UN-HABITAT Urban Planning Experts Jobs in Nairobi Kenya

United Nations Human Settlements Programme 

Organizational Location: UN-HABITAT
 

Duty Station: Nairobi
 

Functional Title: Consultant Urban Planning Experts
 

Duration: 10 months over 12 months
 

Closing Date: 26 June 2014
 

Background: The Urban Planning and Design Branch of UN-Habitat supports countries in developing urban planning methods and systems that address current urbanization challenges. It promotes urban planning approaches to address rapid urban growth and urban transformation processes in countries with rapid urbanization processes and where cities face a backlog of services and housing.
 

There is indeed an urban planning crisis: the unplanned city is largely inefficient and requires increasing resources to make it more functional and liveable. Only those cities able to embrace different patterns of growth and address inequalities and inefficiencies will be able to provide better lives for their residents, while limiting ecological damage.
 

Urban planning frameworks have changed very little in the past 50 years, despite huge changes in the urban world, and a new approach is required which links planning with legal instruments and a sound financing and economic rationale. 

In this respect, five principles of sustainable urban planning are being promoted by UN-Habitat:

1. Plan in advance of population increase, with the view to remain basic but relevant and comprehensible but not necessarily comprehensive, and to leverage plans for revenue creation through value capture.
2. Plan at the scale of the problem, particularly the projected growth of the urban population.
3. Plan incrementally, starting with streets and following with water and sanitation, drainage, energy and lighting, transport, etc. This gives priority to improving the proportion of land allocated to streets and in turn supports service delivery and progressive taxation.
4. Plan for density and mixed land use, aiming at vertical features that lower transaction costs, positively impact the economies of scale (and economies of agglomeration), and improve revenue from taxation.
5. Provide for urban networks for sustainable mobility and sustainable energy.

In view of promoting this approach and supporting ongoing urbanization processes to best serve national development goals, UN-Habitat supports countries and cities in developing planning scenarios and concepts for urban extension, urban redevelopment and the creation and design of sustainable urban patterns.
 

In view of the above, is promoting planned cities extension and urban transformation initiatives supported by innovative tools and support countries in their adoption and implementation. 

This work includes the development of innovative urban planning tools for physical and strategic planning at the city-region, intermediate city and city-extension scales. 

Application of such tools is ongoing in selected countries over the next 2 to 4 years.
 

In this respect, UN-Habitat has recently established an Urban Planning and Design Laboratory in its premises in Nairobi, to provide direct support to projects and partner cities through development of plans and designs.
 

Given the relative new focus provided to urban planning work of UN-Habitat and the need to strengthen its planning capacity, a consultant is required to provide technical support to UPDB and to the Urban Planning and Design Lab.
 

Objectives: The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical inputs on urban planning and design and to contribute to the development of a new generation of extension and transformation plans for partner cities.

Responsibilities
 

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Urban Planning Component of the ASUD Project and she/he will contribute to the implementation of the Project Component by performing the following tasks:

Specific Responsibilities

1. Provide planning and design inputs to ongoing planning initiatives (1 wm)
2. Develop planning proposals and related reports for partner cities (4 w/m)
3. Review of proposals and designs prepared by local planners for various pilot cities (1 w/m)
4. Present, discuss with local stakeholders the planning proposals prepared by the Lab
5. Develop critical analysis of existing planning documents and instruments (1 w/m)
6. Provide inputs to guide or facilitate the delivery of relevant urban legislation reviews and financial mechanisms in view of plan implementation and planning processes supports

In addition, the consultant will provide inputs as requested on planning documents and initiatives, undertaken by the Unit and develop presentations related to the above outputs.

Scope and Expectations
 

The consultancy will focus on 

1) helping cities develop practical, feasible approaches to implementing urban planning interventions and 

2) assisting national governments to scale up successful local-level approaches, build the capacities of planning and facilitating institutions (cadastres, development control, construction plan scrutiny, etc.), and reflect the resulting lessons in national policies

5 main outputs are expected:

1. Planning proposals and related reports
2. Comments and inputs to planning proposals
3. Presentations
4. Report on urban planning documents
5. Inputs to economy and legislation reviews related to urban planning

Outputs production will be documented regularly through interim reports covering the 6 tasks above and one final report, summarizing the work done and presenting all outputs in electronic and hard copy format. 

Last but not least, the daily presence in UN-Habitat offices is expected.

Competencies (maximum of five)

• Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to urban planning and design. Ability to develop graphic materials (concepts, plans, diagram) as well as substantive reports. Knowledge of urban development issues; ability to observe deadlines and achieve set goals
• Communication: Excellent written and oral presentation skills in English; excellent capacity to produce and manipulate graphic documents and drawings. Good presentation skills.
• Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve agreed goals.
• Planning and Organizing: Ability to prioritize activities and assignments.
• Creativity: 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.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in 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
 

Different level of work experiences are required to perform the different tasks needed for providing adequate support as follows. 

Kindly clarify for which level you are submitting your application.

Senior Planner: A minimum of ten years of experience in urban planning or design, of which at
least 2 at national level (experience in more than one level of government), a significant part of
which should be directly related to different aspects of urban planning such as settlements
infrastructure, strategic planning, land management, plan implementation, detailed planning etc.. 

A combination of academic, practitioner and public sector experience would be considered an asset.
Junior planner: between 2 to 5 years of experience in urban planning with direct proven experience
in drawing and preparing plan graphical material using computer assisted design tools.

Technical Knowledge

• Technical knowledge of urban planning contemporary approaches.
• Research and analytical skills combined with good drafting and drawing skills, manipulation of graphic materials and production of complex urban planning documents. 
• Writing skills, in English and possibly another UN language
• Able to work independently and as part of a team and to deliver on time under pressure.

Language Skills
 

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. 

For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. 

Although not a requirement, knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.
 

Remuneration: Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement.
 

Applications should include:

• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
• CV in the PHP format, accessible through the INSPIRA website (inspira.un.org) 

Please note, if using INSPIRA for the first time, you need to register in order to activate your account, which will allow you to log in and create a personal History Profile.

• The PHP should be attached to the application as a PDF file.
• Summary CV (maximum 2 pages), indicating the following information:

1. Educational Background (incl. dates)
2. Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months)
3. Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)
4. Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments
5. Expectations regarding remuneration

• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)

Please also be advised that since April 15th 2010, applicants for consultancies must be part of the UN-HABITAT e-Roster in order for their application to be considered. 

You can reach the e-Roster through the following link: http://e-roster.unhabitat.org
 

All applications should be submitted to:
 

Mr. Geoffrey Oluoch
UN-HABITAT
P.O. Box 30030, 00100 

Nairobi, Kenya
 

Email: geoffrey.oluoch@unhabitat.org
 

Deadline for applications: 26 Jun 2014

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: recruitment@unon.org