Issued on: 01 January 2018ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION UN-Habitat, Somalia ProgrammeDUTY STATION Nairobi/ KenyaFUNCTIONAL TITLE Junior Urban PlannerCONTRACT TYPE ConsultantPOST DURATION 6 monthsCLOSING DATE 08 February 2018
These projects align with broader durable solutions, peacebuilding and stabilization objectives championed by different Federal Member States Administration and the Federal Government of Somalia.
Cross-cutting project outcomes are as follows:
Local leadership, IDPs, returnees and the broader existing communities in areas impacted by return and displacement are able to achieve locally defined and led solutions to displacement, including the means to sustain a living, access to basic social services and participation for all in civic life.
Participatory and inclusive community-driven activities enhance social cohesion and trust among diverse population groups, in areas impacted by displacement and return, and with local authoritiesIDPs, returnees and existing communities in areas highly impacted by population mobility, are able to coexist peacefully and withstand drivers of instability and conflict
Participatory plans, actions and systems for dispute resolution / peaceful co-existence are incorporated into the programmes of longer term recovery and development partners.
Spatial approaches are streamlined through spatial development plans and land use planning tools to reduce marginalization and increase community stabilization
RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager and the direct supervision of the Human Settlements Officer (Urban Planner) in Nairobi and supported by the UN-HABITAT Somalia Programme managers, the Junior Urban Planner will perform the following duties:
Specific Responsibilities
Provide planning and design inputs to ongoing planning initiatives, including citywide strategies, extension plans and urban transformation plans.
Develop clear planning proposals, drawings and related reports for partner cities.
Review of proposals and design prepared by local planners for various pilot cities
Develop critical analysis of existing planning documents and instruments.
Provide inputs to guide or facilitate the delivery of relevant urban legislation reviews and financial mechanism in view of plan implementation and planning processes support.
Develop and organize participatory, multi-stakeholder processes tailor made for the projects in a specific context.
Ultimate result of service
The consultancy will focus on
helping cities develop practical, feasible approaches to implementing urban planning interventions through direct planning support;
assisting national governments to scale up successful local-level approaches through tools development, and
build the capacities of planning and facilitating institutions (development control, construction plan scrutiny, etc.)
Outputs/Work Assignment:
The main outputs that are expected are:
Urban Planning and Design proposals and related reports.
Innovative Solutions for Displacement in Somalia
Midnimo Project for Durable Solutions to Displacement
EU Reinteg
Participatory, multi-stakeholder processes and related sessions
Business Development
Normative Outputs
This will include but is not limited to the following:
Comments and inputs to planning proposals, guidelines and implementation strategies.
Development of training workshops and participatory planning exercises.
Report on urban planning documents.
Inputs to economy and legislation reviews related to urban planning.
Clear analytical drawings, design drawings and diagrams at various scales: region, city, neighbourhood.
Reflective texts on projects, processes and best practices
Output production will be documented regularly through interim reports covering the tasks above and one final report, summarizing the work done and presenting all outputs in electronic and hard copy format.
COMPETENCIES (maximum of five)
Professionalism:
Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to urban planning and design. Strong analysis of urban form, urban systems, underlying social, legal and financial mechanisms and the political context. Ability to develop strong graphic materials (concept plans, diagrams, street sections) as well as substantive reports. Knowledge of urban development issues.
Ability to observe deadlines and achieve set goals. Ability to work and deliver under pressure.
Communication:
Excellent written and oral presentation skills in English. Excellent capacity to produce and manipulate graphic documents and drawings. Good presentation skills. Ability to communicate complex interventions in a clear language and convincing narratives. Sketching capabilities to effectively communicate in workshop settings and teams.
Teamwork:Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve agreed goals.
Planning and Organizing:Ability to prioritize activities and assignments and to easily switch between different projects.
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. Can easily develop clear plans in contexts with limited information and datasets. Finds ways to extract and combine data and information to create base maps. Is both able to reduce complexity as well as sensitive to specific urban form and the landscape.
EDUCATION
University degree in Architecture or Urban Planning, or related field that is relevant for sustainable urban development and urban planning and design. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Between 2 to 5 years of experience in urban planning and design with direct proven experience in drawing and preparing plan graphical material using computer assisted design tools. Strong graphic representation skills required. Good hand drawing / sketching is an advantage. The candidate has a portfolio of plans and designs of which he/she is the author. Post conflict experience is desirable.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. Although not a requirement, knowledge of French, Spanish, or Arabic will be an advantage
