Urban Policy and Research Consultant at UN-Habitat

UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2020 - 2025
UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan for the years 2020 – 2025 reinforces UN-Habitat’s position as the global centre of excellence on sustainable urban development, offering solutions that help seize the opportunities presented by urbanization, while bringing about transformational change for the benefit of millions of people, ensuring that no one and no place is left behind. 

The Strategic Plan lays out a recalibrated vision and mission, and a sharpened focus. UN-Habitat proposes to serve Member States, sub-national and local governments, and other key urban actors in the pursuit of four mutually reinforcing and integrated domains of change:

• Reduced poverty and spatial inequality in urban and rural communities;
• Enhanced shared prosperity of cities and regions;
• Strengthened climate action and improved urban environment; and
• Effective urban crisis prevention and response.

UN-Habitat’s Knowledge and Innovation Branch, External Relations, Strategy, Knowledge and Innovation Division (ERSKI)

• The position is located in the Knowledge and Innovation Branch, External Relations, Strategy, Knowledge and Innovation Division (ERSKI) of UN-Habitat in Nairobi. ERSKI is responsible for strategic planning, programmatic direction and operationalization of UN-Habitat's focal point role for the New Urban Agenda in the UN system; knowledge management, data and reporting; innovation; resource mobilization; and strategic partnerships.
• Specifically, the consultant will work under the supervision of the Chief, Knowledge and Innovation Branch. The Branch is responsible to generate data and analysis which feeds into high-level global reporting on substantive findings as well as identifying emerging innovations and solutions which are scalable, expanding and leveraging greater impact of the UN-Habitat work programme and strategy.
• The Branch will also play a key role in the preparations of the World Urban Forum 12 being held in November 2024, where substantive urban policy and research support is required from the consultant

Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Knowledge and Innovation Branch. The consultant will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

• Prepare research and policy analysis inputs for the substantive preparations of the World Urban Forum 2024
• Undertake policy analysis on priority sustainable urbanization themes and topics for the preparation of reports and publications
• Provide technical support on the formulation of a strategy for regional State of the Cities Reports
• Pilot the Urban Performance Index
• Conceptualize and launch an urban foresight research track towards UN 2.0 
• Provide substantive review and revision of major research and policy reports and knowledge products
• Research and analyse digital urban transformation and innovation.
• Support establishment and servicing of partnerships with leading research and data institutions and actors of relevance to the work of UN-Habitat. 
• Provide technical support in the preparations for the 2026 Quadrennial report of the UN Secretary General on progress with the New Urban Agenda

Qualifications/special skills

• Bachelor Degree in social sciences, economics, political science, international development, urban planning, architecture or related subjects is required.
• At least two years’ experience in working socio-economic research and data analysis is required.
• Experience in undertaking research and policy analysis on sustainable cities and urbanization is required
• Experience in coordinating international urban research and data analytics projects is desirable
• Experience in supporting global events and meetings on sustainable urbanization is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is a desirable