International Technical Advisor on Durable Solutions for IDPs at UN-Habitat

Responsibilities

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. For over forty-five years UN-Habitat has been working in human settlements throughout the world, focusing on building a brighter future for cities and towns of all sizes. The International Technical Advisor (ITA) on Durable Solutions for IDPs will be recruited through a consultancy contract and will work effectively as the Team Leader of the above-described project. He/she will report directly to the Senior Human Settlements Officer, Portfolio Manager for West Africa, and work in close collaboration with the Head of the UN-Habitat Programme Support Office (HAPSO), who will remain the key UN-Habitat person coordinating with federal Government officials. The ITA will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks:

• Closely coordinate the project implementation with IOM central office in Abuja and develop further the UN-Habitat / IOM partnership to give continuity to it, beyond the project duration, and scaling it up.
• Monitor the project implementation closely and ensure regular reporting to IOM, both narrative and in terms of financial reports.
• Work in full coordination with the UN-Habitat team in Nigeria, and provide technical/substantive backstopping to the UN-Habitat sub-office team located in Yola, capital of Adamawa State, through regular field missions, daily coordination through email and calls, and technical inputs to key documents being produced; NB: the Head of the Yola sub-office will remain the key UN-Habitat person coordinating/interacting with State Government officials, IOM sub-office officials and other local partners in Adamawa State.
• Ensure that quality project deliverables are produced, especially from the technical/content standpoint, which will serve as basis for advocating the UN-Habitat proposed approach on durable solutions; the quality of these deliverables should demonstrate/testify of the UN-Habitat's added value regarding durable solutions and facilitate fund raising efforts.
• Establish partnerships with other UN Agencies concerning the design and implementation of durable solutions for IDPs in Nigeria, namely with UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, among others, in coherence with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027.
• Liaise with potential bi/multi-lateral donors and negotiate/develop other initiatives, in the form of concept notes and/or project proposals, by promoting an integrated area-based/territorial approach for the sustainable integration of IDPs in urban areas, or in resettlement areas or in return areas, following the logic of supporting vulnerable/displaced people where they are, thus contributing to the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus, in line with the UN Secretary-General Action Agenda on Internal Displacement.
• Act as liaison with UN-Habitat colleagues at HQ dealing with urban crises, displacement, shelter solutions, land management, urban and spatial planning, settlement profiling, youth and gender issues, among others, to get tools, knowledge and guidelines; liaise also with other countries where durable solutions were successfully applied and see how to best adapt them to the Nigerian context.
• Develop related projects in the North-East of Nigeria, including in the context of the Lake Chad crisis as well as for the North-West, and explore opportunities with potential donors in Nigeria and in the region.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) is required in urban/regional planning, architecture, geography, engineering, land management, sustainable development, social sciences, or any other related field.
• Minimum seven (7) years of relevant professional experience at the international level on human settlements in crises, forced displacement, durable solutions, humanitarian-development-peace nexus, institutional capacity building, shelter design and development, or related issues is required.
• Working experience in the African context, especially the Sahel, is a strong asset. Experience of working directly with CSOs, UN agencies and government officials is required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in oral and written English is requir