Type of Job
Job Family
Human Settlements
Job Opening Number
22-Human Settlements-UN-HABITAT-179179-J-Kabul (E)
Application Deadline: 24 April 2022
Description
Org. Setting and Reporting
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, is the 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 post is located at Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) Unit at Kabul, Afghanistan duty station. The incumbent will report directly to the Head of Agency/Country Representative of UN-Habitat Afghanistan.
Learning from the experience in the last 30 years, and recognizing the realities of the current context, the UN-Habitat in Afghanistan has outlined the need for an integrated, innovative and highly agile approach, one that puts people first, targets the most vulnerable and meets local needs by focusing on saving livelihoods in its roadmap to recovery. It is working closely with several partners, bilateral donor governments and with the support from two major UN initiatives, namely Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF), and the Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) under UN’s umbrella Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) for Afghanistan.
Emergency infrastructure and communal land tenure project
The August 2021 fall of Afghanistan’s government has caused a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan’s cities. Over half a million people have been displaced by conflict in 2021; many have sought refuge in the relative safety of cities. In this context, critical government functions have ceased, resulting in lifesaving municipal services being suspended. In addition, as development aid has been withdrawn, the incomes of urban dwellers have declined, while the cost of food and other essential items have increased dramatically. The unfolding crisis in Afghan cities is occurring in a context of underlying vulnerabilities, including infrastructure deficits, insecure livelihoods and pervasive tenure insecurity. Most at risk are displaced people in informal settlements, with women, disabled and ethnic minorities being particularly vulnerable.
UN-Habitat’s community-centered People’s Process is a proven and effective to reduce vulnerability at scale in the Afghan context. Since 1992, UN-Habitat has partnered with communities in informal settlements to reintegrate displaced urban Afghans into sustainable settlements. The People’s Process delivers support for the urban displaced through Community Development Councils (CDCs) and Gozar Assemblies (GAs). UN-Habitat-community partnerships centre participatory spatial planning to enable communities to identify and implement priority service and infrastructure investments to support their socioeconomic development. Through the People’s Process, the incumbent will support a community-centered approach to secure tenure, upgrade basic services and infrastructure for highly vulnerable displaced people living in urban informal settlements in the cities of Kabul and Herat. In doing so, the incumbent will support the implementation of activities that meet the immediate needs of vulnerable urban residents and contribute to sustainable development and peacebuilding.
Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Senior Human Settlements Officer (SHSO), and day to day supervision of Country Programme Manager (CPM) of UN-Habitat, Afghanistan, and in close coordination with HLP task force and stakeholders, the incumbent will perform the following functions:- 1) Programme management;- Provide technical and management support through project design, work planning, budgeting, procurement, and monitoring of project activities in the field; Provide technical and management advice to the programmes through group meetings and training; in-depth review and evaluation of the work plan,
technical working papers and reports; Execution of project activities by working in close collaboration with the relevant institutions and project teams at the national and local levels through resource mobilization strategies with Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific in Fukuoka, Japanese organizations and other bilateral donors; Recruitment, training, supervision and performance monitoring of national staff and consultants; Develop on-the-job capacity building and knowledge transfer mechanisms for relevant government partners and national programme staff; Undertake in-country missions to field sites to monitor programme and partners; Coordinate and monitor of project progress by defining performance criteria. 2) Promote sustainable human settlements in Afghanistan and increase support for human security and development programming; 3) Contribute to UN-Habitat efforts for coordination of UN activities in Afghanistan, including contributing to the UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) and joint integrated work plans, 4) Perform other related duties as may be assigned.
Competencies
Professionalism: Shows pride in work and in achievements; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems.
Teamwork: Demonstrated interpersonal skills; ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; Places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; Identifies priority activities and assignments; Adjusts priorities as required; adjusts priorities as required; Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
Education
Advanced university degree (Masters degree or equivalent) in urban planning, architecture, development studies, business administration and project management, or in related field. A first level university degree with combination and additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
A Minimum of five (5) years of progressively experience in urban planning, housing and slum upgrading, IDP or returnee programming, project or programme development and management is required.
Experience working in developing countries and/or post conflict/disaster areas is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of Dari or Pastho or Japanese is desirable
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
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