SIDS for Green, Resilient and Pro-poor Pandemic Recovery’ funded by the 14th tranche of the Development Account, and aiming at strengthening the capacity of African, Caribbean and Pacific SIDS for a green, low-carbon, resilient and pro-poor recovery by providing opportunities for interregional and intraregional learning and exchange, including through the adaptation of existing tools and knowledge products of UN-Habitat, as well as the adaptation and testing of tools on local climate finance to advance innovative financing mechanisms for pro-poor climate action in urban upgrading. The Regional Office for Africa will implement activities in the two pilot countries of Sao Tomé and Principe, and Comoros, that have been selected for the African region. Under the overall supervision of the Senior Human Settlements Officer and the Human Settlements Officer at the Regional Office for Africa (ROAf), UN-Habitat, in collaboration with ROAf staff and other local staff assigned to the project, the consultant will facilitate ROAf in carrying out the duties and responsibilities listed below: Duties and Responsibilities Under the overall supervision of the Senior Human Settlements Officer and the Human Settlements Officer at the Regional Office for Africa (ROAf), UN-Habitat, in collaboration with ROAf staff and other local staff assigned to the project, the consultant will support ROAf in carrying out the duties and responsibilities listed below: Under the project ‘Building urban climate resilience in south-eastern Africa’: 1. Preparations for the third regional workshop – including the Project Steering Committee meeting and the DiMSUR Executive Board meeting – to be held in Quarter 4 of 2023 in collaboration with DiMSUR and Oxfam, including drafting content for specific sessions, organization of the agenda, invitations. 2. Drafting of the revised Project Performance Report (PPR) and checklist after the first round of comments received by the Adaptation Fund related to the third year of activities including the direct provision of inputs and coordination of the process for the retrieval of information and progress reports from all the Executing Entities. 3. As part of the resource mobilization team, contribute to the drafting of concept notes, project proposals, and all necessary material to scale-up the project contributing to its sustainability. Under the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Africa’s portfolio of work on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and urban resilience: 4. Drafting of the CityRAP trainer’s manual in collaboration with other expert trainer colleagues as appropriate. 5. Development of proposals for a regional project for the African SIDS (Small Islands Development States), based on the existing donor analysis and research on the latest findings on SIDS climate financing and sustainable development through the most recent literature review and main key messages coming from global conventions such as COP27.
Qualifications/special skills• Master’s degree in urban planning/ design, architecture, environmental studies, sustainable development or equivalent is required. • Minimum 7 years international working experience in architecture, graphic design, project management or related fields is required. • Familiarity with the concepts of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and urban resilience. • Previous working experience in Southern Africa is an asset. Skills: • Ability to work in team and individually with a high degree of responsibility, often under pressure is required. • Capacity in research and information analysis. • Good communication and writing skills.
LanguagesEnglish and French are the official working languages of the United Nations. Proficiency in oral and written English language is required. Some knowledge of Portuguese is an asset.
No FeeTHE 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.
