JOB DESCRIPTION
Result of Service
1. An institutional capacity diagnostic tool on water and sanitation for the SDG Cities toolkit. 2. A city-utility joint urban sanitation service masterplan guide
Work Location
Nairobi
Expected duration
5 months
Duties and Responsibilities
Background and Organizational Setting 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 Urban Basic Services Section aims to develop and implement pro-poor policies, norms, guidelines, standards, regulatory frameworks, and operating procedures, for expanding access to urban basic services and improve the standard of living of the urban poor, with a focus on Water and Sanitation; Mobility and Transport; Energy; Waste Management; and the application of people-focused frontier technologies for service delivery. The Water and Sanitation Team aims to support member states in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and 11, including the water and sanitation aspects of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The Team provides policy advisory services, capacity building and technical assistance to national and local authorities and water and sanitation service providers to improve their capacity to deliver effective and efficient services while addressing the needs of the urban poor. The Team’s focus is also on supporting technical cooperation projects and global advocacy to promote uptake of good practices and innovative approaches. The SDG Cities Flagship Programme supports cities to accelerate SDG achievement through a systematic approach, including Data Track, Strategic Planning track, Institutional Capacity Development Track, and Investment and Impact Track. To achieve this, a series of digitally supported tools will be developed. Within the programme, the Institutional Capacity Development Track aims to ensure that cities have in place the core capacities they need to enable sustainable development in line with the New Urban Agenda and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Track supports the key domains that are considered by the New Urban Agenda to be Drivers of Sustainable Urban Development, and for which capacity at the local level is essential, namely: urban governance; long term integrated urban and territorial planning and design; effective, innovative, and sustainable financing frameworks and instruments; and effective, equitable delivery urban basic services, including waste, mobility, and water. Participating cities will be provided with digitalised diagnostic tools and with resource materials and training in line with the diagnostic recommendations. On the other hand, The Urban Basic Services Section of UN-Habitat is mandated to improve the access to urban basic services, including water and sanitation. The objective of the Water and Sanitation Programme of UN-Habitat is to support member states in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and the water and sanitation aspects of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The Programme provides policy advisory services, capacity building and technical assistance to local authorities and water and sanitation service providers to improve their capacity to deliver effective and efficient services while addressing the needs of the urban poor. The pro-poor focus is guided by the principle of leaving no one behind – reaching the furthest behind first. Duties and Responsibilities The main objective of this consultancy is to test, consolidate feedback, and lead the validation of the Water and Sanitation and Wastewater Management Diagnostic Tool under the Urban Basic Services Section in collaboration with the SDG Cities Flagship Programme. The water and sanitation and wastewater management institutional capacity diagnostic tool is being finalized hence the need for an expert to progress the testing and piloting. In addition to the development of the water and sanitation and wastewater management institutional capacity diagnostic tool, the consultancy will also deliver a city-utility joint Urban sanitation service masterplan guide for integrated citywide sanitation planning by urban planning and sanitation practitioners. Part One of the consultancy: • Conduct an introduction workshop for the tool in a number of cities to help review and adjust the questions, aligning them to the various city contexts. • Work with selected 5-8 cities and Sanitation and Water Operator’s Partnerships (SWOPs) through the support of Global Water Operators Partnership Alliance (GWOPA) to test the adjusted tool by supporting the cities to organize 5-10 government officials or relevant civil society to answer questions in the digital system. • Upon generation of the reports, review, modify and present the final report to the SDG Cities Programme and WASH team members. • Conduct city-level workshops to validate the reports, agree on recommendations and develop plan of action for the cities. • Conduct trainings / webinar series based on the resulting plans of actions to share on how cities can enhance their capacities for water and sanitation services provision and enhancement. • Update the tool based on the experience learned and provide the final report. Part Two of the consultancy: • Develop city-utility joint urban sanitation service masterplan guideline. • Organize peer-reviewing of the city-utility joint urban sanitation service masterplan guideline. • Organise a stakeholders’ validation workshop to discuss and validate the city-utility joint urban sanitation service masterplan guideline. • Review, finalize and present the final city-utility joint Urban sanitation service masterplan guideline for piloting, publishing, and dissemination. The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the Head, Water and Sanitation Unit and Human Settlements Officer in the Urban Basic Service Section. He / She will collaborate and provide support to personnel of the Section, as well as the counterparts in the regional and multi-country offices.
Qualifications/special skills
A first-level university degree in sustainable development, Civil/Water/Sanitary/Public Health Engineering, Urban Infrastructure Institution and Regulations and Planning, Environmental studies, education or related area in the water and sanitation sector with a minimum of seven (7) years’ experience; or an Advanced Degree (Masters or higher) with a minimum of 5 years experience is required.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For the post advertised, proficiency in spoken and written English is required.
Additional Information
• Knowledge of development of water and sanitation and wastewater management survey tools is required. • Experience in conducting research from various sources and the ability to interpret different sources, develop and present recommendations clearly and concisely is required. • Professional experience in the thematic field of water and sanitation and wastewater management is an advantage. • Previous experience working with the United Nations will be an added advantage.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.