Urban Specialist

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Global Portfolio Services Office (GPSO) develops and manages a portfolio of projects and services delivered in various locations across the globe.

GPSO supports partners such as the World Bank, the European Union, the Department of Peacekeeping operations, the United Nations Mine Action Service, the Global Fund, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, amongst others. This global portfolio constitutes a substantial volume of UNOPS project delivery.

The Cities Alliance is a global partnership for urban poverty reduction and strengthening the role of cities in sustainable development. Based in Brussels, the Secretariat is hosted by UNOPS. The work programme of the Cities Alliance consists of three pillars:

• Country and Regional Partnership Programmes mobilize members and partners around longer-term, demand-oriented and customized interventions in selected regions and countries to engender a more effective urban agenda centered on inclusive, pro-poor cities;
• The Catalytic Fund catalyses urban transformation processes that promote more inclusive cities and advance collective learning distilled from project experiences;
• Knowledge & Learning Programmes between members and partners distil, leverage and advocate the Cities Alliance’s knowledge for targeted urban practitioners on Cities Alliance priority themes, such as slum-upgrading, national urban policies and city development strategies.

Working with the Country Team Leader and project stakeholders the urban specialist will help identify and clearly define key urban challenges and opportunities within Ethiopia that the FCA programme could effectively respond to. In doing this the urban specialist would undertake, among others, the following main activities:

Activity 1: Develop a local roster of urban specialists

In each of the countries where the FCA will be active a local roster of national urban specialists will be developed. The roster will include the highest quality urban specialists available across a wide ambit of urban specialist fields including climate change, strategic planning, land use planning, civil society, municipal finance, land tenure, urban services, governance etc. The urban specialist will identify the specialist needs and develop the terms of reference (TOR) for each specialist capability.

Activity 2: Identify and define specific areas of programmatic intervention

The urban specialist through a process of stakeholder engagement will help identify specific areas of technical intervention. These areas of technical intervention aim to strengthen the resilience of cities against multiple future risks. The urban specialist will write the consultancy TOR and ensure the best match with the local roster.

Activity 3: Monitor consultancies

The urban specialist will  closely monitor the work of all consultancies and ensure compliance with the agreed TOR. The urban specialist will receive all consultancy reports and will prepare a detailed evaluation including recommendations for the monthly stage reports.

Activity 4: Communication 

The urban specialist working with the Country Team Leader will provide detailed technical feed back in a understandable format to stakeholders as required.

Activity 5: Advise stakeholders

The urban specialist will provide the Steering Committee with the best informed advise regarding urban technical choices and options as required 

Activity 6: Core values

The urban specialist  will ensure that all consultancy work undertaken in the name of the FCA encapsulates the core values of UNOPS and that gender equality a central pillar of the Cities Alliance Medium Term Strategy is incorporated, monitored and reported on in all aspects of consultancy briefs.
 

• Strong commitment to and understanding of the role of cities in poverty reduction
• Strong knowledge of urban systems and development challenges
• Ability to communicate complex concepts in an understandable manner
• Ability to communicate clearly and respectfully at the highest levels of government
• Ability to communicate clearly and respectfully with civil society
• Willingness to travel
• Proven ability to write well structured technical reports

   
• Fluency in English, both writing and speaking, is required
• Fluency in Amharic will be considered as an advantage
• Good knowledge of other UN language will be considered as an advantage

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.