Electric and Smart Mobility Consultant at UN-Habitat

Job Description

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the UN 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 Economy Branch of UN-Habitat has the mandate to promote local capabilities of local governments to develop financial instruments to keep pace with the demands of rapid urbanization. The Urban Economy Branch has the mandate to promote plans and provide support for more efficient, socially inclusive, better integrated and connected cities that foster sustainable urban development.

Duties and Responsibilities

UN-Habitat, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is the agency for human settlements in the United Nations system. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of improving the quality of life for all. As part of its work, UN-Habitat seeks to promote sustainable and resilient cities and towns through provision of urban basic services infrastructure by providing technical support on integrated development at national, regional, and local levels of government as one of its priorities. Data, Technology, and Innovation have been recognized as major components influencing the development of current and future urban mobility systems with a view to improve their access, comfort, safety, sustainability or efficiency. UN-Habitat is implementing the EC funded SOLUTIONSplus project that supports the implementation of electric mobility in different cities through capacity building but also technical support for implementation. The project encompasses city level demonstrations to test different types of innovative and integrated e-mobility solutions, complemented by a comprehensive toolbox, capacity development and replication activities. Demonstration actions will be launched in Hanoi (Vietnam), Pasig (Philippines), Lalitpur/Kathmandu (Nepal), Kigali (Rwanda), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Quito (Ecuador), Montevideo (Uruguay), Madrid (Spain), Nanjing (China) and Hamburg (Germany). UN-Habitat furthermore collaborates in the Stimulating road Transport Research in Europe and around the Globe for sustainable Mobility (STREnGth_M) project with aims to contribute significantly to the planning of research and innovation in Europe by identifying future research needs in the field of road transport, by updating and supporting the coordination of strategic research agendas and roadmaps in the field and by facilitating continuous exchange between road transport research related Horizon Europe partnerships and platforms. UN-Habitat is also working on an European Commission funded project titled “Smart Energy Solutions for Africa” (SESA), which aims to provide innovative energy access technologies and business models in nine African countries that are easily replicable and generate local opportunities for economic development and social cohesion. This will be achieved through sustainable energy solutions that consider the potential for climate adaptation and mitigation tailored to the African social, economic and environmental contexts. The position is expected to support capacity building and start up incubation with a focus on Kenya (Kisumu and Homa Bay), which has been identified as the first Living Lab of the project. Supervision and Reporting The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Chief of the Urban Basic Services Section, reporting to the Team Lead (Urban Mobility).

Payments

The consultant will prepare an inception report within the first week of contract signing. This will outline a broad plan of activities over the period of the assignment. Payments will be made based on the successful delivery of outputs and milestones as set out below, in addition to mi-monthly progress reports.

Output 0: Inception Report
Output 1: Pilot Project Progress Reports (SOLUTIONSplus project)
Output 2: Capacity building outlines; Workshop and Seminar Reports (SOLUTIONSplus project)
Output 3: Policy Advice on electric and smart mobility (SOLUTIONSplus project)
Output 4: Capacity building outlines; Workshop and Seminar Reports (SESA project)
Output 5: Technical inputs on business partnerships and models, and replication plans (SESA project)
Output 6: Dissemination materials; media posts; web stories (SOLUTIONSplus and SESA projects)
Output 7: Research & technical materials (Strength-M project)
Output 8: Project proposals and concept notes

Requirements

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in ICT4D, Computer Science, Business Information Technology, Electrical Engineering, International Development, Urban planning, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted instead of the advanced university degree. At least 3 years of work experience with ICT or smart cities development is required. Good project cycle coordination and management skills covering project design, implementation and monitoring, an understanding of urban planning, urban development, urban policy and legislation and sustainable urbanization is required. Excellent analytical and communication skills. The ability to draft a wide selection of written communication and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise manner. Research skills, particularly in the technology field, are an asset. Ability to work well in a team whilst also having the capacity and initiative to work independently is required. Knowledge of the UN, including working experience in a developing country and working experience with the UN (work within the UN, or working with UN agencies and programmes) are assets.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required. Working knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.