The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the UN 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 Urban Lab is aiming to integrate the basic services (water, sanitation, energy and waste) related priorities into the UN-Habitat’s urban and territorial planning workstreams, whilst developing the innovative digital tools into the UN-Habitat’s planning and design processes, including online data-sharing platforms and digital participatory planning applications.
The focus of this position is to transfer the knowledge between the Urban Lab and other UN-Habitat teams working on the efficient basic service provision to enhance the agency-level internal collaboration and partnership. The officer will play a facilitator role between the Urban Lab and Hamburg based UNITAC team and the Bonn based GWOPA team; and will support the establishment of Urban Labs in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia countries.
The position is located in Bonn, Germany. The incumbent will report to the Chief of Planning, Finance and Economy Section of the Urban Practices Branch (UPB) in the Global Solutions Division in Nairobi and will be responsible for the following duties:
Responsibilities
•Participates in the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects, etc.; monitors and analyzes programme/project development and implementation; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions.
- Participates in the development of programmes/projects in the areas of climate resilient infrastructure planning, innovative digital tools for planning and design, holistic and integrated urban/regional planning.
- Performs consulting assignments, in collaboration with the client, by planning facilitating workshops, through other interactive sessions and assisting in developing the action plan the client will use to manage the change.
- Researches, analyzes and presents information gathered from diverse sources.
- Assists in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
- Undertakes survey initiatives; designs data collection tools; reviews, analyzes and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
- Prepares various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc.
- Provides substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
- Undertakes outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
- Participates in or lead field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries, etc.
- Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.).
- Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
- Performs other duties as required.
Competencies
•PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to the Urban Lab and other UN-Habitat teams working on the efficient basic service provision to enhance the agency-level internal collaboration and partnership. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful s