Career Opportunities at UN Human Settlements Program

Purpose
The purpose of this consultancy is to collect best practices and evidence of changes in policy, behaviour and attitude among land stakeholders in relation to providing tenure security to the poor and vulnerable populations, as a result of capacity development interventions and implementation of GLTN land tools. This in turn will improve the understanding of mechanisms and impact of the programme and will improve programme design and management as the GLTN moves to Phase 3.
Objectives

• To conduct qualitative analysis of changes in policies, behaviour and attitudes among land stakeholders in relation to providing tenure security to the poor and vulnerable populations;
• To quantify these changes where possible;

• To collect success stories of changes in lives of targeted populations that resulted from changes in policies, behaviour and attitudes among land actors;

• To analyse mechanisms producing these changes, refine and track pathways of change (global, regional and country level) illustrating how GLTN interventions contributed to changes.

Scope
In terms of geographical coverage, the documentation will focus on both global and country levels. The country level documentation will focus on Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Zambia, where changes are expected to have happened building on the investment made and work done by partners, and where some data has been previously collected by the Secretariat and though the mid-term review of the GLTN Phase 2 programme.
In terms of thematic coverage, the documentation will focus on changes in attitudes and behaviour among various stakeholders in the land sector (e.g. local and national governments, donors, community leaders, etc.), brought about by the development and implementation of a number of GLTN tools.
These will be documented in a form of case studies/ best practices, particularly documenting actions done by stakeholders towards implementing fit-for-purpose land administration and other innovative pro-poor land administration and land management approaches that are aimed at improving tenure security for the poor and vulnerable populations. The purpose of this is to reflect on capacity development interventions of the GLTN, determine (show evidence) if increased capacity of stakeholders has led to a change in behaviour and attitude, and provide lessons that would inform a revision of the capacity development strategy for a GLTN Phase 3. Furthermore, case studies will also document, where applicable, any changes in peoples’ lives brought about by the change in behaviour and attitudes among land actors and decision makers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The consultant will directly report to the Leader, Land and GLTN Unit or any authorised or designated staff. A task team will be established in UN-Habitat’s Land and GLTN Unit/GLTN Secretariat, which will supervise and be responsible for approval of the methodology and of the intermediate and final products of the documentation exercise. The GLTN Unit/ GLTN Secretariat will be responsible for providing and coordinating logistical support for the documentation consultant.
A reference group will be established for the purpose of this exercise with members of the GLTN International Advisory Board, GTLN Secretariat, key UN-Habitat staff and key partners at global and national levels. The reference group will contribute in the review of the inception report and draft documentation reports.
The GLTN Secretariat will be responsible for obtaining comments on the draft reports from the reference group. The consultant will be responsible in integrating inputs into the required reports in collaboration with GLTN Secretariat. Under this management arrangement, the consultant will be responsible for the following;

• Inception workshop

This task will take place before the data collection starts. The consultant will conduct a workshop with relevant stakeholders to determine precisely which projects to target in each of the countries and at the global level. This task will also involve a refinement of the research questions to suit each particular project that will be analysed.

• Literature review

This task will involve a desk review of the existing documents that have documented experiences and lessons from the GLTN programme implementation. These will include: individual country strategies (to get understanding of expected accomplishments), reports from the TSLI-ESA project, country reports, GLTN reports, publications on tool implementation at country level, publications and other documents by GLTN partners, etc. The desk study will produce a brief synthesis report of GLTN documentation. Based on this synthesis, the consultant will identify gaps in information that exists in the secondary data sources and will determine what primary data needs to be collected in the field.

• Data collection in the field and case study research

In order to fill the identified data gaps, to verify data obtained through desk study and to document good practises, primary data collection through field visits will be conducted in selected target countries/project sites. The overall sampling framework for primary data collection will be agreed upon in collaboration with the GLTN Secretariat during the inception workshop.
The literature review and the field work will attempt to answer the following key research questions:

• What was the problem being addressed?
• Which population was affected and how?
• What intervention(s) were done to address this?
• What has changed after the intervention(s), both among land actors and affected population?
• Development of GLTN Pathways of Change

Based on findings and data collected though the above tasks, this task will involve an analysis of different variables that led to desired changes or that prevented them. Based on these lessons learnt, an evidence based pathway of change will be developed, which would inform the development of the GLTN Phase 3.

Approach and Methodology
A consultant will propose and develop detailed methodologies for each of the research tasks. The methodologies to be used in the field work and case study research could include semi-structured interviews with key informants from implementing partners, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders as well as a series of focus groups discussions with specific target groups (including women and youth). Semi-structured interviews will also be conducted with GLTN partners and the Secretariat.
Outputs
The consultant will produce the following outputs

• Inception report (max 10 pages), including a detailed description methodology to answer the research questions as well as proposed source of information and data collection procedure. The inception report will also indicate the detailed schedule for the tasks to be undergone (work plan), the activities to be implemented and the deliverables. The inception report should be made available to GLTN Secretariat one week after the signing of the contract.
• Draft documentation report – A draft documentation report (30 pages, excluding executive summary and annexes) will be made available to the GLTN Secretariat 3 (three) months after the approval of the inception report. GLTN Secretariat will share the draft report with the members of the IAB and provide comments to the consultant 2 (two) weeks after the submission of the draft report by the consultant.
• Final documentation report – A final documentation report (maximum 30 pages, excluding executive summary and annexes) will be made available to the GLTN Secretariat 2 (two) weeks after providing the comments on the draft report to the consultant. GLTN Secretariat will share the final report with the members of the IAB and provide comments to the consultant 2 (two) weeks after the submission of the draft report by the consultant.

COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Knowledge of concepts and approaches relevant to the land sector including land administration and capacity building. The ability to conduct independent analysis, identifying issues, formulating options and making conclusions and recommendations is of essence.

Teamwork: Works 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 and organising: ability to work under pressure, establish priorities and plan coordinate own work plan, use time efficiently and apply judgement in the context of competing deadlines.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors on-going developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

EDUCATION

• A Master’s degree or higher in one of the following fields: social sciences, international development, land, agriculture, urban development, or a field directly related to the assignment. A relevant university degree combined with at least 10 years of relevant professional experience can be accepted instead;

EXPERIENCE

• At least 7 years of experience in conducting research, both qualitative and quantitative, in the field of international development, at global, regional and country level;
• Experience on monitoring and evaluation of multi-year program
• Knowledge of the Theory of Change and experience in documenting outcome level changes;
• Experience working in a multi-cultural environment/context and with country level experience;
• Good analytical skills;

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Proficient in English with excellent verbal and written communication skills. Knowledge of French will be considered 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.

go to method of application »

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Compile earmarked and non-earmarked income contributions for the whole agency by cost centre, donor, beneficiary countries and theme;

2. Maintain financial data on donors, including graphical analysis by donor, region, theme, etc.;

3. Maintenance and update of information on earmarked and non-earmarked income contributions and pledges, including upload of the updated income information on the agency’s intranet and donor information system;

4. Preparing income trend analysis and financial forecast as part of the annual report preparation;

5. Assist with the preparation of the unit’s annual work plan, and with monitoring and following up on delivery of outputs and results against the plan;

6. Updating information on the donor relations and income pages on the Intranet and the donor page public site. This includes financial data on donors, including graphical analysis by donor, region, theme, etc.;

7. Provide contribution history of donors to Executive and Senior Management to support their missions. Details should include the countries, themes, contribution trends of the donor;

8. Liaise with the finance unit to ensure that all new contributions are acknowledged and that thank you letters and receipts have been sent within agreed timescales;

9. Support donor consultations and other meetings of the unit including planning, reporting and logistics;

10. Provide and update financial information on donors in the Donor Information System.

COMPETENCIES

Teamwork - Works 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.

Organization and planning - Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; 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.

Communication - Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

EDUCATION : A Bachelor’s degree in Commerce or any other related field.

WORK EXPERIENCE: At least two years’ practical experience in the field of Finance and accounting, with a focus on income management and budgeting; experience using ERP and other accounting software; financial and accounting experience will be an added advantage

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Proficiency in English (both oral and written) is required

REMUNERATION: USD1000