Position description
Org. Setting and Reporting
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 Global Solutions Division (GSD) is responsible for providing programmatic direction for UN-Habitat and is responsible and accountable for the programmatic delivery of the Strategic Plan. The Division leads the tools and methodology production and the integration of the various substantive competencies towards effective delivery of the Strategic Plan and the mandate of UN-Habitat. It provides substantive training and supports capacity development of Member States and partners. The Urban Practices Branch (UPB) is the tools and methodology production and skills centre of the UN-Habitat, that develops normative guidance and cutting-edge tools through its five sections and Agency-wide communities of urban practice. It provides technical and policy advice approaches and methodologies to MCOs/CO, government and partners and mainstreams them throughout the programme portfolio. It also ensures that the cross-cutting area of safety and the social inclusion issues including human rights; gender; children, youth and older persons; and disability, are developed and mainstreamed across the Agency. The Local2030 Coalition is the UN system-wide mechanism to advance the crucial engagement of local stakeholders in a systematic way – a common space to mobilize, engage and empower every local actor, everywhere – towards the achievement of the SDGs. The Coalition is underpinned by the recognition that strategic and committed partnerships are key to ensure coherence and effectiveness. Inside the UN system, the Local2030 Coalition aims to strengthen coordination between the UN agencies efforts and expand and deepen their partnerships with local actors to advance the SDGs. The Coalition is co-chaired by UN-Habitat (as the permanent co-Chair) and one other UN entity which rotates every two years (currently UNDP). UN-Habitat also serves as the Secretariat of the Local2030 Coalition. The Coalition is governed by a Steering Committee, and supported by a UN Directors’ Group which includes senior representatives from various UN Agencies, Offices, Funds and Programmes. The Executive Office of the secretary-General (EOSG) closely accompanies and supports the work of the Local2030 Coalition. The focus of this position is on managing the Local2030 Coalition secretariat and its activities under the overall supervision of the UN-Habitat senior focal point on SDG localization and local government relations in UN-Habitat, and with the guidance of the Local2030 Coalition Co-Chairs and Steering Committee. The Senior Programme Officer (SPO)/Head of Secretariat (HoS) will implement the strategic direction of Local2030 Coalition and the formulation and implementation of the secretariat work programme to increase the effectiveness of local actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The position is located in the Local2030 Coalition Secretariat, Bilbao duty station. Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Urban Practices Branch (UPB), Global Solutions Division (GSD), the incumbent will perform the following duties and responsibilities:
Responsibilities
- Takes the lead in developing and implementing the vision for strategic direction of Local2030; leading the development of the Local2030 Coalition Secretariat work programme and budget with active participation of the Secretariat staff members, Coalition co-Chairs, the UN Directors’ Group and partners; ensuring the alignment of the Secretariat work programme with UN-Habitat’s strategic plan and work programme and organizational priorities; leading the Secretariat efforts in operational support to SDG localization as requested by the UN resident Coordinator Offices and Country Teams; leading the implementation of advocacy, action, and monitoring activities of Local2030 Secretariat; and ensuring that the quality of all the Secretariat products and activities is up to the UN-Habitat standards;
- Ensures implementation of gender mainstreaming guidelines by assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels;
- Directs research and programme evaluation and presents information gathered from diverse sources;
- Coordinates policy development; reviews the assessments of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or research activities and studies;
- Undertakes survey initiatives; guides design of data collection instruments; reviews, analyses and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions;
- Supervises preparation of various written outputs, e.g. background papers, analysis, substantial sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc.;
- Directs substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.;
- Manages outreach activities; designs and conducts training workshops, seminars, etc., makes presentations on assigned topics/activities;
- Leads efforts, as required, to keep strong presence of Local2030 in key high level international and regional fora, and coordinating the preparation of Local2030 Secretariat events, and actively participating, in such fora;
- Leads field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries, etc.;
- Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and ensures preparation of related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.);
- Serves as an effective spokesperson and establishes collaboration and partnerships with key officials at all levels inside and outside the organization;
- Works closely with the host country institutions to ensure smooth operations of the Local2030 Coalition Secretariat;
- Leads and implements, in line with UN Habitat policies and processes, all necessary financial resource mobilization activities and advocating and, supports UN Habitat in liaising, with donor agencies and regional development banks to maintain and enhance financial support to Local2030 Coalition Secretariat; establishing and maintaining professional relationships with substantive partners of Local2030; support UN-Habitat in maintaining strong relationships with governmental agencies and development partners to ensure political support to Local2030 and SDG Localization;
- Manages the Local2030 Secretariat Office and running its day-to-day operations by recruiting the needed personnel; managing and supervising the Secretariat staff members in the implementation of the developed Secretariat work programme; managing staff performance, and overseeing staff training and development;
- Leads team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need;
- May perform other related duties as required.
Competencies
- PROFESSIONALISM: Ability to identify key strategic issues, opportunities and risks. Ability to generate and communicate broad and compelling organizational direction. Ability to communicate clearly links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals. Demonstrated ability to provide innovative technical leadership by performing and/or overseeing the planning, development, and management of operation. Demonstrated ability to negotiate and apply good judgment; Ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations;
- LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow. Empowers others to translate vision into results. Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives. Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support. Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions. Drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo. Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing;
- JUDGEMENT/DECISION MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation and comes to the heart of the problem quickly. Gathers relevant information before making a decision. Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them. Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization. Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information. Checks assumptions against facts. Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision. Makes tough decisions when necessary;
- 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;
- 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 ongoing 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
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international development, governance, public administration, urban and regional planning, economics, law, management or a related field is required;
- A first-level university degree in law in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.
Work Experience
- A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in governance, public administration, project or programme management, development management, urban development or related area is required. Experience managing relationships with a wide range of partners, stakeholders and donors is required. Experience with international organizations in the implementation of policies and programmes in the area of local and regional governments is desirable. Experience with the UN system is desirable. Experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat;
- For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is desirable. NOTE: “Fluency equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of “confident” in two of the four areas.
Application instructions
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