UNICEF is looking for Consultancy: Urban Planning, PSN Section, DRP – NYHQ, Requisition #514770 – United States

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

 

Background & Rationale

The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals present a unique opportunity to advance the children’s agenda with a strong emphasize on the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families and in line with UNICEF’s mission.   As a defining trend of our times, while urbanization is a driver of development, it is not without its challenges, particularly for slum dwellers.  Already, one city dweller in three lives in slum conditions, lacking security of tenure in overcrowded, unhygienic places characterized by unemployment, climate-induced disasters, pollution, violence, poor services and competition over resources. Infrastructure and services are not keeping up with urban growth in many regions, and children and young people are the most susceptible to the negative aspects of living in slums.  As the urban population burgeons, it is clear that increasingly urban poor and marginalized children are becoming among the most disadvantaged.

UNICEF has recognized urbanization as an area of evolving importance that poses among the greatest risks and opportunities for children and young people to realize their rights and have a fair chance at life.  To help expand these opportunities while also responding to the increasing risks in urban settings, UNICEF has been working to develop policies and guidelines that focus on building sustainable cities for and with children and young people, and in close partnership with government.  These tools have started to lay down the ground work for a global urban strategy that will guide and scale up the organization’s work in urban areas at the global, national and local levels.

One of the five pillars of that strategy is “Adapting urban planning and budgeting for children living in urban settings”, describing UNICEF’s role to advocate for a child perspective in urban spatial planning and development for urban planners, infrastructure developers, and the private sector to make children’s rights and needs a central tenet of their work. The Division of Data, Research and Policy has developed the Handbook on Child Responsive Urban Planning that describes Children’s Rights and Urban Planning Principles and urban planning instruments to ensure child-responsive urban settings. The handbook will support countries to push this agenda through global and regional partnerships, in order to act as a technical advisor or key advocate to implementing partners to promote child-responsive urban spatial planning and infrastructure development.

UNICEF will also use the handbook internally as it lays out relevant elements related with land use, infrastructural norms and standards, participatory urban planning and geo-spatial data, which will support the development of more detailed and improved instruments to support UNICEF’s work for children in urban settings:

• Provision of possible indicators to measure progress of the child-responsiveness of urban settings on a local or national level, relevant for the Strategic Plan output indicator 4.d.2, (Number of countries where urban/local government development plans and budgets and urban planning standards are child-responsive and involve participation of children.) and for a new set of indicators for the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) cycle for developing countries (SitAns, M&E, …);
• Provision of geo-spatial data management practice to support measurement of intra-urban disparities, relevant for the Strategic Plan output indicator 4.d.1 (Number of countries with data on intra-urban disparities, including girls and boys in informal settings) and to localize most disadvantaged urban populations (expansion of relevant urban data sets MICS, administrative, geo-spatial and big data);
• Definition of spatial and land use characteristics of urban settings, relevant to support an urban landscape analysis, urban poverty analysis in urban settings and the definition of needed ‘quality social services in urban settings’;
• Definition of spatial planning related policies to support UNICEF’s urban programs on a national level and local level (building regulations, urban planning and transportation policy, land use, neighborhood planning, school environments, child-friendly public space networks, public financing of the built environment, geo-spatial data);
• Provision of tools to integrate children’s participation in urban planning, in particular adolescents and young people, relevant for the Strategic Plan output indicator 4.d.2 and the CFCI action plans;

 

Purpose

The purpose of the contract is to provide support to the Urban Planning component within the Urban portfolio of the Policy Analysis Unit.  Under the guidance of the Senior Urban Advisor in the Policy Analysis Unit at the Division of Data, Research and Policy in UNICEF, the consultant will support the roll-out the Handbook on Child-responsive Urban Planning outside UNICEF and within the organization, along three pillars: 1. outreach, 2. capacity development and 3. technical assistance. This roll-out has been described in detail in a roll out strategy.

Expected results: (measurable results)

 

 Production of the following documents:

1. Outreach package containing an on-line softcopy of the handbook, internal and external mailing, presentation material for various audiences, dissemination within UNICEF (global broadcast Message, Yammer, brown bags);
2. Capacity Development Program with a Training of Trainers module and an Urban Planning Module for Practitioners, including workshops for local government authorities and webinars for UNICEF staff on child-responsive urban planning;
3. Technical Assistance to selected Regional Offices, Country Offices and National Committees in the roll-out of the Handbook on Child-Responsive Urban Planning and in urban development issues. Two country visits are estimated.

 

Support with the following events and processes:

1. Provide inputs /drafts for the Programme Framework on urban, especially the pillar ‘Urban Planning and Financing’;
2. Review of Child Friendly Cities Initiative for Country Offices, more specifically the development of built environment related indicators (space, transportation, urban environmental issues, geo-spatial data and connectivity, …) and related tenets for future Action Plans;
3. Development and planning of UNICEF urban external expert consultations on Urban Planning;
4. Development of UNICEF internal group of practice and external blogs in various media;
5. Engagement in global fora and interagency discussions on Urban Planning as required;
6. Development of UNICEF’s engagement in Secretary-General urban SDG initiatives (Implementation New Urban Agenda, World Urban Forum).

Travel : Travel is required

 

Timeframe

Start date: 20 August 2018
End date:    31 December 2018

Deliverables	Duration (Estimated # of Days)	Deadline
Outreach package and dissemination of the Handbook on Child-Responsive Urban Planning	20	05 September 2018
Preparation of Capacity Development Package with Training of Trainers Program, workshops, webinars	40	31 November 2018
Support select events, Regional Offices, Country Offices and National Committees in the roll-out of the Handbook and to promote Urban Planning for children	30	31 December 2018
Total	90

 

Key competences, technical background, and experience required

• An advanced university degree (Master’s) in urban development, or any related field.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels with focus on urbanization.
• Proven experience in urban planning, and/or urban design and sustainable development with strong knowledge of the urban landscape, the urban aspects of the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III).
• Knowledge and experience of UNICEF programmes of cooperation, human rights-based approach to programming and equity agenda an advantage. Prior experience working with UN/UNICEF will be an asset.
• Excellent analytical skills and ability to work independently as well as part of team.
• Strong written and verbal communication skill in English.  Ability to speak other UN languages is an asset.

 

Competencies of Successful Candidate

• An individual with strong self-initiative, creativity, and ability to multi-task.
• Must have a passion for and experience working with young people.
• Familiarity with issues such as public health, sanitation and climate change in urban areas is also an advantage.

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

Remarks

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.