Consultant for Technical Support at UN-Habitat

Responsibilities

BACKGROUND

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, 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 main documents outlining the mandate of the organization are the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, the Habitat Agenda, the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, and UN General Assembly Resolution A/56/206.

The project "Support to the Implementation and Monitoring of the New Urban Agenda in the Basque Country (3rd phase)" managed by the UN-Habitat Office in Spain, proposes activities for the effective implementation process of the Urban Agenda of Euskadi.

UN-Habitat intends to contract a Consultant for Technical Assistance to support the Basque Government - Department of Environment, Territorial Planning and Housing to facilitate the Euskadi Urban Agenda´s implementation and governance (including the support to the "SDG and Urban Agenda localization Working Group") , the monitoring and evaluation and related promotion, advocacy and outreach.

Country implementation progress

The "SDG and Urban Agenda localization Working Group" (hereinafter "the Working Group") is part of the Multi-stakeholder Group for the implementation of the Basque Government's Programme of priorities for the 2030 Agenda - 2021-2024 Action Plan. This working group is circumscribed as a permanent working group of the multi-agent forum for social transition and the 2030 agenda in the Basque Country, and it is proposed as a working group for the promotion of multi-sector and multi-level collaboration in the processes of definition and implementation of urban policies and strategies at the regional level.

The Working Group's activities include continuous support in tasks such as the definition of the annual work plan, the preparation of annual meetings, programs and associated events, the monitoring and follow-up of progress and agreements reached within the framework of the Group, among others.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the Head of Office, and in close collaboration with Department of Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport of the Basque Government, the Consultant will be responsible for providing: 2.1 Development of the Work Plan and follow-up of the SDG and Urban Agenda localization Working Group: The Basque Urban Agenda has as its fundamental reference the long-term orientation of the urban-related policies. For this reason, strategic reflection is a key element for its development, its eventual updating, and its multiple possibilities of integration in the public policies of the Region. As part of the mechanisms established in the proposed Strategy for the Implementation of the Urban Agenda of the Basque Country (developed in the previous phases of this project) the above-mentioned "SDG and Urban Agenda localization Working Group" has been established, as a consultative framework and reflection on the implementation of the Agenda and urban policies in the region.

The activities of the Working Group will require continuous support in tasks such as the definition of the annual work plan, the preparation of annual meetings, programs and associated events, the monitoring and follow-up of progress and agreements reached within the framework of the Group, among others.

Within this context, the planned activities for the consultant include: a) Organisation and dynamization of the Working Group

• Carrying out and monitoring the call for meetings.
• Preparation of meeting agendas and preparation of sessions.
• Preparation of presentations (.ppt, etc) of the session.
• Dynamization of meetings.
• Preparation of minutes, minutes and additional documents derived from the agreements established in the meetings.
• Monitoring and follow-up of progress and agreements reached.
• Coordination between the components of the Group, with the Department of the GV and with UN Habitat

Strategic guidance on the management of the Working Group

• Elaboration of the Group's Work Plan for the year 2022, defining objectives, expected results, and expected outputs.
• Research on matters related to the development of Group's activities.
• Preparation of reports, briefings, infographics, etc., referring to the progress of the Group.

Conceptualization, design and definition of the mechanisms for evaluating Euskadi Urban Agenda's impact.

In recent years, consensus has been built on the need to implement mechanisms for the qualitative evaluation of implemented urban policies. These mechanisms are understood as innovative instruments that allow, in addition to the aforementioned advantages, to explain the results of policies by putting people at the center.

As part of the collaboration between the Government of the Basque Country and UN-Habitat on the definition, implementation and monitoring of the Urban Agenda of the Basque Country, a first proposal for the Monitoring Framework of the Agenda has been developed. In this new phase of the project, the monitoring framework will be completed to be ready to be implemented.

Within this context, the planned activities for the consultant include:

• Participation in the specialised working groups for the establishment of a uniform indicator framework for the 2030 Agenda in the Basque Country (within the Basque Government's Multistakeholder Forum), analysis of the proposed indicator framework for the overall 2030 Agenda and its consistency with the indicator set proposed by Bultzatu2050;
• Indicators: a) Analysis of the proposed monitoring framework -as approved by the Working Group- including making recommendations on the adequacy of some of the proposed indicators (which are not yet aligned with existing data),b) identification of the baselines -where appropriate, depending on the existing information from official sources-; and c) identification -where appropriate- of the final goal;
• Carry out a comparative analysis between the already defined emblematic projects for the implementation of the Urban Agenda of the Basque Country and the lines of action of the Urban Agenda. Based on this analysis, identify those lines of action that are not addressed by any emblematic project.
• Define, based on the previous analysis, criteria and guidelines for the incorporation of new emblematic projects; carry out consultations with relevant sector actors regarding the lines of action not addressed in the emblematic projects already defined, and suggest the incorporation of specific projects.

These activities will result on a report entitled "Impacto de la Agenda Urbana Bultzatu 2050", to be developed by November 2022 for its presentation in the Euskal Hiria Congress.

Participation of the Basque Country Government and/or other Basque partners at the World Urban Forum

• Conceptualization and drafting of the events to be held by the Basque Country in the World Urban Forum
• Monitoring and preparation of the event program, as well as coordinating and ensuring the participation of speakers
• Drafting of final reports of the events carried out
• Preparation of the dissemination and promotion strategy for the participation of the Basque Country in the World Urban Forum, including key messages
• Preparation of meetings of Basque Country representatives with relevant stakeholders

Qualifications/special skills

Skills:

 Understanding of development paradigms of urban topics.

•  Knowledge of the New Urban Agenda, SDG 11 and other SDGs related to cities and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Academic Qualifications: Education: Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in social sciences, business administration or law or related field. A first level degree with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in project or program formulation and management, multi-stakeholder group management, or related areas is required.
• Experience with sound knowledge of the Basque Region's Urban Agenda, as well as the regional ecosystem for SDG implementation and its relevant stakeholders is desirable.

Language: Language Requirements:

• Fluency in oral and written English, Basque and Spanish. This position is in Spain and therefore fluency in Basque and Spanish is a requirement.

Deadline : 19 May 2022